Panel and canopy

Long time no update... kinda slowed down a bit in 2009, hoping to pick up the pace a bit in 2010. Here is a pic of the panel, minus a few instruments. I've just today ordered a few new items, should have a new, even more exciting picture in a week or so.

The canopy sucked away my motivation. Hard to believe I started it 14 months ago.... I finally got to this point before the weather slowed things down again. I had help riveting on the aft top skin (Thanks Duane!) after I finished all of the aft fuselage items. The canopy is drilled to the frame, the windscreen is roughcut and just resting along the roll-bar in this picture. It still needs some more trimming to get it to fit well. I'm working on mounting the elevators and rudder at this time. I'll get pics of that up when I finish.

Holey Panel, Batman

I've nearly finished cutting all the panel holes. I'm proud to say I did it myself and there are only a few slight cosmetic errors. The only one that I think will annoy me is on the map box lower edge- I'm going to try some epoxy filler- hopefully it won't be noticable after painting. 

Only one hole left to do- the big area near the middle is for the AIM-1 engine, which is now back with the manufacturer getting reprogrammed. I'll cut that hole once it gets back here, hopefully in about 2 weeks. Note the dark blue- that is layout dye I used for more precise marking (better than a Sharpie). I used a tool called the ARC-360 to cut all the square holes and all the large (>1.25" dia) round holes. It is a pneumatic angle grinder with a small 1/8" end mill, mounted to a bar with an adjustable post. The post goes through a centering hole and the distance from the post to the end mill determines the hole radius(I should have taken a picture and saved myself some typing). I modified it to make straight cuts by using a peice of angle as a straight edge and replacing the post with a square block. I was then able to push the tool up against the clamped-down angle and make reasonable rectangular cut-outs.

I also riveted in the ELT mount- I bought an Ameri-King AK-451 406MHz ELT that came with all the bits needed for a complete mounting, including the gold anodized bracket seen below. The panel it's screwed onto was a kit from Vans that fit perfectly between the stringers on the right side, just aft of the baggage area.

Drilled and mounted ELT antenna. A lot of people mount it under the fiberglass tail fairing. I opted to put it out in the breeze, on the top fuselage, just aft of where the canopy will stop when fully opened.

Another hole in my airplane! This one is the outside air temperature sensor. I put it on the side of the fuselage, under the horiz. stabilizer. It wires into the Dynon remote compass module, which is also mounted in the tail. 

Coming next- with the ELT located, I can complete the aft fuselage wiring, then rivet the aft fuselage skin in place. Then I can get back to the canopy (it's really warm now!) 

Also, when the panel holes are all done, I can paint it, then start mounting and wiring instruments. This can (and will!) be done in air-conditioned comfort inside the house - a good project for summer...

Tail Mounted

I mounted the vertical stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer in the last week. I had to drill several holes for the many bolts that are used to attach them to the fuselage. I used reamers for this job, to get nice tight tolerances on the bolt holes. It looks kinda cool, with these parts mounted. Unfortunately, I don't have the space to leave them on, so they had to come right off again and go back on the wall.... Later, after the canopy is done, I will break down that large wooden box in the background and there will be lots more room to work- then I will remount the tail parts, and attach and rig  the elevators and rudder.

I also drilled and reamed the engine mount holes and started work on the panel, drilling holes. The 3 1/8" instrument hoels didn't turn out that great, may have to rethink that step...

Plan for the near future- rivet aft top skin, then get going on the canopy again. It's warm enough now I don't have to worry about the plexiglass cracking.

Instrument Panel Design

Here is my almost-final instrument panel design. I've already purchased most of the items shown, with the notable exception of the Dynon D10A EFIS. There is a modified 6-pack on the left, where the directional gyro has been replaced with the EFIS. This was done to satisfy several of my "needs" in a cost effective way. I wanted a 2-axis autopilot, a CDI for the NAV radio, and some kind of stall warning. The Dynon with the HS34 *should* work with the analog Collins NAV, to provide a very nice digital HSI. The Dynon also provides the autopilot function, with the purchase of the servos. Also, with the special pitot tube, the Dynon give an angle-of-attack indication, a step-up from just a stall warning.

The engine istrumentation is an I-K technologies AIM-1, it will monitor all 4 CHTs and all 4 EGTs as well as oil temp, pressure, and fuel pressure. I don't plan on using the fuel flow option. It also measures MAP. I plan on using a MGL digital tachometer and an MGL digital volt/amp meter. The fuel gauges will most likely be the analog display units from Vans. 

My handheld GPS will attach to a RAM mount on the right side of the cockpit, not attached to the panel. This will make it much easier to upgrade in the future. I can still use the GPS serial output for the HSI and the ELT.

