Description

Our unique laminated plywood turtledeck kit takes advantage of our vacuum-forming expertise to produce a high-quality, strong, lightweight, and dent-resistant turtledeck structure. Unlike lightweight aluminum sheet structures, laminated plywood resists denting. Even if it does get damaged, it can be repaired easily and invisibly. The turtledeck is plenty strong enough to support typical NAV/COM or GPS antennas, and the all-wood structure lends itself to mounting hidden internal antennas. The stock kit includes the vacuum-formed plywood shell (two bonded layers of .065 inch birch aircraft plywood), 1/8 in. luggage compartment floor, stringers, and 1/4 in. plywood formers. The forward former includes a cutout hatch and a backing former with a slightly smaller cutout for the hatch to nest into. The builder must incorporate their preferred method for latching the hatch/headrest (this can be as simple as using Velcro, a lightweight hinge and release latch, press-together snap fasteners, or may even be as elaborate as a combination lock). The laminated plywood outer shell is available by itself in a separate listing. Builders who use this kit should omit the standard metal tube turtledeck formers. This kit is ready to assemble. One kit required per aircraft.

NOTE: By modifying the way the laminated shell is formed and/or trimmed, this kit should be adaptable to many other airframes. Feel free to contact us about creating a custom turtledeck kit for your aircraft!