Canopy Slider Frame

I've been tweaking the canopy slider frame. I'm at the point where it slides back and forth with one finger and almost every measurement is spot on except the back bow. I'll be doing a fiberglass fairing so I need to read more about how close to perfect it needs to be.

Avionics Cooling Fan/Defroster

I cut the vents in the glareshield for the avionics cooling fans that double as defrosters. I did it by hand and it's not perfect but I installed the fans and tested them and they work great.

Here's one of the fans. They are 80 mm computer cooling fans. That size was the most common at Altex Computers so I knew they would be easy to replace and they only cost about $12 each. This brand was the quietest by spec and when installed and tested I could barely hear them while they put out good airflow. The design came from the guard that is installed on the bottom of the fan. I just unscrewed it and traced it onto the glareshield.

Specs on the back of the box.

Canopy Rollbar

I got the canopy roll bar installed. It's nice to get back to some fabrication work. The rollbar fit perfectly without any adjustment required.

The hardest part was attaching the nuts, washers and spacers under the canopy rail. I read where many had just cut away the bottom of the rail but I was looking for a better solution. I ended up fabricating an offset 7/16 socket and it worked great. I also put a dot of superglue on the washer and bolt to hold it to the spacer. It only took 5 minutes to get everything assembled with the new tool. I had unsuccessfully tried for 30 minutes and knew there had to be a better way. The hook shape of the tool arm has no purpose. That's just the way it came out of the junk bucket.

 

Here's the forward roll bar brace installed. I had to remove the radio stack and the top skin to drill the forward holes.

 

ELT Antenna

After much thought, I decided to mount the ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter) antenna in the tailcone. It will be under the fiberglass empennage fairing which will allow clear transmission and protection in case of an accident.

Autopilot Connected

I connected and tested the pitch autopilot which controls altitude. Dynon and Skyview sure make it easy. After I connected the long elevator pushrod, I went through the software setup and testing and it only took five minutes. This picture isn't the greatest but it shows the autopilot (AP>) connected with LEVEL selected. Pushing the LEVEL button instantly engages the autopilot in straight and level flight. I also played with ALT which commands the autopilot to go to the altitude you have selected with the altitude bug. It was fun watching the elevator pitch up or down trying to go to different altitudes. Since I'm in the garage and it's difficult to change altitude, the autopilot went to the stops valiantly trying to command the elevator to get us to our selected altitude.

Here's the elevator pushrod temporarily installed. I have bubble wrap on it to prevent scratches when installing.