Ch 22 Electrical System

Date:  12-11-2023

Number of Hours:  14

Manual Reference:  22

The two alternators, the main belt driven and the aux or standby spline driven require external regulators. Many alternators have these built in. I have gone with the very reliable B&C LR3D-14 and SB1B-14 instead to match the 60amp LX60 main alternator and BC-662-H 35-60amp standby alternator.

Initially I was trying to install them as closely as possible on the cold side of the firewall. This meant either the hellhole or squashed into the turtleback. Both locations were a big install problem, particularly with the manufactures recommendations on a label stuck to the units.

I wrote to B and C and it turns out that even under the canard would be OK as long as they didn’t get wet! My preferred spot of under the seat got the go ahead. This meant I could also get the weight forward as well as a more straightforward mounting (so I thought) and easy access.

This was a really easy spot for mounting the units for once, but it took up a lot of room. I could use that area for storage, or even for ballast if I need it. So I had to veto it as a position.

This was a much better spot as it was already in use for ‘electrical’ but the install suddenly got trickier. I’m used to that by now.

I went ahead and cut off the mounting ears to fit my own. I borrowed a special epoxy to glue on the aluminium tabs. Bonding Resin MGS BPR 135G3 and Hardener BPH 135 GG (from Ironbark Composites)

Here are the details, in case I need them later.

I did the usual thing of mounting clickbonds and two plies of BID over the top. Once cured a lick of paint too.

I cleaned it all up and mounted the units. Done and dusted? Nope. They were just not secure enough, the floor is a little cured here so that was an issue too. I was not happy. So here we go again…

The same process. I made another 2 tabs for each unit and mounted them. This would have been a LOT easier and quicker if I’d done four in the first place.

I spent quite a while sanding off the paint in the area. Then it is the process of gluing the clickbonds into position. Once set then take off the regulators leaving the ‘positioned’ threads. Then eight pieces of 2″ diameter glass (2 ply) individually laid up. Then peel ply, then let it cure. Then remove that. Then add some grey paint. The same process as before.

Now we are all done (again). This time it is four fasteners per regulator and they are ROCK solid. Ready for wiring, I can move on to the next job. Yes this was a bit of a PIA but a good result in the end and a great use of my precious space.  This was well over two full days of work.

 

Date:  10-10-2023

Number of Hours:  22

Manual Reference:  22

Two jobs here. Now I know where the expansion tank is going I can mount the plugs for the ECU’s. This is a ‘firewall penetration’.

I am getting very low on click bonds so I made a bunch of nutplates instead. Now I’ve sourced some more and ordered 50, next time I can go back to the more time effective method of glassing them on. However as the margins are really tight space wise these bad boys will do the job.

Of course while looking at the ECU plugs, now is the time to really nail down all those vent tubes in the same area. I started with embedding nutplates and then glassing over the top. You can just see three of them.

Back to the plugs. I thought about steel for fire protection…but who am I kidding, the plastic plugs will fail way before the aluminum plate! And, yes, old school file work.

I should have made the plate a little bigger but it will work out OK. The pre-drilled plastic mounts have made it a bit tricky.

I said it was tight, and I do want to keep holes in the firewall at a minimum. This took a bit of extra filing in the end to ensure the plugs had enough room to be put on and secured on the engine side.

Yes vent pipes on and off again. I keep checking to ensure I don’t snooker myself. This will work.

Again some glass over the top to settle it all down.

A bit of grey paint later too. I just can’t help myself. It doesn’t look like much, a few mounting holes but this took several days work.

The vent lines needed a tweak and a slight re-bend. In the end two with P-clamps and I’ll just cable tie the third. What I am doing is trying to get the tension off the vent plenum vessel fittings so they don’t fail.

So the vent pipes went on and off several times again and you can just see the screw holes on the left. The plugs seem to fit pretty well.

On the hot side, I’ll add a little fire protection goo later to seal that area from fumes entering the cockpit. As I said earlier, the plugs will melt in a fire anyway.

I still had the vents on the left side of the plane to secure. After a lot of fiddling and thinking with pipes on and off again I’ve gone back to clickbonds. I found I could secure the pipes on the alternator cover. The rest of the securing job will be done a bit lower than the turtleback next to the baggage hole.

