Today Dad removed the original 4 governor studs and replaced with longer versions from Lycoming. The original studs didn’t have sufficient length for the two washers that are called out in the manual.
A stud removal tool, some copper paste, and a couple of nuts were needed to remove the old studs and install the new ones. Carefully measuring the depth of the original studs helped ensure the right placement of the new ones.
With the studs in, I reinstalled the governor and final torqued the nuts.
Today I installed the FlyLED controller board and the light dimmer circuit board. These both went of the forward side of the sub panel. The mounting hardware protrudes through the sub panel, behind the vpower unit.
I uninstalled the shelf that holds the vpower box and transponder, to allow access to drill the mounting holes for both boards.
Dad made a template to mark the holes, and then we drilled them to the correct size. The plastic standoff pins for the FlyLED board worked nicely, the only tricky part was mounting the board, which I did by feel, since there’s no easy access.
After installing the boards, the 4 standoff pins are visible between the piano hinges, while in the background the two #8 screws holding the dimmer board are visible.FlyLED board installed on the plastic standoff pins#8 screws hold the dimmer board onto the sub panel
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.
ELT bracket. Note the buzzer mount on the right and ground point on the left.ELT mounted and wiring zip tied
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).
Powering up the panel. This was before I configured the VPX page to disable lighting circuits etc. at this point the avionics master is “off”, which is why the G750 screen is blankWith avionics on
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.
ELT and mounting try in background ELT mounting tray. #8 hardware will secure this to the airframeELT buzzer mounting trayPanel ground connection
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.
Ground plateGround pig-tail that will be bolted to the ground plateFlyLED controller board
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.
Bolt torqued, but not yet torque sealedSecond bolt torqued and waiting torque sealSeat ramps installedPilot side seat ramp showing the alignment issue
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.
The AN5 holes for the mountTest fitting the fittingThe fitting after priming and riveting the two pieces together. AN3 bolts with self locking nuts hold the two cushion clamps in positionFinal installPitot lines routed. In-line push-to-connect connectors ready to receive the lines when the wings are mountedThe lines have enough clearance, for now. Out of caution, I installed spiral wrap to protect the linesSpiral wrap installed. P = Pitot line, A = AOA lineOn the right hand side, the epoxied zip-tie tie down ready to guide the nav antenna over this absticle
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.
Switch panel installedBack of the switch panelIt’s alive!Passenger sideIn the center of the image, the MFD cable is routed between the two connectors on the right. If I could route the cable towards to camera (outboard), I could fix the issueThe panel, just missing the G750 and autopilot panel
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.
Shavings visible for enlarging the top hole. The angle of the camera makes it look like these holes are closely spaced, but there’s over an inch edge distance.After using the step drill to enlarge one of the tooling holes. I actually drilled a new hole to offset the center of the enlarged hole, ensuring enough clearance
