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1979 A185F interior panels

L16driver

Registered User
im looking for help with sourcing new interior panels. Mine have just been beat and broken to the point it doesn’t make sense to reinstall them. If I look at them too hard they crack. Every time I get it or out more pcs break off.
Interested in a clean, durable, easy solution. Any input would be great. Thanks in advance...
 
I'm pretty sure you can still get original replacement panels straight from a Cessna dealer. I honestly don't remember if I did that with my '76 185 (I think I did). But I do know I did all the bottom ones in my '78 206 with new original parts from Cessna. Lightweight Kydex, fit great, and looked like a new original plane. I did all the ones below the windows in the 206 for about $1500 ten years ago. Replaced a bunch of the top ones (like the ones around the rear windows which were expensive) for about another $1K. I've also suggested Cordura cloth for other planes (I have it in another and it's perfect for it) but in a Cessna with old original panels, I would just replace them with factory new.
 
I'm pretty sure you can still get original replacement panels straight from a Cessna dealer. I honestly don't remember if I did that with my '76 185 (I think I did). But I do know I did all the bottom ones in my '78 206 with new original parts from Cessna. Lightweight Kydex, fit great, and looked like a new original plane. I did all the ones below the windows in the 206 for about $1500 ten years ago. Replaced a bunch of the top ones (like the ones around the rear windows which were expensive) for about another $1K. I've also suggested Cordura cloth for other planes (I have it in another and it's perfect for it) but in a Cessna with old original panels, I would just replace them with factory new.
I used aftermarket interiors on several C207s that I was maintaining. Can't remember the manufacturer but they were slightly heavier and 3 times tougher. Didn't always fit perfectly but neither did the factory stuff. A heat gun fixes all of that.

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Selkirk are fiberglass. Rounded and not stock looking. Plane Plastics looks like stock Cessna and is easier to install/less likely to crack during in and out fitting. Both require painting. I’ve used both in my own plane and wasn’t happy with either. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zo06DxOIJy8

You wouldn’t remodel your house to look like 1979. Why do it with your airplane?
 
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Selkirk. Very strong and durable. If you can get to Coeur d'Alene have them do it for you. Will save a huge amount of time.
 
I wrapped my panels with a vinyl wrap from a local sign Buisness. Looks great was was very reasonable alternative


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Thanks for all the input! The plane is near to be done with annual inspection. Fabing up corner pieces to protect the cables and the pulleys where the floor meets the side. Gonna fly it for now and shortly do up a safe and cost effective replacement.
 
Consider having someone hydro dip those trim panels instead of paint or vinyl wrap. Surprisingly affordable. Very durable. I like the carbon fiber look.


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Selkirk panels are a PITA to install. If they will do it for you you ar money ahead.
 
Thanks for all the input! The plane is near to be done with annual inspection. Fabing up corner pieces to protect the cables and the pulleys where the floor meets the side. Gonna fly it for now and shortly do up a safe and cost effective replacement.

The pulleys at the bottom of the rear door post are very susceptible to fouling. If you can find door post covers from an early 180 in a salvage yard like Skywagon City you can trim them to fit your late model door posts. I considered forming Kydex but that was an exercise in frustration for me. A few minutes with the old 180 door post covers, some snips, and a Dremel worked better. In retrospect if I could have borrowed a pair of early post covers to use as forms? Heating and forming 028 Kydex would have been easier than doing it from scratch. If a guy was handy with carbon fiber he could use an old set as plugs to build forms for vacuum bagging with composites. Just some ideas to ponder.

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i will be looking into this now! thanks, this is basically what i came up with but nicer. ill see if any can be found.
 
Does anyone have part numbers or details on the screws and cup washers that Cessna used?

On my run down interior, the Cessan screws standout as quality, as opposed the local hardware rubbish that's been installed in the last fourty years. I'd like to make mine look original.

I'm looking at referbishing the interior of a Cessna 180J, '74 model with a PlanePlastics interior.

If someone could pipe up and say, 'You'll need a heap of xxx screws or bits and bobs for a Cessna 180 interior', that would be great.

Why Aircraft Spruce sell 82 degree interior screws and Beech installed 100 degree head screws on their aircraft, I don't know. I think I need interior 101 class for aircraft.

Texmex.
 
Plane Plastics sells oval head screws/finish washers and truss head PK screws. What screws you use will largely depend on whether you try to reuse old screw holes and drill the parts with a strap duplicator or just drill new. Reusing old holes is an imperfect science and you'll hog some of the parts to get the screws to sit square. That lends itself to washers. It's better looking just to drill new holes and use #6 stainless PK screws.
 
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