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Whats in your tail cone?

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xblueh2o

Well Known Member
I am close to putting on the aft turtle deck for real. Over the course of the build I have had a pad of paper on the bench where I write down steps I hope to do while the aft fuselage is an open canoe before it becomes more difficult to work back there. I have been working through my list but I am curious if I am missing anything obvious.
A few examples of things I have thought about:
Install static ports and figure out static line routing
Fab a magnetometer mount and figure out data wire routing
Install shielded multi conductor wire for LED tail light/strobe

Am I missing anything huge?
For you RV-8 builders, do you have any antennas mounted in the tail cone?

Thanks for your input.
 
Tail one Stuff

xblueh2o said:
I am close to putting on the aft turtle deck for real. Over the course of the build I have had a pad of paper on the bench where I write down steps I hope to do while the aft fuselage is an open canoe before it becomes more difficult to work back there. I have been working through my list but I am curious if I am missing anything obvious.
A few examples of things I have thought about:
Install static ports and figure out static line routing
Fab a magnetometer mount and figure out data wire routing
Install shielded multi conductor wire for LED tail light/strobe

Am I missing anything huge?
For you RV-8 builders, do you have any antennas mounted in the tail cone?

Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...

In my RV-8 Tailcone, I have:

Tail light & strobe wires
Wehlen power supply (I built before LED strobes)
Autopilot pitch servo
ELT
Battery and Battery bus fuse block
Transponder antenna (mounted on the belly just behind the baggage compartment bulkhead)
2.2 AH standby battery
Trim servo wires (or manual trim cable)
Static ports & plumbing
Master solenoid
e-bus 20A relay

Skylor
RV-8
 
Install a few extra wire runs back there to the instrument panel area for spares, future use, or replacement of failed wires later.
 
Fabricate ingress/egress hatch, sized for a 7 year old so that once you realize what you forgot, you can utilize an appropriately sized 7 year old to crawl down the tail cone!:)
 
Any avionics you mount back there need to be accessible from the tail fairing opening, or by use of the aforementioned 7-year old. Plan your installation accordingly. This includes your static connections, if you plan IFR you'll need to have that certified periodically and a leak there is a pain to get to unless you route your tubing to have connections at an accessible place.
 
This is why I donate for this site (That reminds me, new year, time to pony up) Pitch trim had totally slipped my mind.
Mounting bracket for the A/P pitch servo is already in. Waiting on battery mount until I make a final decision regarding what kind of battery and where. Fortunately all that stuff is forward enough to be accessible with the aft baggage compartment removed. Sounds like I am at least in the ballpark.

I know this guy who would maybe fit back there but he never comes around the airport anymore and when he does he spends his time playing with avionics.
 
Another possible item for back in the tail cone.

Skyview ADSB box. It's easy to put this box back there with a short cable to a rear mounted belly antenna.

Sending four 22g wires aft is usually much easier than sending a RG-400 co-ax aft.
 
ELT, ELT antenna, magnetometer, cat whiskers mounted below the HS for the nav radio, strobe/tail light wires.
 
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