Center cabin brace wiring

[Blizzard]

For those that may have routed wiring down the center cabin brace.....where and what size hole did you make in the FWD Fuse Top skin? Not much room at the bottom of the brace for the wiring to exit but it's the only place it could go. I already embedded conduit down each side post as a route also.

Thanks

[Weefle]

I’m doing the same as you. I’ll use it for the static line. I simply traced the outline of the brace on the top skin and hogged out the area just a tad smaller. The skin will be covered by some sort of material when I’m done so it’s hidden anyway.

Keith

[Plummit]

Originally Posted by Blizzard

For those that may have routed wiring down the center cabin brace.....where and what size hole did you make in the FWD Fuse Top skin? Not much room at the bottom of the brace for the wiring to exit but it's the only place it could go. I already embedded conduit down each side post as a route also.

Thanks

Do you plan to install sun visors? Does the conduit you installed run down the front door pillars?

-Marc

[Blizzard]

Not planning on installing sun visors. I do have conduit down each pillar. Planning on two antenna coax thru the overhead console along with my static line and then down the center post. Any miscellaneous wiring ie overhead lighting, wiring for the overhead NACA servo wiring, etc.... I'll use the pillar conduits.

[Plummit]

Originally Posted by Blizzard

Not planning on installing sun visors.

You will wish you had. I wish I had them in my plane!

-Marc

[KatanaPilot]

Agree with the posters that recommend sun visors.

We had a lot of wiring that we wanted to run into the overhead console. The stock brace wasn't big enough. We made a new brace out of larger diameter 4130 (stock brace is SS to allow for a mag compass) and did not pinch the tubing down like the stock brace. Van's kindly gave us dimensional drawings of the stock brace. Cut a hole in the forward fuselage top skin to match.

We have wiring for the Aerosport overhead console switch pod, an overhead speaker, several lights plus two RG-400 coaxial cables to feed a Comdat antenna located on the fiberglass cabin cover.

Powder coated the tube a dark gray and will also wrap with leather matching the seats. Since we did away with the hand openings in the forward skin (they were pretty useless anyway with the Aerosport panel and upholstered cover), the brace becomes our hand hold for entering and exiting the front seats.

It was a bit of extra work, but it worked out well.

[N427EF]

There is very little room through that brace, hardly worth the trouble.
I pulled a few wires down and opted to get the rest of it routed to the back and through the bottom where I have plenty of large conduits leading to the front under the panel.
I would not compromise the structural integrity of that brace, although a larger tube sounds ok, except it will also obstruct your view just a little more.
Each solution has a draw back, mine is just another option and the drawback is a longer cable run.

[Richard Connell]

IMHO there's plenty of room in the standard brace for quite a bit of wiring.
I ran around 10 wires of differing sizes from 18 to 22 including shielded Pleads.
Even had enough room to put them in conduit at each end to stop chafing (2nd photo before that is all I have)
I don't have any material on my glare shield and you can't see the hole in the skin inside the brace.
I also ran 3 coaxes and a few others up the A-Pillars like others.

[Blizzard]

Really appreciate the pics. Thanks to everyone who contributed. I may run a few through the brace and then use the embedded pillar conduits ( that I spent so much time embedding!) LOL. In response the visor issue. One of the visors I saw has you drill holes in the lip of the pillar to mount them. Having filled that intire area with conduit and epoxy ...there's no more lip there. Other methods of attaching them ?? Maybe epoxy an attach point somewhere in that area??

Thanks

[Weefle]

Sounds like you have already finished off your pillars. I embedded the conduits as well but I also stuck a 1/4” wing nut upside down and glassed it in. It fit very easily right beside the conduit. I now have a place to thread the pieces for the RAM mount sun visors.