Headset Jack Location HOBBS 1814.5 hrs

 

See ya later 1800 hr threshold...bring on 1900! As you can see, still cranking along at a good clip. Although there are days I am feeling the fatigue, it has been a lot of fun lately in the Factory. I'm expecting my final total to be around 1950-2000 hrs...we'll see how that plays out. Bottom line, it'll be done when it's done.

 

On the last two Saturdays, we have been hit with two spring blizzards. Both times, I drove my 4x4 truck to the hangar through blinding snow--cant let a little blizzard stop you when you are building an airplane. Of course, the hangar row was like a ghost town...no one to be seen but little old me.

 

One of the cool things about my new hangar location, other than the fact it is a very nice hangar with great hangar mates...is its geographic location. I learned to fly at this airport (KBJC) and the views of the Boulder Flatirons (remember you can click on the photo for a larger view) are nothing short of spectacular! My favorite views of the Flatirons are when there is a fresh coat of snow on them coupled with a bright sunny day, which we get a lot of. Views like this are just one of the many joys of living in the great state of Colorado!

 

 

Ok, back to airplane stuff...more work on the sticks. These are fun...I am learning that I really enjoy anything and everything related to pilot/co-pilot interfaces. Items that I know I'll be seeing/using on a regular basis inside the cockpit. This is the co-pilot stick. The tubing is slightly smaller than the pilot side since it can be removed and it nests inside the larger mount housing.

 

This makes the tubing too small in diameter to properly fit the grips. You have to come up with some way to add a "spacer" to accommodate this. I just used a section of the pilot stick that I cut off (you will need to cut these to your desired length). I then slipped that over the co-pilot stick and you're almost there. There was just a little slop in the assembly as the two tubes didn't fit tight. I suppose you could just leave that little bit of 'slop' and be fine from a safety standpoint. But I didn't want a sloppy feeling stick...I wanted it to feel solid. But how to close up that very small space between the two??

 

I just mixed up a batch of epoxy flox...coated the spacer gap, used a drift pin to keep everything aligned and let it set up overnight. Worked perfectly. In these two pics you can see how it all goes together. Of course, I will do a little touch up on the paint later to make it look pretty again.

 

As I started getting into wiring or at least thinking about wiring my sticks, it dawned on me that it would be a major pain to do all this while the stick assembly is in place in the cockpit. I found some posts on VAF of a modification where builders cut two more of the seat pan ribs so the entire assembly could be removed and assembled on the bench. After some deliberation, I decided to go this route also (btw...Van's approves this mod)...it seemed like a no-brainer to do this for easier access.

 

Notice the red sharpie marks in the pic...that's where I will cut the ribs and fabricate removable spacers just like the inner two ribs have. The ribs are actually pre-punched for this...notice the holes.

 

Here is what it looks like after some cutting...you should get the idea now. More work on the sticks will come later. I am debating exactly how I want to wire my co-pilot stick to make it easy to remove...there are a couple options I am contemplating.

 

 

I am trying to get all of my antenna's wired right now...its pretty amazing how many of them there are on this little airplane! 2 comms...transponder...UAT (ADS-B)...Garmin/XM GPS....Skyview GPS...6 total and this isn't even an IFR bird!

 

So this pic shows the Garmin SL40 Comm coax connector assembly. As you can see, it is a right angle version with a blind mate connection so that it automatically docks when you insert your comm unit.

 

This was my first experience with a coax right angle connector. Luckily, the installation manual had great documentation on how to tackle this. Its pretty similar to a straight coax connector, except you have to solder the conductor inside the housing. Not too tough...pretty intuitive actually.

 

And the finished product...this will now be screwed (and allowed to "float") to the back of the mounting trayfor the SL40.

 

Moving on...yes, bouncing around like I always do. Wired in the flap motor. Did a full range of motion test to ensure the wires had enough slack to move with the assembly...good to go. Also notice my service loop, which is always a good idea for future maintenance.

 

More antenna wiring...this is the connector that goes to the GDL39 for ADS-B...it then connects to my UAT blade antenna on the belly of the plane. I had to buy this right angle SMA connector from a local electronics store (JB Saunders) since Garmin doesn't supply you with one...surprise, surprise. You will need to do the same soldering excercise with this baby. You can either go right angle like I did or buy an adapter (Stein carries these). I wanted this setup because each connector in the system introduces some Db loss so keep them to a minimum if possible.

 

Moving to the baggage area. I thought long and hard about where to put my headset jacks. These were some of my selection criteria:

1. Away from the controls and throttle, so this eliminated the center console as a choice.
2. Able to plug/unplug while strapped in my harness...I didn't want to have to unbuckle my shoulder harness to plug them in or out.
3. Not obstructing the area between the cockpit and the baggage area, i.e., can my co-pilot reach into the back without moving the cords?
4. Fairly easy to reach for in-flight trouble shooting...again without unbuckling.
5. Out of the cockpit area if possible to keep cord clutter to a minimum.

Many of my cockpit influences (center console, throttle location, map light) are from the Diamond cockpit since it is a cockpit layout I mostly like and is one I have experience with. The DA20 has the jacks right behind the seats essentially on the cross support. This is nice to keep the jacks out of the cockpit area...but unless you are a contortionist, you cant reach back to plug those puppies in while strapped in. So, that idea was out for me.

 

But, leveraging the idea of getting them out of the cockpit area. I chose to mount them on the upper support facing to the side. The difference from the DA20 is these are mounted high so I can reach them. With this setup I was able to address all five of my criteria, which is always good in product design. I will also add a couple cord clips on the rear of the roll bar to keep them from hanging down...the cord routing will come over my outside shoulder. 

 

Before deciding on this location, I actually installed my seats and put on my headset to get a feel for the layout. I can reach the jacks without unstrapping. I was thrilled with this location choice. Although I will tell you...I cant wait until the day we have "cordless" headsets...with technology nowadays that cant be far off. A blue tooth headset maybe?? 

 

This support piece where the jacks are installed is supposed to be left open according to the plans. I really despised that unfinished look so I fabricated a cover plate that will also hold a baggage dome light, a map light and a clothes/coat hangar. Here is how I did my clothes/coat hangar. Just riveted a doubler in for strength and bought a simple black anodized drawer handle.

 

The wiring inside the cover...notice the shrink tubing is not 'finalized' yet until I know I have a functioning system...think troublshooting.

 

And the finished product assembled for a test fit...and yes I tested the lights also. I really liked how this came out. The map light is copied directly from where the map light is located in the DA20.