Well, the big ?Mikey? panel upgrade project is just about finished (all but the shouting - still have to calibrate the fuel level and figure out why the passenger PTT isn?t working, or why the number 2 Comm audio isn?t coming out of the audio panel?.), and it appears from the view count on the thread we started to track the progress (16,000 views?) that there was some interest. So maybe it?s appropriate to step back and summarize a few of the ?Lessons Learned? along the way for those who wonder what a project like this might entail?.
1) Time is relative - major airplane work takes all you?ve got! We probably began the serious planning for the work in September (Louise had been dreaming of it for a lot longer, I know!). This entailed setting the equipment list and designing the basic architecture for dataflow between boxes, power redundancy, and frankly, what would fit in the panel. Ordering equipment took a month or two, and the goal was to have everything we needed on hand before any actual work on the airplane began. We took the airplane out of service and stripped the panel and interior on Thanksgiving weekend - thee days of solid work by two of us. I then spent pretty much every night and weekend for three weeks building (and wiring) the panel at home and cleaning up the airframe wiring and sub panel at the airport. When Louise arrived the week before Christmas, we were pretty much ready to install the panel, and it looks like we spent 12 six-hour days in the holiday period working on and then test flying the plane. Overall, I?d have to guess there are about 300 person hours in the project (not counting design and purchasing time). Be realistic - everything takes four time longer than you expect!
2) Everything takes four times longer than you expect! I said that twice because if you?re used to working on houses, bicycles, lawn equipment, or even cars?.airplanes a re different. You are usually working in very confined spaces because airplanes are built small and compact. You are working with tiny wires and connectors for the same reason. You also are dealing in a realm where ?Good enough? means ?meets the standards or you do it over?. Lots of crimps get cut of and re-done. I have lots of aluminum scrap as well. And because of the compact nature, it is not uncommon to work yourself into a corner when you are building without plans or a detailed kit - this is why so many kits make it to the completed structure stage and get abandoned when it comes to wiring and plumbing. It takes a lot of vision and creativity to get through the parts you have to make up. A great example is wire bundling - you will spend hours neatening up a run of wires with lacing cord or zip ties, only to discover that you have one more wire to run the next day. Cut everything off and start over, or ?stack? zip ties - your choice, but you know what your conscience will tell you?.
3) Shop supplies are important. Order a bunch more of everything than you think you?ll need. I estimated wire and then double it - and used all but about 10% of what I had. It?s no fun to run out of a specific gauge wire than you need just a little more of - on a Friday before a holiday hen you are stuck without it. Even Steinair has to obey the laws of physics - holes in the space-time continuum are not allowed. This extends to things like switches and circuit breakers. Order extras - you will discover deficiencies in your design and purchasing plans once you start cutting metal and drilling holes. You?ll need lots of crimp-on ring lugs, butt splices, cable ties?make that HUNDREDS of cable ties? screws, nuts, washers, nutplates - in other words, order a bunch of Van?s standard-sized hardware and keep it in stock. I can?t believe I am currently out of #8 nutplates! That?s like my Mom running out of flour or sugar in her kitchen! I feel naked without at least a couple dozen on hand?. Paint, primer, etc - you need this as well!
4) As I did with the Val, I built and wired the panel on the workbench, and tested as much of it as I could before it went to the airport. Even then, I have discovered a couple of mysterious problems - why can?t I hear Comm 2 through the audio panel? Why doesn?t the passenger PTT work? Preliminary ?ring outs? tell me I don?t have them wired to the right places! How can that be?! Bottom line is to build a testing checklist, invest in a good 12V power supply, and test, test, test?.
5) Keep records/drawings of everythign you do, even if they are scribbled on scraps of paper. Ask Louise how many times I asked her to find ?a half sheet fo notebook paper from the red notebook, folded in half, with a crude drawing of a circular connector in pencil on one side, and mustard on the other?? I know what the scraps look like at least?.
