Firewall Aft Work

2/25/2013

The electrical system firewall aft, is almost complete. Running dozens of wires is really mind numbing; I can't explain it any other way, except 'visual disorientation' when corralling the wiring into neat groups. I seemed to go through a process of adding and cutting off tie wraps several times over...you need to order 10 times as many tie wraps as you think you need. I may or may not finalize the wiring by using black lacing and removing each zip tie as I go...

Once the wiring has been locked in I'll take some pics. Currently, it's close, but still kinda 'mayhem'..as you can imagine. I also got a little wiser regarding the GPS; this time, it's to be stuck on with velcro; on my first panel, I had cut-in an airgizmo dock for a Lowrance 600c, trouble was, it didn't occur to me that by the time this was flying (August 2013 will be 7 years building ), the Lowrance would be like having a 1960's B&W valve TV stuck in the panel. The plan is to use a Samsung Player 5, which is a mini tablet running an Android system. I will stick an aviation GPS Android App on it.

Instrument Panel Details

FL-760 Transceiver

Seems to be currently the best buy in 2 1/4" hole format.

After perusing over the manual, I decided to get the help of an experienced avionics buddy to make me the harness for me - no mean feat.

PM1000II Intercom

The FL-760 does has an intercom feature, but this dedicated puppy has extra features, like independant squelch control for PAX and pilot.

Pictoral Turn & Bank

For that hairy moment...

GT-50 G-Meter

Also has a clock and flight timer.

Stewart Warner Fuel Guage

This is linked to a sender probe unit housed within the main tank.

MGL E-1 Engine Monitor

This is the primary monitor, it comes with nice features, like preset alarm thresholds for the systems being monitored.

MGL TC-1 Engine Monitor

This is a 4-channel thermocouple monitor to show EGT temps.

MGL BAT-1

Electrical power monitor.

Other Electrical Systems

Alternator AL12-EI60

This alternator is pretty light, at 6 pounds 15 ounces, and has an internal regulator.

Aerovoltz Lithium Battery (16-cell)

After a lot of deliberation, I decided to go the lithium route at only 3.5 pounds. I also bought the matching balance charger. I will be adding a 1" SCAT tube directed to the battery housing box.

EPL Nav/Strobe & Kunztleman Tail Light

While the plane is not intended for night flight, I decided to add some form of lighting for dawn/dusk flight and easier identification. These are a German deal sold by ACS. They are LED wing tip nav lights with an integral strobe, the whole unit is epoxy resin encased.

Narco 150a Transponder & AK-350 Encoder

I couldn't justify buying a 2 1/4" format, so I settled for an old dinosaur slot-in type. This will be housed in a center console along with the altitude encoder.

Inertia Switch

This is an automotive (Ford, I think) inertia sensor used, for fuel tanks. I am utilising it to cut the power to the smoke and fuel boost pump during a hard impact.

Auxiliary Outlets

There is one outlet buried behind the panel. This has a double USB adapter in it to feed power to the panel GPS and to the independent bluetooth GPS. It seemed the AUX Socket/USB adapter approach was easier than trying to hard wire the wiring for these peripherals.