With all the hardware in hand, I went ahead and installed the ELT.
Important to-do: register the ELT and do a self-test. Since I don’t have a registration number yet, I don’t think I can register the ELT, but I need to research. Testing is also something I need to research, as setting off a 406MHz ELT is not the same as the old 121.5 style which you can test in the first 5 minutes of every hour.
Tonight I finished a few small tasks and powered up the panel for the first time. No smoke or popping sounds, and everything worked exactly as expected. This felt like a significant milestone in the airplane’s life.
The prep tasks included plugging in the few remaining items (CO detector, battery, OAT), and double-checking all the wiring. I had developed a checklist to follow to ensure I didn’t miss anything critical. Then it was time to power up the ground power module, and hit the Battery switch. Note, the panel doesn’t have a Master switch, as the alternator is switched independently. (Typically the Battery plus Alternator switches make up the Master switch.)
The “thunk” of the battery contactor closing, and subsequent coming-to-life of screens and switches was awesome. Plugging in my headset and hearing the crisp and clear audio intercom and radio transmissions of aircraft was exciting and rewarding. Mostly I felt relieved that everything worked as expected, so I can move forward with tidying up the wiring and checking the various subsystems (lighting, engine monitoring, autopilot etc).
Tonight I got started on the ELT mount. I’m going with the 406MHz unit from Artex, and mounting in the regular location. The unit ships with a mount plate that fits the hole pattern on the aft deck. The only thing I need to do is wire up the harness, mount the buzzer (an audio alarm that sounds when it activates), and it’s good to go.
I made a mount bracket for the buzzer, and ordered some #8 screws and associated washers and nuts to mount the ELT tray.
I also installed the panel ground pigtail using an AN5 bolt.
Tonight I made and installed a ground point for the instrument panel ground leads, and wired up the FlyLED “The Works” controller board.
The ground point is on the sub structure between the firewall and the instrument panel. Since the rib in that area is thin, I installed a plate on each side of the rib, secured with rivets in each corner. Before installing I removed the primer from both sides of the rib. Tomorrow I should be getting a bolt in the mail which will fit nicely here, securing the ground wires. This was the first time I needed to go on my back, up under the panel. It sucked. I removed the passenger side stick and used a cushion, but it was still very cramped and uncomfortable.
With that job done, I wired up the FlyLED controller board. I’ll need to mount this behind the panel somewhere, so I’ll be doing more crawling under the panel to install I’m sure.
Tonight I torqued up 4 bolts that had been installed as part of the quick build but not torqued. This had been on the to-do list for a while, but I decided to do it now so I could install the seat ramps.
Bigger picture, I’m gearing up for a first power-up of the instrument panel. For the next few tasks I’ll be in and out of the cockpit, so I want the seat ramps installed to reduce risk of bending or dinging any of the internal structure.
Once the bolts were torqued I installed the seat ramps. There’s a slight alignment issue with one of the screw holes near the seatbelt, so I’ll have to look at that at some point. These ramps will be coming out again at least a few more times, to install the seatbelts, to connect wing systems, and to troubleshoot problems.
Tonight I made a fitting to hold two cushion clamps, which will support the pitot and AOA pneumatic lines as they enter the fuselage from the wing.
I also made a corresponding fitting to help guide the Nav antenna on the right side of the fuselage.
I considered installing a bulkhead fitting for the pitot and AOA lines, and eventually decided against that option. I needed some way to prevent the lines chaffing on the aft gear brace assembly, and since the tail dragged doesn’t use part U-01402, I used the two AN5 holes to mount a fitting with two cushion clamps.
I made one of these for each side, the left side for pitot lines and the right side for the Nav antenna.
For the Nav antenna fitting, I epoxied a plastic zip tie holder to the aluminum fitting.
Tonight I installed most of the panel components in an effort to test-fit everything. I wanted to ensure I identified any interference issues, and verified I had enough length on the various cable runs.
I started by installing a bulkhead attach for the Nav antenna in the right wing. To make this as strong as possible I installed a bulkhead fitting under the passenger seat, where there will be no sheer loading on the fitting or the rib. The fitting from the wing will be too wide to pass through the outer rib without taking the snap bushing out, so I cut a slot in the snap bushing to allow it to be removed, the cable and fitting installed, and then the snap bushing can be opened up to go over the cable, and be reinserted in the hole.
Next I started installing components. I started with the switch panel, which required some adjusting around other panel screws, but eventually fit perfectly into position. I installed the flap switch handle and plugged in the connector from the ignition switches.
Then I installed three PFD, no problems. Then the G5, which again went in without difficulty. Everything looks good on the pilot side. I took the opportunity to power up the G5, since it has a standalone battery. It was cool to see the airplane “come alive” for a couple of minutes.
Switching to the passenger side I installed the MFD, and noticed a problem. The d-sub connector on the back of the MFD is very close to the connector on the back of the engine monitoring box. There clearance will be ok if I can find a way to route the MFD connector cable around the outboard side of the various equipment boxes. There’s just not enough length on the connector to do that right now. It’s possible once the wiring harness is in its final location that I can do just that.
Tonight I started on the task of running pitot static lines from the wing attach point to the panel. There are two lines that run in from the wing, a pitot line and an AOA line. They will t-off behind the panel with one line going into the back of the AHARS, which is mounted to the back of the PFD, and the other lines running to the G5 backup instrument.
This ribs already have one set of holes running through the seat ribs that is just the right soze for one line. There are other holes too, the outboard ribs have two additional holes for installing gear leg bolts for tri-gear models. The inboard ribs have tooling holes. I enlarged one of three tooling holes on each of three two ribs under the pilot seat, and installed snap bushings. Conveniently, the spar already has two holes I can use to run these lines forward of the spar and into the center tunnel.
I’m planning to install quick connect fittings somewhere under the pilot seat, probably on one of the inboard ribs. I ordered a few fittings from Stein Air and will tackle that when they arrive.
The last step of attaching the gear legs is to install and torque 4 bolts on each side of the fuselage. With the tail wheel model, there’s not much going on in this area, because the gear legs are forward of the firewall, but for the tricycle model this is where the gear legs attach. Anyway, I had this in the to-do list, and tonight I installed and torqued up the 8 bolts, 4 on each side.
Tonight I routed three GPS & XM antenna cables, and the NAV antenna cable through the fuselage, installed, tested, and connected the BNC and TNC fittings.
I started with the GA-35 antenna cable which connects to the back of the G750. I also installed snap bushings in the tunnel where I plan to run these cables and the pitot static lines. To avoid interference, I am routing the GPS cables on one side of the tunnel, and the ADSB, NAV, and COM antenna cables on the other side. This should help minimize interference with the GPS and satellite signals.
Next I ran the two cables connecting the GDL-51 antenna. One connection goes to the satellite receiver, and the other to the back of the G3X display unit.
Then I ran a length of cable for the NAV antenna from the back of the G750, down the tunnel, under the passenger seat, and near the edge of three fuselage. I plan to install a bulkhead BNC connector on the outermost rib, which will (hopefully) make for an easy connection after the wings go on.
