Cessna Glare Shield Cover

[Al Gilson]

The glare shield in our 64 Skyhawk is original, therefore not the most
pristine to look at. Is there a cover available, such as the carpet
covers you see for autos/trucks, available for airplanes?

Yes, I know I can get a $200+ plastic cover rom Selkirk or others that
covers the entire glare shiled with a lip to install lights, etc. I was
looking for a simple solution to disguise it at a low cost.

Thanks

Al
64 Skyhawk

[jls]

Remove windshield.
Remove old glareshield. Replace with leather backed with 1/4" foam.
Use beaucoups contact cement. Rivet windshield back, making sure you
use plenty of sealant against the rain.
That should give you about 30 hours of fun labor. It's what I did to a
'66 Skyhawk.
While you're at it replace the plastic eyebrow, which with the age of
your airplane has to be in tatters. About $200 from Plane Plastics.
Enjoy!

Failing that, just use cereal boxes or chart cardboard and make a
template, then have your local carpet guy cut a piece of nice velvety
stuff to fit and sew a border on it so it doesn't unravel.
Enjoy! BTW, make sure the material complies with the FAR's for fire
resistance.

[Newps]

Al Gilson wrote:

> The glare shield in our 64 Skyhawk is original, therefore not the most
> pristine to look at. Is there a cover available, such as the carpet
> covers you see for autos/trucks, available for airplanes?
>
> Yes, I know I can get a $200+ plastic cover rom Selkirk or others that
> covers the entire glare shiled with a lip to install lights, etc. I was
> looking for a simple solution to disguise it at a low cost.

Take it to a local upholstery shop and have them cover it in your
favorite covering.

[jls]

Well, I guess I was clear as mud. You can remove the glareshield
cover but not the glareshield from a '64 Skyhawk. It is aluminum and
part of the aircraft. I remember plenty of rivets in the area, and a
couple of holes or slits with fairings around them to vent the avionics
and permit defrost heat for the windscreen.

You can remove the eyebrow, since it is plastic, and replace it with a
new one. After a few years they crack all to hell. I had to do some
cutting and a little die grinding on the one I bought from Plane
Plastics, but it was a nice piece. It has to be fastened onto the
aircraft's panel with sheet metal screws and on top of the glareshield
structure, i. e., the horizontal surface beneath the windshield. The
eyebrow becomes a part of the glareshield, then, and forms an extension
of it, protruding out over the panel a few inches, to shield the panel
from the light coming through the windshield. On some of the high-end
Cessnas like the 210, this eyebrow is often covered with foam and
leather, or foam and vinyl.

So if this fortunate guy Gilson with the Skyhawk goes to the upholstery
shop with his glareshield, he'd better take his aircraft with him.

I've seen a few nice bordered carpet remnants cut in the shape of the
glareshield and just laid there or velcro'd. They dress up a place in
the Skyhawk which is otherwise kind of ratty looking after a couple of
decades of radiation from the sun.

BTW, I miss my 172. It was easy to maintain, wonderful to work on, and
an unexcelled piece of Americana that will never ever be duplicated.

[Al Gilson]

Thanks for the replies. I have gone with option "B" and covered the
glare shield with some very high quality carpet stuff. Ittook a few
ttries and trimming, but it looks better than the 40 yr. old stuff that
is under it. Total investment: $7.52 (and I didn't have to try and get
the Cessna into the truck and take it to the upholstery shop). And,
you're right....the plastic extension over the instruments does have a
crack, but it's still reasonable.

Al

(PS...I'm afraid to look under the sheepskin seat covers at the 1964
seat upholstery. That will be an entirely different post)

jls wrote:
> Well, I guess I was clear as mud. You can remove the glareshield
> cover but not the glareshield from a '64 Skyhawk. It is aluminum and
> part of the aircraft. I remember plenty of rivets in the area, and a
> couple of holes or slits with fairings around them to vent the avionics
> and permit defrost heat for the windscreen.
>
> You can remove the eyebrow, since it is plastic, and replace it with a
> new one. After a few years they crack all to hell. I had to do some
> cutting and a little die grinding on the one I bought from Plane
> Plastics, but it was a nice piece. It has to be fastened onto the
> aircraft's panel with sheet metal screws and on top of the glareshield
> structure, i. e., the horizontal surface beneath the windshield. The
> eyebrow becomes a part of the glareshield, then, and forms an extension
> of it, protruding out over the panel a few inches, to shield the panel
> from the light coming through the windshield. On some of the high-end
> Cessnas like the 210, this eyebrow is often covered with foam and
> leather, or foam and vinyl.
>
> So if this fortunate guy Gilson with the Skyhawk goes to the upholstery
> shop with his glareshield, he'd better take his aircraft with him.
>
> I've seen a few nice bordered carpet remnants cut in the shape of the
> glareshield and just laid there or velcro'd. They dress up a place in
> the Skyhawk which is otherwise kind of ratty looking after a couple of
> decades of radiation from the sun.
>
> BTW, I miss my 172. It was easy to maintain, wonderful to work on, and
> an unexcelled piece of Americana that will never ever be duplicated.
>