Here we have the Oxygenator in its ‘case mold’ and guess who spent a full day trying to get it out? Part of my agenda was not to damage the hardware which certainly slowed the process as I nibbled away at the edges trying to see where it was stuck.

In the end I cut a great section out as you see below. That got it done…

Of course the next day I had to repair the cutout. This was a lot of extra glass and work.

Another day to cure and here we have what I wanted two days before, a perfect fit holder for the O2 system.

The next problem was after making that cutout I could see how it was going to fit. Not so good. It was taking up a lot of passenger space. Yes maybe you will come flying with me and you would not be happy.

Eureka! Now I’d made that huge cut in the seat I realised a new position for the Oxygen. It could go on the rear seat forward cover because I could access the Oxygen unit controls from the front now…due to the giant hole.

It did need a lot of trimming and shaping of the seat back corner for a good fit. I did a bit of hangar flying and it was easy to turn around for those controls. I’d call this a win.

You might notice in the above picture after a couple of hours after grinding and fitting the unit so it was sitting right against the seat back.

The next issue was how am I going to secure it, and have it removable? I decided on making a sort of fairing at the front which will get a camloc later. It may look a mess now but imagine all cleaned up, it’s really going to lock the unit in place.

The other place it will lock is on to the side cover, again with just one camloc. Oh and it turns out I’ve lost part of the camloc install tool so that was ordered today from the USA. I can still go ahead with things until it arrives.

After a cure and  trim I still have to sort out where the voltage step-down brick is going, like you get on laptop computers. This goes to the 12volt adapter. If I hard wire it I have one less plug but gain a pound in weight forever in the plane. Another issue is that I think this Oxygen unit will interfere with the rear stick movement so I’ll need to ensure that it is removed when the O2 is in place.

I am MUCH happier with this install position. The big hole I cut might get a leather bag with a zip later for general storage including the cannula. I’ll make it strong for now and work out what goes there later. I am thinking I might be leaving the Oxygen in the plane most of the time. I’ll look at the rear stick and perhaps a short one will not cause interference. We will see.