Nihon_Ni
Well Known Member
In the past few months I've been working hard on learning about electricity so that I can make informed decisions about how to design and implement an electrical system into my RV-8. I've watched all the related Hints for Homebuilders videos, I went to the Sport Air workshop on electricity, I've read Bob's book twice and have done my best to learn from other builders through discussions here and on other forums.
I posted my design a few weeks ago and got a lot of great feedback. However, some of that feedback is troubling to me, and frankly has shaken my confidence in my ability to design and install my own system.
I'm sure electrical work is like any other area of building a plane -- there are some definite right and wrong ways to do things, and lots of ways to accomplish things that are right, and even more ways to accomplish things that are wrong!
I experienced this same sort of conflict when I began metal construction. One builder would recommend one thing, another would say to avoid that and do it another way. At that point in my project, following the plans gave me the experience I needed to form my own opinion with respect to metal work.
My trouble with electrical work is there aren't detailed plans for me to follow to gain experience so that I can form my own opinions. I have no idea if fuses are better than CBs, but that's a decision I have to make up front so I can design my system around that decision. For this particular item, I read Bob's book where he laid out an argument for fuses. I thought about it and agreed with him on it in principle, even though I don't have my own experience. That one was relatively easy, but there are hundreds of similar electrical decisions to be made that aren't so easy.
I don't want to do something because someone said to do it, no matter if he's Bob, a guy on the internet with an opinion, or one of the Wright Brothers. I want to learn why people recommend a certain thing so I can understand the problem and solutions and then be able to pick the one that represents the best option for me.
So my question to those who have gone before, how did you educate yourself well enough to be able to make your own decisions? I was feeling pretty confident in my abilities to design and install my system, but now I'm not sure.
Grateful for any insight you could offer.
Thanks,
Rob
I posted my design a few weeks ago and got a lot of great feedback. However, some of that feedback is troubling to me, and frankly has shaken my confidence in my ability to design and install my own system.
I'm sure electrical work is like any other area of building a plane -- there are some definite right and wrong ways to do things, and lots of ways to accomplish things that are right, and even more ways to accomplish things that are wrong!
I experienced this same sort of conflict when I began metal construction. One builder would recommend one thing, another would say to avoid that and do it another way. At that point in my project, following the plans gave me the experience I needed to form my own opinion with respect to metal work.
My trouble with electrical work is there aren't detailed plans for me to follow to gain experience so that I can form my own opinions. I have no idea if fuses are better than CBs, but that's a decision I have to make up front so I can design my system around that decision. For this particular item, I read Bob's book where he laid out an argument for fuses. I thought about it and agreed with him on it in principle, even though I don't have my own experience. That one was relatively easy, but there are hundreds of similar electrical decisions to be made that aren't so easy.
I don't want to do something because someone said to do it, no matter if he's Bob, a guy on the internet with an opinion, or one of the Wright Brothers. I want to learn why people recommend a certain thing so I can understand the problem and solutions and then be able to pick the one that represents the best option for me.
So my question to those who have gone before, how did you educate yourself well enough to be able to make your own decisions? I was feeling pretty confident in my abilities to design and install my system, but now I'm not sure.
Grateful for any insight you could offer.
Thanks,
Rob
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