Getting the engine mounted was a big step and provided major visual motivation. I had planned an extra day to get it mounted in case I ran into unexpected difficulties. Since the difficulties were minor, and quickly overcome, I decided to work today on a few minor things that were on my list of things to do.
I have been working on my electrical system diagrams for quite some time. In order to design a robust but simple electrical system, I decided to study the bible of light aircraft electrical systems, The Aeroelectric Connection by Bob Nuckols. I helped my friend, Dick Keyt, rewrite his airplane, the Polen Special and with that experience I knew that having a schematic is worth the time investment when it comes to the wiring.
With the wiring diagrams pretty well along, I was confident enough to start installing some of the electrical components. Truth be told, I am looking forward to having something electrical installed that I can turn on. Even if it is only hearing the clunk of the master solenoid. It also will provide a nice break from layups and sanding.
The first components that need to be installed are the battery and fuse block busses. The battery location will be up as far forward as possible to offset the weight of the heavier O-360. The location is already ready, but I will need to fabricate a hold down method for the battery. So I moved on to mounting the fuse blocks and master solenoid.
These we’re mounted using Ez point nuts. Just mark the location of the mount points for the fuse blocks, drill some holes for the back side of the hard points to recess into the side wall of the fuselage, flox and bid finish the installation. Remember to put something in the Ez point nuts to keep the threads clean, and you are off and running.
the Garaggio 