Tunnel Access Panel

Looking at where my avionics were going to install and planning to use the top of the tunnel. I quickly realized I need an access plate, since getting in from the top would be a lot of work removing all the stuff I'll have installed up there. A lot of guys install an access panel on their planes and I should have made one when I was building this a long time ago. But oh well. It was actually really easy.

Cut a hole, add screw holes, dimple, install nut plates.

Make cover plate, install,....done

Finished Fuel Lines

I finally got around to finishing my fuel lines. (Hours reported on previous post)

First let me tell you about the heat shielding product I bought. It's an automotive heat shield product that is very lightweight and has an adhesive backing to it. I called the manufacturer of the product (Heatshield Products) and explained what I was doing...building a plane and plan to install a heat shield on the engine side of the firewall. I also explained how this is a high airflow area and the general distance from the heat source. They suggested that the Thermaflect Cloth would be the best choice. I will be installing this on my firewall but that is for some other day. For now I lined the bottom of the soundproofing that is going in the tunnel to help reflect the heat away from the tunnel. Hopefully keeping my tunnel temps a little lower.

First I applied the Themaflect cloth to the bottom of the soundproofing foam.

View looking down with everything installed. Notice the fuel pump sits at a small angle. For my install this just seemed to work better. I had to cut the plastic bushings that hold the line in place under the seat pans in order to get them on the fuel line.

View looking aft inside the tunnel. The Stainless Steel flex lines from Bonaco made this part pretty easy.
This earlier post discusses my order from Bonaco.

Line sticking out the side of the fuselage waiting to attach to the wing. Notice the 45 degree fitting. Hopefully all this attaches easily.