…so you’ll just have to deal with the plain, unvarnished facts.
I have no clever title for this throttle bracket post
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Author Archives: dsetser
Two steps forward, one step back
Test-fitting the exhaust.
Problems with primary exhaust flange fit
Swapping out fuel injector servo mounting studs.
Fuel injection servo installed, intake masked off to keep stuff out.
Mounting the engine controls, starting with the mixture bellcrank.
The last really big check
…I hope.
I wrote it to Tim Hass and the folks at Approach Fast Stack for a Garmin 10.3″ G3X Touch EFIS system with Sirius XM, GTN-650 GPS/Nav/Comm, GTX-45R ADS-B In/Out transponder, GMA-245 audio panel, GMC-307 autopilot mode controller, two GSU-28 autopilot servos, and all the associated Garmin boxes that go into a G3X installation.
All these gadgets will be connected to one of Tim’s Fast Stack Pro-X hubs, which will make wiring significantly easier and neater.
It’s worth the (relatively) few extra dollars to speed up avionics installation, and the resulting product will be a lot easier to upgrade should I ever want to.
Two really expensive boxes…
…and their contents.
Doubling up
So why all the screws?
An alternative project
Had a few minutes to spare, so why not install the alternator?
The tensioner arm and pivot bolt still need to be torqued, but that’ll wait until the prop is on and the alternator belt is correctly tensioned.
Parallel lines of effort
Working on the instrument panel and controls while waiting for engine parts.
Parking brake control bracket
Panel with control brackets
Throttle and flap switch, the fit here is great.
Background colors for panel labels
Prepping the panel for riveting
Hanging the engine
Prepping the engine for installation
I’m finally getting caught up on all the missing text I didn’t add when I posted these pictures…
Like Unwrapping the PCU-5000 governor after 9-plus years of storage.
Installing longer mounting studs.
Adapting the stock Van’s governor cable bracket.
Governor cable bracket installed
Tachometer drive cable installed.
Jumping ahead to the instrument panel
One of my side projects over the last several years has been designing and re-designing the instrument panel. This is one area that every new builder likes to jump into right at the beginning of their build, and it’s probably one of the last areas we should worry about because the experimental avionics market changes so quickly.
But I’m at the point now where I must make provisions on the instrument panel fo specific avionics, so it’s time to commit to avionics equipage and cut the panel. You can tell by the picture below that I’ve chosen Garmin avionics for just about everything except the Advanced Flight Systems AoA indicator.
I decided early on that I’d have the panel professionally cut so I needed to find a shop that could do the CAD layout and also had the ability to do CNC milling. There are lots of panel design and cutting providers on VAF, but I’d heard good things about Bill Morelli at Up North Aviation in Swanton, Vermont and decided to give him a try. I’m glad I did.
I already had a basic idea of what I wanted in the panel, so I gave my ideas to Bill and he came right back with full-size CAD layout PDFs based on my inputs. For most iterations I’d have Kinkos print out the PDF at full size, cut out the panel from the print, overlay it on the blank aluminum panel, then make adjustments that I sent back to Bill for a new CAD layout. Bill and I went through this cycle many times, and he was extremely patient with all the little tweaks I requested.
The above picture is Bill’s CAD rendering of my final design, and the picture below is the end result after Bill cut my panel.
I’m extremely pleased with how it came out!
Here’s one example of the quality of Bill’s work. I pulled out the Advanced AoA display head and temporarily attached it to the panel. The fit is practically perfect!
With the panel cut, I’m warming up my frequent-flier rewards card in preparation for big avionics buys at Oshkosh…
Firewall prep, engine mount and gear reinstallation
The remainder of canopy work, mostly laying up the fiberglass front fairing, is on hold until warmer weather. So for the last two weeks I’ve been working on laying out and installing everything that needs to be on the firewall before the engine mount is permanently reattached.
Throttle, mixture and prop cable penetrations laid out on firewall.
Cabin heat control box mounting holes cut, using my inexpensive Lowe’s knockout punch to cut the throttle cable penetration.
Not a super clean hole, but better than I could have done otherwise.
Fitting the fuel line penetration doubler.
The oil filter cutout and battery box are in temporarily installed so I can begin laying out battery and starter contractor locations.
Fitting the starter/battery contactor doubler.
Battery and starter temp fitted, laying out location of ANL fuse holder and current-measuring shunt. The relative locations of the battery (top, silver) and starter (black, bottom) contactors was as close as I could get to Van’s plans locations while still accommodating the different style of starter contactor sold by B&C.
Doubler outline laid out, ready for fabrication.
Mid-April – a running misstep led to a fractured ankle. No airplane work for a couple of weeks…this sucks.
Back to work in early May despite the booted ankle. With Ellen’s help, we got the contactor/fuse/shunt doublers and nutplates riveted to the firewall.
The result of an evening’s work – battery and starter contractor doublers and nutplates riveted to the firewall.
Everything (almost) is now riveted to the firewall, ready to install electrical components, battery box and control cable passthroughs.
I was able to sneak away for a few hours and get most everything installed on the firewall. A few minutes of work for a nice little bit of visual progress.
Fast forward a few days to finishing firewall prep and permanently reinstalling the engine mount. Ellen joined me at the hangar to help with fitting, bolting, torquing, hoisting and gear reinstallation. No more ankle boot, so moving around the airplane was a lot easier.
With the engine mount firmly and permanently attached, we hauled out the engine hoist and tow strap to get the fuselage high enough for the landing gear to be reinstalled.
…and the fuselage is back on the gear for good. It’s engine hangin’ time!