Around 950 lbs. dry. Gross around 1800, unless I choose to keep it light sport, which would limit it to 1320 gross
Chuck and Ryan's Carbon Cub Build Blog
- Thread starter CESLAW
- Start date
Around 950 lbs. dry. Gross around 1800, unless I choose to keep it light sport, which would limit it to 1320 gross
Avionics? The cub I ride in has no steenkin' avionics! The owner has now installed a radio but that's all.
I remember a book where the author was asked by a bystander looking in his Cub "Where is your radio" and the pilot answered "Home, on the living room table where it belongs...."
Will Rick and Jac, you won't like what you are going to see.
State of the art package. Flat screen with engine monitoring including EGT and CHT for each cylinder. ADHARS. ADS B in and out. 3D imaging. Remote monitor viewable from screen. IFR and VFR charts can be displayed. Angle of attack indicator. Trim indicator.
I could go on.
Necessary? Not at all. But the next generation of pilots expects it.
At some point I may sell it. Resale value.
Weight penalty is insignificant in a 900 pound plane with a 180 hp engine.
Working on a way to get the monitor to display Fox News and HBO, but haven't got that sorted.
Attitudes about aircraft instrumentation seem to be age related. Since I am still 29, I gravitate towards the high tech.
Sorry to let you down.
State of the art package. Flat screen with engine monitoring including EGT and CHT for each cylinder. ADHARS. ADS B in and out. 3D imaging. Remote monitor viewable from screen. IFR and VFR charts can be displayed. Angle of attack indicator. Trim indicator.
I could go on.
Necessary? Not at all. But the next generation of pilots expects it.
At some point I may sell it. Resale value.
Weight penalty is insignificant in a 900 pound plane with a 180 hp engine.
Working on a way to get the monitor to display Fox News and HBO, but haven't got that sorted.
Attitudes about aircraft instrumentation seem to be age related. Since I am still 29, I gravitate towards the high tech.
Sorry to let you down.
Not worrying me, its your plane, but once you get comfortable with flying it try covering the panel and fly it blind- no instruments ( with someone flight capable in the back seat and away from controlled airspace), couple of hours of that will open up a whole new world.
Now with that I totally agree. Flip a switch and the panel dies leaving only two steam gauges: ASI and altimeter. Open the windows, drop the door, low and slow. Can't wait.
Hey Chuck,
I want to be you when I grow up! LOL
Nice job friend.
Howard
I want to be you when I grow up! LOL
Nice job friend.
Howard
Boot Cowl
Anxious to get on with the wiring, the paint booth was cleaned, the plastic walls rolled up, and wiring started as soon as the fuselage was painted. Getting the painting done was such a relief.
Then it occurred to me: once wired, the boot cowl would need to go in place before the engine could be hung. I had not painted the boot cowl. More troublesome, the days were getting cooler and the time to get it painted was growing short.
So the wiring came to a halt. The plastic was unfurled, the fuselage was moved out, and back to painting. Ugh.
The etching primer went on easily, followed by the PPG polyurethane paint. The results were a pleasant surprise: it looked car – like in its quality.
But the bottom portion of the boot cowl needed to be painted silver to match up with the fuselage, so the boot cowl was temporarily placed on the fuselage and the location of the silver paint line determined. The Polyfiber Poly Tone went on easily. While the paint booth was set up, the landing gear components were also painted Poly Tone Nevada Silver after spraying the powder coated surfaces with Bull Dog Adhesion Promotor. The plan is to finish the wiring, install the landing gear, then install the boot cowl, followed by the engine. That should take me through winter.
The moral of the story: don’t forget to paint the boot cowl before moving on to the fun stuff.
Anxious to get on with the wiring, the paint booth was cleaned, the plastic walls rolled up, and wiring started as soon as the fuselage was painted. Getting the painting done was such a relief.
Then it occurred to me: once wired, the boot cowl would need to go in place before the engine could be hung. I had not painted the boot cowl. More troublesome, the days were getting cooler and the time to get it painted was growing short.
