Category Archives: Instrument Panel Controls

This Bird is Squawking

Posted on by

I will document the biggest and most annoying things wrong with the airplane during the test flight here but do not plan on blogging about every repair or modification to the airplane. Mainly because I’d have to become a full time writer.

The flight tests went fairly smoothly and I finished the 40 hour phase 1 in under a month. Most of my issues were builder caused, I must admit. Either a rework or bad soldering, decision making or lack thereof, and a few “that’s good enoughs” that came back to haunt me were to blame.

I tracked these by creating a list in my phone/iPad that I could check off as I corrected the issues. The list kept growing for some time before it started getting checked off. It’s worked really well for me and actually motivates me to complete all the repairs or adjustments to get the check boxes checked. I can also make group entries into the logbook to keep track of the work.

I found that I had a lot of electrical gremlins throughout the first bit of flying. Solder sleeves are amazing little buggers that are notoriously difficult to use correctly. I used sparingly while building, but they still bit me a few times. The problem is you think the solder ring has melted completely but it hasn’t. The connection will be good until it’s subject to some vibration and then all kinds of weird things happen. My oil pressure spiked to 200 PSI, multiple random annunciations based on my discrete inputs, and a few others due to the solder sleeves. And I only have about 10 in the whole plane! I will use them now if I have good access to the connection, but if not, I’ve found using Dsub pins and heat shrink as more reliable.

I had to reposition my EGT probes, as I realized they blocked 5 out of 6 spark plugs. I had a master cylinder bolt leaking just a bit. Lots more clamps and zip ties were installed, mostly firewall forward, to avoid chafing after a few oil changes and seeing where things moved a bit too much. I had to replace the autopilot pitch servo due to a service bulletin, roll servo due to slipage, and had to reinforce the rudder trim tab mount to get it to work effectively. I chose to rewire a few engine switches and add a engine master switch, which I should have done in the first place. That all neccessitated under the panel work, a new switch panel overlay and backlight sheet. The oxygen system leaked above 1200 psi (loose connection), and a few adjustments to the door light switches have been made.

The biggest squawk is a leaking fuel tank. I am getting ahead of myself on the blog, but this was discovered post paint unfortunately. Turns out a little weeping rivet that I discovered prior to paint and thought I had fixed with the Loctite trick wasn’t fixed. In fact, it wasn’t a weeping rivet, but a pinhole in the sealant on the rear baffle. Fortunately, I spent an entire day and was able to use my borescope to provide a view and a coat hanger/tube of pro seal to apply sealant and fix the leak without taking the tank off. Not a fun job.

The engine ECU tweaks were pretty easy, although I’ve gone through four O2 sensors (leaded fuel doesn’t make them last long). I removed the air filters and just installed a mesh screen over the intakes. Speaking of intakes, one was too close to the exhaust header and a hole burned through it so that required a bit of glass work along with better heat insulation and a bit more clearance.

Lots of other tweaks and adjustments were made and most of these delayed discrepancies were taken care of during the first condition inspection performed in November last year. I do have a few more items to check off the list including new door hing covers, some finish rework on the interior windshield pillars, an intake plenum on the air conditioning condensor (more on that later), and adding a second tunnel access plate are all on the list for 2021.

Bottom line, you’re not done building when you’re done building. Flying brings on new stuff that you can’t forecast on the ground so it’s a continuous process to keep it in tip top shape. I also put some of this stuff off, as I wanted to get it flying so its been a challenge to get caught up after flying so much. I am now at a point where the regular maintenance time is decreasing vs the flight time increasing. The check boxes are all most all filled in!

Never ending squawk list

Posted on by

The airworthiness inspection is rapidly approaching and it’s crunch time now. This post is about as fast and deep as all the stuff I had to do.

The awesome guys on based helped me bend my control sticks to provide plenty of clearance to the instrument panel. I still hit the flap switch in the full nose down, right roll position, but if I ever have to use that stick input, I have way more concerns about dying.

I never installed the tips on the stabilizers, so I wiped the decade old dust off of those and riveted them on then laid up some glass to enclose them. Some tweaking with the heat gun was enough to get them adequate clearance and I’ll let Jonathan do the rest of beautifying them during paint.

I crawled in the tail cone. Again. After I said, “Oh, I’m done back there, I won’t need to get back there.” Hell, at this point I can’t even remember why I had to go back there. I’ll flash forward and tell you that still wasn’t the last time. Either way, here’s how I feel about doing that little shit job.

The rest of the interior went in and lights hooked up. These side panels are pretty tricky to slide in without destroying the paint. I’m happy with how they turned out. The stainless screws also look really nice.

I pulled the plane out for a good GPS and comm check. I’ll have another post about the details, but while everything worked, I have some serious interference with the ZipTip lights and my radios. For now, though, no night flying means I’m safe and legal to fly.

