Electrical, Fuel, Misc
2017 ELT Defect and Replacement
The Ameri-King AK-450 ELT that I originally installed back in 2016 had some serious issues. The original post when I fabricated the tray and installed the ELT can be found here: Hangar Completion #9 (ELT Installation) In the above post, I had completed the installation of the ELT when the aircraft was in my basement, … Continue reading
Hangar Completion #9 (ELT Installation)
Total Build Time: 1214 Hours. There is no guidance in the plans for the installation of an Emergency Locator Transmitter, however it’s something that’s required by the FAA before my plane can be certificated. It needs to be mounted in a strong and secure manner, and I selected a location 2 bulkheads behind the cockpit, … Continue reading
Hangar Completion #6 (Push to Talk (PTT) switches, Compass and Elevator Trim)
Total Build Time: 1194 Hours. This post has several small items in the cockpit that I finalized. First are the push-to-talk switches installed on my control sticks. This is the little button that’s pushed to transmit over the radio. I began by removing the control sticks from the aircraft and drilling a small hole in … Continue reading
Time-lapse Video, 900 hours of work and move to airport.
This video includes all the time-lapse footage I have from January 2014 until August 2015. It’s essentially the entire build of the airframe. It’s missing the first 200 hours of the project because I didn’t have the camera setup for that portion of the build.
Fuselage Completion #22 (Glareshield covering, intercom plugs)
Total Build Time: 1021 Hours. With my work under the instrument panel about 99% complete (fuel tank, electrical wiring and pitot/static/LRI routing done) I decided it was finally time to finish off the glareshield. Just before doing that, I finished the routing and installation of my radio intercom plugs, which are located high on the … Continue reading
Fuselage Completion #21 (Fuel Tank Installation, measuring and cleaning)
Total Build Time: 1015 Hours. This post details my testing and installation of the fuel tank. Included is my method for marking the fuel tank quantity and leakage testing. Also how I cleared debris from the bottom of the fuel tank. Additionally in this post is the installation of my cockpit air vent hoses. It may … Continue reading
Fuselage Completion #20 (Electrical Wiring #2)
Total Build Time: 1002 Hours. Continuing from my previous post on electrical wiring, this post covers my work on firewall penetration/protection, battery current sensor and intercom wiring. I’m still not quite finished with wiring but will follow up later. Firewall penetration for my electical wires passed through a large hole covered by a firewall penetration … Continue reading
Fuselage Completion #18 (Elevator trim knob and pitot/static routing)
Total Build Time: 988 Hours This post includes the installation of of my elevator trim knob and my plans for routing of my pitot/static and LRI (lift reserve indicator) tube connections. My elevator trim knob will be located on the lower left side of my instrument panel. I located it to be as far from … Continue reading
Fuselage Completion #17 (Electrical Wiring #1)
Total Build Time: 964 Hours. I started my wiring by making connections forward of the firewall, and then passing initial wires through the firewall. I labeled all wires more than a few inches in length using printed labels and clear heat shrink. I used a pick tool to shove the labels into … Continue reading
Fuselage Completion #16 (Instrument Panel)
Total Build Time: 944 Hours. I began cutting holes in the instrument panel to install all of my avionics, switches and air vents. I started with the air eyeball vents since I wanted to set them as far outside on the panel as they would fit to give me the most room in the middle … Continue reading
Electrical System and Instrument Planning
Total Build Time: 873 Hours. To plan my electrical system, I studied other builder projects, the sonex plans and the book Aeroelectric Connection. Some general concepts I followed were to use fuse blocks (rather than circuit breakers) for wire protection, 2 main fuse-block-busses (main and avionics), in-line fuses to protect all wires not otherwise connected … Continue reading
Fuselage Completion #10 (Fuel tank fitting)
Total Build Time: 806 hours. With my Aerovee engine build on hold due to cylinder head issues, I turned my attention back to the airframe. I moved forward with the initial fitting of the fuel tank. The very durable rotationally molded polyethelyne fuel tank sits beneith the glareshield (and in front of the pilot). It is held … Continue reading
Wings #16 (Pitot tube)
Total build time: 465 hours. The plans call for the fabrication of the pitot tube, or to buy a pre-made tube from Aircraft Spruce. I used the pre-made tube. It combines pitot and static sensors in the same assembly. The tubes were pretty close where the connections will be made, I used some shims … Continue reading
Wings #10 (LRI – Lift Reserve Indicator)
Total build time: 381 hours. All of the left wing is now deburred and I’m ready to install my first significant customization to my plane. I decided to install a “Lift Reserve Indicator (LRI)” made by Kelly at Value Engineering. An LRI indicator is basically a poor pilot’s angle of attack indicator, and/or stall warning … Continue reading