Author Archives: Michael

More Wiring

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Time: 4 Hours

I worked on several wiring tasks today. The first was to wire the USB charging port that I cut into place in the passenger side wall support. It was a lot easier to screw into place back when all the parts were laying on my work bench.  

 I decided to run the wires up and aft to the baggage area then down and back forward under all the arm rests.  

   Next up was to cut the pilot grip wires and add a Molex connector. This will allow the stick to be wired and be removable if needed. This was my first attempt at open barreled crimping that Molex uses.  
 I measured where I wanted to cut the wires and stripped the protective sleeve.  

 I cut and stripped the first wire to put the first pin on. The open barrel pins have two crimps, one to crimp the bare wire and the second to crimp the insulation.  

    
 Once the pin is done you slide it into the numbered hole in the connector itself. I needed 14 pins for this grip and used a 15 pin connector. I made a list of what colors when to what pin so that I can match the opposite side of the connector.  

 I had slipped a piece of heat shrink on before I inserted the pins to tie the wires and protective sleeve together whe done. I then moved on to running the auto pilot servo wires, since I needed one of the wires from the servo for the stick grip.  

   There are two pair of twisted wires that get connected to the Sky View network, a power, a ground and a auto pilot disconect wire. I stopped at this point for the day, 4 hours of actual work and 4 hours of scratching my head thinking things through before I cut wires! 

Battery Cover

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Time: 4 Hours

Since I decided to put the battery in the lower section of the forward baggage section I need to make a cover for this area. Normally this area, to the right of the pilots right leg is open for bags and such. I took advantage of this area to place my battery, battery contractor and grounding block. This allows for short wire runs between these items and makes for a clean firewall on the engine side. But with these items in place and open at the top any baggage or items in the forward Baghdad could fall down there. So I need a cover and I fabricated it out of some extra wing skin sheet I had. I transferred all the measurements to the sheet trying to utilize the rivet holes already punched in the skin.  

   It took several tries to get the fit just right as the perimeter isn’t square and there are several notches needed. Once I had the fit just right I laid out three angles to give it some support and match drilled them to the skin. 
 I also drilled up through the Cam-Loc holes for the inboard edge and drilled new Cam-Loc holes in the outboard edge down through the support angle on the right side forward skin. I did not rivet this angle a awile ago just for this reason. That way I could remove the angle to rivet the receptacles to it.  

   There are two rivet holes in the skin that over lapped the inboard floor that I needed to fill so I mixed up some super-fill and added it to them and will sand them flush after they dry.   

 Since I had a little time left before I needed to head out for our New Years Eve plans I took care of a couple other tasks. First was to install my new Odessey PC-680 battery and I cut and installed the smoke system pump ground on the grounding block.  

 I bought the battery so that I could test some the functions, the ones I can without the Vertical Power VP-X, and I will plan on replacing it when I’m ready to fly. The other task I got finished was to install the vertical stabilizer. The bolts are pretty hard to get to now that the other parts are in place and the tool I made a long time ago to hold AN-3 bolts really helped.  

          So that’s where I stopped in 2015, I think 2016 will be an even better year with lots to look forward too. Happy New Years Eve!!
  
 

Rear Throttle Finished

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Time: 2 Hours

I received the extra parts from Aircraft Spruce yesterday and started right in with finishing up the linkage between the two throttle arms. I took my time making the measurements for the final cut of the tube as I didn’t want to redo that peice. Once I was happy with the length, knowing that I had a little wiggle room with the threaded ends of the clevis connectors, I marked and made the cut. I then tapped the aft end of the tube and inserted the new clevis and jam nut. It was a little bit of trial and error on getting the perfect length and I had to shorten the tube by about 1/8″. I fine tuned the final length by adjusting the clevis ends either in or out. The goal was to have the throttle movements equal but giving the full movement to the pilots throttle. I finally got it and tightened the jam nuts for now. Next I needed to enlarge the hole that it passed through by the rear throttle where it was rubbing as the throttle was moved forward and aft. Overall it looks really good and has perfect movement.  

   
 

Rear Throttle Linkage

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Time: 3 Hours

I put in an after market throttle for the rear seat as well as the main controls from DJM Mnaufacturing. Now I need to connect the rear throttle arm to the forward throttle arm. Since I moved the forward controls aft and inboard of the original plans this connection will be all custom work. I’m planning on using the 5/16″ tube that Vans supplies with the rear throttle kit. I tapped the end for a 1/4″ clevis connection and put it in place with a jam nut.   

   My plan is to use a clevis connection on both ends to allow easy connection and removal. To start the process for the throttle arms I removed boy throttle housing and drilled a 3/16″ hole in each to attach the clevis. I measured up 1-5/8″ from the pivot point on each and 5/16″ from the edge. The throttles are pretty close to level with each other so I’m figuring that the throw will be the same. 

 I attached the forward end of the push tube to the forward throttle. I had to hold it up to the rear throttle area to figure out where the hole I needed to drill for the rod to pass through. After I had the hole drilled I made some measurements on the bend I would need to make in the push rod to accommodate the difference between the two throttle arms. I then took those measurements and bent the tube with my tubing bender. With the bends pretty close I attached the front end to the forward throttle. With the bends in I was able to measure the length of the pushrod at the aft end making sure to leave a little extra just in case.  

    
   I will get the rear clevis and pin from Aircraft Spruce tomorrow and be able to make the rear final cut on the push rod. I added a Blackhawks banner to the shop that my girl got me for Christmas.  
 

Rudder Pedal Work

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Time: 2 Hours

I primed and painted the rudder cable supports for the rear passenger pedal.  These supports tie the forward writer cables that go from the rudder pedals to the supports and the writer cables that go to the aft end of the fuselage. I also sized and cut the cable attach bars that go from the forward cables to the actual rudder pedal sides.  

   These get cut to length based on where you place the rudder pedals in the four choices you have. In my case I am one notch from the most forward location which meant I would need three holes left in the attach plates.  
    
 You may notice that on the right side rudderpedal the bolt is going from outboard to inboard. This is not normal to prevent you catching yourself on the edge of the bolt and nut. However I had to do it this way otherwise the bolt and nut would rub on the side panel. I used a shorter bolts through the support bar where the two cables come together as I’m not putting the rear seat rudder pedals in place at this time. If I was this boat would be longer as it would go through a rod end as well.  

 I’m always surprised how much time it takes for small tasks, but trying to work in those tight spaces with small cotter pins is tough.