Vantage Plane Plastics
Last week my friend Al Liebler and I did a 45-minute flight
to Alva, Okla., to see where Priscilla’s new interior
plastic will be made. We taxied up and parked at the front
door—literally. The Vantage Plane Plastics facility
was built in 2005, and a new interior shop is being constructed
across the street.
We reported to Christina Smith, Director of Sales and Marketing. After
a brief visit we were introduced to Tim Bradley in Sales/Customer Service. We
began our tour at the carpet shop where Vantage Plane Plastics stores templates
for all the popular aircraft.
Then Al and I went on to the shop where new parts are being
fabricated. In the background is a panel from
an old Aztec that had arrived in very bad shape. After
an initial mold was made, the worker proceeded to repair
and reshape the piece. This is a very time-consuming process
that requires the skills of a sculptor. In the foreground
are some molds for simple interior panels.
By this time, Tooling Supervisor JD Casteel had joined
us, and we proceeded to the next department where a female
casting is constructed from the part we saw in the previous
room. The female mold will be used to make male masters
that will be used in forming the final plastic parts.
The
next room we toured was the production space with rows
of storage shelves containing molds needed to form parts.
Vantage Plane Plastics has over 3,000 FAA/PMA
approved interior parts for most General Aviation aircraft
ranging from Cessna to Piper and all those in between.
Most of these molds were made in-house, but some are from
the original manufacturer’s tooling. In
the photo are Piper center consoles and other related
parts.
We arrived in time to see them actually fabricating some
new parts. It was interesting to see the employees clamp
a five-foot by nine-foot sheet of plastic in a frame above
the molds. Overhead heating coils heat the plastic
until it begins to sag, then it is lowered in place over
the molds and the vacuum is applied. Note the extra workers
who are there to poke and prod those areas that the vacuum
fails to pull (pg. 48, bottom photo). After the plastic
is molded, the part is rough cut with a knife while the
plastic is still hot. The rough cut plastic goes to the
trim shop where the final trimming takes place.
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Each mold has small indented lines
called cut lines. Using the cut lines as a guide, the trimmers
remove the excess plastic. In the trim shop Al and I watched
another worker cutting instrument holes in panels. Some
of the finished pieces will go into inventory while others
will go to the shipping department to be shipped out to
customers.
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The factory recycles scrap plastic. We watched workers
grinding up the scraps of plastic into small flakes and
Casteel explained these flakes were used to make adhesive
paste for bonding the plastic parts. When mixed with methyl
ethyl ketone (MEK), the flakes will melt into a paste about
the consistence of honey. When applied to the parts being
joined (like overhead speaker assemblies), the paste literally
welds the parts into a one-piece assembly.
The paste can also be used to repair broken parts in your
plane. But before you perform any repairs with this method,
be sure to test your plastic first. Cessna Aircraft used
different plastics over the years. (One thing we learned
is do not use MEK to clean plastic!)
Most of the rest of the scrap plastic is shipped back to
the original manufacturer where it is recycled into new
sheets. The rough cut plastic goes to the trim shop where
the final trimming takes place.
Each mold has small indented lines called cut lines. Using
the cut lines as a guide, the trimmers remove the excess
plastic. In the trim shop Al and I watched another worker
cutting instrument holes in panels. Some of the finished
pieces will go into inventory while others will go to the
shipping department to be shipped out to customers.
Our Chickenhawk’s door post covers were not in inventory
so we got to watch one being made for our project. It may
seem insignificant, but seeing something that is manufactured
for Priscilla has a special meaning.
Vantage Plane Plastics uses two types of plastic: ABS Lustran® and Kydex®.
ABS is used in light aircraft, while Kydex is used for
Bell Helicopters and Beechcraft. ABS Lustran is a newer
generation of plastic that will last much longer than the
products used in the older aircraft.
After the production tour, we went to Tim Bradley’s office to go over the
parts we would need for our project. Bradley told us that it is very important
to order the right parts the first time. One way is to send the old parts to
Vantage… not always practicable. The second is to
take photos of all of the parts.
The return rate for parts is about 10 percent. One of the
common causes of return is that the part number listed
in the manufacturer’s parts manual is incorrect.
(My guess on how this occurs is that when the manufacturers
changed a design, some of the old parts continued to be
used until the supplies were exhausted.)
Finding the correct part numbers is not a problem if you
do your homework, and Mr. Bradley will be glad to help
sort it all out. Take a moment and go to www.planeplastics.com
and click on “Welcome.” What you will see is eight different door
post covers for 172s—and most of them look very similar.
Since 23U was at the front door, we made two trips to double-check
that the part was correct. If you need replacement plastic
parts, take a photograph of the parts and mail your photos,
along with the part number(s), to Vantage.
In all, we ordered all 11 plastic parts for our airplane.
Bradley suggested we try out Vantage’s Airflow Enhancement
Kit, and with summer coming on, it seemed like a good idea.
With our production tour complete, we visited with Dale
Logsdon, Quality Control Manager, to hear about the future
of the company. Vantage Plane Plastics is planning many
new products. One that piqued my interest was replacement
tips for the stabilizers and control surfaces.
After our visit, we said our goodbyes and flew back to
Wiley Post. The parts were delivered as I was completing
this article, and delivery time was only nine days.
Even though every employee at Vantage looked at 23U (they
had no choice with it parked at the door!) and each one
was blown away with how good the old interior looked after
46 years, we plan on starting our interior redo in about
two weeks.
Like I said in our last article, call Airtex Products (215-295-4115)
and order a sample kit. And then check out Vantage Plane
Plastics at www.planeplastics.com. We will show each of
the steps so that you can follow along.
Dean Ritter was an air traffic controller for 32 years.
He retired as the Wiley Post Tower Chief in 1993. Dean
has logged over 5,000 hours in over 50 types of aircraft
as a pilot and instructor. Dean earned his A&P in 1988
while he was the President and Chief Flight Instructor
of KMR Aviation. After 20 years, he recently discontinued
flying as an aerial mapping pilot to pursue other business
interests. Send questions or comments to editor@cessnaflyer.org and
visit Dean on the web at www.TheBatteryMINDER.COM.
This article originally appeared in Cessna Flyer magazine.
For more information about the Cessna Flyer magazine and
association, please visit www.cessnaflyer.org. |