Some of the more difficult areas to work with are in the foot wells where stripping is time-consuming, application of new tape is difficult and the cutting and fitting of new insulation will probably cause practicing Catholics to make an extra trip or two to the confession booth. One rapidly learns that the multitude of rivits and bolt heads that extend from almost every surface are guaranteed to abrade flesh on an almost constant basis. Refitting of the interior panels was quite straight-forward, particularly since we had marked the installation holes along the fuselage sides and already obtained slightly longer upholstery screws to make up for the added thickness of the insulation. The possibily of drilling through the side of the plane is an ever-present danger. In fact, the use of a drill anywhere on the plane should only be contemplated after studying the possibility of damaging wires, vacuum lines or aluminum skin.
Drills pass through aluminum very quickly and can cause expensive problems.
Fitting of the Royalite in 29Q was quite simple. Only one or two places required trimming the panels despite the added thickness of the new insulation. We did discover that reinstallation of the front seats was somewhat hampered by the addition of insulation under the carpeting. There's no interference with seat movement but placement on the rails required some additional effort. Also, in the older Mooney's with Johnson bar gear, one should be sure not to add insulation on the portion of the floor where the bar clips into place with gear retracted.