The PH motor cable caused a small challenge - it's not Tefzel wire, it's regular copper wire with integral insulation, which was annoying to cut without damaging the wires. In the end, the coax stripper did a good job at it.
PH flap motor wire cutout
I terminated the wires going to the switch pod with connectors - many of the controls there use screw terminals, but having to screw in every wire off and on every time that comes off sounded annoying and error-prone, so I made short pigtails for the insert:
Overhead console connectors for the switch pod
Back side of the switch pod with connectors
Attaching the switch pod, making all connectors and wires fit inside
Switch pod installed in place
Later I still need to get better-looking knobs for those controls (which is annoying to find because each one needs a different inner diameter).
I also finished the passenger center console insert, by installing the heat servo controller:
Rear center console insert with heat servo controller installed
Rear center console insert in place
And finally, I used an Amphenol 031-2381 isolated connector to make a TNC wing root connection point for the wingtip NAV antenna (TNC because it's more weather-proof than BNC), and ran and terminated the cable from the GTN to it:
Wing root coax connector for NAV antenna
NAV antenna cable connected to the wing root adapter
Next up is doing the FWF wiring (mainly, figuring out all the wire routing) and finalizing the overhead console inserts.
The main wiring task left was to terminate all the wires and cables going through the overhead console. We started by securing all the coax cable (8 total - 4 for the TAS, 3 GPS, and 1 for XM), then grounding all the ground planes together and connecting that to the firewall:
Antenna coax cables routed through Clickbond fasteners, with grounding wires connected to the ground plane
I then terminated the overhead light wires and O2 distributor wires:
O2 distributor and overhead light wires terminated in the console
While working on that, I realized the inserts I had already cut needed changes in order for the O2 DB9 connector to not hit the nutplates, so I spaced them further apart, moved the GoPro mount to the (lateral) center of the forward insert, and moved the AMPS hole pattern to the aft insert (this is meant for a RAM mount to secure a tablet or similar for passenger entertainment). I'll have that fabricated in the next few weeks so I can finish putting the overhead together.
Updated overhead console insert layout
With that, knowing the position/length the coax cables needed to run through, I could also terminate them on the panel side:
Using the side vent opening to terminate the coax cables with more maneuvering space
GTN/GNX GPS cables (left) and antenna ground plane connection (right) in place
For the GTN's GPS connection, the cable was close to the panel rib, but thankfully still far enough to be safe, once the panel was mounted in place:
GTN GPS (top) and COM (bottom) connections, avoiding the panel rib
The parts of wiring left are the switch pod, heat servos, flaps, the O2 regulator, and most of the FWF wiring.
We trimmed and sanded all the excess fiberglass from the cabin cover around the TAS antenna, and then sanded/filled/sanded/filled/sanded it smooth:
Filling the cabin cover around the TAS antenna with resin (using peel ply)
Cabin cover area around TAS antenna, after sanding
After all the filling and sanding, we primed that area, and took the opportunity to also prime the COM ground plane extension and the cabin cover edge around it.
Cabin cover area around TAS antenna, after primer (still with tape covering the ground plane)
COM ground plane extension covered with primer
Once that cured and all the tape was removed, the antenna was finally installed:
Cabin cover area around TAS antenna, showing the buried metal ground plane
Top TAS antenna installed in place
With the antenna in place, we started securing the cables inside the overhead console with Clickbond fasteners:
Clickbond fastener to hold all 8 antenna coax cables inside the overhead console
Clickbond fastener to hold incoming cables inside the overhead console
Next, I'll secure and terminate all the overhead cables.
Once the cabin cover work was done, we installed the door seals - the original slot for the seal slanted "tabs" had been formed with the seals themselves, and it was basically impossible to get it in again, so we opened up those slots to let the tabs snap in, then installed the seals with some RTV to help hold them in place:
Carved-out slots for the door seals
Making the McMaster seal go into the slots
Once the RTV on the seals cured, we attached the doors and door struts:
Before fabricating the forward overhead insert from carbon fiber, I wanted to try it out for ergonomics and for wire routing, so I laser-cut it in cheap acrylic and mounted it on - turns out the screw holes from the CAD model were slightly off, and I need to move the O2 distributors slightly forward:
Overhead console insert mockup
I also tested out the GoPro mounting position, and it gives a nice view:
GoPro's view of the cockpit when attached to the overhead console
Once I removed the pilot's seat, I could finish drilling the stick grip connector hole on that side:
Pilot stick grip connector hole underneath the pilot's seat
One of the last large steps was to embed the TAS antenna ground plane on the cabin cover (and since there's only a small amount of information about this on other blogs/forums, I'll try to be detailed here) - we covered the plane to keep the dust out, and carved it with the Dremel (using the router accessory) to the depth of 2 fiber layers plus the metal:
Airplane covered up for carving the cabin cover
Cabin cover center before carving (with metal tube trimmed flush to it)
Carving the cabin top for the ground plane
Caved cabin cover top after sanding (with ramps at the edges for the fiberglass to bond to)
We then sanded the surface to be as close to flat as possible, added a layer of fiberglass to bond any exposed foam core, and trimmed the center pipe flush with it.
We used a 3D printed jig the same shape as the antenna (by 3D scanning the antenna) for alignment and drilling the antenna attachment holes straight. I included a center slot for alignment with the aircraft's axis, a protrusion that will go into the center tube, holes for drilling the antenna attachment, and some extra margin around the antenna (which will be filled with sealant anyway):
GA58 installation jig
GA58 jig compared to 3D scanned antenna
3D printed GA58 mockup jig
(I added this jig to my Designs folder in case anyone wants it)
The slot at the center helped us perfectly align it with the airplane's centerline using a laser (or it fits a ruler for similar purposes):
Aligning the drilling jig using the laser through the center slot
Laser through the aircraft's centerline, for alignment
Antenna, perfectly aligned at the center thanks to holes drilled through the jig
We then bonded the metal ground plane (which I had already tested before and passed the GTS test), using the same jig to compress it flat against the fiberglass at the center, and clamps and weights around the edges:
Metal ground plane bonded to the cabin cover, with jig holding it flat in place
Metal ground plane bonded to cabin cover, with well-aligned holes
Still using the jig, we scuffed the parts of the ground plane that the jig didn't overlay, and laid 3 more layers of fiberglass to bring the structure as close as possible to the original, while leaving an antenna-shaped section of the metal still exposed for direct contact:
Scuffing the TAS antenna ground plane where it'll be underneath fiberglass
Fiberglass layers on top of the TAS antenna ground plane
We also installed Clickbonds on the wire covers and around the bulkheads to secure wires and the pressure tubes so they avoid the interior cover parts and other screws:
Overhead wires secured to wire cover
Pitot and AoA tubes secured to bulkheads
I received the last part of the Mountain High kit (nevermind that prices more than doubled :( but at least it was just the last kit), with the cylinder, regulator and masks. The regulator they sent with the cylinder is the 2nd generation IPR, which is great, but had some changes from the 1st generation that I had to account for - notably, they changed the emergency O2 switch, from a simple 2-port pneumatic switch to a 4-port one (presumably so it can positively operate the valve in either direction?), which required me to change the switch on the panel, and I'll need to run one additional tube to it:
Old IPR emergency O2 switch installed in place
New IPR emergency O2 switch installed in place
I will only install the cylinder and all tubing once I'm done with all dust-generating work (like fiberglass sanding) and have thoroughly cleaned up the plane, so there's no chance of any dust getting into the system.
Next up is probably sanding/finishing the cabin cover fiberglass and attaching that antenna, after which we can finally finish the overhead wiring and attach the doors and windshield.
