Avionics/Panel: Panel assembly test fit.

It was finally time to assemble the panel, as opposed to having it strewn about on the bench.
 
Here is the panel with the canopy essentially closed.  The only items missing are the audio jacks on the right, the airspeed indicator, the lenses on the Fuel Guardian and labels on the top left indicators LEDs.  I was pleased that the items at the top of the panel were both fully accessible and visible from a seated position. 

Weights:

• Total panel weight:   28.9 lbs (includes connectors and switches, sans wires and tubing).
• Left:  7.5 lbs.
• Center:  14.9 lbs.
• Right:  6.5 lbs (w/o AS indicator).

I was also pleased that it came together to closely match my original layout.

Now for some details...I decided to paint the panel black, thinking that white wouldn't match the gray interior color I previously selected.  I used the same Rust-Oleum Chalkboard spray paint as I applied on the glare shield.

For panel labeling, I had originally planned to use silkscreen, but later decided that I wanted a cheaper, simpler and more flexible option.  So I purchased the Brother PT-P7000 PC connectable label maker coupled with the TZe145 laminated white-on-clear 18mm wide tape.  Total cost was $58.19, shipped.  Using Brother's P-Touch software, I printed out labels as appropriate, cutting each and then using needle-nose tweezers to peel the backing and place each label.  It doesn't look as tight as a professionally fabricated panel, but I appreciate its low-cost implementation.

Some close-up images follow.

Left side.

Middle.

Incidentally, for the middle panel section, I had to hack out some of the F-01467 Instrument Panel Frame to accommodate my flaps switch and Fuel Guardian (images below - the corners were later rounded).  Also, I had to take my Hobbs meter to the Scotch-Brite wheel so it too wouldn't impinge on the Instrument Panel Frame.  The Hobbs is now affixed with only one screw, as the right screw could not accommodate a nut due to the Panel Frame, thus the right screw is Super Glue'd in..."shhhh".

Right side.

On the right side, similar to that of the middle, I again had to cut a notch out of the Instrument Panel Frame.  This time it was to accommodate the Winter 2.25" three dial altimeter.  One might also notice above the single 2.25" cutout lacking an instrument.  That hole is to later accept an airspeed indicator.  And the lift reserve indicator will later be color-coded to match the three flight envelopes.

Though I have been spending many hours placing the harness and other wiring, the panel is not yet ready to be fired up in the airframe.  That is probably still 10-20 hours of work out.  However, the majority of the panel was tested on the bench (a.k.a., both the kitchen and spare tables in my house).

Finish: Canopy and Window. Canopy window fitted, cut and drilled.

I had help for this entire sequence of steps.

The Canopy Assembly is placed on the airframe and aligned, then clamped into place along the Roll Over Structure.

The Forward Canopy Alignment Template from 38-39 is properly positioned along the F-01418 Canopy Skin.

The C-0401 Canopy is placed on the assembly and aligned to the template.  It's important to note that prior to this step, the edges of the window were rounded, smoothed and finished to a glass sheen.  The left side required the C-01423 Canopy Shim as the window's thickness on that side was < 0.17" (per Step 7, 38-22).

The window is then weighted and strapped down for match drilling.

Match drilling follows.

Several holes fell victim to chipping.  Most of the chips were later removed during countersinking.  However, two holes had chips that were too large to be removed via countersinking.  So they were filed and sanded down smooth.  One hole cracked inside the plexi itself, shown below (the crack is on the top whilst the bottom visual aberration is due to the plastic covering).  Thankfully, it is under a C-01419 Canopy Side skin, so it won't be visible.  Should it crack, it will probably propagate no further than the hole is it in, or out to the edge of the plexiglas.  So I should never see it even if it cracks. 