The back seats and carpet are all in now. I had to put a lot of velcro down but man, this Aerosport stuff is amazing. The seats are comfortable, the carpet looks great, and I’m really excited about taking folks flying in this plane!

My cover from Bruce’s came in and is freaking sweet. Fits very nicely, has orange, and the tail number embroidered on it makes it so no one can steal it and use it on their plane without me chasing them down.

I put the cowling on for a final fit check and hooked up the new AeroTherm engine heater. I’ve used these on the Diamond we fly and really like it. I didn’t like the idea of cylinder heaters and want to keep the engine heated during the winter to avoid cold starts. I know this isn’t as portable, but I’m happy with it thus far. I did have to get a very thick extension cord so it would keep tripping its internal breaker with my crappy 15 amp service in the hangar.

Finally, I weighed the fat little piggy with all of the pants and random stuff not yet on for good in their approximate place. Folks, with full interior, oxygen, air conditioning, three screens up front, and all the extras my credit rating could buy, I’m pretty happy with her girlish figure. This let me sit down and compute weight and CG figures as well. Everything turned out nicely with an empty CG of 106.4 inches.

Fans of all shapes and sizes

Posted on by

Two jobs still linger before I can rivet the front skin on; defrost fans and bolting in the support bar.  The defrost fans were pretty simple, as I already had the wiring in place and holes cut.  I just needed to drill screw holes and mount them up.  Although a bit tough to get to, they were eventually bolted in and tested out.  I probably could have gone smaller or lower CFM, but go big or go home.  I shouldn’t have any fogging issues!

The support bar was one of those jobs that I have put off due to dread.  Since I molded the overhead switch panel into the cabin top and overhead console, the access to the four screws going through the cabin top is extremely limited.  Added to that is the hunky chunk grip of wires I have running up the bar to the overhead.  My dad was in town for a few weeks so I decided to get his help and tackle the task.  We were able to get the first two screws in pretty easily by sliding the wire harness to the empty side.  I put the nuts on finger tight and then had to mulitlate two sockets to fit up agains the switch panel since it was so close fitting.

The other two screws were a bit more challenging, as I had to slide the wire between the screws now and wrangle the washer and nut around them but beside the switch panel.  As with a few jobs, a lot of cuss words were uttered, a tool might have gotten tossed gently onto the floor, and after a lot of sweating and questioning why I didn’t just buy a Cirrus later, it was completed.  I’m glad I won’t be taking this apart regularly.

All that cussing and sweating just primed me up for the next job, riveting the upper forward fuselage skin onto the structure.  Since dad was here to shoot from the outside, I grabbed my PPE and dove under the panel in one of the most uncomfortable positions I’ve ever been in since I was born.  The rivets went in smoothly and we were able to knock it out together in a few hours, but man it is literally a back breaker.  I had positioned all of the avionics so I could reach the rivets, but it was still tight.

For anyone reading this that hasn’t reached this point or is considering building a 10, PLEASE TAKE THIS AS A PIECE OF WISDOM HANDED DOWN!!!  Do NOT rivet the forward fuse / skin on until AFTER you have all of your avionics and wiring in!

I can’t imagine spending days laying like that running wires, terminating connectors, and trying to bolt crap onto the subpanel.  I kept the structure and skin off as long as possible and was able to simple walk around the avionics bay to complete everything.  It would have taken me twice as long to complete the wiring if I had followed Van’s plans.  I took the opportunity while under the panel to add just a few more zip ties to the wiring runs that I had already permanently secured.  It’s not immaculate, but I’m very happy with my housekeeping and wiring runs.

It’s cool to see the batwings gone now up front and the plane is really looking like a plane!  I put the PFD/MFD screens in and tidied up a few things which at this point completes the avionics.  All components have been installed and successfully tested sans the ECUs which will come with the engine in July.  I’m trying to minimize the time spent playing with avionics, because to be honest, I won’t get any building done if I’m swiping and experimenting with instrument approaches to JFK!

Finally, all of the aircon relays came in and I was able to properly test the system without the compressor, of course.  The condenser fan that I upgraded as part of the redesign really pumps some air and I’m really optimistic that it will produce good cooling for the condenser.  I installed an Aerosport headset hanger on the overhead console panel and reinstalled the panel to enclose the overhead.  With it all sealed up now, the cabin fan is very effective, even on low, at pushing air over the evaporator and throughout the cabin.  On high, it’s more air than I get through the vents in my car, so I’m again optimistic that the aircon is going to be very effective even on hot muggy days here in the south.

Next up will be the windscreen followed by getting the landing gear on.

Cool Colors

Posted on by

I have fully recovered from the traumatic smoke incident and have made progress on completing initial testing on all of the electrical components in the plane.  I buttoned up the tunnel and got the tunnel cover and lower panel console installed.  I am lucky but allowed JUST enough length in wiring for the components on the lower panel including O2, aircon, and cabin heat controls.