So the wiring came to a halt. The plastic was unfurled, the fuselage was moved out, and back to painting. Ugh.
The etching primer went on easily, followed by the PPG polyurethane paint. The results were a pleasant surprise: it looked car – like in its quality.
But the bottom portion of the boot cowl needed to be painted silver to match up with the fuselage, so the boot cowl was temporarily placed on the fuselage and the location of the silver paint line determined. The Polyfiber Poly Tone went on easily. While the paint booth was set up, the landing gear components were also painted Poly Tone Nevada Silver after spraying the powder coated surfaces with Bull Dog Adhesion Promotor. The plan is to finish the wiring, install the landing gear, then install the boot cowl, followed by the engine. That should take me through winter.
The moral of the story: don’t forget to paint the boot cowl before moving on to the fun stuff.
Attachments
Wiring, Part I, Initial Steps
Anyone that built a Heathkit in the late sixties will remember the yellow covered instruction manual. Each connection had a separate line with a box to check after it was done. When all the boxes were checked you could be confident that it was properly assembled (except for the rare cold solder joint). Heathkit pretty much mastered the idiot proof instruction manual.
The G3X does not come with such an assembly manual. What it does include are harnesses with each wire clearly marked and a set of wiring diagrams.
So here are a few general tips:
1. Keep the rotator! It is so much easier wiring when the plane can be flipped on its side to access hard to reach areas, like under the seat.
2. Resist the urge to set the panel in place until the power harness is routed, the area under the seat is wired, and the backup battery holders are assembled and installed.
3. Wire the area under the seat first. Note that the relays go on the left side, not the right. The 40 amp breaker can be secured with Methylcrylate or two part epoxy since a screw head may interfere with placement of the fuse. We did not glue this down until everything was zip tied and secured in place so that it would be in its ‘natural’ location with no tension on it.
4. Route the power and lighting harnesses first. If you place the G3X harness before the foregoing are installed it gets a bit crowded.
5. If you are adding the GDL 39 ADS B In, install it before mounting the avionics tray. It fastens to the bottom of the transponder frame and is much easier to install outside the plane.
6. With the foregoing complete, set the panel in place, holding it with clamps or wire ties. It will need to be adjusted once the boot cowl is in place and only then can the Adel clamps be installed.
7. Remove the G3X, radio and transponder when wiring the panel. The G3X is held in place with four screws and is easily removed. The transponder has a single screw on the aft side that is removed and then the arm rotates, releasing it. The radio is removed be inserting a 3/32” hex wrench into the small hole on the lower right side and unscrewing it. [This information came from the manual, which can be found on line. Hard copies of the Garmin manuals were not included. The G3X manual alone is over 750 pages long.]
8. I saved the most important tip for last. When in doubt, call Mitch.
Anyone that built a Heathkit in the late sixties will remember the yellow covered instruction manual. Each connection had a separate line with a box to check after it was done. When all the boxes were checked you could be confident that it was properly assembled (except for the rare cold solder joint). Heathkit pretty much mastered the idiot proof instruction manual.
The G3X does not come with such an assembly manual. What it does include are harnesses with each wire clearly marked and a set of wiring diagrams.
So here are a few general tips:
1. Keep the rotator! It is so much easier wiring when the plane can be flipped on its side to access hard to reach areas, like under the seat.
2. Resist the urge to set the panel in place until the power harness is routed, the area under the seat is wired, and the backup battery holders are assembled and installed.
3. Wire the area under the seat first. Note that the relays go on the left side, not the right. The 40 amp breaker can be secured with Methylcrylate or two part epoxy since a screw head may interfere with placement of the fuse. We did not glue this down until everything was zip tied and secured in place so that it would be in its ‘natural’ location with no tension on it.
4. Route the power and lighting harnesses first. If you place the G3X harness before the foregoing are installed it gets a bit crowded.
5. If you are adding the GDL 39 ADS B In, install it before mounting the avionics tray. It fastens to the bottom of the transponder frame and is much easier to install outside the plane.
