Sat Sep 19 13:29:13 2009 - Fabricated and installed the AFS magnetometer. Sure wish I had done this while the top skin was off. Fortunately, nothing that a lot of blankets, pillows, and a 2x4 propping up the tail (just in case) can't take care of.

Sat Sep 19 13:29:29 2009 - Installed the new pitch servo and riveted in the brackets for the strobe power supply.

Sat Sep 19 17:55:31 2009 - Fabricated the hinge clip for the push/pull threaded rod that will connect to a position sensor. It's designed to not to be able to rotate.

Sat Sep 19 17:55:31 2009 - Fabricated the bracket to attach the flap position sensor to the flaps' torque tube. I won't be able to adjust the throw until the wings are on and flaps' extension/retraction has been finalised.

Sat Sep 19 13:29:29 2009 - Aniko helped me rivet in the strobe power supply. I also received and mounted the upgraded pitch servo motor.

Sat Sep 19 13:29:13 2009 - Mounted the AFS magnetometer. All mounting hardware is non-ferrous (either aluminium or stainless steel). The only exception is the very top pull rivet as the remaining part of the mandrel is steel.

Thu Aug 13 17:18:28 2009 - I'm doing all my panel layout in TurboCAD. I printed a full sized copy and manually stitched all the sheets together. It fit amazingly well. This gave me a chance to crawl in and and some garage flying. I found some problems so back to the drawing board; but this getting very close to the final configuration.

Wed Aug 5 19:50:10 2009 - Decided that while I was here, I might as well install a flap deployment limit switch, too. Things are still relatively accessible, I have the procedure fresh in my head, and the parts to make it happen. If you look closely, the two supports bend out slightly. I do not think that this will be a problem since the side panel will gently push them in - does take much force. If anything, vibration will be concern. If it becomes to much of a problem, plan "b" will be to fab an aluminium tube that is threaded on both ends. The tube would then fit in between the two pieces held by c-sunk screws.

Tue Aug 4 21:06:51 2009 - Decided to go with at least an upper limit switch on the flaps. The idea being that I'm going to use an On-Off-(On) switch for the flaps. The '(On)' syntax is for momentary "On"; meaning that I have to constantly push the switch down to turn it "on". This will be for lowering the flaps. On the flip side, when I raise the flaps, they'll fully retract and stop automatically via the limit switch. If I decide later on to install a deploy limit switch, I'll install it on the other side of the channel. I chose this location because all the flap related items (limit switches, motor, position sensor,and wiring) are all located in the same general area making it very easy for troubleshooting and wiring. The downside to this location is that things are pretty tight in this area especially with the adel clamps and side skins.

Mon Aug 3 20:06:10 2009 - I don't know if this is standard practice or not, but it seemed like a good idea. I oriented the hinges so as to maximise raising the seat back as much as possible. The reason being is to make inserting/removing the pins easier. I've no idea if this really helps, but I figured an extra 1/8" or so couldn't hurt.