Flaps wired to battery?

[rv6n6r]

I'm in the midst of a panel upgrade project in my 13 yr. old RV-6 which involves rewiring pretty much everything... and I was thinking about the fact that I often extend or retract the flaps while the plane is shut down. Which involves turning on the master and unnecessarily powering up all the other non-avionics items... so why not wire the flaps directly to the battery? Safety-wise it doesn't seem like an issue (after all, manual flaps are "active" all the time). What other up or down-sides might I be missing? Has anyone else wired their flaps up this way?

Randall Henderson
RV-6

[rv7boy]

I remember reading this discussion in the forums a few years ago, but I can't remember the particulars. I know there were some pro's and con's discussed. I suggest you do a search of the forums and see if you can find that old discussion. Of course, a new discussion won't hurt either.

[Mike S]

If you do this, dont forget to put in a circuit breaker.

[NickAir]

Just a thought.

Maybe wire the panel with an additional, "Avionics," switch.

This way you can power up the system and not power your sensitive glass and radios. Good for eliminating the surge on every start up. Flaps' trim, etc. not on the Avionics circut. Mine is wired this way and I love it.

All electronics are powered down when the Master is off. This is for safety regarding a crash, reducing sparks with possible fuel present.

[Wayne Gillispie]

I have a hot battery bus in front and rear. Both are for accy plug/charge ports, led cockpit/panel lighting(I like it too, may not if they are left on), efis clock power. It can be wired like that and would be handy for planes without separate aux ebus battery. When I hit the master only my Dynon D-6 comes on. It may pose a safety hazard if someone is working near the flaps and the switch gets bumped accidentally or around children.

[SMO]

Originally Posted by rv6n6r

Has anyone else wired their flaps up this way?

When I reworked the panel of my -4 a couple years ago I wired the flap switch to the battery bus (I have 6 fuses on that bus). I like it, haven't seen any down side.

[rv6n6r]

Originally Posted by rv7boy

I remember reading this discussion in the forums a few years ago, but I can't remember the particulars. I know there were some pro's and con's discussed. I suggest you do a search of the forums and see if you can find that old discussion. Of course, a new discussion won't hurt either.

Thanks, I tried a search before posting, it didn't turn anything up but if anyone can point me to that, please do so!

[Sam Buchanan]

Originally Posted by rv6n6r

I'm in the midst of a panel upgrade project in my 13 yr. old RV-6 which involves rewiring pretty much everything... and I was thinking about the fact that I often extend or retract the flaps while the plane is shut down. Which involves turning on the master and unnecessarily powering up all the other non-avionics items... so why not wire the flaps directly to the battery? Safety-wise it doesn't seem like an issue (after all, manual flaps are "active" all the time). What other up or down-sides might I be missing? Has anyone else wired their flaps up this way?

Randall Henderson
RV-6

Randall, I've had my flaps "hot-wired" to the battery (via a fuse) since I upgraded to electric flaps many years ago. I've never regretted that decision and it is very convenient to be able to move the flaps without turning on ship's power.

I haven't found any downsides to this method.

[rv6n6r]

Thanks all for the feedback. I'm going with it (including a fuse, of course!)