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<\/a><\/p>\nThe only problem with the panel is due to a “mid-course” design change that I made.\u00a0 Instead of making the edge-lit panel and metal back plate mounting separate, I decided to combine the two.\u00a0 Since I had done all the panel lettering before I made this change, things on the bottom row kind of got a bit messed up.\u00a0 It’s only really noticeable where the mounting screw passes through the STARTER legend.\u00a0 If I was making this panel for someone else, I would remake it to correct the error.<\/p>\n
The wiring on the pitch & roll axis gimbal is now completed.\u00a0 Now that the flight grip has been wired up, it was time to finish out the wiring harness on the gimbal assembly:<\/p>\n
This adds the 16 wires that are needed by the flight grip and the nose wheel\/AP disconnect lever.\u00a0 Instead of using tie-wraps to create the new harness, I used waxed lacing cord and then used tie-wraps to attach the harness to nylon cable keeper blocks that have been attached to the gimbal base.\u00a0 The last 6″ or so of the harness up to the DB25 connector is covered with a 1\/2″ diameter black plastic split “loom” cover.\u00a0 Makes it look nicer and prevents the wire from being abraded.<\/p>\n I had gotten the SFS box painted the previous evening and now it was time to mount the nose wheel steering\/ap disconnect lever to the top of the box:<\/p>\n Instead of using a screw & bolt arrangement to hold the NWS\/AP lever in, I decided to drill the hole in the side ears just a tiny bit under .125″ and use a brass pin to hold the lever in.\u00a0 In order to properly set the pin, I turned my drill press into an impromptu arbor press by using a 3\/32″ drill bit mounted backwards in the drill chuck.\u00a0 I also gave the pin a slight bevel around the ends to make entering the mounting holes easier.\u00a0 Here’s the result:<\/p>\n The pin pressed in just as I’d hoped and it won’t work itself out over time.\u00a0 The good part about using the method I did is that the pin can be easily removed in the same manner it was installed if I need to replace or repair the lever in the future.<\/p>\n Now that the lever is in, it was time for the switch:<\/p>\n To actuate the micro-switch, I’m using a short length of #4-40 threaded rod as an actuator and a small spring to give it more “pull” than would be provided by the internal spring in the micro-switch.\u00a0 I was able to thread the micro-switch actuating lever with a #4-40 tap.\u00a0 There’s only enough metal for one thread or so, but it works really well!\u00a0 I’m going to put a dab of Loc-Tite on it to help it out.<\/p>\n To retain the actuator rod, I used a brass acorn nut at the top:<\/p>\n There is a small metal cover that still needs to be made that will cover the front portion of the NWS\/AP lever.<\/p>\n The internal wiring of the box took some time to complete and there was not a whole lot of room in there:<\/p>\n In order to make it more friendly to repair in the future, I decided to use terminal blocks to divide the SFS and grip wiring.\u00a0 Using really small Euro style terminal strips allowed me to pull this off.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Even using the small terminal blocks it’s still VERY cramped in there!\u00a0 Like all new wiring I’m doing, this is bound up using waxed lacing tape.\u00a0 I cannot recommend this stuff enough!\u00a0 Had I tried to use small wire-ties in here, it would have been a mess.\u00a0 There just isn’t any room.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n