Here we are with pipes secured (although not done up fully), and the ECU’s back in. They ARE plugged in behind all that wire. I expect a few more cable ties will be needed to clean this all up and then I have a nice upholstered cover to hide the lot!

Date:  09-14-2023

Number of Hours:  6

Manual Reference:  22

Where to put the two System 32 ECU boxes was a bit of a problem. I thought they wouldn’t fit in the rollover space because the vent bottle and lines were there.

Its those two boxes at the top

After realizing this was not going to work in the hellhole, I did think I might make it work up here after all. Its a lot of ‘stuff’ in a small space. There are also cables and wires that will now have to go down the sides and I think the rear seat cushion will need a little extra reduction.

I made up a couple of brackets from angle and added crush tubes so I could tighten up the eventual locknuts.

As an aside I did try out the connectors in the wire loom on the boxes. One turned out to be loose! All it needed was about one thread of the fitting removed to get a tight fit. Imagine the fun of a loose connection in an ECU? Intermittent engine? Maybe not so much fun…

I used FLOX to secure the fittings to the rollover after the usual sanding and prep work.

It fits! This is now rock solid. The plugs to the firewall can go top left of the picture. Or maybe bottom left or maybe split between the sides at the top? I am going to wait until I see where the liquid cooling bottles go on the other side before a decision. This one is done for now.

 

 

 

 

Date:  09-09-2023

Number of Hours:  18

Manual Reference:  22

The EFII ignition and fuel injection has a cockpit controller. It arrived with the engine and its time to install the instrument itself.

This is the last bit of real estate on the panel and was planned years ago.

Taking the plunge, I eased out a hole with a smaller diameter hole saw and then the dremel.

It seems almost done. Nope… the armrest is just a bit higher than the bottom of the instrument. I also need room to get to the knob and buttons. It also needs to be on a slight angle to match the panel and be easier to see and adjust functions.

It took a crazy amount of thought to come up with a simple solution. Everything is super tight in that corner. I needed to ensure the stick was going to still work, the stick mount was going to get a secure brace system, the armrest could come on and out easily and a number of other factors.

I eventually made this very careful cut with super thin saws.

I had to make a number of pretty odd layups as I needed to thin out parts of the arm rest. This is two ply with glass to glass at the top. I looked ahead of which bits need strength as parts go in and out for this last section of the build and for future maintenance.

After thinning out the front edge of the removable part, I made a kind of shelf with it. A nutplated bracket was floxed in place for that rear screw fixing.

The instrument needs to sit on a slight angle. That has to be reinforced so the rear fasteners can have something to do up on.

This might make more sense on what I am doing with the needed angle and stepped front of the arm rest for finger access.

This again may make it clearer. I have the two slopping wedges and a front nutplate.

I also needed the second nutplate embedded in the armrest for a second screw.

That round top hole had another nutplate on the control stick back plate. I needed to lock that in so it is rock solid. A super important fixing. This also secures the armrest and the cover-plate that holds the stick boot and stops things from falling into the stick area. The cloth boot needs a little adjustment by the upholsterer later.

Here’s the overall look. I can’t wait to get power to the EFII monitor and then light up the whole panel after all this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date:  04-13-2023

Number of Hours:  3

Manual Reference:  no ref

This is the Casio AE1200WH-1A. Sometimes called the Casio Royale 1200.
In my opinion the worlds best pilot watch!

It costs in the low two figures, not four as most ‘pilot watches’ are.

For my use I can have UTC and local time of any country in the world. 5 Alarms, light, stopwatch and other tricks. Oh and a 10 year battery life. Not one day like a smart watch or a week for an only slightly smart watch.

I like to get the time at a quick glance. I do have UTC (ZULU) on the iPad and the G3X can display it too. I prefer a simple time source for things like ops normal on the hour or fuel checks. Always in the same place, always the same display. Nothing to fiddle with…unless I need to change time zones or whatever.

I also have one of these as my main wrist watch. Super lightweight, comfortable and functional. Casio should be paying me!

