New Parts, New Material: Carbon Composite
Instead of the pre-formed plywood panels used in the original aircraft, the cockpit floor of the replica will be made from carbon composite. This significantly reduces weight while maintaining high strength. To protect the pilot, an additional layer of Kevlar will be included to prevent the carbon from splintering in case of impact.
Since I had to learn composite construction from scratch, I enrolled in a laminating course at Suter Composites. It was an excellent course to grasp the fundamentals and tricks of the trade, as well as avoid common mistakes.
For the construction of the cockpit floor mold, I used a lot of filler and spent endless hours sanding. The resin distribution was a bit uneven when applying the carbon and Kevlar layers. And when it came to demolding, the last traces of sanding from the mold showed up mercilessly. There's still a lot to learn.
The individual cockpit floor parts are now bolted in place. I still need to create the mold for the trim wheel cover on the right-hand cockpit side. After that, the parts for the cockpit's foot area will be tackled next.