6. With the foregoing complete, set the panel in place, holding it with clamps or wire ties. It will need to be adjusted once the boot cowl is in place and only then can the Adel clamps be installed.
7. Remove the G3X, radio and transponder when wiring the panel. The G3X is held in place with four screws and is easily removed. The transponder has a single screw on the aft side that is removed and then the arm rotates, releasing it. The radio is removed be inserting a 3/32” hex wrench into the small hole on the lower right side and unscrewing it. [This information came from the manual, which can be found on line. Hard copies of the Garmin manuals were not included. The G3X manual alone is over 750 pages long.]
8. I saved the most important tip for last. When in doubt, call Mitch.
Attachments
Thanks Randy. I have fond memories of building several Heathkit transceivers long ago. Often wish I still had the SB101 transceiver. Primitive by current standards, but state of the art back then.
Wiring, Part II, ADHARS
The ADHARS was placed on the instrument tray, contrary to the diagrams that indicate it goes under the seat. (I suspect the diagrams may be revised by the time you read this). Nut plates were riveted in the four corners of the instrument tray, part number MS21055-3. (We ordered them from Wicks). The ADHARS mounting holes look like they are symmetrical, but they are not. The holes will only line up if the ADHARS is placed with the plug sockets on the inboard side. AN3-10A bolts were used to secure it in place.
After the wiring is complete, the pitot and static lines were added. Because we added an ASI and Altimeter, those gauges were connected as well. The lines will be tied down more securely after the GPS20A is installed.
The ADHARS was placed on the instrument tray, contrary to the diagrams that indicate it goes under the seat. (I suspect the diagrams may be revised by the time you read this). Nut plates were riveted in the four corners of the instrument tray, part number MS21055-3. (We ordered them from Wicks). The ADHARS mounting holes look like they are symmetrical, but they are not. The holes will only line up if the ADHARS is placed with the plug sockets on the inboard side. AN3-10A bolts were used to secure it in place.
After the wiring is complete, the pitot and static lines were added. Because we added an ASI and Altimeter, those gauges were connected as well. The lines will be tied down more securely after the GPS20A is installed.
Attachments
A little avionics overkill for the capabilities of a cub perhaps?
Your doing a nice job with the wiring (and everything else).....I've seen shops in the industry whose work does not approach your attention to detail.
You should be proud:thumbsup:
Your doing a nice job with the wiring (and everything else).....I've seen shops in the industry whose work does not approach your attention to detail.
You should be proud:thumbsup:
Wiring, Part III
1. There is a shunt in the middle of the tray. We shortened the wire from the harness, PO3A10BK, and placed a terminal that would fit on the large bolt of the shunt. Note the insulated covers. The two fused wires, GEA10A22 and GEA11A22, are connected to the small screws on the back side of the terminal posts. Note carefully where they go: if reversed the current will read backwards on the G3X.
2. The G3X back up battery hangs from the ignition back up battery, which means the fabric we had so carefully extended forward had to be cut to gain access.
A curved section of thin aluminum about a half inch wide was cut to provide support for the fabric. The fabric was cut, folded over and poly brush used to hold it in place. The only time this will be seen is when the interior kick panel is removed to access the backup batteries but we wanted to keep it looking neat and the fabric taught.
If anyone is covering their plane and intends to use the G3X, modify the way the fabric is attached in this area to avoid this issue later.
1. There is a shunt in the middle of the tray. We shortened the wire from the harness, PO3A10BK, and placed a terminal that would fit on the large bolt of the shunt. Note the insulated covers. The two fused wires, GEA10A22 and GEA11A22, are connected to the small screws on the back side of the terminal posts. Note carefully where they go: if reversed the current will read backwards on the G3X.
2. The G3X back up battery hangs from the ignition back up battery, which means the fabric we had so carefully extended forward had to be cut to gain access.
A curved section of thin aluminum about a half inch wide was cut to provide support for the fabric. The fabric was cut, folded over and poly brush used to hold it in place. The only time this will be seen is when the interior kick panel is removed to access the backup batteries but we wanted to keep it looking neat and the fabric taught.
