Garmin

Control sticks

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Tonight I spent some time working on the control sticks. When they come from the factory they are quite long. I ended up cutting off 3.75 inches. I then wired the sticks and adjusted the fit of everything.

The copilot stick is removable so the wires exit just above joint on the right side. There are only two wires for the copilot stick push-to-talk button. The pilot stick has 7 wires for the trim control, radio flip flop, radio push-to-talk, and autopilot disconnect. The wires exit from the bottom of the stick. I’ll wire these to a connector in order to make it removable.

A few years back when moving to the hangar, I somehow lost the center tunnel cover. So I had to make a new one, which took a couple hours.

Here you can see it (in gray) under the center console arm rest.

The center console mounts to the flap cover and sits quite snug over the tunnel cover. This makes it rock solid for leaning on and using it to get in and out of the plane.

The last thing I did was to replace the NyLock nuts on my throttle bracket with all metal nuts.

This has been on my todo list for a long time and I just needed to knock it out.

Next time I’ll wrap up the control stick installation with the wiring and then the sticks are done!

Control sticks

Avionics and Panel Trim

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Over the weekend I spent some time working on some of the last canopy frame items. The panel trim is something I ordered from Classic Aero Designs. It was super easy to install using the template provided and mounts directly to the canopy frame skin that covers the panel.

Here you can see the trim mounted to the top of the skin. Its about half an inch thick, is padded and finished with a nice soft leather. It’s held on to the skin by 11 screws from the bottom. What’s nice about it is that it hangs about .25” below the skin, which is perfect for hiding the panel light, which I have held on by tape temporarily.

I turned off my hangar lights and tested it out. The screens do cast a slight shadow over the switches, but it’s not fully obstructed which is nice.

I also received my second avionics tray from Dynon and installed that. I had to modify it slightly to allow for the removal of the radio module.

Now all that’s left to do is finish up the wiring cleanup, bundle all the harnesses and then it’s done! I’ll remove the panel and all the avionics and prep it for paint. The canopy frame is also ready for paint which is the last thing to do before bonding the canopy to the frame.

Avionics and Panel Trim

Avionics Testing

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I’ve been doing some component and subsystem testing of the avionics. I hooked up my laptop to the VPX to configure and test all the switches and devices before powering things on for the first time.

Once I powered up the avionics I was able to work through all the setup and testing of the different components.

Today I spent time wiring up the trim servos. They wire up to the autopilot panel so that they can be controlled using the Dynon auto trim functionality. I also wired up the flap position sensor. The flap sensor is wired to the VPX rather than to the Dynon EMS. The reason for this is so the VPX can monitor and control the deflection of the flaps to certain levels.

I don’t have it in the picture, but I also installed the Garmin G5 and powered and tested as well. I also wired up a micro switch to the canopy latch, it displays a digital “light” on the EFIS if the canopy is open.

I’ve really been enjoying wiring up and testing all the avionics. Next up I’ll be working on the canopy frame in preparation for the canopy bonding.

Avionics Testing

Canopy Frame & Engine Controls

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This weekend I spent almost 20 hours working on the plane.

I started by rigging the mixture, throttle, and prop cables to the engine.

Here’s the mixture bell crank. The mixture cable is attached to the right side. I got it all adjusted so that the knob reaches the stops as the servo side hits the mixture stops.

I then spent a couple hours test fitting and adjusting the prop cable. Similarly, I needed to adjust it several times so that the stops were reached without any issues.

Here is a top down view looking at the cable attached to the prop arm. The bolt will need to be adjusted, it fully clears the mechanism, but it’s still too close for comfort. I’ll add another washer under the bolt head to increase the clearance.

The throttle cable was a lot easier, the alignment was almost spot on. I’ll need to do some slight adjustments on the servo arm.

Final adjustments to all this will be after the first engine start. But for now, everything is set from the factory.

Here’s the panel test fit and the cable bracket clamped to the panel temporary.

I then spent about 5 hours riveting the canopy frame and skin together.

Here’s the top of the canopy skin. The missing rivets are for the frame bracing. I will rivet the sub panel and lock-in the forward section of the fuselage before final riveting the braces, just to make sure it’s all perfectly aligned.

Here’s the bracing from the inside, the bottom rivets are riveted, but the top ones will be later.

Here’s the panel installed so that I can test fit the frame. I might need to make a slight adjustment where the G5 is installed on the far left. It might slightly interfere with the craniotomy frame tube that runs the length from left to right along the top of the panel.