The center console was next to install and went in pretty easily all things considered.  I finished odd jobs with the audio jacks, USB power port, and the wiring runs on top of the tunnel cover to get it all cleaned up.  I also mounted the throttle quadrant for good and fabricated a bracket to route the throttle and prop cable to the quadrant.  All of the O2 lines were hooked up and the fuel selector was verified in the correct position corresponding to the selector.

I haven’t installed the front seat O2 ports, so can’t test the oxygen system completely, but the power and back light input functions properly as do the rear controllers, so I’m optimistic it will all check good.  The only item that gave me a bit of trouble was the aircon. I have the aircon fuse block (bus) powered via a 40 amp relay and master switch to allow for rapid load shedding should I need it.  The switch, relay, and control head all works but I wasn’t getting either fan to come on.  I double checked all connections and wiring runs were correct to include the drier, high pressure switch, and thermostats.  I should have at least gotten the cabin fan coming on but the 24v relay wasn’t clicking on for the selected speed.  That’s right, the 24 volt relay.  Not the 12 volt relay, the 24 volt relay that I’m expecting my 12 volt system to activate.  Dammit.  It took me sitting in the back reading voltages for about 15 minutes with Laura at the control head to figure out the error.  I never put two and two (or 12 and 12) together, so grabbed two spare 12 volt relays and swapped them out.  Sure enough, proper function of the cabin fan and condenser fan!  I ordered new relays and swapped them all a few days later.

Meanwhile, I received two big boxes full of leather upholstered seats and goodies from Aerosport!  Andrew has been pretty patient with me and man did it pay off!  The seats came out perfect and just what I had imagined.  The orange stitching looks great on the black and matches the leather I sourced perfectly.  They made up the side panel inserts as well as the stick covers and armrest pad, all looking very high end.  I couldn’t help but build up the front seats to see what they look and feel like.

The back seats came out just as awesome as the fronts and feel super comfortable for passengers.  I cannot say enough great things about Aerosport’s stuff, except for their prices!  You do get what you pay for, however, and this is an area that I didn’t want to go cheap on.  Andrew changed up the plan a bit on my front seat belt brackets by designing and 3D printing a cover for the bracket.  This worked out, as I had to open the bracket and widen the belt channel about 1/16″ to get the belt to retract easily.  If Aerosport had done the leather like I had asked, I would have had to pull the entire seat back cover off and I’m sure it would not go back on as well as they have done it.

The left rear seat bottom cushion was the only hiccup, as the seat belt receptacle doesn’t quite fit in the slot they sewed.  Andrew is already on it and I sent the cushion back for modification along with the rear bulkhead substrate after cutting the aircon return vent hole in it.  They then covered it in leather and embroidered the EXPERIMENTAL in matching orange which looks awesome.  The cushion, bulkhead, and new glare shield will be on the way to me in a few more weeks.

Next priority is to finish the remaining items up front and in the back so I can rivet the last skins on and keep the new interior furnishings clean as we finish the build.

The Magic Smoke

Posted on by

Aircraft avionics are powered by a mystical, magical smoke that is contained inside the fancy boxes and wires that make up the complete system in a little airplane.  This smoke is very precious to an aviator and should not be released out into the atmosphere under any condition.  Once it has escaped, the only way to recapture it is to spend many, many monies soaked in tears.  Therefore, it is imperative that when flipping the master switch on for the first time, all efforts to contain this magical smoke are made to avoid crying and empty bank accounts (again).

I spent each minute working on the wiring also tracing paths and double checking all of my runs and connections against the wiring schematic, manuals, and common sense.  I also dedicated an entire evening to looking everything over, pulling on connectors to ensure good crimps, tidying up the last little stragglers, and ensuring that all un-terminated wires were in that state for a good reason and properly labeled/protected from short circuiting.

Using the ACM means I can’t just pull all the breakers and turn one on at a time.  Unfortunately, I have to power up the whole system then get a screen going to electronically trip each breaker, by then a little late for an emergency.  I was confident that the expensive bits including screens and components were all fine, as they were bench tested from AFS.  But, there is always a chance that the extra stuff and main power distribution was wrong since I designed and built that.  Looking back, I could have disconnected the power wire to the ACM until after I confirmed the main distribution system worked, but I’m jumping ahead.

At long last, I ran out of excuses to delay the inevitable and decided tonight was the night to flip the switch and see what I had.  The plan was to have Laura help me monitor the plane and keep an eye out for that magic smoke.  I walked her through the plan to quickly flip the switch on and off, we talked about what we’d expect to hear and see, and the worst case scenario of a big spark or smoke.

