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ISSUE 72 - June 2009
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Updating a Skyhawk on a Chickenhawk Budget
Story and Photos by Dean Ritter

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.

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.


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.


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