In a message dated 10/4/2004 2:59:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
europa-list-digest@matronics.com writes:
> Andrew,
> ...don't know the details of your 'ready made' module, but I
> would suggest planning the routing for wires (conduits) before gluing in.
> There are a number of routes for wiring which may be arduous after the
> insertion and now would be the time..... I had the advantage of assembling
> old-style and have imbedded drink straw routes through some of the cockpit
> where not structural, and included double length pullthrough fishing line
> for any future inclusion.
> Like several others, I opted for alu fuel lines where they are
> difficult to replace, hoping thereby to avoid scraped knuckles in 5
> years...........
> Cheers and good luck,
> Ferg
> A064
Greetings all,
I thought I'd chime in here since I just finished my conduits. What I did was
make a mold using PVC pipe, actually about quarter round of a 2" PVC pipe. I
cut the PVC lenthwise in half with a band saw, then in half again and
flattened out the edges using a belt sander. Then a cut for the proper length
for
the
conduit was made, plus a couple of inches. Then I taped the 4 PVC quarter
rounds to a piece of particle board and covered it in packing tape, leaving
enough
space between them to allow for flanges of about 3/4" on each side of the
PVC, thereby completing the mold. 2 layers of 'bid sandwich a layer of "E" glass
tape were applied to each mold extending out about 3/4" past the side edges of
the PVC to provide flanges for later installation with flox and a few inches
longer than needed. 4 of these were made. Two to go from the rear bulkhead to
the door sill and two to go from the forward edge of the door sills to the
instrument panel. Installing them over the rebate between the upper and lower
fuselage halves results in the inside diameter of these conduits being slightly
larger than a BNC connector, so should I ever have to replace coax it can be
done. On the right side the rear conduit intersects the fuel filler cover front
and back, but isn't tied into the fuel filler cover. Slots were shaped into
the cover to accept the molded conduits.
Next, and since reinforcement is needed under the door sills to keep the
paint from cracking due to putting your weight on the sill during entering and
exiting the aircraft, I roughly fabricated foam molds, triangular in shape, on
the bandsaw, long enough to run the length of the door, plus a couple of inches
fore and aft. Then the foam was hot glued in place under the door sills. I
then clamped the previously made conduits in place and the foam was sanded to a
nice shape so that it flows neatly from conduit to door sill conduit to
conduit. This foam was also sanded to shape so that it ties smoothly into the
irrigation pipe conduit I made in the windscreen frame to feed switch wires and
XM
antenna feed to my overhead panel. I then taped over the molded conduits and the
foam with packing tape and covered the door sill area with 3 layers of 'bid,
including about a 1" overlap onto the previously molded conduits for and aft.
Once the door sills kicked, I removed all the molded parts, cleaned up the
edges on the band saw, scuffed the bonding flanges and re-installed all of the
conduits with flox. Sanding and floating in the edges with a small amount of
bondo after the flox kicked and painting the cockpit with Zolatone resulted in
conduits which look like they are molded as part of the fuselage side. The door
sills are really stiff too. I'm very pleased with the results. It kills two
birds with one rock and the result is certainly worth the 10 or so hours it took
to make them.
I'd be happy to send pictures off list to anyone interested in seeing this
method. It really makes the cockpit look nice.
I didn't leave a pull string, but what you can do is use a shop vac on one
end of the conduit to suck a length of string through should the need arise to
add wires. I learned this trick from an electrician friend and it works great!
Regards,
John Lawton
Dunlap, TN
A-245 (Working on the tailpost and rudder between glider tows)
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