I held my breath and flipped the master switch on and then quickly off, just as briefed.  We didn’t hear any notice, no clunk of the contactor, no fans, no screens flickering or anything.  Hmmmm.  Laura said maybe the flip was too fast.  Good point, maybe so.  Okay, I’ll try again for 1 second and then turn off for good if nothing powers on.  Master switch on……..

PPPPPPpppppppsssssssssssffffffffffftttttttt goes smoke!!!!!!

I heard it before I saw it.  None of the counseling says you hear the smoke before you see it and it made the experience that much more traumatic.  But as promised, a small, thick stream of the magic floated from the firewall towards the ceiling laughing at me and my meager attempt to contain it.  Well shit.

Needless to say, I flipped the switch off as soon as I heard/saw the smoke and quickly went into problem solving mode.  First question, what smoked?  It was pretty obvious from the melted dripping insulation the jumper wire on the main contactor had rode the lightning.  It connects the coil terminal to the hot terminal.  But why?

Take a look at the picture below and tell me where Waldo is.  The top contactor is the ground power receptacle contactor which is not hooked up at the time.  The bottom contactor is the master.

Did you notice the diodes?  Well good for you know it all smarty pants.  I sure as hell didn’t.  And why would I?  These came from B&C right out of the box!  It turns out the diode on the master contactor was installed by B&C backwards, essentially allowing a short to ground to happen when I turned the master switch on.  Power went through the diode the wrong way, through the switch, to ground and fortunately the jumper wire was the thinnest gauge so acted as a fuse and burned.  Since the power went the wrong direction, the contactor never closed and no power was delivered to the aircraft.

After confirming with Parish, I canned (cannibalized) the diode from the GPU contactor and installed a new jumper on the master to repeat the power on test.  I confirmed the polarity of the diode, checked continuity and voltage on all connections again, and decided to disconnect the ACM from the firewall pass through, limiting the exposure to the expensive bits until the magic smoke is stuffed back in where it belongs.

The third time was the charm, and the reassuring clunk of the contactor resulted in no smoke and positive voltage just where it should be.  I connected the ACM wire and saw the screen flicker to life with the AFS logo, what a beautiful sight!!!  I flipped the avionics master on to watch all of the other screens power up and soon we were basking in the warm glow of synthetic vision, calibration warnings, annunciations, and confused maps looking for GPS signals.

Each circuit was tested with the multi-meter or device if it was connected.  Some were just reading voltages, such as lights since the wings aren’t installed yet.  My only squwak was the strobe and nav switch wires being reversed, which I took care of by pulling the overhead panel and making the correction.

I cannot describe the joy of seeing all of this powered up and finally a working product.  I have spent years dreaming of having a setup like I have and a lot of work and money went into getting to this point.  I have a lot to learn, figure out, and get proficient at!  I am so excited to get behind these screens and put them to work on all kinds of adventures.

Most of all, I’m lucky that I only let a little bit of magic smoke escape and was miraculously able to stuff it back in where it belongs!

Let me see that glass

Posted on by

At this point, I’m out of wires to run in the plane and about out of wire from my workbench!  I made the call to rivet in the forward fuselage section structure so that the bundles could be zip-tied and I could move forward with putting the panel and avionics in for good.  (I actually riveted this in before doing the firewall insulation, but it was easier to type in this order.)  As with most big things, it was very anti-climactic and completed in about 15 minutes.

I put the carbon fiber frame and back plate in and got it all screwed together in the right order.  All of the switch panels were hooked up for good and along the way, bundles were tidied up as much as possible.

The last major task for wiring was the overhead console and lighting wire run.  The front structure (now in) and skin has to be installed before I can run the wires down the support bar (powder coated black with the engine mount).  I wanted to keep as much access open as I could to finish up the avionics so I worked out a way to bend the skin upwards by riveting the center rivet line only.  Laura came out to work her magic behind the rivet gun and assisted in getting the wires through the bar and the bar installed.  It was a bit tricky feeding everything through the skin but worked out well in the end.  I did elongate the slot in the skin since my overhead switch panel prevents the bar from going in at the bottom first.

I set about connecting the wires from the overhead since I had already pre-routed them and installed terminals as needed since access would be difficult once the forward skin is in place.  Glad I did that, because I could never have pinned them out as they were after the skin and bar were installed.  The back lighting wires were all solder sleeved together to the power supply and the positive wires for the power supply, start switch, and O2 controller back lighting were all ran to the dimmer.  After a lot of observing and double checking, the only wires left unterminated are those going to the EMS/ECUs (I won’t have the ECUs until July) so nothing left other than starting to test stuff out!

The lighting control module (LCM) and instrument back lighting will be on the always hot bus so I was able to hook my bench power supply up to test it.  I was pretty nervous as there are a lot of complicated wires on the LCM and I was afraid of knowing where or how to troubleshoot an issue.  I shut the doors, turned on power and held my breath.  Opening the door should have turned all the lights on but it just made them flash.  The foot well dimmer was hooked up to the overhead and the back lighting didn’t work at all.  Fan-f**king-tastic.  Great start, Tim.

