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12-29-2012, 05:32 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Glen Burnie, MD
Posts: 94
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First year complete
Once again, the kids have returned to Texas after their Christmas visit. I was hoping to take delivery of the finish and firewall forward kits the day before they left but it came a couple days later. Probably a good thing since it looks like it is almost time to move to the hanger!
My youngest did want to spend some time working on the plane. His classmates don't believe he is helping to build one of the world's finest flying machines.
I am planning on flying there when we are done and having his class come out for show and tell and a little aviation motivation. I think it is important for all of us to share the message of aviation and keep GA alive.
I did get my daughter involved as well.
She is almost 16 and we did some driving but I think she likes this view better!
Happiness is pretending to fly and make airplane noises ... this is what it is all about - seeing those smiles.
It has been a great year and despite all of my traveling, I look back and feel like I am making progress. Now that I have the canopy sitting in my living room and ready to install the engine mount it seems real. Of course there are hundreds of hours remaining but it is not the end but the journey. Hopefully by this time next year I am reporting that the TARDIS is successfully flying.
__________________
Mike "Strike" Messer, CFI/CFII/MEI, ATP
RV-8A/F-15E/T-38/T-37/T-6
RV-8A Phase II
N-251WM
Garmin G3X/GTN-650/Dynon D6/GTX-23ES/TruTrak GX Pilot/GDL-39
Eagle XTREEM I0-360-B1HD2 (dual P-mags)
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12-29-2012, 01:35 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 2,473
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Couple quick fuzzy cell phone "teaser" pics I took today of a certain panel in process.
Cheers,
Stein

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12-30-2012, 04:43 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Glen Burnie, MD
Posts: 94
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Panel
Stein -
Definitely motivation! Looks like Nick is making great progress and I am beyond excited to get the panel back. Thanks for the pics.
- Strike
__________________
Mike "Strike" Messer, CFI/CFII/MEI, ATP
RV-8A/F-15E/T-38/T-37/T-6
RV-8A Phase II
N-251WM
Garmin G3X/GTN-650/Dynon D6/GTX-23ES/TruTrak GX Pilot/GDL-39
Eagle XTREEM I0-360-B1HD2 (dual P-mags)
Last edited by Strike69 : 12-30-2012 at 04:49 AM.
Reason: Add picture
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02-03-2013, 03:13 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Glen Burnie, MD
Posts: 94
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January Progress
__________________
Mike "Strike" Messer, CFI/CFII/MEI, ATP
RV-8A/F-15E/T-38/T-37/T-6
RV-8A Phase II
N-251WM
Garmin G3X/GTN-650/Dynon D6/GTX-23ES/TruTrak GX Pilot/GDL-39
Eagle XTREEM I0-360-B1HD2 (dual P-mags)
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02-03-2013, 03:28 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Glen Burnie, MD
Posts: 94
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January Progress Part II
The big event was receiving the panel on the last day of the month. I didn't want to wait until it was all in to show the great work Nick at Stein did. When I got back from DC Thursday a 94 lb box was waiting in my neighbor's garage. It was Christmas all over again.
A quick inventory and test fit in the airplane.
The VP-X, GTX-23ES, GSU 73 (G3X brains), and back-up battery all need homes in the avionics bay so with the help of a couple boxes, the stage was set to determine how best to arrange things.
One challenge discovered is the GTN-650 bottom plug rests on the forward baggage bulkhead beam. I think by moving the grounding wire to the top side of the connector and a short of rubber strip should do the trick but will consult Nick before I do anything.
Looking at how others tackled the avionics bay access, I am building a small hinged door for easier access through the forward baggage compartment - more to follow.
A furry animal in PA said winter would be short this year so hopefully warm weather is around the corner!
__________________
Mike "Strike" Messer, CFI/CFII/MEI, ATP
RV-8A/F-15E/T-38/T-37/T-6
RV-8A Phase II
N-251WM
Garmin G3X/GTN-650/Dynon D6/GTX-23ES/TruTrak GX Pilot/GDL-39
Eagle XTREEM I0-360-B1HD2 (dual P-mags)
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02-03-2013, 08:28 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 2
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Dreams
Looks great! I am living vicariously through this thread dreaming of the day I am out of grad school, have my PPL and can build an RV-8 of mine own! 
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03-01-2013, 04:39 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Glen Burnie, MD
Posts: 94
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Feb progress
Hard to believe it is another month but this one went by very quickly. The weather has been crazy but I am getting to spend more time out in the garage and the extra daylight is helping. After getting the panel early in the month, I have spent a lot of time with the panel powered up on the dining room table and understanding the integration between systems. Nick at Stein has been extremely patient with my million plus questions.