Canopy Frame & Engine Controls

Garmin G5 Pitot/Static Tubes

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Today I spent a few hours working on getting the pitot and static lines up to the panel for the Garmin G5. The G5 will act as a backup EFIS to the Dynon.

I had to route the static line from the aft static ports to the front of the plane.

The tube here runs parallel to the rudder cable along the side of the fuselage.

It’s secured with a zip tie and this will be behind a panel that also covers the flap actuator tube.

I had to drill two holes through the bulkheads. This is blind riveted and I didn’t want to drill it off. The alignment took some trial and error.

Here is the routing just next to the pilots seat, this will be behind the side panel.

The final two holes put through the center channel bulkheads. From here, the static tube is routed up and to the panel and to the G5. Also on the panel will be a toggle switch an alternate static source in case of a static port failure.

Garmin G5 Pitot/Static Tubes

More panel work

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Today I spent most of the day working on different parts of the panel.

I cut the slot for the hour meter, and a double USB panel mount. These will be for updating both Dynon EFIS displays. Below the USBs will be the cabin heat control knob.

I also received my Garmin G5 that will act as my backup attitude indicator. I also added color caps to all the switches.

I also installed the headphones and microphone jacks. Here are the pilots side.

And co pilots side.

The panel is coming together. A more items to place and cut, and then the panel will be complete!

More panel work

Switches

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Today I worked on the switches for the panel. I have 6 switches dedicated to the primary power and engine ignition.

Here the top left is the master switch, and below is the L PMag ignition power and test switches. The PMag ignitions have a built-in generator that kicks in above 800 RPM. The test switch allows you to ensure the ignition will continue running when power is removed.

I installed the remaining ignition switches, along with the Alternator enable switch next to the master switch. Then I installed the two switches below the display to ensure they are easy to use and are not inhibited by the angled part of the HDX screen. These are the Avionics and Auto Pilot switches.

Here are all the remaining switches installed. There are five switches under the display for the aircraft lights. This includes landing, taxi, strobe and nav lights, along with interior lighting. The three far right switch are the fuel pump, flaps, and engine start.

The boost pump switch is right up against the flap bracket. I may not use this given the proximity to the switch. It’s all removable, so we’ll see.

I also installed the Dynon dimmer knob, and the dedicated IDENT button. The ident function is useful to have a dedicated button for so I don’t have to navigate the display menus. Similarly with the dimmer. Even though the system has light detection and auto adjusts the brightness, I like to have finer control.

The engine start button is a very high quality push button. It’s extremely satisfying to press. Can’t wait to fire up the engine with this!

Switches

Cut Panel

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Today I cut the panel for the main EFIS screens and the sub modules. I measured and compared to the CAD probably a dozen times, and luckily it all came out straight and even.

The first thing I did was look up how much the blank RV-7 panel costs on vansaircraft.com -$40. With that knowledge, I began to cut the first sub module hole, the knob panel.

After the knob panel went smoothly I began on the second one, the AP panel. All the modules are the same dimensions, but with the variability in my hand cuts I checked and lined up each element after test fitting.

The process begins by drilling a 1/8” hole in the corners (1/16” radius). Then using a cutoff wheel I cut just inside the lines for the hole. Then I filed the edges to the final size so that each item fit perfectly, but with no catches or tight spots. Then using some scotchbright, I smoothed the edges out so they are soft to the touch.

Here are the four modules sitting in the panel. I need to buy some mk2000-6 nut plates so that I can screw these to the panel.

Next I cut the large hole for the main Dynon HDX displays. It was very satisfying when the display was installed. Many years to get to this point!

Finally I cut the second hole, making sure everything lined up and was square, and then test fit the second display.

One thing I was (and still am) a little concerned about, is the angled ledge on the displays. With the gap below being just less than 2”, I planned to install my toggle switches centered between the display and the bottom of the panel. But with the ledge of the display sticking out a bit, I might bias the switches lower to give myself a little extra room to be comfortable flipping the switches.

Once I finalize the position of the Garmin G5 I’m going to install just to the left of the pilots display, I’ll start drilling the holes for the toggle switches. I placed one just below the screen in order to see how far up and down the switch is when toggled. It should have plenty of clearance from the display.

Cut Panel

Panel Layout

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I finished the detailed layout of the panel for the major components. I wanted to get these laid out first since they are symmetrical about the centerline.

Here you can see the cutouts marked for the two main EFISs and the four sub panels in the center. I have left room for an Avidyne (either 540 or 440) in the center, as well as a Garmin G5 on the left of the pilots screen. Given the additional cost of the Avidine however, I will be waiting a little while to purchase that.

Next is to begin cutting the panel!

Panel Layout