My skills at troubleshooting are more advanced than my confidence, and I was able to correct the wiring on the dimmer module (I had mislabeled the potentiometers) and figure out the back light power supply had a solder sleeve that didn’t solder all the way causing a bad connection.  Those were corrected and I had two out of three working.  The back lighting looks magical (yes, I said magical) and I sat in the dark for five minutes ooohing and ahhhing at myself.  The overhead dimmer and foot well dimmer circuits were now working and I could see how well Sean’s (Plane Around) LEDs illuminate the cabin.  The door lights and switches were still not working, though.  As soon as the door opens, I could hear the relay click causing the lights to turn off.  It turns out I had added an extra ground to the override switch and it was immediately overriding the timer in the LCM.  I corrected that and at the end of the evening got to see the fruits of my labor on the LCM as everything worked exactly like it should!

It’s finally time to slide all of the pretty glass screens in place and see what it looks like all fired up.  The cutouts on the panel inserts are exactly the size needed, so clearance was a bit tight.  Pretty soon, I had all three screens in place along with the IFD slid into the tray.  The G5 was installed and I hooked up the last two fittings for the pitot static system and got the tubes plugged in.  The PFD was a tight fit and required several attempts and getting all the wire bundles situated just right on the ACM to allow the connectors from the screen to fit without crimping.

Man, does this panel look awesome!!  I have spent literally years designing the layout and dreaming about this very moment.  I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out.  I’m really looking forward to sitting behind it and having great adventures with a massively capable avionics suite that is just as suitable for fun VFR flights as it is hard IMC.  The carbon is a great look, the overlays are perfect, everything is in reach, and it is a real show stopper!

I also hooked up the lower console panel back lighting just to see how it works but won’t get the rest of the components connected until after power is applied.  That is the next big step, so stay tuned!

More wiring plus some more wiring then more wiring

Posted on by

Wiring continues as I think I’m nearing the end only to discover more runs that need to be installed.  I reworked the nutplates for the back up battery on the subpanel and have the subpanel back on the fuselage temporarily to continue bundling wire runs.  The amount of wire I hadn’t thought of is a little higher than I was expecting, as I thought I had a good handle on the “pre-work” for the avionics.  Rudder trim board, a few relays, the lighting control module, and a few others all popped up as I put components in place.  I’m working hard to keep the runs neat and tidy as I go.  I’ll ziptie everything in place once I feel that I’m done with wiring but I’m sure I’ll forget one or two and need to redo the zipties.

I had to have one of my panel overlays re-etched since I decided to add an emergency power switch for the engine bus.  I had originally designed a two relay system that would automatically provide backup power directly from the battery to the engine fuse block (bus) should the main power supply fail (master contactor, etc.).  A three position switch would be off, armed, and test allowing the system to be tested before flight.  I decided it was too complicated and didn’t design the panel or schematic for it, but now regret that.  Essentially, it is only redundant for the master contactor, but now that I’m visually seeing the path of power all going through the contactor as a single point of failure, I want a backup.  So I’m running a DPDT 40 amp relay from the battery to the engine buss.  I had considered a diode which would isolate a short in the main system but decided to not plan for multiple modes of failure.  The switch will be red guarded and the second pole will have be an input for EFIS annunciation to verify the relay’s activation.

I also forgot about the control stick wiring, which is the last connector needed for the ACM to be fully plugged in.  I don’t want to fit my control sticks until I rig the surfaces, as the throw of the stick as is now is greater than when properly rigged.  So I pulled wires, labeled them, and terminated them on the ACM side.  This is when I realized I went a bit overboard on the number of switches on the sticks.  I had planned on the typical Coolie hat trim switch, PTT, AP disconnect along with a TOGA, rudder trim toggle (horizontal orientation), and possibly a IDENT or comm swap.  It’s a lot, I know.  The Tosten grips have all that but I found out that I can’t use all of them!  The AFS/IFD setup doesn’t have an input for a TOGA as discovered after a lot of research and question asking.  The AP simply auto sequences the MAP based on the flight plan so no need for a TOGA.  The downside is not being able to go missed earlier than the MAP while on AP, something I’m used to in the Diamond with the G1000.  Not the end of the world.  I decided against a IDENT and comm swap switch as I just think they are not needed since I have to touch the panel anyway and I mean seriously, am I that lazy??  Ha, yes I am, but those two features still didn’t make the cut.  So, I wound up with three axis trim, PTT, and AP disconnect (AFS calls this CWS which it’s not but whatever).  A TOGA is reserved as a coming feature from AFS.

