Starting wings - What else do I need?

Hi all,

With the empennage finished and wings arriving soon, I am trying to figure out what I need to have (how much I need to spend) before I get too far into the wing construction.

I know that I want the full lighting and strobe package, at least one duckworks (or similar) landing light, a wing leveling autopilot, and a heated pitot. What I DO NOT know is how much of this stuff I need to buy right now so that it can be installed prior to closing the wing. Is most of this stuff an easy retrofit or does it really need to be done during construction to be done right?

And while I'm at it:

1) any suggestions for a great, easy to use, single axis autopilot that doesn't cost a fortune and can easily be connected to a GPS?

2) I see that Van's sells a complete wiring package, has anyone else used this and would you recommend it, or should I do it on my own?

Thanks for any help,

Will
#91056

http://home.comcast.net/~wcouv/

Pitot Tube

Will,

Since you are going to install a heated pitot tube, skip the section in the directions where they tell you to drill the hole in the spar flange for Van's pitot. I fillowed the direction and then realized I didn't need the hole for my Dynon pitot tube.

Buy the Van's "conduit" for running your wires, it is so much easier than any other solution. There are pictures of the conduit on the wing page of my web site.

Conduit

You can also get the exact same type of 'conduit' that Van's sells, available within the aviation (plumbing) departments of both Lowe's and Home Depot. It is a polyethelene tubing (clear/white color), with a teflon-type coating. Very durable, easy to obtain locally, and very inexpensive per foot.