6) Buy some overstuffed pillows at a garage sale or cheap flea market. Get some high-density foam blocks. Save packing material from those expensive avionics shipments - use it all to fill the foot wells in your airplane, because you?re going to be lying on your back under the panel, and you need to bring the floor comfortably near the level of the top of the spar. Have a loose pillow or two to protect your head from the rudder pedals! You?ll do a lot better work if you?re comfortable, and can spend a lot longer time working if you aren?t in pain. If you?re building with a partner, trade off ?under panel? duties, and use the person on the outside to grab all the things you forgot in the tool box.
7) Some of my favorite specialty tools include a butane soldering iron (very portable, heats quickly, and no cord to snag), sharp tiny scissors (to cut lacing cord cleanly), and a can of ?Goof Off? to remove sticky stains and residue from tape and previous Velcro installations. Good shop lights are also essential. I really liked having an old-fashioned incandescent drop light hung up under the panel - nice light and warmth (it was a chilly time of year in the hangar). We also bough a new set of halogen lights on work stands - they not only give you great flood light, but can be used overnight in the cockpit to dry paint.
8) As in any RV project, having extra 3/8? and 7/16? wrenches and sockets around will greatly expedite the work. Half a dozen #2 Phillips drivers aren?t a bad idea either. They don?t have to be expensive - you just want something at hand when you want it, rather than going hunting outside when you?re already inside?.the cost of several sets is inconsequential compared to the overall project budget.
9) Take the time to spruce things up while you?re doing an upgrade. We had Mikey stripped to the bare interior and just a few wires coming in from the wings, tail, and FWF. It was a great time to repaint everything so that the interior will match the newness of the panel. New wiring FWF is cheap and renews everything as well - you?re going to be splicing in to it anyways, so why not just go all the way to the end. We even bought a new ignition harness because the plug wires were the only old things left. It makes it a better airplane!
10) Take breaks for lunch and pace yourself. I tend to work long and straight through when I am working alone. When you?re working with a partner (and Louise was the driving force in this project), you need to keep everyone happy. Besides, we solved as many problems over a Subway sandwich as we did buried in the airplane. Stepping back and talking through the plan is a great way to speed things up.
I know that Louise has her own list, and there are many more things I could put down - and I am sure that others have some great suggestions as well. Upgrading an existing plane is a good way to get into building, or a great way to get back into a build if you are flying and missing the work. And that new-panel smell is great when you taxi out for the first flight!
Paul
1) Time is relative - major airplane work takes all you?ve got! We probably began the serious planning for the work in September (Louise had been dreaming of it for a lot longer, I know!). This entailed setting the equipment list and designing the basic architecture for dataflow between boxes, power redundancy, and frankly, what would fit in the panel. Ordering equipment took a month or two, and the goal was to have everything we needed on hand before any actual work on the airplane began. We took the airplane out of service and stripped the panel and interior on Thanksgiving weekend - thee days of solid work by two of us. I then spent pretty much every night and weekend for three weeks building (and wiring) the panel at home and cleaning up the airframe wiring and sub panel at the airport. When Louise arrived the week before Christmas, we were pretty much ready to install the panel, and it looks like we spent 12 six-hour days in the holiday period working on and then test flying the plane. Overall, I?d have to guess there are about 300 person hours in the project (not counting design and purchasing time). Be realistic - everything takes four time longer than you expect!
2) Everything takes four times longer than you expect! I said that twice because if you?re used to working on houses, bicycles, lawn equipment, or even cars?.airplanes a re different. You are usually working in very confined spaces because airplanes are built small and compact. You are working with tiny wires and connectors for the same reason. You also are dealing in a realm where ?Good enough? means ?meets the standards or you do it over?. Lots of crimps get cut of and re-done. I have lots of aluminum scrap as well. And because of the compact nature, it is not uncommon to work yourself into a corner when you are building without plans or a detailed kit - this is why so many kits make it to the completed structure stage and get abandoned when it comes to wiring and plumbing. It takes a lot of vision and creativity to get through the parts you have to make up. A great example is wire bundling - you will spend hours neatening up a run of wires with lacing cord or zip ties, only to discover that you have one more wire to run the next day. Cut everything off and start over, or ?stack? zip ties - your choice, but you know what your conscience will tell you?.