The GPU receptacle is also wired up now in its hidden location under the copilot’s seat.  I wired the GPU contactor such that it will power the full system but not charge the battery, as the Shorai will have it’s own balanced lead to connect the dedicated charger on the ground if needed.  Because I’m electron dependent, I will never jump a dead battery and take off, so no need for external access.  The GPU will be in the hangar for maintenance and/or learning the avionics.  I cut a little flap in the seat foot well wall and mounted the receptacle to the seat rail support.  It worked great and will have one bolt on the seat bottom to help secure once that area is all complete.

The big wires were taking up a lot of room on the shelf and with the components on the firewall all mounted, I could get the thick stuff installed.  I took some time to determine what size lug would be needed at each end of wire and ordered all the supplies in.  Great move because I had all I needed plus a few spares of everything.  The crimper I bought from Amazon worked well and it was a pretty easy, fun job overall.  It helps me visualize the power system now even better and I’m happy to say that I feel safe and secure with the architecture providing power for the plane.

After receiving the newly etched panel, I could fabricate the last of the switch panels so the avionics would be ready for final install.  Just like all the others, I started with a printed 1:1 image of the panel I had designed spray glued onto the aluminum sheet.  I cut that out then final trimmed it using the acrylic overlay before painting it black.  The back light panel is placed on the aluminum panel and positioned using the overlay to get it just right before trimming for the switch and USB ports.  This one was pretty easy with large cut outs.  I use 3M double sided tape to secure the back light panel then lay the adhesive backed overlay on top to finish it all out.  I use a Sharpie to color the white on the edges of the overlay to help control bleeding from the back light and give it a nice finished look.  I did have a little trouble with the wires on this panel and wound up replacing it all together with 22 AWG Tefzel soldered on the panel itself.  I wish I had done that with all the others, as the wire used from the panel is crappy and hard to terminate using the micro-molex connectors.  It turned out great, though, and is the last piece of the instrument panel.

Finally, I worked up two brackets for the micro switches on the doors and wired those along with the one on the baggage door for the lighting control module.  I also used the micro switch on the baggage door as the safety switch input for the EFIS annunciation.  More wires to run, oh boy.  A pretty quick job that should work just fine.  I did have to run an additional wire up to the overhead as I had picked up power and ground for the door lights from the overhead lights and that’s not how the lighting control module is set up.

While my plane does have a lot of wiring, it’s nothing compared to the big boys at work.  This shot is behind the port side avionics bay in the C-17.  Now that is a lot of wires!

Feeling wired

Posted on by

Have I mentioned there are a lot of wires in my plane?  Well, there are.  Compared to others, I’m on par or above average on the amount of wires.  I know my amount is a bit higher due to the aircon and using a single ground location, eliminating local air frame grounding.  I chose to do this to avoid noise (hopefully) and chasing grounds around.  Wire is cheap and relatively light (I’m not pinching pounds here) so why not?  I also have a lot of interior and exterior lighting which adds more runs.

Throughout all of my work on this, I’m attempting to stay neat and organized.  At least in the plane, if not the shop and workbenches.  I got some cheap Velcro wire wraps from Amazon to help bundle wires as I went.  It also helped me created bundles and locate clamps that will need to be installed.  I’m running the majority of wire together along the bottom flange of the subpanel.  Some folks try to separate a lot of different things depending on current/signal/etc. but I’ve seen a lot of professionals put everything in one giant bundle including some big names in the avionics world.  I did keep the coax in its own bundle as much as possible and am trying to keep the thick wire away from other smaller wires.

I first terminated the wires going to the ACM with pins according to the ACM pin out diagram.  I had to make a few customizations such as two pins per device for high amperage draws like the landing lights.  The ACM only supports 5 amps per pin, so you use two pins and a pigtail on the main wire.  This is where solder sleeves really come in handy and have proven more than their weight in gold from Amazon aircraft supply.  I took my time and ensured each wire was the proper connection / pin assignment as I went along.  Before you knew it, I was done with a 25 pin DSub.  I sort of wish I had used DSubs everywhere as they are just so easy to pin.  I completed the connectors on the ACM sans the switch panel, as I can’t wire the overhead until the support bar is in.

I also got most of the switches wired up on the main switch panel.  Since some of these switches don’t go to the ACM, I had to really map out where the wires ran and were going to be bundled.  I also had to get a bit creative on my configuration of the DPDT switches since I wanted off on the bottom and normal flight status on the top of the toggle throw.  This is picky, but I like everything needed to be operating in the up position and everything off in the down position as a quick way to cross check status of systems.  I have been and continue to use simple painters tape labels for the wires.  This will surely cause shock and awe on some builders who insist on heat shrink or diamond laser etching of each wire, but it’s working great for me and is quick and easy.  Once I pin the wire and connect it, I remove the label as long as it’s verified on my wiring schematic that’s a work in progress now that I’m actually wiring.

