It gets worse!

I earmarked today for stripping out the Savannah’s unwanted fuel flow indicator and any associated wiring together with the high level panel front that is going to have to be extensively modified. I didn’t know what I’d find but thought that I was ready for any shocks that I might come across. Little did I know!

I had to get back into 77ASY’s fuselage through the access panel behind the cabin and here are some shots that I took in there, only after I’d completed the work that I had to do, so there are no hanging wires etc to see.

The shot below shows the fuel collector tank where the fuel supplies from the two wing tanks join up, with a single supply then feeding the engine outside along the bottom of the fuselage.

The Savannah really is built like a ‘proper’ aeroplane and I find its structure quite impressive. I can’t say the same though, about what I found when I searched to find the cabling for the fuel flow indicator to strip out. The reason was that there wasn’t any – someone had already cut the sensor cables and just left them hanging there against the fuselage side.

OK, fine, you say, but what about the fact that the indicator unit up-top was still connected to power? Was there no chance that the bare sensor wires that had been left were still live and could therefore short out – right next to the fuel collector tank? I shudder to think 😕

So I ended up taking out all of the extraneous cable, including what I’d left in place the other day, so gradually 77ASY is being restored closer and closer to its standard state. Then it was the turn of the high level panel. I had previously found that I couldn’t get it out even after removing the three securing screws because of two small pop rivets that someone had put into its top edge.

Here’s the panel after I’d drilled them out, disconnected the switches and cabling and removed it.

And here’s what was left afterwards. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Here are some more shots from different angles.

It appears that for some unknown reason, someone in the past had butchered its front in the most shocking way imaginable. I do not know how anyone, even the most ham-fisted buffoon, could treat a structure in such a way, but they obviously could and did.

That now leaves my with the problem of how to make good the destruction that they’ve left behind. I considered removing the complete panel tray structure and fabricating a replacement but had to reject the idea because it’s been covered in a black carpet-like material together with the rest of the cabin ceiling and ripping it all out would just be too much of a job.

No, I’ll just have to fabricate a false front as well as the panel to fit onto it. It won’t be too difficult with thin gauge aluminium and shouldn’t take too long to do. And at least I’ll know that underneath it all things will be more or less as they should be 😐