I finally got my 1953 180 in the hangar for it's annual inspection. It has a vintage Airtex interior that is in good shapebut is heavy and outdated. I would like to move the battery to the firewall and extend the baggage compartment (it has a baggage door) with the type that is level with the floor. I plan to gut the interior and get rid of a few boat anchors in the insturment panel. I have followed a few threads of other peoples projects but I would like to know what your opinion/choice is for which mod to use and why. here are the things I would like to do to my interior.
1. lighter battery on firewall
2. extended baggage with flush floor
3. put some kind of light weight material/foam on interior skins
4. mat on floor (not carpet)
5. lighten up the seats.

Although I don't do any back country flying, I do use my plane to skydive out of once and a while and think the interiors you guys have come up with will work great for that application plus it looks cool. Your input is appreciated.

The only things that I may suggest would be to add an alternator if it does not already have one and the light weight starter. I know that there are mixed reviews on the starter but we have had great luck with the one we put in a ’54 180. Those two items will help offset some of the weight of adding the battery and the box on the firewall.

I have a flat-on-the-floor extended baggage -- mine's a field approved show but I believe Selkirk & Airglas both offer them. Maybe others? Besides offering more room than a high-floored version, it also makes it possible to comfortably sleep in the airplane if need be.

A firewall-mounted Odyssey battery is a good idea. Mine is field-approved & appears to be an early (pre-STC) Burl box, or a knock-off, but both Burl & Atlee Dodge sell them now complete with STC. Personally I think an Odyssey "hold down clamp" makes for a much cleaner installation, and is way cheaper (like $40), but requires a field approval.

FWIW I've got the heavy Energizer starter on mine, and after what I've read about some of the issues with lightweight starters & starter drives, I plan on keeping it.

Overheard at the Alaska Airmen's show that Earth-X is close to coming out with a 3-lb battery that will fit the size and shape of the Atlee firewall battery box.

denalipilot wrote:Overheard at the Alaska Airmen's show that Earth-X is close to coming out with a 3-lb battery that will fit the size and shape of the Atlee firewall battery box.

Wow! That certainly sounds promising. That's a huge weight savings over the Odyssey.

Cliff, I did the flat extended baggage, Firewall battery and alternator on my plane two years ago, and it's been awesome. Just getting rid of the infernal Gill battery was a near-euphoric experience. Do it!

I have an EarthX spinning a inline skytech on a 0320. Going on 1.5 years and not a problem. Read more here:

http://www.supercub.org/forum/showthrea ... tion/page2


Rocket

Thanks for all the input, Our local FSDO isn't giving field approvals for much of anything. I will need to go with STC'ed mods. keep the opinions coming, it is truley valued.

I've done or am currently doing all the mods you listed.

For extended baggage, I went with the flat baggage Selkirk fiberglass type. Now that I have had it for four years I'm considering replacing with the Airglass carbon fiber. The Selkirk fiberglass type is really puny, carbon fiber is way stouter, also looks better IMO.

The firewall battery is a good deal and am glad I did that mod. Hopefully the Earth X battery becomes a certified option in the near future, but until then the Odyssey is a great battery.

As far as the utility interior, it is ALOT of work!!! Totally worth it but serious amount of labor, unless you leave all the old glue in place. Personally I can't leave well enough alone and am many many hours into removing the gunk, just a heads up. No way would I want to pay the bill for someone else doing the labor. My current plan is to only put foam where the fuselage needs protection, either way I plan to make it easily removable with Velcro or something like that.

Some great tips on other threads about lightening up the seats, I'll post what I end up doing. The plan is as Spartan as possible and using the Oregon Aero removable seat cushions I already got for comfort. They are awesome!

A buddy of mine has a stock 1980 C-180 with cessna's version of utility interior. The floorboard is zinked and bare except for the floorboard in the pilot/co-pilot area, where there is wingwalk, supposedly factory. I'm planning to do the same and bought the Ultra Wingwalk from aircraft spruce. Gonna come up with something removable for the backseats/cargo area. The Aerofloor seems like great stuff though and looks really sharp.

Post pics/info of what you do, its a great resource for everyone else opening this can of worms. I'm super grateful to all the others who have taken the time to share the fruits of their labors on these mods, very helpful!!!

Have fun [emoji12]

cliff,

You don't need a field approval or a STC to move your battery to the firewall as long as moving it doesn't cause the weight of your aircraft to exceed its gross weight, nor exceed the balance limitations, and you use accepted methods for the construction and mounting of the box, and cables etc that meet the current needs of your aircraft. It's called an "owner produced part" and is a log book entry by an A&P or IA (can't remember which) where he states it meets the requirements of the aircraft (not the exact wording but you get the idea), and the documentation written by the "owner" specing out the part becomes part of the aircraft logs. Of course you can certainly go the STC route, and in the case of a firewall battery mount they aren't that expensive. Check with Burl's as well as Altee to determine which better fits your requirements.

I did all that work in 2012, minus the firewall battery. Well worth it. I lost 18 lbs in the process.

