REFLECTOR: Electrics/Wiring

[Ron Brown]

I found the Aero Electric information to be extremely helpful. In a former life, I had lots of experience with electric utility power plant control and wiring/relay systems, but the wiring info in Aero Electric was extremely helpful as I designed and wired my Velocity.

As I mentioned a couple of months ago, you won't add much weight by using one size larger wire and adding a few extra spare wires to the firewall (front and back of the firewall).  Use the keel area for the stuff in front of the fire wall and reserve the floor ducts for the engine control cables and engine wiring.  If you are using a vacuum pump, consider using a 1/2" ID copper tube to double as the vacuum line and the ground wire to the engine.  Be sure to label the wiring at both ends to aid in terminating the wires and trouble shooting.  I used plastic round "canon" twist lock type connectors to enable the instrument panel to be wired separate from the airplane.  And keep your wiring diagram to reflect "as built".  Remember, the breakers (or fuses if you go All Aero Electric), are there to protect the WIRES, not the end devices. The wire needs to be sized to carry the power (amps) required by the end device.     

An A/I friend of mine uses a wiring board to layout and cut his wiring.  He measures the wiring run lengths from various points in the plane - like the length of wire from a terminal strip on the fire wall to the rear duct entrance, length of the duct, length of wire up to the panel, etc.  Then he marks and lays out the wiring harness on the long work bench.  Then start pulling the appropriate wires from point to point on this 2D board.  Of course, you will want to make the wires at the ends just a bit longer (just-in-case).  Try to avoid running heavy amperage wiring parallel and close to low voltage signal wiring (temperature and voltage/resistance sensors.  And COM antenna wiring is probably the worst noise generator that just loves to change your fuel level indication when you push the talk button.  So try to keep the COM antenna wire away from the low voltage stuff.  

Have fun!!!!
Ronnie Brown

  


----- Original Message ----- 
  From: David Ullman 
  To: reflector at tvbf.org 
  Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2006 10:00 AM
  Subject: REFLECTOR: Electrics


  I have been reading Bob Nuckolls' book The AeroElectric Connection. There is a lot of good detail in this book (see www.aeroelectric.com).  Anyone follow his advice and schematics?  What he says makes sense, but I have never wired a plane before, so what do I know.  Second, I have started drawing up a wiring diagram and parts list in Visio.  Anyone done this who wants to share?

   

  Dr. David G. Ullman

  Robust Decisions Inc

  1655 NW Hillcrest Drive

  Corvallis, Oregon, 97330 USA

  Phone 541-758-5088

  Direct Phone: 541-754-3609

  FAX 866-898-1007

  ullman at robustdecisions.com

   



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