Today I ran down to visit with Terry and check out the progress on his Kitfox. Chris has finished up with the wiring of his panel and has got everything working. Now he's in the programming mode. A few more things to do there and Terry will be able to put the windshield/boot cowl back on and finish up the build. The first engine start is within a week or so, then final inspection. Good Job Terry!
The big coil of wire in the foreground is the programming cable. It will be removed once programming is complete.
It's all working!
Now, Chris can get back to work on mine...
Speaking of working on mine, I did get a couple of things done.
For the past several days I've been working on the Beringer brakes. I started by laying out all the inventoried parts. The master cylinders are already mounted to the pedals in the aircraft.
First thing was to make up a couple of brake lines and temporarily install them checking for fit. I have some issues where the wires come up to the panel but will get that sorted.
Next up, I needed to determine where the optional ALIR (proportional valve), kind of like an anti-lock brake system, was to be mounted. It's not exactly easy to locate as it goes in between the pedals and the parking brake unit (which I also need to find an appropriate place to mount it). The ALIR valve is pretty much a set it and forget it valve. So, constant access isn't required, which helps in finding a place for it. In my case, just in front of the passenger seat under the elevator control structure.
Two lines in from the pedals, two lines out to the parking brake (not yet installed).
A shot of the co-pilot pedals with the lines going to the ALIR cris-crossing under the pedal brackets going back to the ALIR.
Another shot of the co-pilot master cylinders with the lines temporarily attached. This is looking "through" the firewall at the pedals.
Taking a break from thinking about the brakes, I needed to finish up running the electrical wire from the rudder strobe light into the fuselage. I decided to try my hand at making a fairing for that line. I needed something small, just to cover the hole and provide some protection. I painted the fairing matte black to match everything else and left it to dry over night.
Once I was finished with that I burned a few holes in the fabric, just big enough to allow the plug to pass through. I passed the plug inside and connected it to it's mate to complete the connection.
This morning, I applied some Super Glue and mounted it to finish that task. The wire passes cleanly through and is uninhibited in its movement through the full throw of the rudder.
