The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Not annual, but I installed new radios, new RH side instruments, replaced the instrument suction hoses and vacuum regulator, and replaced the battery-to-ammeter wire. All of that is on the RH side, and on my '54, none of it is possible without removing the glovebox. And I did it in several sessions over several years, so each time I had to pull the glovebox.

My point is that the more you tie stuff together the more difficult you make maintenance and the less likely you are to do it. Or the more expensive it becomes.

I just make it a point to minimize firewall penetrations. I almost came to blows with an AI years ago when he drilled a hole in my original condition firewall to relocate an instrument air filter that I had mounted on the back side of a radio stack support angle, a perfectly serviceable location. I might be talked into double-sided tape to mount an encoder to the firewall but I'd never drill holes in it for screws.

cessna170bdriver wrote:I might be talked into double-sided tape to mount an encoder to the firewall but I'd never drill holes in it for screws.

That's almost what I was thinking. The thing only weighs a few ounces and could be secured with some industrial strength Velcro to the side of the fuselage or firewall. The kind with the little plastic fingers. It is almost impossible to pull apart once you stick it together.