This chipping/cracking did not occur on the rear window.  Of note, a #27 bit is not used when there is metal underneath the plexi when drilling the rear window.  Thus, we believe this chipping/cracking occurred on the canopy window plexi because the #27 bit is used when metal is underneath the plexi.  That metal visibly and tacitly grabbed the #27 bit and advanced it very quickly through the plexi.  Though we used a #27 plexi-bit from Avery, it has a far more aggressive rake than the #40 and #36 plexi bits I had specially made by Great Lake Aero Products.  In contrast, the latter's bits provided a dubbed off zero rake angle and slow spiral polished flutes (I can't determine if the Avery bit has that kind of flute).

Following match drilling, the area to be fiberglassed is marked off with electrical tape, then aggressively sanded so the fiberglass has a good basal substrate to anchor upon.  We did not use the dimensions called out for in the plans.  We wanted more area to develop a smooth transition between the skin and window.  If it turns out that the extra area is unnecessary, the additional material need simply be sanded down.

The Canopy Skin is then prepared for painting along the nascently defined "glare shield".  I primed the skin on 22-Aug-15, so the primer needed to be gently sanded and washed with denatured alcohol as prep for painting.

Painting was done with Rust-Oleum Chalkboard spray paint.  I choose this paint after testing it on some scrap.  It was very, very difficult to scratch, applied very smoothly and had little discernible gloss.  That's the kind of finish that makes a good glare shield.

The application was successful.  Don't worry:  Though the angle of the image makes it look like the canopy window in the background is on the concrete floor, it's actually resting on two carpeted platforms.

The C-01419-L/R Canopy Side skins were cleco'd (left) then riveted on (right).  Note:  The plans call for this step to be completed with the canopy on the airframe.  I chose not to do so and I can't remember why.

The C-01450 Rear Seal is attached (below).  

With the canopy on the airframe, it is then screwed on to the assembly in a very specific sequence. 

Why not pause to get an interior shot?  You can see my Garmin radio stack trays in place.

Five clips were used to secure the forward edge of the canopy window.  A digital level was used to align and shim the entire frame so that no twist would be induced.

Fiberglassing commences.  The ply templates provided in the plans were not used primarily because they didn't match the shape of the larger area chosen to glass over.

This might be the final layer, hence the peel-ply.

The special sanding block described on 38-41 was made by screwing together two 6" pieces of scrap 2x4, taping copies of the stencil on each side then working at the surface with the belt sander until the requisite curvature was obtained.  Took only 20 minutes.

As with the rear window, it's worth noting that the canopy window edges also needed zero trimming.  They perfectly lined up with the Rollover Structure and were up to the F-01431D Window Shims.  That's just amazing.

Considerable work remains until the canopy is completed.  The work outlined in this post was encompassed within 34.1 hours, 11.4 hours shy of the work required for the canopy frame assembly itself.

Finish: Canopy and Window. Rear window fitted, cut and drilled.

I had help for this entire sequence of steps.

The rear window must be carefully placed (below, my friend is merely ducking so I can grab the shot).

A couple of notches are removed (right) so that the window can fit around the F-01432B-L Roll Bar Brace (left, from 38-02). 

Those notches were cut with a Dremel and cut-off wheel, finished with fine files, then sanded smooth  to a glass finish.

The forward outboard edges of the rear window needed a small trimming so that the F-01474A-L/R Stiffener Angles (installed later) are cleared (thanks Greg!).

When it comes to drilling the holes in the window, a second person (in this case, me - look carefully under the window, I'm there) sits in the baggage compartment and holds a wood block for the driller (my friend) to work against.

Here we are polishing the edges.  First pass with 220-grit to take out any roughness.  Second pass with 400-grit to take out the scratchiness from the coarseness of the previous pass.  And a final pass with 600-grit to bring it to a glassy sheen.

Finally, to rivet the Stiffener Angles, consider using the "wedge tool".  However, 1) do not rivet the angles in until after the rear skin is dimpled and 2) rivet the angles to the skin before riveting to the rollover structure.  I got these out of order initially.

