The Barn Find Build

[alexM]

However, I'm not sure about the ELT antenna. I don't like the idea of having it external where it could easily be damaged if the plane flips over, but I don't see a good place to put it inside the frame. I need to break down and buy it so I can mock up the antenna, but I've been holding off because ACK's warranty reads, "...warrantied [...] for a period of three years from their manufacture date."

That reminds me of the book Adrift by Steven Callahan, floating in his life raft for 76 days. One day he was looking at the manufacturing tag and saw that it was warranted for 40 days, and wondered just how he might be compensated if it didn't last longer.

[PapuaPilot]

Thank you, Phil. Your photo is enormously helpful. One question: does the wood belly stringer hold the fabric down enough that it doesn't contact the Adel clamps?

That's correct, the adel clamps don't touch the fabric. I suppose you could also use pipe strap clamps, which would be much easier to match the holes and install.

[109JB]

I welded in brackets for the servos. I'm using Garmin servos and here is how they are mounted.

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[Eric Page]

That reminds me of the book Adrift by Steven Callahan, floating in his life raft for 76 days. One day he was looking at the manufacturing tag and saw that it was warranted for 40 days, and wondered just how he might be compensated if it didn't last longer.

Ha! Thanks for that. Always good to have a little perspective.

[Eric Page]

Today I applied what I thought would be the last of the varnish, but there'll be more (see below).

I made a Home Depot run, looking for some thin aluminum bar. They didn't have any, so I bought an 8-ft piece of 1-1/2" x 1/16" aluminum angle instead.

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I used the miter saw to cut that into pieces of about the right length for the wing tip attachment strips, then passed those through the table saw to remove the corner (this is where I created more varnish work for myself, as the table saw threw aluminum chips all over my floor boards, which stuck in the still-soft varnish!). That left me with 8 pieces that are 1-1/4" wide x 1/16" thick. They'll just need a little trimming to final length, then match drilling to fit the #10 ribs.

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I had about 21" of the angle left, so I used it to fabricate a mounting platform for the pitch servo in the same location that Papua Pilot showed in his photo, above. I ended up cutting about 5" off of it, then cut up that piece to make two braces for the servo. I'm not sure how rigid this installation is going to be (I haven't cinched it down tight yet because of the nylon lock nuts), so I many end up making an upper brace for it later.

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Fortunately, the longer of the two push-pull rods that came with the servos will work for this location, so I don't need to fabricate a new one. I've got a 1" Adel clamp on my Spruce list to grab ahold of the elevator push-pull tube. Once I'm sure that all fits together and works, I'll torque everything down.

[PapuaPilot]

Copy cat.

[Eric Page]

Yep, it looked a lot better than where I was going to put it, and it saved me making a new pushrod. Thanks again!

[efwd]

Most of us install the ELT antenna along the side, within the airframe, right beside the baggage area.
Look at "EFWD build" post #94 to see Jim Otts installation.

[109JB]

Here is how I mounted my ELT and antenna. Once again, I decided to weld a bracket for the antenna but there is no reason you couldn't bolt one in.20201110_191245.jpg

[Eric Page]

Thanks, Eddie & John. That gives me a couple more spots to consider. I presume airplanes have passed airworthiness inspection, and passed operational tests through the satellites with ELTs and their antennae in those locations.

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I did a little sanding and varnishing this morning to fix the floor boards after the aluminum chip debacle yesterday. The rest of the day was a loss, apart from some online part hunting this evening. I should get a full day in tomorrow.