Instrument Panel and Interface Chassis Component Kits 23 August, 2014 I ve gotten side-tracked on my new Helicycle build project because I m making Instrument Panels and Interface Chassis for two other builders plus my own set. The picture above shows components that I ve kitted up in preparation for assembly and wiring. The bin at the front/left contains all the cabling and connectors that came bundled with the three sets of Garmin VHF Transceivers and Transponders, and the ACK blind altimeters. The next two bins contain Lower Instrument Panel components, and the right hand two contain Interface Chassis components. The back row contains 55-Amp Alternator components and miscellaneous connectors, bus modules, and backshells. I ve been getting at least two deliveries each weekday for a while and I have almost all of the components now. This is a huge job! www.helicycles.org 23 August, 2014 Page 1
Here s the three Upper Instrument Panel assemblies with their Garmin avionics, one Lower panel, and one Interface Chassis. These two pictures account for a lot of money! www.helicycles.org 23 August, 2014 Page 2
Here s a view of the rear of the Upper Instrument Panel showing the static air plumbing. I m happy with it since the runs are short and direct. This assembly is almost ready to wire but the actual panel is only a prototype. I can t do the wiring and then swap the panel because the indicator lights come out through the front, so once they are wired, the panel is there for good. And I can t proceed with the fabrication of the panels until I have my instrument pod. The one I was given with the kit is very flat compared to all the others I have seen, so getting the panel into the pod is extremely difficult. I m planning to swap it for another one when I go pick up the rests of my kit in a few weeks. www.helicycles.org 23 August, 2014 Page 3
Here s some of the MIL-spec wire, cable, RF connectors, transmission lines, solder preforms, PIDG ring terminals and Comant antennas waiting to be consumed. Most of this will soon get turned into cable harnesses. While I ve been waiting to go pick up the rest of my kit and swap out my instrument pod, I ve created a Bill of Materials (BOM) for each panel and the Interface Chassis, so I know exactly what is required and what the material costs are this stuff is not cheap! As components are delivered I update the BOM spreadsheet s parts on hand column and add them to the kits. Things were getting out of hand until I took the time to stop and get myself organized. Now I can send out the spreadsheet to the other two builders every few days so they know where their money is going! I still have some work I can do while I wait to pick up the rest of my Helicycle. Next mini-project is to install all of the components on the other two Interface Chassis. I m also planning on including a full set of schematic diagrams with each panel set so I have CAD work to do as well. I may have mentioned that I made the mistake of upgrading to Windows 8.0 recently. My AutoCAD drafting program immediately died along with Adobe Photoshop the two programs I can t do without. Only the very latest versions of those programs will run with Windows 8.0. I loaded the current versions of both as 30-day demo programs, but that was a while ago. AutoCAD finally timed out and I had to pony up almost $1200 to get that running again. I ve got three days before Photoshop croaks. That one is about $400 I think. I should have stuck with Windows XP! www.helicycles.org 23 August, 2014 Page 4
As I mentioned, I now have a $1200 copy of AutoCAD Lt 2015 running on my computer. I love this program and I can t work without it. They said it couldn t be done but I found a way to make multicolored dashed lines. This is a screen shot of part of the Upper Instrument Panel schematic. Not only can the various wires be color coded, but they can all be on different layers that can be turned on and off to reduce clutter. That s very handy when working with a complex drawing. In this drawing all the alarm signals are red and white dashed lines, and on their own layer. With this new version I can export this file as an Adobe Actobat file and maintain the same ability to turn layers on and off. That s a great feature. There is also a free AutoCAD viewing application so the other two builders don t have to spend any money to view, manipulate, or print these files. That s it for this week. See the Insstrument Panel write-up for more details Juan www.helicycles.org 23 August, 2014 Page 5