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Another wing question

nohoflyer

Well Known Member
Patron
I am chugging along nicely on my wing build. I have drilled out a few holes through the ribs for lights, pitot, autopilot.

At what point do I have to purchase and install the wiring for the lights? How about the autopilot servos? It will obviously be easier to do before I rivet the bottom skins on. Can I wait for the finishing kit?

I’m beginning feel that looking forward and preparing for the electronics is more important than I originally thought. I’m even beginning to imagine my panel and all the wiring that will take.

Thx.
 
I ran conduit and strings on different places to run the wires later. Should work fairly well from what I've seen others doing.

Aitor
 
Generally speaking, installing all the wiring before the skins is easier. That's what I did, since I knew what I would need in advance. If you don't know yet, or are still considering options, it isn't impossible to run wires after the skins are on. The access panels are positioned nicely to allow for some reaching in after the skins are on. I decided to replace my aluminum tubing for the pitot with vinyl after the skins were on and was able to reach pretty much everywhere.

On thing to consider doing is running string along the various paths your wires will take. Once the skins are on, you can pull wires and a new length of string through the path without reaching into the wing.
 
Before

I ran the conduit, wires and pitot/AOA tubing before I riveted on the bottom skins. That was a personal preference, and it's possible to do it after the skins are on, but I just found access much easier and I could really plan out what I was doing and ensure everything was secured. I mounted the A/P roll servo with the skin off for the same reason - just more room to work around etc. Left a draw-wire in the conduit in each wing in case something changes. Lights aren't mounted in the tips yet though.
 
Conduit

I ran the Vans conduit. No problem installing the servo. Later. Wire is easy. Snake a piece of Cat-5. Tie the wire on and pull. Easy.
 
Also a conduit fan. I used a cotton ball tied to a string and vacuum cleaner to pull it through, then pull wires with another string for future. I've also used a long piece of metal rod to pull wires when conduit didn't exist.

The key thing is to align the conduit/holes with the fuselage holes/snap bushings so you don't have to make sharp bends in the wires/tubes at the wing root.
 
As a general rule, I like to postpone decisions when possible. Installing the conduit right now is fairly low-risk, but IMO there's not much reason to commit to lights and other components. As you say, it's a lot easier to do all this before the bottom skins are riveted on, but that's something that can be postponed. I "finished" my wings back in 2015, and they've been stored without the bottom skins since then. My intent is to rivet on the bottom skins shortly before the wings get installed on the fuselage for the first time.

I'm glad I waited on those skins, too...a lot has changed in terms of how I envisioned my systems coming together in the intervening years. Nothing that would have been a deal-breaker or major issue, but still, I'm not having to undo any previous work.

I’m beginning feel that looking forward and preparing for the electronics is more important than I originally thought. I’m even beginning to imagine my panel and all the wiring that will take.

It's never too early to be thinking about systems. It's not an exaggeration to say that I've been tinkering with panel layouts since way before I started on the fuselage. I started working on electrical schematics at least two years ago, and I've been refining them ever since. (but I am also sort of a compulsive planner...)
 
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