Modifications had to be made to the rear seat rudder
pedals. They are very soft and will bend easily. It
could be that the plane could be flown from the rear
seat as it comes, but I wouldn't want to try it.

I used extra pieces of aluminum screwed to the bottom
of the pedals to strengthen them, but it might be less
work to fabricate something from heavier material to
start with.

Big red light is an over-temperature light. A small
tachometer and one hand altimeter is fitted as well as
airspeed.
The air speed indicator was giving different readings
than the front seat. I found the front seat to be fairly
accurate, but the rear seat was very slow. I always fly
with no doors, but the air comes in and swirls around
in the back and makes pressure on the ASI.
The cure was to put a static port tube on the bottom of
the plane right under the rear seat ASI. This tube
sticks down about 2 inches to stay clear of the landing
gear and the tube faces to the rear. Now they read the
same.
Drain holes and inspection plates were added
everywhere, just in case someone gets air sick and I
need to hose it out. Hasn't happened yet.
ASAP sells a very nice trim kit for the interior, but I made my own from a very light outdoor carpet runner.

  • Fuel system is rigged so I draw fuel only from the "in-wing" tanks which are coupled together as one. ( 16 gal.)
The football shaped strut tanks are hooked to a overhead diverter valve and electric fuel pump mounted under the front seat. Fuel is drawn from the strut tank selected, and
"refuels" the in-wing tank.. I feel this is much safer, as the engine always draws from the same source, and if the strut tank goes dry, it harms nothing. An indicator light on the front
panel reminds me I am transferring fuel. The photos below were taken during construction. Push-to-talk switch wire not plugged into radio yet.
This photo shows the battery box, throttle handle, choke, and differential brake lever.
The seats are made of very thin fiberglass. They are
very nicely covered and are very comfortable. The
thin material makes for frequent cracking. My front
seat has undergone repairs to the fiberglass 4 times
over 8 years. I have laid on more layers of fiberglass
to make them stronger.
If I had it to do over I would order my kit without a
front seat and see if I could not find a more durable
and possibly wider seat.

The Chinook has been very strong and held up well
over time. My changes here are my own and were
done to suit me, and I do not endorse any of these
changes for others. They were done to fix what I
thought were problem or improvements that could
be made. You may think differently. Use your own
good judgement.
I put this site up because I had difficulty finding
reliable information before I bought my kit.
I wished I was able to read what problems other
had before I started my construction. It sure would
have saved me some time and effort. It was difficult
to find someone that actually built and flew a
Chinook. It seems many build them, then quickly sell
when they find out they have a very impractical
airplane.
Questions?  jbmindustries@att.net
Modifications to Chinook Rear & Front seat.