This weekend, I participated in the Sport Air Workshops class on electrical systems. I have some panel changes in mind, and I've been scared even to think about it. Electricity has always been opaque to me.
tl;dr -- Definitely worth the time and money.
We were at the Vincennes University Aviation Technology Center at the Indianapolis International Airport -- a first-class facility for learning, but a little short on amenities like food and coffee. Class started at 0800 Saturday. There were 12 of us, taught by Dick Koehler, former A-6 pilot, career Air Force until he wasn't, electrical engineer, A&P/IA, etc., etc. Here's an outline of the syllabus, which I believe Dick wrote:
Saturday:
Basic Electricity
Workshop Project: Crimping Exercise
Workshop Project: Soldering
Sunday:
Introduction to Avionics
Workshop Project: Antenna Cable Connections
Monitoring Systems
Mapping an Electrical System
Troubleshooting an Electrical System
Review of Electrical Systems
Workshop Project: Wiring a Dimming Circuit
Review
It was all very well written and well presented, about 60:40 lecture:lab. The projects allowed us to practice reading diagrams and making connections in an environment where getting it wrong doesn't cost anything. Dick was patient and encouraging. You'd never know he's given this workshop hundreds of times.
I gained an understanding of wiring diagrams, circuits, circuit protection, pinning D-subs, and making other types of connections. All of that gives me enough confidence to pull my G3X out and look behind it.
I do think we spent more time soldering than any avionics tech does in a month, and we didn't talk about solder sleeves at all. While I understand bus bars and circuit diagrams, I still don't know what to expect to see when I crawl upside down under my panel. Maybe there should be an advanced class, where we'd learn more about what to see when you're upside down, and more about what a CANbus is and how we use it.
Overall, I'd give it 4 stars out of 5. I'd be ready to start a panel from scratch right now, which is something that would've been beyond consideration a couple of days ago. I'm not at a point where I'll be able to dig into my pre-existing panel to add and subtract things, though. That'll require an advanced class, a patient mentor, or a willingness to pay someone else to do it.
tl;dr -- Definitely worth the time and money.
We were at the Vincennes University Aviation Technology Center at the Indianapolis International Airport -- a first-class facility for learning, but a little short on amenities like food and coffee. Class started at 0800 Saturday. There were 12 of us, taught by Dick Koehler, former A-6 pilot, career Air Force until he wasn't, electrical engineer, A&P/IA, etc., etc. Here's an outline of the syllabus, which I believe Dick wrote:
Saturday:
Basic Electricity
Workshop Project: Crimping Exercise
Workshop Project: Soldering
Sunday:
Introduction to Avionics
Workshop Project: Antenna Cable Connections
Monitoring Systems
Mapping an Electrical System
Troubleshooting an Electrical System
Review of Electrical Systems
Workshop Project: Wiring a Dimming Circuit
Review
It was all very well written and well presented, about 60:40 lecture:lab. The projects allowed us to practice reading diagrams and making connections in an environment where getting it wrong doesn't cost anything. Dick was patient and encouraging. You'd never know he's given this workshop hundreds of times.
I gained an understanding of wiring diagrams, circuits, circuit protection, pinning D-subs, and making other types of connections. All of that gives me enough confidence to pull my G3X out and look behind it.
I do think we spent more time soldering than any avionics tech does in a month, and we didn't talk about solder sleeves at all. While I understand bus bars and circuit diagrams, I still don't know what to expect to see when I crawl upside down under my panel. Maybe there should be an advanced class, where we'd learn more about what to see when you're upside down, and more about what a CANbus is and how we use it.
Overall, I'd give it 4 stars out of 5. I'd be ready to start a panel from scratch right now, which is something that would've been beyond consideration a couple of days ago. I'm not at a point where I'll be able to dig into my pre-existing panel to add and subtract things, though. That'll require an advanced class, a patient mentor, or a willingness to pay someone else to do it.
