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Thatcher CX-5 Build Log
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Date:  6-2-2019
Number of Hours:  7.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Interior fitment

This is a lot of planning and figuring, more so than cutting. The plans call for the armrests to be continuous 0.020" aluminum held in a curve from the floor to the stringer. Then the passeger footrest is riveted in the footwell directly to the floor. When I was in the prototype, the space in the passenger footwell behind the rudder pedals was a mess of loose items. It looks like a great place to wedge random stuff until it jams the rudder controls. Getting this huge, flimsy curved sheet out for maintenance didn't look like fun. And getting in and out left absolutely no place to stand but on the seat cushons.

My solution is to build interior sheetmetal walls up to the height of the spar. These and the sides of the pilot seat will anchor 1/16" 6061T6 angles, mounted 3" up from the fuselage bottom. Onto these angles, I'll mount a flat piece of alumium , with a sloped rear section for a footrest. This will fill in the debris collection hole, provide a sturdy step, and mean that the curved arm rest only extends 5" or so. My plan is to make the curved piece out of Kydex T, which I can thermoform and drape to the correct shape. Then I'll have a nice and easy lid to unscrew to get access into the aircraft sidewalls, and my armrests won't be quite so griddle-like in the California sun.

You can see the white line run for the starboard rudder cable, attached to the sidewall with an Adele clamp. I'm going with 7x19 Stainless from the front rudder pedals all the way to the rudder. In this fashion, I can use folding passenger rudder pedals, a la Flyboy's upgrade for the RV8. I'd like to make the passenger experience as easy as possible for as many types of passger as possible, And folding pedals also clear the way for more space on ingress and egress.

If I get way too ambitious, I might try and salvage the space in those footrests for storage. I'm not sure if this is genius or madness. Probably both. It's hot, I'm tired, I'll postpone that decision for another day.
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