Saturday, December 1, 2012

12-1-12

Well it bugs me every time I see it so the first thing I started doing today was bundling and trying to route and organize the mass of wiring my simple little vfr craft has accumulated in the past few weeks. To the right is a picture of how I left it last week and below is a picture how how it looked when I gave in again this time. Its a small improvement but an improvement none-the-less.
I thought about adding some annotations to the photo above but it seems pretty clear and it its not...
The red box is the Vp-x sport unit, directly to the left of that is the EMS module, to the rear of that is the grounding block and to the rear of that is the transponder and ontop the transponder mounting bracket is the backup Battery for the Efis. If you haven't been following along and wonder why everything is mounted upside down it is because I'm not sure that I will have overhead access to this area if I end up installing a slider canopy instead of the traditional tip-over.




I tried to fit a 10' Dynon and could have made it work but I guess ill save that as an upgrade to do sometime on down the line after she is flying. that 7" would work well for the GIB when I do.
On the right side sub-panel I have installed  a new FL 760 from Fliteline which I picked up from the VAF classifieds for less than new. Below that is the GT-50 G-meter/clock and to the right of the G-meter is a 12v outlet. To the immediate left of the Radio is a PS 1000II intercom that will double as my audio panel for now. I have pushed the SV7 over to allow for a 6 or 796 to have room to be installed in a gizo mount if desired. For now I think Ill just add a solid mount ram mount and use it to see if it works or is too close. I think I may prefer the Ram mount method as to allow easy changing of the viewing angle to alleviate glare in the bubble canopy.

Last thing I have cut into the panel are the switch housing for the Aveo Rockrack switches Im planning on putting in that location. Im looking to have a simple cockpit so on top will be a Battery Master and an Avionics Master. Below that will be the left and right mags. I like this location for the mags as I can reach them without even removing my had from the throttle during run-up. I have decided to to add the complexity of an Alternator switch as the only benefit I can see is being able to turn off that load while playing with the efis on the ground. In the rare occasion that I need this feature I will still be able to shut that circuit down through the Efis and VP-x on screen switching.

No key, the starter button is on the stick and is protected from accidental engagement by the VP-x



With the length of the over-sized down the length of the stick again to allow clearance for the Infinity grip and my hand. Once that was completed we re-installed the grip and the stick and I wired up the buttons. i would have like to have used an connector but I like being able to access all the terminals for troubleshooting too. Maybe ill convert to connectors of some kind after its all been flight tested and I'm looking for something to do. The fuel lines have mostly all been made and are all ready to be remade due to the fiasco last week with the fluting tool. Still to do is to add a nice ground to my grounding block terminal board and to ground the pump locally as well.


Just another close-up view of the right hand sub-panel with the radio and g-meter.


A very nice addition by dad is the hinged front center section lid just in front of the stick, A simple latch and Ill have another great place to store goodies forward of the CG. Dad also mounted the throttle to its bracket and I drilled out the holes for mounting the bracket after sitting in the seat, figuring the best height and location.     ..and making engine noises, yes. I am planning to create and install a different throttle handle that will house the Flap switch. Ive started messing with an ar-15 grip and a slim line rocker switch but its going to need some more refinement and will probably end up looking like some Mad Max hack job rather that some professional manufactured dew-hickey.


These photos were taken for the F1boss on the VAF forums. He said that he may be able to help out with my Slider change and asked me to take a few measurements. I'm sure he knows more that me and asked to see what a WB about four inches forward of the carry-through spar would look and feel like. Well here are some pictures of my makeshift WB in that location. Seems way too far aft for me. If that is where it HAS to be Ill make it a flopper.




Now one of these locations in the pictures to the right and below, even with the panel of just aft of it, seems like the right spot ergonomically and visually.






We had a nice surprise when we got back to Lakeland this weekend. Jay had prepped and painted both wings. ther are a few bad spots but its better than i could have done and he thinks we can sand and buff some of the orange peeling out. Regardless it is a huge improvement.








The end of another weekend but I think the end of this rebuild is coming into view finally after more thatn 2 years of weekends devoted to it. I was hoping that the end of the year would be it but I think its looking like Febrary before we are even close to flight testing. Dads trusty 172 waits patiently for us to finish paying all that attention to the -4 and focus our attention on her and the trip home again.

Before leaving we disassembled the tail and set all the feathers and stabilizers out to be prepped and painted during the week. We will see next weekend how they turned out.