A few funkier things, not shown, I am going to use NASA space shuttle -style switch guards on the master and ignition toggles. Also from Perihelion Designs, a nice red/white LED gooseneck lamp is mounted to the pilot side and can be directed at the panel or charts at night. Also, I have a "START ENGINE" pushbutton from a Honda S2000. 

Electrical Design

I've spent alot of time recently planning the electrical system and instrument panel layout. This post is mainly about the electrical system. The almost final design is shown here - don't bother with this bitmap- click this link for the pdf of schematic,  (on fileQube page, just look for small "download file" link near the bottom).

The design is based on Bob Nuckolls Aeroelectric schematic Z-11. I really like the E-bus, the alternator loadmeter, and the simpler started control, so I've used those ideas. I've already bought most all of the components shown, as well as wire, crimp terminals, etc.

I've also put some effort into planning the wire and cable routing.

The biggest problem on RVs is routing cable from the panel/forward area through the spar carry-through tot the wings and aft fuse. I have one conduit through the center to route to the aft fuselage. The wings might be tricky since there is only one hole on each side. I'm routing the Dynon remote compass cable along the upper longeron to the fron, to keep it away from the strobe lines and the transponder coax. Also, the strobe lines to the wings have been routed along the outside, under the seats, to keep them away from sensitive lines.

- see the pdf of routing diagram.

Brakes, Wiring started

Lots of smaller tasks have been completed- I installed the brake lines and fuel lines inside the fuselage, plumbed the static line, and drilled and mounted the cabin heat valve to firewall. Also installed the crotch strap mounts. I decided to go with 5 point belts, and bought a pair of harnesses from Crow Enterprises in CA. I'll include those in a pic someday. 

I also installed the smaller,shorter (of the two) elevator  pushrod (after making a new one- long story). Just last Fri. I had help and rivetted the strobe box support, and two antenna doubler onto the fuselage bottom. My plan is to finish up the interior aft area, so I can rivet on the remaining aft top skin. Once that skin is on, access to the region will be much more difficult so I want to minimize what I have to do there. One snag is the ELT (emergency locator transmitter) that will likely mount aft. I've been waiting for a newer, less expensive 406MHz model to hit the market, the ACK E-04. I may just go ahead and rivet the skin on, and resign myself to installing the ELT later. The aft wiring has begun, it looks really bad here, but it's a work in progress. 

The picture makes it look pretty dirty back there- most of that is overspray from the fuselage interior painting. I definitely need to clean that up before rivetting on the skin.

 

Forward Fuse

I went ahead and finished up some of the front fuselage items. I put the rudder pedals, and finished up the fuel line to the firewall. Then I riveted the upper structure you see here. The upper skin will be one of the last things that go on, since with it off, access to the subpanel and firewall aft side is much, much easier. And there's still all the electrical and other instrument panel-related stuff to finish. I also removed the aft top fuse skin (was just clecoed) and put in the static line, and fabbed and installed a bracket for the strobe supply. I bought some items including the strobe & position lights, and the Steinair aluminum vents. I didn't think I would be doing that, but when I took the Van's supplied vents out of the bag and looked at them, I just could not see those things in my panel.

I've spent alot of time lately searching for tools. It's frustrating to log an hour on the plane and know that I spent 20 min. of that look for tools. Mostly it's my own fault, in that the work area is unkempt, but I've also run out of places to put things.... So, I'm doing my best to help China's economy...


BTW, almost all the airplane parts and tools I buy are made in the USA...

Firewall and other things

With the canopy set aside, I got started on some of the firewall items that are easier to do now before the engine mount is in place. Here you can see the black battery box (w/o battery for now), and below that, the master relay and the starter relay. Just to the right of the relay is doubler that will soon have the fuel bulkhead fitting. I want to finish the cockpit fuel lines so I can go ahead and bolt in the rudder pedals and rivet up the forward fuselage stucture (except the skin). You can also see the brake fluid reservoir (upper left) and the manifold for oil temp and pressure and fuel pressure sensors (just clecoed on for now in upper right)
I also riveted in the baggage floors and the seat floors. They are pop riveted in place since there is no access for a bucking bar.

I also fabbed up all the aileron and elevator pushrods. Here are the two large aileron pushrods and the large elevator pushrod. The large aileron pushrods go from the control column to the aileron bellcranks in the wings. There are also two much smaller pushrods that go from the bellcrank to the ailerons. Likewise, the elevator uses a smaller pushrod from the control column to a bellcrank just aft of the baggage area, then the large pushrod goes from the bellcrank to the elevator itself. In the photo above the tunnel for the smaller elevator pushrod is visible between the floor skins.

canopy progress

There was progress on the canopy before winter took hold here. I made the big cut, separating the plexiglass bubble into the fixed windscreen and the sliding part you see here. I stopped working on it in Nov, it is cooler and it's best to work on the plexiglass when it is warm. It's more pliable and less likely to crack. The next step in the spring is drilling the plexiglass to the sliding frame.