Vinyl headliner installation with skylights

How to keep the Cessna 170 flying and airworthy.

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marathonrunner
Posts: 449
Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2010 3:49 am

Vinyl headliner installation with skylights

Post by marathonrunner »

Just got through installing an Airtex vinyl headliner in our 170 It has skylights in the pilot and copilot position. I have always used wool in the past with sky lights as it is easy to install and all wrinkles can be steamed out. Airtex did make the forward panel wider as you do need extra material with skylights. I spoke with Airtex and was told that skylight headliners are indeed difficult to install. I have installed many wrinkle free vinyl headliners in the past. I did not use wool this time as it degrades quickly in sun

I tried many ways but you have to cut holes for the skylights and push the material in. I use a modified 1 inch putty knife. No matter if I started in the middle of the cabin roof or sides just above door jambs, when you tuck the material in the skylights you end up with extra as it walks. The best I could do was end up with a very slight wrinkle both sides above pilot and copilot spar carry through outboard. Also larger wrinkle just forward of zipper area mid cabin in door corners

Seems for skylights another seam would be needed in outboard corners to eliminate wrinkle. Not even starting at zipper and moving forward worked. You just end up with too much material and have to pick your poison as to where the wrinkles end up.

The forward spar ones can be massaged over and covered with the trim piece for the air vent. The rear ones are just not possible to remove.

Anyone ever have this issue with Cessna vinyl headliners with skylights? Any insight as to how to fix it? I think I will get another headliner and try again if there is a fix for this. My wife insists I am being anal retentive and it doesn't look that bad and no one looks up there anyway

I was thinking maybe working through wing root lightening hole and zipper slice, glue back so it looks like seam then use a curved needle and stitch so it looks like a seam
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