3) Shop supplies are important. Order a bunch more of everything than you think you?ll need. I estimated wire and then double it - and used all but about 10% of what I had. It?s no fun to run out of a specific gauge wire than you need just a little more of - on a Friday before a holiday hen you are stuck without it. Even Steinair has to obey the laws of physics - holes in the space-time continuum are not allowed. This extends to things like switches and circuit breakers. Order extras - you will discover deficiencies in your design and purchasing plans once you start cutting metal and drilling holes. You?ll need lots of crimp-on ring lugs, butt splices, cable ties?make that HUNDREDS of cable ties? screws, nuts, washers, nutplates - in other words, order a bunch of Van?s standard-sized hardware and keep it in stock. I can?t believe I am currently out of #8 nutplates! That?s like my Mom running out of flour or sugar in her kitchen! I feel naked without at least a couple dozen on hand?. Paint, primer, etc - you need this as well!
4) As I did with the Val, I built and wired the panel on the workbench, and tested as much of it as I could before it went to the airport. Even then, I have discovered a couple of mysterious problems - why can?t I hear Comm 2 through the audio panel? Why doesn?t the passenger PTT work? Preliminary ?ring outs? tell me I don?t have them wired to the right places! How can that be?! Bottom line is to build a testing checklist, invest in a good 12V power supply, and test, test, test?.
5) Keep records/drawings of everythign you do, even if they are scribbled on scraps of paper. Ask Louise how many times I asked her to find ?a half sheet fo notebook paper from the red notebook, folded in half, with a crude drawing of a circular connector in pencil on one side, and mustard on the other?? I know what the scraps look like at least?.
6) Buy some overstuffed pillows at a garage sale or cheap flea market. Get some high-density foam blocks. Save packing material from those expensive avionics shipments - use it all to fill the foot wells in your airplane, because you?re going to be lying on your back under the panel, and you need to bring the floor comfortably near the level of the top of the spar. Have a loose pillow or two to protect your head from the rudder pedals! You?ll do a lot better work if you?re comfortable, and can spend a lot longer time working if you aren?t in pain. If you?re building with a partner, trade off ?under panel? duties, and use the person on the outside to grab all the things you forgot in the tool box.
7) Some of my favorite specialty tools include a butane soldering iron (very portable, heats quickly, and no cord to snag), sharp tiny scissors (to cut lacing cord cleanly), and a can of ?Goof Off? to remove sticky stains and residue from tape and previous Velcro installations. Good shop lights are also essential. I really liked having an old-fashioned incandescent drop light hung up under the panel - nice light and warmth (it was a chilly time of year in the hangar). We also bough a new set of halogen lights on work stands - they not only give you great flood light, but can be used overnight in the cockpit to dry paint.
8) As in any RV project, having extra 3/8? and 7/16? wrenches and sockets around will greatly expedite the work. Half a dozen #2 Phillips drivers aren?t a bad idea either. They don?t have to be expensive - you just want something at hand when you want it, rather than going hunting outside when you?re already inside?.the cost of several sets is inconsequential compared to the overall project budget.
9) Take the time to spruce things up while you?re doing an upgrade. We had Mikey stripped to the bare interior and just a few wires coming in from the wings, tail, and FWF. It was a great time to repaint everything so that the interior will match the newness of the panel. New wiring FWF is cheap and renews everything as well - you?re going to be splicing in to it anyways, so why not just go all the way to the end. We even bought a new ignition harness because the plug wires were the only old things left. It makes it a better airplane!
10) Take breaks for lunch and pace yourself. I tend to work long and straight through when I am working alone. When you?re working with a partner (and Louise was the driving force in this project), you need to keep everyone happy. Besides, we solved as many problems over a Subway sandwich as we did buried in the airplane. Stepping back and talking through the plan is a great way to speed things up.
I know that Louise has her own list, and there are many more things I could put down - and I am sure that others have some great suggestions as well. Upgrading an existing plane is a good way to get into building, or a great way to get back into a build if you are flying and missing the work. And that new-panel smell is great when you taxi out for the first flight!
Paul