The first step was to build a mount and shelf for the VP-X and GSU-73. A key piece of advice is to ensure the cross bar will not flex in flight during aerobatics which may force an inflight alignment of the GSU. To prevent this I fashioned a bar at 45 degrees and riveted to the forward baggage rear firewall.
I am impressed with how "clean" it is behind the panel.
Of course, I needed to power it all up IN the aircraft to make sure it worked ... even though it worked on the bench. I needed to get a good GPS fix - that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Riveting antenna doublers was also on the agenda. Comm, transponder, ELT, and GPS antennas are temporarily attached to the underside.
One other task was finishing up the wing tips. It has been a little cold to work the fiberglass but I did manage to trim the trailing edge for the aileron gap.
My big project at work is winding down and a cross country move is arounf the corner in late June so I am taking a week off this month to do nothing but work on the plane. Should be a good month.
__________________
Mike "Strike" Messer, CFI/CFII/MEI, ATP
RV-8A/F-15E/T-38/T-37/T-6
RV-8A Phase II
N-251WM
Garmin G3X/GTN-650/Dynon D6/GTX-23ES/TruTrak GX Pilot/GDL-39
Eagle XTREEM I0-360-B1HD2 (dual P-mags)
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03-04-2013, 02:48 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Windsor, Colorado
Posts: 22
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Mike,
Great panel! I just wanted to throw a couple of suggestions your way. I have an -8 with the Infinity Grip wired exactly the same as yours. I did two things extra. First, I put a "Starter Enable" switch in that allows me to enable the starter button on the grip for engine start and disable it after the engine is started. This saves the potential of inadvertently hitting the "Start Button" on the grip while the engine is running (I've seen it happen and it ain't pretty!). The switch is also tied to a caution light on the panel that reminds me to turn it off when the engine starting sequence is over. The second thing I did is tie the fuel pump button to a caution light on the panel. Again, just in case it is bumped in flight or forgotten after the starting sequence. You may have thought of this stuff, but I just thought I would give you a heads-up. You're going to love flying the -8a.
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03-04-2013, 06:35 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Molalla, Oregon
Posts: 955
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul "OX" Harder
Mike,
Great panel! I just wanted to throw a couple of suggestions your way. I have an -8 with the Infinity Grip wired exactly the same as yours. I did two things extra. First, I put a "Starter Enable" switch in that allows me to enable the starter button on the grip for engine start and disable it after the engine is started. This saves the potential of inadvertently hitting the "Start Button" on the grip while the engine is running (I've seen it happen and it ain't pretty!). The switch is also tied to a caution light on the panel that reminds me to turn it off when the engine starting sequence is over. The second thing I did is tie the fuel pump button to a caution light on the panel. Again, just in case it is bumped in flight or forgotten after the starting sequence. You may have thought of this stuff, but I just thought I would give you a heads-up. You're going to love flying the -8a.
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Those are great suggestions and I don't mean to speak for Mike, but I've been reading up on the Vertical Power unit that he's installing because I'm going to use one myself. The VP unit takes care of this for you. It's an impressive unit. Once the engine is running, the starter switch is disabled for you, thereby eliminating the need for additional wiring, switches, warning lights, etc. on your panel. I think you can have an annunciator light on the EFIS for the fuel pump, too. 
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03-05-2013, 04:36 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Glen Burnie, MD
Posts: 94
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Starter Switch/VP-X and G3X annunciator/CAS
Several have suggested having a starter disconnect and since the VP-X has a feature to prevent the starter from being triggered once the engine is running, a separate switch is not necessary. The electrical system diagram and comments are at:
http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ad.php?t=96521
I like the idea of an annunciator when the fuel pump is on. In addition to all of the normal engine sensor inputs, the G3X can have up to four miscellaneous inputs. On my system these are planned as the IBBS (back-up battery), Pitot Heat Fail feedback (Dynon heated probe), Canopy Unlock, and from your suggestions a Fuel Pump On. They can be configured as active low or high and the annunciator screen color (i.e. yellow or red).
__________________
Mike "Strike" Messer, CFI/CFII/MEI, ATP
RV-8A/F-15E/T-38/T-37/T-6
RV-8A Phase II
N-251WM
Garmin G3X/GTN-650/Dynon D6/GTX-23ES/TruTrak GX Pilot/GDL-39
Eagle XTREEM I0-360-B1HD2 (dual P-mags)
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