I made a new pilot side window ( slides up/down) for "the goose" N74360 a cruisair.
I think the cruismaster must be similar.
It was easy, cheap ( $25 total) and satisfying too.
Get an egg carton or similar to keep the hardware straight.
First I removed the trim ring around the inside of the pilot window.
Keep track of where the screws go... mine were not all the same.. you will find some holes enlarged
and longer and shorter screws in various places. Just replace where they came out.
Remove the small interior panel with the arm rest
The window will lift up and out of the guides ( slots in the wood frame) into the cabin.
You will see that all the pilot window is just a piece of plexiglass with metal strips sandwiching the top,
with a metal handle attached to the metal with screws. There are also small metal channels on either side that run in the wood slots. These may be attached with very small screws, or they may be press fit only.
A big part of what makes the window work easily and not get scratched up.. is all the felt glued to the wood
frame and stamped metal frame ( insert).
Take the time to replace any felt that isn't woolly, fat , and happy.
Take particular note of the horzontal stringer below the window opening. ALL of it needs to be covered with felt.
In my plane only half of that wide stringer was felt covered. Naturally I had scratches the entire length of the window that made it ugly and half useless. Check your window for scratches.. and use them to determine where your felt needs replacement. Yes old dried varnish will scratch plexiglass !
I bought my felt as scrap at a second hand sewing scraps shop.. but you can buy new felt -wool or synthetic- at crafts shops or on-line. Trim it to size with a pair of scissors.
Ordinary rubber cement ( brown bottle) is all you need to glue the felt to the wood frames and the inside of the metal trim ring. I applied rubber cement to both surfaces when I could..let it dry a little.. and pressed it in place.
rubber cement will eat plastics, and mar cloth and leather... so cover your good stuff before getting out the glue pot, Always
put the top back on religously between every use of the brush applicator.
A spilled glue pot is classic, but not they way you think.
I went to TAP Plastics to buy Plexiglass for the window. measure the thickness of your old window.. and get the same stuff.
I was tempted to buy Lexan.. but don't - it scratches more easily than plexiglass.
Tap cut the plastic to size..using the old window as a template. couple of extra bucks well spent. Don't go any wider !
Binding is the curse of these sliding windows. Avoid it. An 1/8 inch under won't hurt.. a 1/16th over.. will !
Try to use ( re-use) identical hardware to attach the metal strip and handles to the top of window.
Use the old window to mark the new window for drilling.
Drill the plastic holes slightly oversize to prevent star cracks around the hardware when it is tightened or changes dimension with temp changes. Don't over tighten ( same reasons). Finger tight is about good enough.
N.B The metal strips at the top actually fits snugly between the frame/outer fabric, and the inside frame. Even #4 elastic stop nuts will bind and can damage the fabric ( not enough clearance) .
The screws that sandwich the two pieces of metal should thread into tapped metal. If not.. you will need exceptionally thin hex nuts, with no screw end protruding. See to it, file in hand.
Get a very bright flash lite ( I use a Cree LED flashlight -Tech Lite Lumen Master sold in 3 packs on line) to examine the slots in the window frame. I didn't use lubricaton , but it might be useful to try some silcone grease on the edges of the window where it slides into the slots. I never use any petroleum grease or oil on wood.
Chances are you will insert and remove your new window several times, getting it to slide " smoothly". It takes 2 hands to get mine up, and I'm guessing that's "normal". Could be wrong. Don't accept jamming or impossibly tight fits.
Know that the metal frame guides and holds the window in it's curved travel. As such, it is an important part of making the whole thing operate correctly.
Like I said, it takes 2 hands to raise the window squarely and all the way.. and you just about have to be sitting in the pilots seat to do it.
It's not ergonomically wondrous but- like the flap lever - you get used to it.
After you renew the felt that needs it..you will find that a certain amont of "finesse" is required in tightening
the window frame screws. Too tight.. and you have a fixed window !. The object is to have the window be operable,
and also a clear window not opaque like a shower curtain. There seem to be no wind or water leaks around my pilot window, even when hit with a rinse hose.
I dont think I spent more than $ 15 or $20 to make my window... and only a few hours at the work bench and shoping for the
plastic and felt. Quite a bit of time went into getting the new felt in place. It takes levers and such to get the felt installed inside the window frame on the horizontal stringer. You need to work quickly to smooth the felt on the stringer..
where it is hardest to work. Use anything you've got that fits in the slot . We wont tell.
Larry Rau
