My Glasair is losing all of its cabin heat through the wheel wells. The well area is actually creating a vacuum sucking all the heat through the control sticks and seat pan area. There are two holes pictured. The top hole can easily be sealed with a rubber plug since it is used for nothing. The bottom hole is a oblong hole that the aileron torque tube travels through. This definitely needs sealed. What would be the best solution? I thought a CV joint boot would work well or I could make a leather boot, but how would it attach to the fiberglass wall?

Thats a pretty easy one. What you do to attach it to the rib without drilling a hole is to cut out a ring of fiberglass or metal, say a little larger than the hole. Place it on the workbench. Then take a pice of foam make it a little taller than a nut plate. It needs to be taller so the screw has room. Attach that to the original fiberglass ring. The take another piece of fiberglass the same size as the first and drill four holes and nut plates. Then make a third ring with four holes and no nut plates. Bond the first ring, the foam, and the second ring together. Then cotton flox that to the rib. Then put your boot material through and use it the third ring as a retainer and screw it all together. Sounds complex but not really too hard...

Diagram to follow as soon as i can find some paper...

You lost me, but would love to see a picture.

Let me know if this makes sense. I may be able to draw it in 3d.

Ah, yes. This makes a lot of sense. Pictures are great! Another idea would be to make a ring with studs on it and epoxy that ring to the rib. The boot material could then be sandwiched between that rind and an outer ring with nuts to torque it down. Thanks for your help!

Check this out

http://csobeech.com/main-landing-gear-sleeves.html

A chamois cloth and some door seal adhesive

http://csobeech.com/images/mlg-sleeve1.JPG

Mike

Be careful with installing studs. Nut plates can be riveted in place so they can't turn. If you install a stud and it beings to turn, then you have to peel those rings off and secure the stud. Cotton flox will not give up that bond without a fight.

Mike,

Yes, I thought about that also! I could even do the install under the seats where you would not see the mess and where thee is no dirt, water, etc. This would definitely be the easiest solution for sure!

Todd:
Teflon ring cut in half, slipped around the tube and fastened to the rib with bolts that go through and mate with a second teflon ring (call it a bearing!) on the other side. Tighten fasteners, seal hole, support the aileron tube with something thick, but slippery.
Robin

Robin,

That would work, but the tube has to move verticall and horizontally in an elliptal pattern. I definitely do not want anything to bind up. It takes almost no control movement to make this plane turn. It has to be 100% free.

OK, when I took the Chamois to the interior shop for them to cut it and sew it up he said "What kind of a CSOB are you! I'm not doing that!" So, he came up with this instead. Nice leather sleeves that will wrap around the 3" drain covers that I bought, cut in half, and removed the grating. The drain collars will be epoxied to the airframe and the big end of the boots will use a hose clamp to secure it to the collars. For now I am simply going to use the Velcro to tighten smaller end just enough so that the torque tube will slide in an out of the boot, but not be secured with a clamp. I think this will retain enough heat, yet will yield much less control restriction.