I will go back and do a permanent label on wires leading to the switch terminals just to make it easier down the road to R2 a switch.  On the grounding forest of tabs, I have a chart created that identifies each tab A-D, 1-12.  So down the road if I need to trace a ground or change something, I can refer to the diagram and see the assignment of B4 going to the taxi light, for example.  I still have some grounds to add, but I don’t have nearly as many as I expected.  I am thankful I went with the large forest, just to have the room available.

Ahh, but where to put that forest of tabs on the firewall?  Where to put anything on the firewall?  Well, after a few hours of staring at the stainless steel canvas and talking to myself at length, I embarked on an art project of painters tape and Sharpie markers.  I will admittedly have a lot of stuff mounted to my firewall.  I’m doing that to avoid extra weight in the back of the plane (since the aircon and O2 is back there) and to keep wire runs short.  Having two alternators, a ground power receptacle, and a few other items, the list of things is pretty long.  It’s a bit of a puzzle to figure out where everything needs to go, especially not having the engine yet.  Fingers crossed that staring at pictures and asking for a ton of measurements from other builders will prove sufficient in placing.  I held my breath and drilled the first hole for the grounding tabs.

Back on the inside, I laced all of the wires going to the cabin overhead in preparation of running them down the support bar.  The bar and now modified engine mount is at powder coating this week and should be a nice black by Friday.  I will wire the remaining lighting switches and interior lighting control module once the forward fuselage section is permanently installed with the support bar and top skin.

The center console wiring was buttoned up with a DSub to allow the console’s removal in the future without needing to pull all of the headset jacks out.  Again the solder sleeves make easy work of pinning out the shielded wires.  I also put on the rear seat panel and final installed the rear O2 ports and USB power port.  It will not be back light like the front, but figure rear seat pax can turn on their task light to see if needed without affecting me as much.  It came out very nicely and I’m getting excited to see the armrest cover that Aerosport is finishing up with the seats.

I finished all of the wiring I could and left it all bundled as I pulled the subpanel and premade harness out of the plane one last time.  On the bench, I had to move the IBBS battery down about an inch to clear the defrost fans and installed nutplates for the clamps.  Attention will now turn towards the tunnel and getting all of the associated plumbing done before putting the avionics in for good.

Back that light up

Posted on by

One of my most exciting side projects on the plane is to have a truly unique instrument panel.  From the start, I have wanted a back light system similar to fancier aircraft out there and to pretty much every car out there.  Glareshield lighting, post lights, or dome lights just don’t work or look the same, so I wanted something better.  Ed Krantz did a great job using LED strip lighting but had to do a lot of work to get it working.

As briefly discussed in THE ART OF DESIGN, I decided to experiment with electroluminecent panels.  These EL panels are almost paper thin, flexible, and can be cut in all sorts of shapes.  Better yet, they are dimmable and have a uniform light output.  After a successful prototype on the overhead console panel, I pulled the trigger and ordered the full layout of the EL panels and the laser engraved acrylic overlays.

The EL panels came from Marc at Lightkraft via Etsy.  Marc was phenomenal to work with and took a personal interest in the project.  We had to iron out some dirty details on orientation, power leads, size constraints, etc.  I wound up taking his limfacs and finessing the panel layout a bit around the EL panels to make sure everything lit up as desired.  I also had to be strategic on where the power leads would be located along with the two edges that are unlit where the leads run.  On those two sides, it’s about 3/16″ that is unlit and cannot be cut, so positioning those correctly was key.  The other two edges could be cut and shaped in any way needed.  Finally, holes in pretty much any shape can be cut out of the middle to allow for switches or components without affecting the rest of the EL panel.  On any cut edge, the panel must be sealed to prevent oxygen from ruining the EL material.  Marc suggested clear acrylic nail polish which was easy and quick.  The prototype was done in white, but I wanted the final product in all blue.  Marc did a great job taking the 1:1 sized PDF I produced from my CAD design and producing the panels.  He provided a transformer based on the total surface area of the panels so all will be wired together and be on one dimmer.

Since AFS helped design and is producing a quick panel for me, the metal inserts for the four major sections of the Aerosport 310 panel are being cut and silk screened by AFS.  I wanted that as a back up to the EL panels just in case those didn’t work out or fail and are not replaceable sometime down the road.  After finalizing the design with Stephan at AFS, I sent the same CAD design to Matthew at Aircraft Engravers and requested all the panels be cut from black on white acrylic, just the same as the overhead console test panel.  Matthew was able to cut all component, switch, and screw holes then laser engrave all of the markings.  The acrylic panels have a self sticking backing so applying them for good is as simple as pulling off the backing and sticking them on the metal panel!