Time to find a spot to mount it. I made a few dummies and this position on the correct viewing angle is going to work. I bent up a piece of 2024T3 and sat in the cockpit too many times to get it right.

I’ve given the mount three coats of paint to match the rest of the cockpit. Now floxed in place with some velcro for the watch attachment, it is very solid.

This has to be my cheapest instrument with the easiest install.

With a wide view and you can see it is tucked out of the way but still in line of sight. This one is done.

 

Date:  09-24-2022

Number of Hours:  20

Manual Reference:  no ref

While waiting on the engine… still… its late September 2022 I have been doing a LOT of little clean up fiddly jobs. Its hardly worth documenting but I’m starting to see what a time soak this stuff can be. I might as well do it now before the big push to the end of the build begins.

I’ve been making little grooves and 5mt gluing all sorts of wires in place all over the interior. Then I carefully paint them grey with a little brush. Most of this I haven’t documented. Here are just a few of the little jobs. In fact I’ve been tweaking things for a few weeks.

I’m working on the relief tube holder. Trickier than you’d think. First up was a modified click bond glassed in place.

This step is done with the spring holder. I have some velcro to add yet and then sorting out the tube. I have some special rubber on order…

There is a wire glued in the right corner now. it had to go somewhere. The landing brake wire has a plastic mount on the floor that holds the cable tie. Then it goes through a hole in the seat to a control box in the front.

The cover needed a little mod to fit the wire. I’ve also modded all four arm rests to better fit the wiring. Just little cuts here and there.

These wires are now mostly secured with cable ties and a cable keeper glued to the floor. These are little plastic square. I remove the adhesive backing and use proper glue. Note the relays are secured and have the blue marks which means they have fasteners done up to correct specs and don’t need to be re checked again before first flight.

 

Date:  06-25-2022

Number of Hours:  10

Manual Reference:  22

We again hit it pretty hard this week, or rather my UN-named avionics expert continued to do the work. I hovered and had an occasional bit of homework or maybe ‘pass the heat gun’. Yes every single wire is labeled at both ends with printed heat shrink.

We now have put the smoke in the wires and none came out! There are a few tweaks and adjustments still to do. The major work is done until the engine shows up. Then final wiring, additions to the looms, tie down fixing points and cleaning up can get us nearer the finishing line.

It turns out one of the autopilot servers is u/s or NFG. It never saw even one hour of use.  However, the way Garmin works I will have to pay for the repair or replacement. There is no warranty as they runs from date of purchase, not date of in service. We experimental builders get no respect. My concern is the delay this may cause with back-orders being a problem. This is Mondays job to get it all moving.

Meanwhile, lots of good news getting this far and hours of configuration still to come. Its a relief to see light in the panel. Gratuitous pics follow.

Yes it all fits…just. White lighting or red, both ‘dim-able’.

Circuit breakers waiting for the engine to be completed.

Throttle and HF all in. A push pull cable to be secured and some wall fasteners later.

The mysterious, un-named avionics expert, who is too busy to work on your plane, captured via the inbuilt EVS infrared forward facing camera.

The red works. At this stage I have no idea what I’ll want to fly with, red or white? I usually prefer red wine.

The money shot.

We still have a lot of work to do but now the avionic finishing line is much closer.

I had to recut the panel for the final fitting of the GTN750. Careful dremel work followed by hand filing.

The audio panel didn’t fit correctly for this final step. After some discussion, I removed the plastic front cover, trimmed it between 1mm and 2mm and the result was a ‘no regret’ fit.

The VPX may not have been necessary for this build as we also went with old school breakers for critical engine function. We still used a lot of its capacity and electronic fusing is a nice feature. Plan B would have been a LOT of fuses under the seat and some even longer wire runs.

This is amazingly tidy given the space constraints. We still have final clean up and a few more wires to go in.

It’s busy in there.

Date:  06-19-2022

Number of Hours:  20

Manual Reference:  22

June 22 and we have just put in a very long ‘weekend’ on the avionic install. I’ve added 20 hours to the log as I have been doing bits and pieces on the plane. The avionics is still mainly my guy where I’m always present and often have a little homework. It is hard to believe we are still just hooking up wires as the various systems get plugs fitted and looms built.

