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RV10 pre-wiring question

amerkarim

Active Member
Hi All,

Fortunately I was able to start building my RV-10 and wont have to store it for years because of my work commitments. Have made a start and am making good progress I think. My riveting and fabrication is getting better every time and I am beginning to enjoy it more.

I have been thinking in advance about ways to try and save time and be more efficient when it comes to the finishing process, and one step that was a major pain in my last build was the wiring of the console and other parts of the plane. The wiring was done in the plane, after assembly, often lying on ones back looking up into the console with a torch held between teeth, and it subsequently took 6 months afterwards to deal with all the snags and short circuits. I promised my back I would never do that again and so my plan this time is to make a wooden cutout of the front console and do all the wiring for all the electronics possible in advance. Test with a battery to make sure everything is working as it should and then tape them into wiring looms. My major hurdle is estimating the length of the wires to the various extremities such as the tail light, wing lights, AP servos etc.

Has anyone done this method before, did it work and can they offer me any hints on cable lengths for CAN bus etc to get to all parts of the airplane?

Thanks in advance

Amer
 
There is even an easier option. Don't rivet in the upper fuselage section until you're ready to glass in the front windshield. Just use clecos until ready to rivet.

I had the upper fuselage assembly on my dining room table for many months. Sitting at a table or workbench is much easier than in the aircraft.

As far as service loops go, figure out what you need, then add a foot. In all seriousness, I thought I had made mine long enough. But I didn't understand at the time all the nuances of removing components. You want to make sure you can pull the device out and sit in your lap. If you can't do that, you'll be under the panel making wiring changes. Those high density db connectors are PITA to work on when your head is by the rudder pedals and you wear bifocals. :eek:

I built a wire book to document the wire gauge, color, length, device, and pin# for each connection. Estimate long, wire is cheap in the big picture. When I installed the upper fuselage, the harness was quite long for runs to the tail and wing tips.
 
The days of crawling on your back to go under the panel ended long ago.

Use your time to think out the panel, what gets wired between panel elements (e.g. comm and audio panel) and what gets wired to stuff away from the panel (e.g. EFIS displays).

Then make simple connections so the panel comes out as an assembly. For the RV-10 this was (2) molex plugs, (2) D connectors, (3) coax lines and the D connectors that attach to the SkyView components. Start to finish it is 10 minutes to pull the panel and have it on the bench.

For now, if you add three conduit lines going down each side to the rear you will have what you need to wire the plane.

Carl
 
I also recommend you run the coax and wires to the items that are not in the panel or firewall forward prior to installing the RV-10 cabin top.

I ran all the cables I could think of, including those that run into the wings for lighting, auto pilot servo, trim servo, lights, and magnetometer (which I can't place in the tail cone due to having an AC blower motor back there) pitot heat and tubing for the pitot and AOA. Also ran the wires to the tail for the tail light and elevator trim servo, coax to each of the antenna locations. And ran wires for the auto pilot servos in the tail cone, the static lines to the static ports, wires to the flap motor, wires to the flap position sensor, etc. All of these were labeled and run to the front area where the panel will be, with quite a bit of excess wire length. I will then wire most of the panel at home on my dining room table, and add the wires previously run to the panel before the panel is bolted in place. This way I can minimize any intermediate connectors, since every connector is a potential trouble spot. It also kept me from having to crawl into the tail cone and made the wiring much easier. I even installed the auto pilot servo mounts, and wired the servo connectors before closing up the cabin top and the fuselage top skin that attaches to the back of the cabin top.

To accomplish all of this will require you to select your avionics brand early, so you know what wires are required. (Since you are asking about CAN BUS lengths, sounds like you may have already decided on Garmin avionics.) And run several spare wires to the back, as you will find you forgot something or new avionics are introduced that require addition wires.

Good luck.
 
I have a completely different method and imho a good reason for it. I have done it all ways, and what works the best in the long run is to install conduits and snap bushings as needed, but don?t install a single wire or mount a single component until the build it done. If you can install the components and wires in a completed airframe, then you can remove and replace in a flying airplane. I have had way too many planes in my shop where this wasn?t done and we invented new words while trying to remove them for service. With the new Avionics, almost all of the components are remote mounted and usually they all fit on the sub panel, and wiring can be done with the panel off then service can be done with the screens out of the panel giving good access to the sub panel. In the past things had to be done regularly by laying on your back and working from underneath, but that is mostly a thing of the past with the new Big and shallow EFIS screens with remote components.
 
I have a completely different method and imho a good reason for it. I have done it all ways, and what works the best in the long run is to install conduits and snap bushings as needed, but don?t install a single wire or mount a single component until the build it done. If you can install the components and wires in a completed airframe, then you can remove and replace in a flying airplane. I have had way too many planes in my shop where this wasn?t done and we invented new words while trying to remove them for service. With the new Avionics, almost all of the components are remote mounted and usually they all fit on the sub panel, and wiring can be done with the panel off then service can be done with the screens out of the panel giving good access to the sub panel. In the past things had to be done regularly by laying on your back and working from underneath, but that is mostly a thing of the past with the new Big and shallow EFIS screens with remote components.

That's my plan. Thanks for confirmation that I'm not nuts, Jesse.
 
Wiring harness fabrication

I detailed in this thread how I designed and fabricated my wire harness.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=152279

There should be plenty of detail on how I did it. (One of the many possible ways) I was able to do most of the work out on my work table. So far all of the service loops etc. have worked exactly as expected.

(Disclaimer ; I have yet to purchase my screens and GTN650, so all of the diagrams have not been fully tested.)
 
Thanks Guys

That all makes a lot of sense.

I will start preparing early but not actually do any installations until it all starts coming together.

Kindest regards and safe landings

Amer
 
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