Avionics Bay Assembly - Part 3

 Equipment mounting using the Midwest Panels design is quick and straight forward.  Everything is clearly marked and after reviewing their equipment installation videos I set about my task

• TCW - Backup batteries for the dual G3X displays
  
• GSU 25 - Air Data and Attitude Input for G3X Touch
  
• GEA 24 - Displays primary engine information
  
• GDL 51R - Remote SiriusXM Receiver (not shown)
  

I jumped ahead in time with the harness laid in with a few more modules installed.

• GAD 27 - Control inputs
• IntelliKey -  Provides key-less start and cabin walk-up features
  

This is the last of many attempts to lay the wire harness in the tray and have everything align the way I wanted it to.

My harness includes the option for the GDL51R, with the intent to add this module later on.

Midwest does not provide a lot of details on exactly where things are meant to go, but if you follow the holes pre-drilled for the zip tie anchors things have a mostly logical order and orientation.

I also had a few questions about the correct placement of the cannon plugs as these were also not documented.

After consulting with the Sling builders FB and even MW Panels commenting this is the correct position for each cannon plug.

Note:#1
This is the bottom view, the male cannot plugs are installed from the bottom of the avionics tray

The wire loom breaks out into the positive and negative buss bars.

The negative buss bar is installed on the left hand side as shown below using the mounting points integrated into the tray.

Note #2

You can see the small red button on the left hand side which is the Intellikey bypass button in the event you forget your key fob.

Note #3

I am using the Gen 2 version of this system which has since been replaced by the IntelliKey NG.

The positive bus bar goes on the right as shown below using the mounting points integrated into the tray.

Avionics Bay Assembly - Part 2

Avionics Bay Assembly - Part2

A week or so later I had all of my parts back from the power coat shop and things could not look better.

 Here is what the radio and intercom stack looked like before:

 Here is the communications stack with a fresh coat of my favorite color.

Vertical Power module installed, and Rotax engine module bracket shown in top right.

Tip #1

This would be a good time to install the Rotax engine module if you have it, if not it can be completed later with much cursing and scraping of skin off of your hands.

Next I need to match drill the avionics bay doubler that is Clecod to the top rib as shown below.

Multiple M4/M5 rivnuts are installed that will be used later to install modules and batteries.

All Rivnuts are installed with J-B Weld Steel Reinforced Epoxy.

The lower row of holes are match drilled and then riveted when bottom tray is installed.

Nylon zip tie mounts are installed and ready for equipment installation.

Avionics Bay Assembly - Part 1

Avionics Bay Assembly - Part 1

I received my full avionics from Midwest Panel Builders and I was excited to unpack everything.

The avionics tray and layout exceeds my expectations and is worth every penny they charge.

All of the module locations are labeled with high-quality stickers, which I promptly began removing.

 

Most of the parts came burr free and in good condition, but I wanted to powder coat everything so I removed all of the adhesive from the stickers and cleaned all of the parts to prep for paint.

I removed all of the nylon zip tie bases, posts and edge guard.

I used a 3M wheel to cleanup all of the laser cut logos and rough edges and sent everything off to paint.

Cabin Heater Assembly

Cabin Heater Assembly

This section covers then installation of the cabin heater, which consists of an electrically powered fan and a small radiator.

The base plate can be installed by loosening the screws on the heater unit, to create a wide enough gap to install the base plate.

The base plate can be placed in the same orientation as shown below.

The screws on the heater unit can then be re-fastened, once the base plate installed in the correct position.

I per-treated all of the mounting brackets using established cleaning de-burring and finished using Bonderit.

Mounting brackets are installed without issue, being careful to not over tighten the screws in the plastic.

 

 
Hose assemblies are cut to length and temporarily installed.

I opted to go with spring hose clamps instead of the supplied worm-gear drive clamps and the hose coupler is on the engine side of the firewall as shown below.  This was done to avoid draining coolant in the cabin during hose replacement.

I added a piece of a fuel line as a way to stabilize the coolant hoses from harmonic vibration that could damage the radiator hose fittings.

This is something I picked up from the Torrence Build Center and is a simple solution that is commonly used on the engine side of the firewall.

Tip #1

These rubber hoses will require replacement at the 5 year mark and Aerospace Innovations has developed a custom silicon (lifetime hose) that does not require replacement.  This area is quite difficult to service after the fiberglass windscreen cover has been installed.  Aerospace Silicone Hoses