I terminated the O2 regulator wiring - I saw no reason to use the MH-provided extension dongle, since that'd just add another intermediate connector which seemed unnecessary:
I secured that to the baggage area floor, and secured some of the remaining wiring like fuel level wires and the stick grip wires:
Fuel level wire secured to avoid the rivet line
Stick grip wires secured to the landing gear mount
It was then time to continue the firewall-forward wiring, and deal with those annoying Adel clamps:
Left-side spark plug and other sensor wires secured to engine mount with Adel clamps
Spark plug wire organization near the coils
Right-side spark plug wires secured to the engine mount
For the bottom wires, I used the Vans C-606 tabs so that I can install and remove the Adel clamps without having to unbutton the sump every time:
Alternator wires secured to the engine sump
I secured the crank trigger sensor wiring to the top of the engine case, using one tab and attaching the second Adel clamp to the existing bracket:
Next I need to finish the cylinder wiring brackets, and finish routing the crank trigger wiring aft through the rear baffle.
We trimmed the control sticks for the grips, getting them to be tall enough that they clear the switches on the panel, but they were still hitting:
Trimmed control sticks in place
Stick grip hitting the flap switch
The angled bushings from Tosten helped, but didn't fully fix the problem - so I did what any reasonable person would do, I 3D scanned the stick and designed a new one:
3D scanned stick overlaid on a sketch of the extended stick
Options for the stick extension
Rendering of the extended stick
Scanned original stick overlaid with new stick
Attempting to get this fabricated, however, proved to be nearly impossible due to the 6" bend radius - the few places that actually gave me quote wanted something in the high 3 digits for it, so we resorted to the solution others have found, which is bending it a bit further.
I drilled the aft holes for the angled bushings:
Stick grip bushing installed and secured through screw hole
and primed the parts of the stick where the bending damaged the powder coating, as well as all of the top tip which remains visible even with the cover on:
Stick grips masked for priming
Primed stick grips
and finally, I installed the sticks and stick grips in place:
Sticks and stick grips installed in place, with the covers on
With this, the only thing left in section 39 is final-adjusting the pushrod lengths if needed, after all the surfaces are connected.
I continued the baffles by priming and attaching the aft baffle bracket to the top of the engine case:
Aft baffle bracket secured to the engine
I also trimmed the corner of the right rear baffle to clear the EFII injector:
Rear baffle corner, trimmed to clear the #6 injector
I aligned the Aerosport engine mount cover to the baffle, then drilled attachment holes and nutplate holes on the baffle, carefully positioning those holes so they don't interfere with the engine attachment "ears" behind the baffle:
Drilling engine mount cover attachment holes into rear baffle
Marking position of the left engine mount cover on the baffle
Rear baffle with engine mount cover nutplate holes drilled
The position of the attachment holes is pretty important in this case, to avoid hitting any part of the engine - notably the bottom one, which leaves the nutplate nested inside the engine mounting bracket:
Engine attachment ear structure
Engine mount cover nutplate holes, avoiding the engine attachment ears
Bottom engine mount cover nutplate holes, narrowly avoiding the engine attachment ear's inner structure
It was then time to make the famous baffle mod to increase airflow around the #6 cylinder - I cut off a corner of the rear baffle, and then trimmed and bent a cover to allow air to flow with an offset:
Rear baffle marked for trimming
Baffle mod cover match-drilled to the rear baffle
Baffle mod cover with flanges bent
I then trimmed the bent flanges to roughly fit within that structure, and it'll ultimately be sealed with red RTV.