If anyone is covering their plane and intends to use the G3X, modify the way the fabric is attached in this area to avoid this issue later.
Attachments
Wiring Part IV
The GDL-39 was added for ADS-B In. It was mounted under the transponder using the brackets provided by Cub Crafters. The connections were positioned forward, away from the pilot. It is best to install it before installing the avionics tray.
The power line, with an in line fuse, was connected to the avionics bus. It will only be powered when the avionics switch is on and is not in the emergency power back up circuit for the G3X.
The GDL-39 antenna was mounted on the bottom of the belly pan. Note this is a dual band antenna; needed for reception on the two bands for ADS-B in. The feed line was run on the left side, opposite the transponder line, to minimize the risk of interference. In order to wire tie the coax cable on the vertical frame member, a half oval notch was cut out of the interior panel matching the cut out on the right side panel. A quarter inch standoff was used so that the panel could be easily positioned without interference from the cable.
The antenna was mounted on the left side of the belly pan per the Cub Crafters specifications to clear the auto pilot pitch servo.
The GDL-39 was added for ADS-B In. It was mounted under the transponder using the brackets provided by Cub Crafters. The connections were positioned forward, away from the pilot. It is best to install it before installing the avionics tray.
The power line, with an in line fuse, was connected to the avionics bus. It will only be powered when the avionics switch is on and is not in the emergency power back up circuit for the G3X.
The GDL-39 antenna was mounted on the bottom of the belly pan. Note this is a dual band antenna; needed for reception on the two bands for ADS-B in. The feed line was run on the left side, opposite the transponder line, to minimize the risk of interference. In order to wire tie the coax cable on the vertical frame member, a half oval notch was cut out of the interior panel matching the cut out on the right side panel. A quarter inch standoff was used so that the panel could be easily positioned without interference from the cable.
The antenna was mounted on the left side of the belly pan per the Cub Crafters specifications to clear the auto pilot pitch servo.
Attachments
Wiring Part V, Ignition Modules
The two ignition modules set side by side. One must be designated left and the other right and subsequent wiring then follows suit. We came up with a rather clever system for determining which was which: the one on the right sided was “right” and the one on the left was “left.”
There are two green wires from the main harness that must be wired into each of the plugs on the two ignition modules. This requires that the harness plugs be dismantled, the correct pin located, and soldered in place. A thin section of heat shrink tubing was placed over the freshly soldered joint and the harness reassembled.
The left and right warning LEDs are wired with a tiny capacitor (described as a ‘radio filter’ on the wiring diagram) and sort of ‘hang’ behind the panel. A bit of heat shrink followed with spiral wrap worked well.
The two ignition modules set side by side. One must be designated left and the other right and subsequent wiring then follows suit. We came up with a rather clever system for determining which was which: the one on the right sided was “right” and the one on the left was “left.”
There are two green wires from the main harness that must be wired into each of the plugs on the two ignition modules. This requires that the harness plugs be dismantled, the correct pin located, and soldered in place. A thin section of heat shrink tubing was placed over the freshly soldered joint and the harness reassembled.
The left and right warning LEDs are wired with a tiny capacitor (described as a ‘radio filter’ on the wiring diagram) and sort of ‘hang’ behind the panel. A bit of heat shrink followed with spiral wrap worked well.
Attachments
Auto pilot, Part I
Auto pilot in a Carbon Cub? Purists would say ‘that’s just wrong.’ But in the broad scheme of things the additional cost is not that great and the G3X has the means of controlling it without any external controls, so no one need know our plane is so equipped. Unless they read this post.
Pitch. The bracket and hardware for the pitch control is straightforward. The positioning is pretty well defined by the bracket. Here are some tips:
1. Temporarily set the drive pulley in place when installing the bracket. The pulley should be centered below, and the bracket parallel to, the torque tube.
2. Five of the AN960-416 washers provide about the right spacing between the bracket and the support clamps. Friction tape was used under each of the clamps.