It still looks like a mess but we are only a few mores sessions until we can put things back in the panel and add some smoke to the wires. We can’t ‘finish’ until the engine comes and all its associate sensors and systems but we are closer to seeing something light up.

A real issue here is installing the pitch servo that lives on the canard. We have to leave just the right amount of space which in turn determines where the wire looms go. It will neaten up a little but not to the untrained eye.

The discipline of a label at each end of every wire continues.

This is the main earth tree for the panel. It has 48 push on connections possible. We have only seven left! …and we are not done yet.

This is getting close. We will make a start on the breakers soon. I leave myself notes on green tape which is homework. We are very aware that control push rods and the pitch trim also go here.  Final tidy up will be after the engine comes and we connect to the sensor box in the hellhole and the EFII control head.

Left side is pretty much done for now. The throttle cable gets mounted after the engine so again fastening the cables down has to wait a bit longer.

Its hard to see but there is a box on the side wall that has two huge connectors going to it with all the wires and pins done. My avionics guy did not enjoy all the bending over for this fit-off. We are getting there slowly.

 

Date:  04-07-2022

Number of Hours:  15

Manual Reference:  22

April ’22 and we are still working on the avionics. My un-named expert does the real work and I tag along every session to help with a few decisions and build a little understanding. You don’t get to find out who that is because he is a very busy guy and I don’t need YOU to ask him to work on your plane! <grin>

This Long-EZ, while a small plane, is devilishly complex. The round the world mission has many redundant systems for the engine electrics and extras like the ferry tank pumping system, fuel position liquid sensors, movable headlight, side lights, HF radio, special electric trim, heated pitot with temp sensing and the EVS (IR) camera. There are numerous breakout boxes housing all sorts of complexities.

After a session I sometime have a little homework making fittings, fastener systems or altering something to give the wiring more room. I’m only logging those hours even though we are spending many, many late nights on these systems.

Here’s a brief look at the progress, nose to back seat.

Items in the nose are close to done. I will probably need lead or tungsten for balance there. There is very little room left! That braided thick wire hanging over the GPS antenna goes to the nose IR camera and will detach to get the cover off.

I’m glad I didn’t do hinges for the nose hatch as there is no room. I perhaps should have done a longer nose for C of G reasons and to give a bit more room in for all the toys. I had concerns about extending the nose but many builder have done this without reported issues. Mine is to the plans length but much broader than usual.

A lot is going on below the canard. The yellow wire is 4 AWG and being a special aircraft aluminum and copper type to reduce weight, its diameter is enormous. It has taken about seven click bonds glassed in with two ply to make standoffs for the P-clamps needed to hold it.

You might also notice there are four contactors or solenoids. Two for starting from either battery and one for each BUS. The third little battery is for emergency extension of the nose gear if I have a total electrical failure.

This is just behind the panel. We had to ensure the canard still went on and the torque tube was clear. It was a challenge with the pitch auto pilot servo on the canard.

The front panel is in of course. Also “of course” I had to remove it partly to make some small holes for the lighting wires.

There is a lot going on near the stick, its driving tubes and the trim actuator. It will all be tidy in the end. For now we just need to get the wire runs in. After that I’ll start on cable tie fasteners to the air frame.

On the left or throttle side we are going well. Much of the work is nearly done here. You can see the HF radio head and its electronics box.

All those wires in the back are a challenge to fit. We still have the strip lights to go in. However, overall progress is good.

We might have around half a dozen session to go before we can look at putting the avionics back into the panel and firing her up. A lot of things have to wait for the engine to arrive when I can start running things back from the firewall. For now its just heads down and keep chipping away at each task.

 

 

Date:  12-11-2021

Number of Hours:  10

Manual Reference:  no ref

Finally the main panel frame is re-installed. Yes it was in previously but this is after the screen printing and setting everything up on the practice frame.

I ended up making three panels. The first in MDF and the other two in 2024-T3 Aluminium .125″ thick. The first metal one will go in a sim I’m building, the second is below the ‘final cut’ so no waste! OK, the MDF is in the bin.

