Monday, April 13, 2020

Antenna

RV14 Build April 10 & 13, 24 & 25

Antenna

I almost done with the fuselage kit, so I've started to do odds and ends. Things like installing GPS antennas! Im going to use the GA-35 for my GNX375 WAAS/GPS/ADBS/Transponder unit and the GA-57X for a GDL51R XM receiver and the GPS signal for the GDU460.

I wasn't too excited about trying to drill into the fastback, dimple, make a doubler, and install the antennas. Thats when it was mentioned to me that I could install them under the baggage window on the Roll Over Structure Brace. 

First I mocked up a line to see where the baggage window will be.

Used tape to mark the middle of the Brace. The antennas are .8" tall so as long as the base is no higher than the tape I will clear it almost up to the Roll Over Structure

Then I looked this up for the GA 35 install. I feel good about most of these in green, The 1 in red is worrisome and the roll over bar might shadow them a bit.

Since #1 is level with the flight attitude, Vans says you can level with the longeron so basically thats what I tried to do and mocked it out of cardboard.

Longeron Angle

I cut 6 inch long pieces of a 1x1" .063 aluminum angle. Then mocked it on the Brace and use the brace bottom to draw a cut line.


The mounting plates are .063" 5x6" 2024t3 sheet metal. Just taped it together for now

Checking the longeron angle

The angles matches the Longeron still

Then I match drilled #40 and clekoed, then final drilled #12 for AN3-4A bolts into the K1000-3 nutplates.
Holes in the brace.

I used a AN3 bolt to hold it in place when I final drilled the second hole

New tool!! 10-32 Nut plate jig This made drilling the nuplates brainless.

Finished drilling, time to debur, dimple and rivet.

Nut plates installed


I used magnets to hold the Mounting plates to the Angle for now to see how it looks and measure the clearance again. I plane to rivet them together after I locate and drill the Antenna screw holes.


So thats the plan and if it doesn't work out, I can use the same antenna, same cable, and the mounting plates as backing plates and move the antenna to the fast back.

New tools to drill even holes and nutplates.

Brackets are fabricated and test fit.



Everything looks good. Interestingly the GA57X as a BNC and TNC connector for the GPS and XM.

The test install looks great, The string represents the rear window.

Topcoated the brackets.


Antenna 12.0 Hours

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Section 55 Common Fuselage Harness

RV14 Build April 4, 5, & 8

Common Fuselage Harness

I thought the harness would be easy to install, that was not the case. Part of that could be my own requirements. Having a common harness pre made fit perfectly isn't realistic so it took some tweaking. After installing it, I spent a lot of time looking at the diagram compared to the Garmin stuff that I am adding. Part of me wishes I would have just build me own. I have more than a few wires that aren't used since the harness works for both Garmin and Dynon.

The plans have you snake the control stick harness through the ribs. This wasn't working for me.

I removed the pins from the connector and then ran the wires. I did have to replace a few of the pins that were excessively messed up.


Got the wires through and the pins on and the connector back on.


Running the harness out to the wing. Where the harness turns to go out to the wing I feel like is at the wrong spot. You will see when I start to work the wires tight I have extra wire in the harness going to the tail and the wires that come from the wing to the tail are tight. I removed some of the heat shrink and massaged the harness around till i liked the fit. I ended up with more wire going out to the wings that intended, but the fuselage run is tight.



Headset jacks installed.

The bend going out to the wing could use a cable management ring before the turn to keep the harness off the push rod.



Right side tailcone. After pulling the harness tight, I have some extra length of wire that I will trim and re-pin.




I did add a bracket for snap rings on the left side harness, right one in the picture. This worked really well vs trying to tie everything in place with lacing.

So I added a snap ring bracket to the other side as well.

Again after pulling the wires tight I have some extra length to the tailcone, that I trimmed and re-pined. Most of this is because the wires that go to the control sticks is a limiting factor at how the harness has to sit. So working with that, I removed some heat shrink and pulled the extra wire length to the wing and pulled the ones that wires that go straight to the tail tight.



The plans don't have a good way to secure these so I bought some sticky cable tie brackets to install. Still waiting on these.

 Cleaning up the wires going to the tailcone.

Right harness is done, just need the heat shrink slid up and heated.


On to the left side run.

This one had a grounded shield pigtail I had to replicate.

Wires are all re-pinned.
 And done.




I noticed in the common fuselage wiring diagram  that with the Garmin G3X autopilot motors these 3 wires aren't used.
I also noticed the left wing isn't planned to have everything that I think I'm going to install, and the GMU 22 magnetometer they did plan isn't wired per Garmin specs. Not sure what I'm going to do yet about this, just FYI I guess.

From the G3X install the GMU22 should have 2 shielded wires 1 2C and 1 3C with both shields grounded to the pins on the unit. The GTP has 1 3C shielded wire grounded near the unit and the shield grounded on it.

The wiring harness uses a shielded 4C but one of the wires isn't used so its basically a 3C, but it has a different set of wires in the shield. The other wires are twisted and not shielded.

The wires coming into the fuselage are a 4C, and 2 2C all shielded plus the single power for the stall warning. Maybe I can use some combination here for what i need?
This is how the wires terminate into the HD D-sub. Ill need to remember this if I decide to deviate from how it was intended.



I also want to add a regulated heated pitot tube, this needs either 2-14awg or 10awg depending on the run length for power and ground and 1 22awg for discrete to the GDU.

Common Fuselage Harness 18.5 Hours

Before Start and First flight testing

 R14 Build August & September 21 Testing Getting into the fun stuf!! Putting gas in for the first time. Have the airplane up to get 15 d...