It's worth noting that the window edges needed zero trimming.  They perfectly lined up with the Rollover Structure and were flush with the F-01431D Window Shims.  That's just amazing.

In support of easier access to the tail cone, I will withhold installing the rear window until just before the plane goes to the airport.  At that time, I will be painting the edges so that the sealant will be concealed from the inside.  Posts #5 and #6 explain here.

The work illustrated here took us exactly 12.4 hours.

Avionics/Fuselage: New sticks/control columns and grips.

Work on the build has slowed mainly because I need another set of hands.  The last 3 months have seen only ~20 hours of work.  In the meantime, I've obtained new control sticks from Tosten with their CS-8 "Soft Touch" finish grips.  The grips are locked in place with a hex setscrew which themselves each have a jamnut.

As seen above, the 22 gauge wires are terminated in Molex (04303-00001) tin female terminals with the included 12-pin Molex (043025-1200) male connector.  Though not included, this setup mates into wires that are terminated in Molex (04303-10007) tin male terminals using a corresponding 12-pin Molex (043020-1200) female connector.  Tosten provides a wiring diagram (though the commons are shared between the hat and button switches via the white wire and no green wire is included).

The CS-8 is an 8 function grip:  Four-way hat switch, a trigger, an index and two face buttons.

Here is my planned button configuration:

• Hat switch up/down:  Elevator trim
• Hat switch left/right:  Unassigned (future aileron trim?)
• Trigger button:  PTT
• Index finger button:  A/P engage/disengage
• Left face button:  Intercom (GMA-240) comm swap (replaced with a GMA 245 on 12-Aug-18)
• Right face button:  Transceiver 1 (GTX-200) freq swap

The Tosten stick (on right, below) has a slightly different shape than the Van's stick (on left, below).  The former being a bit shorter to accommodate a full size grip, terminating at the base of the grip. 

The Tosten sticks come pre-drilled #29-ish at the base.  That would make it easy to match drill into the CS-00007-L/R Control Stick Bases (see page 36-10), if I hadn't already done that with the Van's sticks.  So I had to pull out the Control Stick Bases from the airframe and match drill them to the new sticks.  Turns out, it's not easy to get the drill bit on the same trajectory as original holes, so I had to ever-so-slightly increase the diameter of each hole on the exiting side.  With just the bolts in place, without nuts, the sticks are still locked in place and don't rotate since the entry holes are the correct diameter, so it's a non-issue.  The Control Stick Bases were then re-attached (much easier to do when you have this toy).

Avionics/Wiring: Bus topology resolved.

I offered much thought towards how I would setup the bus architecture in the aircraft.  Here is what the system will look like at a high level.

As noted above, I have decided on three buses.  Left-to-right, Main, Avionics 1 and Avionics 2.

 

Here is a list of the items on each bus.  An asterisk, "*", indicates the device is additionally switchable.   
Update 13-Nov-18:  A very minor change was made to the topology.
Update 12-Jan-19:  Another very minor change was made to the topology.

	MASTER	AVIONICS 1	AVIONICS 2
1	Start	AHRS 1 and GPS*	AHRS 2	1
2	Alt Field*	AE Fuel Guardian	USB Console Power	2
3	Fuel Pump*	USB Canopy+Tail	Capacitive Fuel	3
4	Dimmer and Defrost*	EFIS Left*	EFIS Right	4
5	Trim*	GTR-200*	GMA-245*	5
6	Flaps*	GTX-330ES*	GTN-650 Nav/GPS	6
7	Land Light Left*	TruTrak ADI-2	GTN-650 Comm	7
8	Land Light Right*	SkyRadar DX	Roll and Pitch Servos*	8
9	Tail Nav/Strobe*		LEMO Power	9
10	Wing Nav/Strobe*			10
11	EIS and MAP Sensor			11
12	Pitot Heat*			10
13	Hobbs and ELT			13

My thinking was to keep the Master bus for devices that typically need to always be on, including for engine start.  Avionics 1 would be for devices I would want available should I lose my alternator and need to conserve energy as I look for a place to put down (the SkyRadar DX has an integrated AHRS that is accessible via Wi-Fi on my phone/table, the ADI-2 provides multiple pieces of flight info, as does the EFIS provides, including synthetic vision).  Avionics 2 would be for all remaining devices that are not necessary for VFR flight.

