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I spent the weekend doing nothing but electrical
wiring. It's a much bigger chore than I had assumed. Even with a
simple electrical system it has taken me well over 8 hours just in wiring.
I am using 3/4" square plastic tubing as conduit to run the wires from my panel
up to the front of the aircraft. The conduit is placed outside the
fuselage side right next to the 1/4" x 1" stringer. There is just enough
room for the conduit to clear the fabric. I have the conduit running on both
sides of the aircraft. The Engine Instrument System by Grand Rapids
Technologies has a large wire bundle that occupies the conduit on the left side
of the aircraft and all other wires go on the right side.
Using the conduit keeps the wires from living on
the inside of the plane. A good clean look.
I am using MS spec wire from Aircraft Spruce.
No cheap Radio Shack wires in this airplane. All the terminals are soldered and
heat shrunk. Not one crimp in this entire electrical system. All the wires
are run in a neat and orderly fashion. Where they enter/exit the plywood
side I will use plastic wire loom and vinyl tape.
The firewall pass-through is a fireproof type that I fabricated myself. I
used 3/4" thin walled 4130 tube and .090" 4130 plate. The pictures show it
clearly. An Aeroquip firesleeve is slipped over the tube and secured with a hose
clamp. Fire putty will be smooshed into the end where the wires exit.
This should provide good fire and wire abrasion protection as they exit the
firewall.
The battery I am using is a 12V 18ah sealed unit that I got for $29. it
weighs about 11lb. and is very compact. I will be mounting it directly in front
of the front panel on a shelf that goes from the left to right top longerons.
Putting the battery here will hopefully not affect the CG and is easy to replace
later by simply popping off the front combing.
As of now the wiring is 90% done. Firewall
forward is now 98% complete (not counting the cowling). I am hoping to run
the engine on the airframe at the Copperstate fly-in on October 9th, 2004.
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