I took some time to ensure each EL panel fit the area needing back light and trimmed a few spots to clean it up.  I used a 5/8″ punch to punch holes for switches and dimmers in the EL panels.  The idea was to avoid the EL panel contacting any metal avoiding shorting and any interference noise the panels may translate to the air frame.  From what I can tell, neither is necessary as metal doesn’t seem to bother the EL panel and test flying the prototype in the Diamond yielded quiet radios and headsets.  After all of the holes were cut and trimming was completed, I turned into a little kid and played with everything in the dark to make sure all engraving was properly lit.

Next task is to cut a relieve for the power leads to rest in.  Since the wire is soldered onto the EL panel, it needs to slip either to the edge or behind the metal panel so that it is all flat once completed.  The areas where EL panels are not near and edge, I cut a slot for the leads to fit through ensuring no exposed lead touches the aluminum.  Several locations will require the leads coming out from the side of the acrylic panel and going into the carbon fiber structure through a slot.  Those are a bit tough to cut out but with patience and a lot of though prior to cutting, it works just fine.  The main switch panel and flap switch panel were the toughest ones.

To install it permanently, I cleaned the metal backing panel and positioned the EL panel with 3M clear double sided tape (the same stuff Van’s recommends for trailing edges).  This is really just to hold it while placing the acrylic overlay on top.  The backing is removed from a small section of the acrylic overlay so that I have some adjustment playing the overlay on the metal panel.  Once everything is lined up just right, I removed the rest of the backing and pressed the acrlyic down evenly.

The end result is a sandwich with the acrylic on top, EL panel, then metal panel at the back.  There is just a slight thickness difference over the EL panel, but not enough to be noticeable without really inspecting up close.  If you’re doing that, keep your judgments to yourself!  Switches and dimmers are installed just like you would anything else and before you know it, I was able to screw the panel on the overhead console and fire it up.  I went ahead and wired all of the switches and had the dimmer pots ready to go, so the overhead console and panel is now complete pending black screws coming from AFS!

Overall, I am really impressed with the result and happy I did the project.  It wasn’t cheap, costing about $1000 with most of that coming from the engraved acrylic overlays.  The EL panels were about $200 after all said and done.  The acrylic would have been much cheaper if I had only done the areas around each switch or back light panel, but I wanted a uniform look across the cockpit.  I would absolutely recommend it to anyone wanting a little extra light and wow factor on their build.  The CAD work was fairly simple and fun as was putting it all together.  I can’t wait to get the rest of the avionics and get the whole thing fired up.  She is going to look stunning in the dark!

Bringing up the rear

Posted on by

Now that the carbon fiber bits are cleared, I went to work on the rear panel for the back seaters.  My original plan was to mount the oxygen ports, a USB power port, heat control rheostat, and headset jacks into the rear console but it all just wouldn’t fit.  The O2 ports had to stay there, as I didn’t want them in the side panels due to lack of room, so the headset jacks got the boot.  I drew up a layout based on the measurements of the rear panel area.  The carbon is too thick and rigid for the ports to cleanly snap into so I will use AL with a matching acrylic overlay just like the instrument panel up front.  I was able to keep the power port and heat control on top.  I won’t be back lighting these as there isn’t much room and I figure at night a task light can be turned on easily.

I did need to come up with a way to secure the O2 ports, so I used a scrap piece of carbon and installed a few nutplates before epoxying it into the console.  I had to trim the brackets of the O2 ports so they fit side by side as well.  In the end, it’s a nice fit and still allows easy removal for maintenance.

I used some advice from TCW Tech folks to add a source selection switch into the controller for the rear heat servo.  I had to cut the rheostat off of the circuit board and ordered two matching ones from DigiKey, wiring them up with the control wire going to the switch.  This will allow me to control the rear heat using the rheostat mounted up front or give control to the rear seaters.  Testing with the multi-meter confirmed the desired function so those were tucked away for future install.

Now that I knew where the rear O2 ports would exactly be, I could continue the plumbing of O2 lines.  That also led to running the wires to the O2 ports, power port, and rear heat rheostat.  I fabbed up a few bushing holders to attach to the tunnel and ran everything down the left side.  The front seat headset jack holes were drilled inside the armrest cubby and the wires will be secured onto the tunnel cover.  I placed connectors on all of the wires so that the tunnel cover and center console could be removed for maintenance without needing to remain attached via wires.

I also ordered a four channel dimmer from Pilot Lights to replace the three single channel dimmers for the overhead panel.  They all would fit up there, as space is tight, so this was  a good solution.  I’ll have a spare channel if I want to add anything later.  I chose to epoxy the mounts to the overhead cabin top which kept some of the wiring runs short.  All wiring for the overhead will be coming up through the center post from the sub panel.  I went ahead and fabbed up the wires for the switches and controls on the overhead so I could ensure it would all fit within the post – no issues there.  With that bit done, I was able to close up the overhead console minus the switch panel which is waiting on the back light panel.

Oh yeah, I sanded more on the doors.  You know, the same thing I’ve been doing for months now.  Gah, the damn things are never going to be done.