Hi Pops,
Just today I was working on this area. I used a thin sheet of dark gray
plastic, I think it is pvc. I got it out of scrap at work. It's pretty light
weight, about 1/32" thick. It's held on with 10-32's into 8 pieces of 3/4 "
angle reduxed in at equal spacing. I'll cover this with the upholstering
material. This makes it easy to later to completely change things without
even messing up everything. I did however put the headphone jacks up there,
just aft of the hinges. Imade a little aluminum box for them and reduxed it
to the overhead making the front cover slightly larger than the hole in the
plastic. I may put one pivoting maplite up there about mid ways and I'll put
my SIRS wet compass up front. I had earlier embedded a strip of aluminum in
the forward stiffener to mount the compass. I may check out some RV's or
custom vans for ideas of storage compartments.
I did read of someone putting eyeball vents up there, but I too would like to
know how they are fed. While on that subject, someone on the line mentioned
introducing air into the cockpit below the windscreen. I wonder if they meant
below the wind screen but on the side. I can't see how there's room below it
at the front. One fellow we all know in Lakeland put a NACA scoop at the base
or the fin and laid up a duct from it along the inside top of the fuselage to
the overhead panel and plans to feed some eyeball vents. I really like this
idea and it should work but hasn't been tested yet. Anyways, enough rambling.
Any more ideas out there?
Troy
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