Its all been hand cut with a jigsaw and finished with a dremel and hand files. By the time I learned and set it all up in CAD I could have made 10 panels by hand. I didn’t need ten panels anyway. I’ve used nutplates almost everywhere too. If you need your panel done….ask someone else.

Fitting it for real, I found a few access problems and had things to cut and file. The frame went in and out quite a few times before it all started to settle down.

Once the frame was in, my avionics guy came over and we did a check fit for the canard. Well that was a surprise. The elevator cross tube was in the way of lots of things and one back shell looks like its not going to ever fit. The remote VHF radio has had to be positioned back to the spot you see above. Note we have minimal clearance to the G3X fan.

Here’s the same place with a new bracket installed. The VHF box now sits on an angle and the issue of the antenna at the back is resolved with it now clear. I’ve also had to move the earth tree back a little. Four new nutplates have gone in too. Two of these were installed by drilling holes with a hand tap rather than pull everything out.

It is still tight back there. Our next fitting section will start working out where we set those looms in place. The main current issue is availability of my guy. We have spent many months getting it happening on his bench which I haven’t documented or counted as build hours. I was just support staff then.

Date:  11-26-2021

Number of Hours:  10

Manual Reference:  no ref

This is one of those little jobs that proved very challenging. I wanted a position switch for the landing brake aka speed brake. I purchase a Ray Allen unit from the UK with a 1.2″ travel. After many experimental hours I gave up on fitting it and have gone for a simple open of closed switch.

The brake actuator in a horizontal movement sense is stationary, moves in the reverse direction and the later half movement is smooth. It is also located in a place where I have to lay on the strakes with my head upside down to get to it. I’m sure it can be done with heroic measures. Nope, it’s plan B.

I have ended up with a simple mini roller switch and an AN3 bolt.

While the brake is going up I can stop it at any point on the travel via my throttle switch. The idea is to use this to see if it works for glide control like an air-brake.  In  practice I’d be looking at the aiming point, not my instrument readout on the G3X. So the position idea was overkill at best anyway.

Here the brake is nearly shut. You can see how it works. When it is shut the bolt head closes the switch. Simple. I then get the cockpit indication that the brake is closed. If I have forgotten to retract it and engage full throttle for take off, the electronics will close it automatically.

I will be taxiing with the brake down at times to protect the prop from stones thrown up if the runway or taxi way is not well maintained. This is why the main feature I need is ‘brake closed’ indication on the panel AND connected to an ‘auto close’ circuit.

Date:  05-19-2021

Number of Hours:  5

Manual Reference:  22

More progress with the panel on the bench. I mainly still watch with an occasional label or other task. It is good to be there as we have to make decisions now and again. These get done on the spot. This has all taken many evening sessions, probably another 30+ hours. Maybe I did something useful for 5 of them.

While there is a lot going on. It is in fact very neat. Or will be when things are in place.

Every switch has a story.

The electronics here for the two AG6 warning devices. One is for fuel levels, a critical item. The other is canopy warning. The rest turns out to be configurable using the G3X. I still like a prominent “the canopy is unlatched and will fly open in flight you fool” aka a red button switch annunciation.

Plenty of earths on that tree. A lot going on for the audio panel too.

A pic from the back, getting all this in the plane is another kettle of fish.

Even more things to get plugged in.

This is the shot to compare to earlier posts. We are pretty much ready to put smoke in the wires here and see if any comes out.

Frankly, Simon (last name not available) who installed all this has seriously impressed me with his thoroughness, skill, diligence and knowledge. I’m sure he will never read this blog so don’t mention it OK? If people find out he will get even busier and we will never finish.

A few money shots. Everything has worked first time. I have to say the G5 is great as a standby instrument and required for IFR. I’m not sure how useful its going to be in normal flight as it mirrors the PFD (Primary Flight Display). I’m looking forward to finding out.

We still have a few things to finish. One autopilot servo is faulty so thats getting replaced, we have more configuration to do in software and a few switches and a dual dimmer pot to add. You can see again this is the practice panel, not the final one where the labeling is nicer. We of course can’t hook up several things until the engine and the ignition system is delivered.

We are much closer to moving to install in the plane. So maybe half way or better for the avionics.

Garmin have added a canard icon for the G3X. Thanks guys.