The picture below is an the incomplete right wing fuel tank. The current fiberglass wing fuel tanks are the third attempt to make the wing tanks for the Diamant. The first tanks were made of aluminum and were improperly welded. The second tanks were also made of aluminum but the shape of the tanks somehow became distorted sometime during the final assembly and welding process. These fiberglass tanks are working out great. Here you can see the inner anti-slosh ribs which also give strength to the structure. This tank is ready to have the fuel fittings installed and to have the back panel put in place. This has been done on both tanks as of this writing (Jan 2002) and the tanks are being fitted to the wings.

The photo below show some of the progress in completing the cockpit controls and the instrument panel. From front to back the controls are the rudder pedals, the pilot's throttle control, the control sticks, elevator trim, and the flap handle. There will be toe brakes on the pilot's side only. The wooden supports for the seat rails are in place. The flight instruments can be seen. The turn and bank indicator is going to be replaced by a Navaid Devices, Inc. AP-1 wing leveler autopilot. The right hand portion of the panel is being redone to reflect later thinking about how to layout the avionics and other instruments. The metal panel area along the bottom is the home of switches, circuit breakers, fuel gauges, and the transponder. Since this picture was taken all of the mounting holes have been made in the lower panel.

Here is another shot of the cockpit with the pilot's seat in place. Both seat have been fully upholstered. The foam cores for the seats were custom made by Oregon Aero and the upholstering was done by a local automotive upholstery shop. The back seat bench will be done in a matching upholstery style.

previous page   next page

Last updated on June 26, 2002