[jdearborn]

I?m trying set up a way to turn off all of the primary switches* with one swipe of my left hand. Just in case I?m confronted with an off airport landing (or a landing that results in a non-reusable container). The goal is to shut off everything that could start or feed a fire with my left hand and still fly the machine with my right hand. (RV-8)
(*Master switch, Mag switches, Avionics Master switch, Alternator switch(es) and the Fuel Boost Pump switch.)

I?m thinking of using separate toggle switches, two rows of four, with a spring loaded bar above each row. These will be mounted on the left console, at an angle, between the throttles and the instrument panel.

I?m trying to find a source for the spring loaded switch bar. It is spring loaded both up and down. The bar is up and out of the way in normal ops, but can easily be brought down, over center, to keep the switches in the ?off? position. The photo will give an idea of what I?m looking to acquire.

Anyone have an idea where something like this can be found?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[skylor]

Master?

I?m trying set up a way to turn off all of the primary switches* with one swipe of my left hand. Just in case I?m confronted with an off airport landing (or a landing that results in a non-reusable container). The goal is to shut off everything that could start or feed a fire with my left hand and still fly the machine with my right hand. (RV-8)
(*Master switch, Mag switches, Avionics Master switch, Alternator switch(es) and the Fuel Boost Pump switch.)

I?m thinking of using separate toggle switches, two rows of four, with a spring loaded bar above each row. These will be mounted on the left console, at an angle, between the throttles and the instrument panel.

I?m trying to find a source for the spring loaded switch bar. It is spring loaded both up and down. The bar is up and out of the way in normal ops, but can easily be brought down, over center, to keep the switches in the ?off? position. The photo will give an idea of what I?m looking to acquire.

Anyone have an idea where something like this can be found?

Thanks,
Jim

Wouldn't simply turning off the Master Switch accomplish the same thing? It will in my aircraft.

Skylor
RV-8

 

[Mike S]

Hmmmmmm reading this, it would appear your Avionics Master switch, Alternator switch(es) and the Fuel Boost Pump switch are NOT wired through the Master Switch????

You should only need to hit the Master to shut down everything except the mags.........at least that is how every plane I have flown is wired.

In case of emergency-----------mags and master.

Done.

 

[jdearborn]

Master and Mags

Are you saying that if you turn off your Master Switch your Magnetos stop working and your engine quits? Okay, but I'm still looking for the spring bars if anyone knows where I can find them. I'd like to have all of the switches off. . . just in case.
Thanks.

 

[Mike S]

Are you saying that if you turn off your Master Switch your Magnetos stop working and your engine quits?

No, engine keeps going when master is off.

 

[airguy]

Are you saying that if you turn off your Master Switch your Magnetos stop working and your engine quits? Okay, but I'm still looking for the spring bars if anyone knows where I can find them. I'd like to have all of the switches off. . . just in case.
Thanks.

Nope - there are two items to turn off - Master Switch and Magnetos. That kills everything. The master switch is truly a master - everything goes through it first, killing it should take out everything electrical and isolate the battery. Magnetos operate without battery power, so they are a separate switch to ground the magneto (key switch usually).

 

[skylor]

Are you saying that if you turn off your Master Switch your Magnetos stop working and your engine quits? Okay, but I'm still looking for the spring bars if anyone knows where I can find them. I'd like to have all of the switches off. . . just in case.
Thanks.

Mag P-Leads have their own (unpowered) circuits and are unaffected by shutting off the master switch...but if you're making an off-field landing, then presumably your engine is already shut down so this is really irrelevant.

The master switch should open the main battery contactor to completely disconnect the battery from the rest of the electrical system (except for very low current battery bus circuits if you plane contains one, and those circuits likely don't have switches anyway).

Shutting off individual circuit switches INSTEAD of just shutting of the master still leaves a hot bus feeding those switches...not much of a help!

Skylor

 

[jdearborn]

Thread drift?

Hey guys, I appreciate your intentions. . . but I didn't ask about wiring my electrical system.
Moderator, please delete this thread.

 

[rvbuilder2002]

Hey guys, I appreciate your intentions. . . but I didn't ask about wiring my electrical system.
Moderator, please delete this thread.

I think everyone is gently trying to attempt to help you avoid adding complexity (which there is is buckets of data to prove that it causes accidents all on its own)to your the operation of your airplane, and I agree with that philosophy.
There is a reason the master switch is called Master and the reason that it is standard in the design and operation of certificated aircraft.

 

[vlittle]

Here's an alternative.
Thinking about what switches to actuate during the final moments of a controlled off-airport landing or even an uncontrolled event is asking the human brain for a lot in a stressful situation.

I'm installing an inertial switch to turn off my aux fuel pump and smoke oil pump in the event of a high G event. I did consider turning off the Master with the inertial switch, but the law of unintended consequences applies... if I severely bounce a landing, I don't want most of my panel to go dark and alarms start sounding.

The law of unintended consequences is what's at play here. Think through every scenario... The simplest situation (and one we've trained for) for a controlled off-airport landing is fuel-off, mixture ICO, master OFF and mags OFF. In the case of my primary training, it also included removing the key and throwing it into the back seat to remove any tendency to try and restart the engine when it didn't matter.