Monday, September 23, 2019

Cabin Top and stick grips

Cabin top, stick grips, autopilot brackets, and more!  This past couple of weeks have been busy with a variety of tasks. 

Stick Grips

I decided to use a different stick grip type for the 10.  On the 9A I have Tosten grips which I like the feel of but they are made of molded plastic that tends to flex at the seam during hard pulls.  These grips are actually slid over the metal control rod which means there is no seam to split.  

The unmodified control stick does not have that small hole in the base of the upright tube.  It took a bit of creative drilling and deburring but I was able to create a hole that I can use to route the stick grip wiring through.  I've seen many installs where the wiring is run down the outside of the tube which is ok because most people put some sort of cover over the stick but I wanted a clean protected route.

Pilot side stick ready to install.

Auto Pilot brackets

Yaw bracket fitting.

Yaw and Pitch Autopilot servo brackets primed and installed.
Cabin Top

I used some smooth bore plastic hose to create a void and then used packing tape over it so I could lay fiberglass over it to form the cap.

The fiberglass cap is epoxied in place and the first batch of micro/epoxy filler applied.

After a couple of iterations of micro/epoxy treatment I used some high build primer to help fill some of the pin holes and voids.  

In this picture you can see the void that was created that I can use to route wiring into the overhead console.  This is available on both sides of the cabin.

A layer of epoxy primer as a final covering before paint.

Cabin top back on the fuselage.  The overhead console needs a little buffing but otherwise I'm happy with out it all came out.  Still have to do some interior painting which will be a Tan (similar to what Lexus uses).  That should create a nice transition between the black carbon fiber and the tan interior.

Under the overhead console I epoxied some standoffs in place and then mounted the LC-50 lighting controller.  Its hard to see in this picture but the connectors for the controller are easily visible and accessible but the rest of the device is hidden under the cover.

This is my rendition of the WAAS GPS antenna mount.  Its inside of the airplane but because the GPS signal is not attenuated by the fiberglass which makes this just as good as mounting it on the exterior.

Tunnel Cover

Following up on the changes to the rudder pedal modifications the tunnel cover had to be modified.  Here you can see the split, the slots for the arms, and the doubler to make up for the split.