Moving forward again

The main thing that happened today was that the new sheet of aluminium for my instrument panel arrived. It’s got bent in one corner but that doesn’t matter because that will be cut off anyway, but at last I can get back to getting my Savannah ready to fly again.

I can’t see me getting much, if anything, done on it this week-end because tomorrow we’re going to a book fayre in support of the local British run dog rescue centre (Phoenix) and on Sunday I hope to be flying in the Weedhopper, but at least I’ll be able to take a running start into the coming week.

Even so, I somehow can’t see me making the third window that I identified for flying to the UK, starting on Saturday 25 May. I have to fabricate my new panel front, install all of the instruments including the new radio and transponder for which I have to create new wiring looms, fit it all in the Savannah and test it out on the ground and in the air to make sure everything works as it should.

And only then can I make an appointment to fly into La Rochelle in the Charente to get the complete avionics installation checked and tested by the approved body there for it to be signed-off so I can legally use it.

Somehow I can’t see me getting all that done in the time available so I’ll be ready to then take the aircraft on a long and demanding flight to the UK with total security, but I’ll just have to see what I can do. In the meantime I’ll have to check and see what bank holidays there will be in the UK and France in the following months which might make the basis for further flight windows (now checked – just the one in the UK, August Bank Holiday Monday 26 so not much flexibility there).

And also on a positive note, today I finished putting together the little microelectronic device for controlling my Savannah’s hour gauge. Here are a couple of shots that I took to show its front and back.

I now have to check again that I’ve soldered all of its components in the right places, that I’ve cut the copper strip on the back of the circuit board where I was actually supposed to and that there are no shorts across the cut gaps as a result of not quite completely cutting the copper, which is not difficult to do as it’s so narrow.

Only then will I be able to try putting 12 volts across its live and ground terminals and seeing whether it promptly shorts out, overheats and fries itself because I made a mistake when I figured out the circuit board layout, which I obviously hope that it will not do. Until I’ve finished the panel I won’t be able to actually test it but in the meantime I’ll be able to make a plastic enclosure for it out of old windscreen Lexan of which I have a goodly supply.

When it is all tested and working I’ll be able to pot it (enclose it) in neutral, non-acid silicone that I’ve already acquired, although I’ll leave the programming points of the Arduino microprocessor free so the unit can be reprogrammed in the future. I set it up to start the hour gauge recording when the engine reaches a figure of 3200 RPM and switches off when it falls to 1600 RPM but only actual use will show whether these figures are suitable. Exciting times are coming back… 😉