3. Use AN3-7 bolts to fasten the servo motors to the brackets.
4. A bit of filing was needed to fit the short perpendicular support that bolts to the servo.
5. The cable that goes around the pulley and connects to the control cable was not installed. It will not be added until after the plane is complete and all control surfaces adjusted.
Roll. The bracket and the hardware for the roll servo is from Tru Trak. Here are more tips:
1. There is a diagram on Drop Box under the Tru Track caption that references the location. We deviated slightly from those measurements so that the control arms on the servo and the torque tube would be on the same plane. (No pun intended). Note that the servo shaft will be parallel to the adjacent cockpit floor in this location. The backing plate on the outside of the seat base looks better positioned this way, in my humble opinion.
2. The Garmin stop that came with the servo was used rather than the Tru Trak stop. A tiny corner of the Garmin stop was trimmed to fit. The arm does not reach the stop, but it will prevent the servo from going beyond its intended arc and locking the stick in a full left or right position. (This issue is detailed in the G3X manual).
3. The control arm that bolts to the torque tube is secured with a single rivet on the bottom. We will not rivet it until the plane is complete and all adjustments are made.
4. The wire harness for the two servos was carefully routed and tied in place. Note that there are two extra green wires; GSA04D22 and GSA04C22 are for a Normally Open (NO) kill switch that needs to be mounted on the control stick. All the wiring was routed to assure no interference with the control cable below the torque tube.
5. Careful attention needs to be paid to possible mechanical interference between the battery cables and the servos. The roll servo linkage was very close to the positive lead, so an Adel clamp was added to an existing bolt on the front of the seat support. Another clamp was added to the side to neatly secure the wire harness.
Auto pilot in a Carbon Cub? Purists would say ‘that’s just wrong.’ But in the broad scheme of things the additional cost is not that great and the G3X has the means of controlling it without any external controls, so no one need know our plane is so equipped. Unless they read this post.
Pitch. The bracket and hardware for the pitch control is straightforward. The positioning is pretty well defined by the bracket. Here are some tips:
1. Temporarily set the drive pulley in place when installing the bracket. The pulley should be centered below, and the bracket parallel to, the torque tube.
2. Five of the AN960-416 washers provide about the right spacing between the bracket and the support clamps. Friction tape was used under each of the clamps.
3. Use AN3-7 bolts to fasten the servo motors to the brackets.
4. A bit of filing was needed to fit the short perpendicular support that bolts to the servo.
5. The cable that goes around the pulley and connects to the control cable was not installed. It will not be added until after the plane is complete and all control surfaces adjusted.
Roll. The bracket and the hardware for the roll servo is from Tru Trak. Here are more tips:
1. There is a diagram on Drop Box under the Tru Track caption that references the location. We deviated slightly from those measurements so that the control arms on the servo and the torque tube would be on the same plane. (No pun intended). Note that the servo shaft will be parallel to the adjacent cockpit floor in this location. The backing plate on the outside of the seat base looks better positioned this way, in my humble opinion.
2. The Garmin stop that came with the servo was used rather than the Tru Trak stop. A tiny corner of the Garmin stop was trimmed to fit. The arm does not reach the stop, but it will prevent the servo from going beyond its intended arc and locking the stick in a full left or right position. (This issue is detailed in the G3X manual).
3. The control arm that bolts to the torque tube is secured with a single rivet on the bottom. We will not rivet it until the plane is complete and all adjustments are made.
4. The wire harness for the two servos was carefully routed and tied in place. Note that there are two extra green wires; GSA04D22 and GSA04C22 are for a Normally Open (NO) kill switch that needs to be mounted on the control stick. All the wiring was routed to assure no interference with the control cable below the torque tube.
5. Careful attention needs to be paid to possible mechanical interference between the battery cables and the servos. The roll servo linkage was very close to the positive lead, so an Adel clamp was added to an existing bolt on the front of the seat support. Another clamp was added to the side to neatly secure the wire harness.
Attachments
You and I fabricate brackets and such very similarly. No sharp corners or jagged edges. Everything deburred is proper finishing of parts.. I love your attention to all the details. Tape on the tubing to keep wire bundles from chaffing, etc...
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