After some trimming of the rear baffles themselves, I also match-drilled the aft bracket into them, firmly positioning them on the engine:
Aft braffle bracket match-drilled into rear baffles
I then used the clip method to trim the top of the baffles (starting with the aft 4 cylinders and rear baffles, progressively trimming until until cowl both sat at the right height (supported by the Skybolts and our spacers, not by the baffles), and then further until the clips showed a gap of 3/8" from the cowl:
Clips showing the distance from the cowl top edges to the baffles
Clips inside the cowl showing the distance to the rear baffle top edges
Clips inside the cowl showing the distance to the side baffle top edges
The corners required some visual attention too, since the cowl was hitting them first, and some spaces are too narrow for the clips:
Cowl hitting the baffle corner even though the clips show some distance
Last but not least, I couldn't (to my surprise) find spark plug wire seals for the wires to securely go through the baffles, so I designed some (and included a 4th hole in one of them for the EFII temperature sensor) - I initially printed a prototype with MJF (which doesn't tolerate as high temperatures), assuming I'd need to adjust them:
Prototype spark plug wire passthrus, printed with MJF
Of course, since I built a prototype first, there was nothing to fix - so I ordered the final versions printed in Ultem 1010. The Ultem printing doesn't look nearly as nice the MJF, but it's more resistant to heat, so I'll keep it:
Ignition wiring passthru prototypes (top, PA-12 MJF) and final version (bottom, Ultem 1010 FDM)
I managed to make the Ultem look slightly better and flatter by just sanding the surfaces a bit:
Ignition wiring passthrus, before (bottom) and after (top) sanding
Next I'll tackle the forwardmost baffles, which are likely to require at least some customization due to the Showplanes cowl and induction.
I trimmed the wingtip trailing edge to meet Van's specs:
Trimmed wingtip trailing edge
We then bonded the light module in place, and let it cure with the wingtip attached (to ensure it takes the correct shape, since there's a gap between the wingtip skin and the module that had to be filled):
Wing protected with mold release tape for curing the wingtip in place
Applying resin to attach light module
Wingtip light module, set in place for resin to cure
We closed up the light module by installing the inspection panel, and riveted the nutplates to the forward part:
Wingtip inspection panel installed in place
Nutplates riveted to wingtip forward edge
With the forward part screwed securely in place, we then enlarged the remaining screw holes to #28, countersunk the holes, dimped the skin, and installed the corresponding nutplates (all only on the top side, since the bottom side is attached with a hinge for better grounding):
Final-drilled wingtip attachment holes
Wingtip with attachment nutplates installed
We laid some fiber to hold the NAV antenna (Archer NAV/LOC antenna + Martin's GS extension) securely in place, and along the light module edges for reinforcement:
NAV antenna (with Martin's extension) glassed in against the inside of the wingtip
Light module with reinforcement fiber strips along its edge
I secured the aft light wires with Click Bond fasteners, as far from the NAV antenna as I could:
Rear light wires secured to Click Bond fasteners away from the antenna
I carefully lined up the static wick holes across the wingtip and aileron, and drilled those holes - the inboard wingtip holes being right on the wingtip rib:
Marking the static wick attachment holes so they're aligned
Left wingtip with drilled static wick attachment holes
I installed a nutplate on one of the holes that coincide with the rib, but left the other open for a regular nut so I can attach the grounding strap there:
Static wick attachment nutplate installed inside the wingtip rib
For inserting and removing the hinge pin, we carved out the corner of the rib and glassed in a small tube that can take the pin from a window further back on the rib to the actual hinge:
Hinge end connecting to a carefully-positioned hole on the corner of the rib, for inserting and removing the pin
Hinge pin going into the rib through a small window, and then into the hinge
I made a cover for that opening, secured the hinge pin to it and attached a couple of nutplates to secure it to the rib:
Wingtip rib cover secured in place with screws
Wingtip rib cover secured to the hinge pin
Inside view of the wingtip rib, with the cover secured to nutplates and the hinge pin, and a glassed-in tube to guide the pin
We glassed in the rib being very careful for the pin to actually slide into the hinge, and that ensured that it cured at the exact alignment needed (two attempts and a lot of cursing were necessary):
Wingtip rib secured in place, aligned with the hinge
Hinge pin and cover inserted through the wingtip rib window
With this, there's only some finishing and grounding straps left for the wingtips.