Ripped out all the old Cessna interior and replaced it with Selkirk foam (but not the plastic panels). Put in BAS shoulder harnesses and an airtex wool headliner. Then put in floor mats over the whole floor. Also removed the baggage wall and replaced it with a net. Sent out the seats to be repainted and recovered. Did a bunch of other work too -- new rear windows, tail beef-up kit, pponk gear boxes, door stewards, new flap tracks, etc. Beegles in Greeley Co did the work and they did a good job.

One thing I didn't do as well as I should have is thought through where I wanted to put cargo tie downs. I've since added some but I think a floor-to-ceiling net would be a good thing, just in case I ever have a wreck with a load of stuff in the back. Hard to do that now.

Be happy to let you look at it, but East Berlin is a little out of my way!

Skalywag wrote:....For extended baggage, I went with the flat baggage Selkirk fiberglass type. Now that I have had it for four years I'm considering replacing with the Airglass carbon fiber. The Selkirk fiberglass type is really puny, carbon fiber is way stouter, also looks better IMO....

While it's no doubt heavier than carbon fiber and maybe even fiberglas, doesn't anyone offer an extended baggage in good old aluminum? Mine was owner fabricated out of .032" alum with stiffenng angles & is plenty skookum.

I just did the airglas carbon fibre extended baggage on my 62 model. Very nice, easy install, everything fir nicely and no trimming needed. Light and strong. I'd highly recommend it.

Since a field approval may be problematic, I would stick with what's STC'd.

I have recently went through this transformation on my 1957 180A and here's what I went with after much homework.

1. lighter battery on firewall - FA Dodge battery box with SBS-J16 (STC'd)
2. extended baggage with flush floor - AirGlas carbon fiber sold from Hitchcock Aviation (STC'd, great service from Hitchcock, superior product)
3. put some kind of light weight material/foam on interior skins - Selkirk Aviation 1/4 foam (bought a roll and cut myself, burn certs included)
4. mat on floor (not carpet) - Aerofloor DOT sold buy AIPsource (great product with burn certs included)
5. lighten up the seats. - I went with a local, but Ron Matta of Aviation Creations seems to do outstanding work to keep them light and comfortable.

Have you ever thought about a WingX kit from Stene Aviation to get a gross increase to 2950 lbs?

My results

Thank you all for the input. Matt, your interior is exactly what I am looking to do to mine, nice work. I am in the bodyshop business so I am, unfortunatley, quite aware of the chore ahead of me, thanks for reminding me!!!!! I'm gonna start on it this week. Please , If you have an opinion/knowledge about my wish list I would love to here it. I will be ordering parts this week.

All good mods in my opinion. Taking weight out, battery on the firewall and extended baggage (either flavor) being the top ranked.

To me extended baggage is a "have to" to utilize the plane fully. Firewall battery is not a "have to" but it makes life so much easier its a no brainier. Throw in the benefits of low weight, better starting, pre heating, flat floor, and getting that acid bomb out of the tail make it a great investment.

Had great starting success with the firewall battery, stock starter, and skytec as well.

Bill

I have been slapped in the face with a reality check, TIME!!! I have only gotten the boat anchors out of the dash and some other routine annual inspection maitenance done so far. If I want to fly this summer I will have to put off the modifications until this winter. I run a small auto restoration and custom paint business out of my hangar and the plane is taking up valuble floor space. I bought this private strip at the end of October last year and haven't even flown once this year. Even my nonpilot wife is getting on me about not getting to fly anywhere. I plan to finish up the radio relocation and general insturment panel clean up, Put in a Pponk landing gear beef up kit that came with the plane when I bought it and finish the annual. Hopefully by winter I will have a new hangar to work on my personal projects and the mods can begin then. Thank you all for your input, I will use your recomendations this winter.

No one actually realizes just how much time this stuff takes... even to do a crappy/quick job. I counted up my hours on my Wagon project the other day. I just passed the 3400 hr mark since Dec 2012, and I'm no where near finished. When someone actually does the work it tends to put shop rates and install costs into perspective. Actually its usually a deal when a shop does the work as they rarely can charge the actual time spend on the job.

Haha Greg, I wouldn't say no one!!! [emoji28]

That is a heck of an hour toll ur wrackin up, but as sweet as ur ride looks in the pics, I say time well spent [emoji106]

Bigrenna, Unfortunatly, I know how much time it takes, I do it for a living. My problem is, I always think I can make time for my personal projects and it never happens. I end up working on my customers projects 10 or 12 hrs a day, then I'm too tired or have other commitments that keep my projects on hold. I envy you for having time management skills to put in the hrs of elbow grease it takes to get an airplane to the level yours is. I just finished a 55 Chevy and a 50 GMC Suburban for 2 customers that wanted to have them ready for the street rod nationals. I thought I could put a little time in on the plane but, with the new airport nut to crack, I need to make hay while the weather is good. All my time is going to the customers projects that are in the shop, two 69 Z28's , a 1967 triumph tr4, 90 Mustang drag car, parts for a Cessna 195 that is waiting to get in the hangar and a couple of Harleys. Hopefully I can find the time to get the 180 back in the air soon.

Aint no shame in putting the project on the back burner man... After all, flying is fun too!