At this point, I do not feel it necessary to place a backup battery in the system to power the Avionics 1 bus.  Batteries very rarely fail catastrophically and I'm more concerned about an alternator failure.  In a worst case scenario (no radio, no lights), I can reduce constant current consumption to under 5 Amps (no attitude indicator or backup AHRS) with both Avionics 1 and 2 busses off, or under 8 Amps with the Avionics 1 bus on.

I will use the ES 24115 Master Relay (a Cole Hershey 24115, 85 A continuous duty SPST) supplied by Van's to provide power to all busses.  

However, both Avionics 1 and 2 buses will be switchable by independent SSRs (solid state relays).  I will be using the Crydom DC100D40 with the KS-100 protective cover.  This 100 V, 40 Amp DC relay has the following characteristics of note:

• 30 Amps continuous load at 50 °C without a heatsink 
• Though the airframe will act as a heatsink, this gives a great safety margin.
• 0.28 V maximum output voltage drop.
• 2.5 mA minimum load current.
• 0.1 mA maximum off-state leakage current of (irrelevant when Master is off).
• 4-32 V control voltage range.
• -40 to 100 °C operating temperature.
• 2.53 ounce weight.

The SSRs (left image) will each have a diode across their loads.  This is to ensure that any inductive reactance in the load (i.e., my avionics, of which the autopilot servos are the greatest such contributors to inductive reactance) will be properly diode suppressed (right image) when the SSRs are turned off and will thus not fry the latter's trigger circuit (parts ES Diode Master and ES Diode Starter on page 43-04 serve the same purpose for the ES 24115 Master Relay and ES 24021 Starter Solenoid).  Here is where you can learn about a "flyback diode" and Crydom also provides guidance.

I will be using automotive ATM style blade fuses (available in values from 1 to 40 Amps).  I have decided against circuit breakers because if a circuit exceeds its designed current, I wouldn't want to reset it in flight before investigating the issue on the ground.  Blade fuses can be found with an integrated LED that illuminates should the fuse blow (ATO style here).  The LED is self-limiting as, should itself fail, it fails into an open circuit. 

The 60 A breaker for the alternator is a "Mechanical Products 1648-009-060-015" from Waytek.

Thus, I will need a fuse block.  I wanted every device on its own fuse, so I will need at least 40 positions available, preferably more to accommodate future expansion.  I decided on the Cooper-Bussmann 15310-1-2.  It support 30 fuses and is non-bused.  So a daisy chain of wires mates adjacent fuses to create buses (being careful to avoid exceeding current capacity).  I will dispense with its oversized cover (the 15310-1-1 has a smaller cover but I am unable to find a supplier that sells it in single unit quantities) or trim it to a shallower size.  With a footprint of approximately 2.42"x4.17", it will easily fit into the ~3.9"x5.3" space in the F-14106 Wiring Channel after cutting a mounting panel for the purpose.  The block uses TE Connectivity 1-968855-1 (16-20 AWG) and 1-968857-1 (12-14 AWG) terminals as well as Tyco AMP MCP2.8 Series #828922-1 cavity plugs.

A ground block is important to reduce the possibility of pesky ground loops, which tend to introduce noise into the audio system.  Whilst the "forest of tabs" approach is well proven, I wanted the additional stability of screw terminals (which can back out over time, so their torques will have to be verified at each annual inspection - nothing's perfect).  I chose this block from Fastronix.  It has a single binding post with 12 positions for ground terminals.