Today was a day of rounding up loose ends. I finished bundling the wires aft of the firewall, and made a few more connections forward of the firewall.
I installed the weather pack connector in the landing light wires that will allow for easier removal of the cowl.
I also connected the oil pressure wire. I started to connect the fuel flow sensor, but found that the D180 has three wires for the sensor, while the sensor actually has four. I was able to get someone in EI’s technical department to tell me that the green wire was not necessary, so I just clipped it off. I installed the rest of the fuel lines again, though I did decide to remake the left front line that connects the tee to the fuel valve. Some of these liens have been made 5 times, but I’m very happy with the current arrangement. I reconnected the starter and alternator cables, but I don’t have a good strategy yet for securing them. Vans supplied some little tabs to lock the bolt heads on inside of the airbox. These are coarse thread 1/4″ bolts that hold the top of the box onto the carburetor. Those bolts need to be extra secure because if one falls off, it could be ingested in the engine. The tabs have fallen out of favor, and I’m concerned about being able to replace them in the long run, so I drilled the heads on a the bolts. I made it through three before I broke a drill bit off in the fourth, so I’ll have to do that last one later.
After a lunch break I cut out the lexan for the left lower front door, installed the passenger warning placard on that door, cut the lexan for the right door, and drilled holes in both.
I tied up the wires for the cockpit flood light, and started routing the elevator trim cable. By that time it was pretty obvious that I’m going to need more access holes in the fuselage covering!