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Wing conduit or Not
I?m getting ready t start putting on the top skins, ribs and rear spar in place.... I haven?t seen where many builders are putting conduit in the -14 wings to assist with running wires thru the wings.
At this point, retrofitting conduit thru the wings would be a little challenging in the first four ribs, so I?m leaning towards not doing it, but would like to hear the pros and cons of running the conduit and if installed , the technique. The Vans website depicts RV7 techniques, not sure if it?s applicable for the -14. I hope I don?t restart the ?primer wars?..... Thanks |
The other day I had to pull wires thru the wing of a RV-6 for installation of an autopilot servo in a non-builder purchased airplane. Had a conduit for wires which made the job easy. It is always a challenge in a lot of certified airplanes to run wire as I don't know of a single one that has a conduit. Cheap pex tubing works great for this.
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oh and yes I had to pull some stuff into a Cessna wing and had to get quite creative with a long stick to get the wires in the right places... the again a cessna wing is much longer than the RV7 |
Doesn't come much cheaper and lighter than this stuff:
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/AF20BS.html |
The light 1/2?ID plastic water pipe from Lowes fits well into the existing rib holes (the holes Van?s tells you to install snap bushings). Simple, light, and big enough to run anything you need. For wiring the Autopilot servo and such I just gap the pipe between those two ribs so the wires can come out. Another piece of pipe than extends to the wingtip for lights and NAV antenna.
I put the conduit in, then just push the wires through from one end. Carl |
Sharkbite
I used segments of sharkbite with zip ties next the ribs and it worked out very well.
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I'm not a fan of wire slapping around un-supported in the conduit. If you are worried about future additions, or possibly having to replace a wire, it might be about the same weight to just add two extra strands to your wire bundle and leave them there.
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I had to add a couple of wires in my -14 wing after construction and do not have conduit. It was a fairly easy task because the access panels are located such that you have pretty easy access to reach all the ribs.
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It is so much easier to run the conduit now than to retrofit wiring when you are putting in the avionics.
If you expect the wings might have lights, pitot heat, antennas, or autopilot now or in the future, definitely put in the conduit. I am nearly finished with an RV-7A. I was thankful to have conduit, and wished I'd made similar accommodations for more wiring past the center and rear spars before I'd assembled the aircraft. It was painful to do in the assembled aircraft. If I were building again, I'd make a complete diagram of every wire bundle in the aircraft and how it would be routed, and drill appropriately before putting skins on the wings and fuselage. It's hard to visualize from the plans while you are early in the build, but worth looking at somebody else's aircraft for ideas. David |
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