Mounting the Instrument Panel

Small lord mounts were used to isolate the instrument panel from engine vibrations. Unfortunately poor prior planning meant that the nosecone and cockpit side rails had already been installed making it difficult to attach the lower mount to the airframe. My right angle drill would not fit into the space and allow drilling on the top of the tube. I didn't have access to a drill with a flexible shaft. What to do? Why, what any good primate would do - make a tool. Here's Flintsone Technology at it's finest. Adapting Neanderthal fire-starting technology to the problem with a string wrapped around a drill bit turning in a hole in a piece of bar stock, the demon hole was soon drilled. Don't try this in chromolly, but it didn't take long to get through the aluminum tube.

The hole was then tapped. Not the strongest method, but it would have been difficult to get a rivnut into this location with the side rails and nosecone already in place. The load on this mount will be primarily verticle, so I'm hoping with the help of locktite that the threads will hold.

Three mounts per side tube are mounted on rivnuts.

The panel is fastened to the lord mounts with brass knurled nuts. The bottom mount, which takes most of the weight of the panel fastens with an 'L' bracket made up from bar stock and treated with Flintstone anodizing - aka black permanent marker. The bracket in the photo hasn't been 'anodized' yet.....

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