Category Archives: Sign offs

Fuel Flow Checks, Fuel System, Fuel Transducer, Ground Testing, Paperwork, Sign offs, Worksheets

Wednesday 11th March 2020 – Transducer Testing

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Back from Vienna just before Corona Virus closed all borders! With the transducer installed before I went away I rechecked the installation and carried out pressure testing to ensure there’s no leaks and all seems to be secure.

Wiring up the transducer into the EMS220 is straightforward using 3 wires, a 12v supply, signal and ground. The SkyView panels need to be configured with the ‘K’ factor of the FT60 unit. This is the number of rotations per US Gallon. Entering the config screen I found that the SkyView had already detected the unit and configured itself which was handy.

Once configured a check needs to be carried out between measured and actual fuel flow. I removed one of the banjos from the carb and captured the flow in a measuring jug to carry this out. With no restriction the electric fuel pump delivered 66 litres per minute and when restricted to give 3 psi within the fuel system the flow rate was 44 litres per minute. This is significantly more than the 27 rpm that the engine needs at full throttle.

Testing throughout the RPM range was carried out switching between left and right tanks and using the engine pump and engine and electric pumps options to ensure there were no issues with fuel supply.
After the engine runs a thorough check of the installation was made to ensure there were no leaks or issues.
All’s fine so now for the paperwork for the LAA.
Worksheets covering the work carried out and a fuel flow check form needs to be completed. A suitable entry needs to be entered in the Airframe logbook signed by myself and a permit maintenance release needs to be signed off by and LAA inspector with the appropriate authority, in this case Ian Daniels.
Electrics, Ian Daniels, Pitot System, Primary Power, Sign offs, Strobes, Wiring

Thursday 2nd May 2019

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Music: Snow Patrol and Celine Dion

Finished off the installation of the tail strobe and pitot unit before starting work on the primary power system. Also 10 stages of the build were signed off by Ian.

First job today is to finish off the installation of the tail strobe.

The strobe and wire have different colours but can be matched up logically, following the same scheme as the wing strobes.

The purple and orange structure in the background is a multi arm clamp that can be used to hold wires whilst I solder them.
The tail strobe wire is fed into the fin but there is no room for any slack so I put a loop in the wire by the rear inspection access hole so I can get to the strobe and solder connections if necessary.
The pitot has two aluminium tube, one for airspeed and one for angle of attack. The can be connected to the nylon pipes by warming the pipe and pushing oner the pipes but a better solution is to use connectors supplied in the pitot installation kit. These need installed using a ‘Flaring tool’ to ensure the connection is air tight.
I didn’t want to buy a flaring tool for just two pipes but luckily Ian Daniels came to the rescue and the result is two very nice flared pipes.
The final assembly ready for fixing to the underside of the starboard wing.
Some silicon seal is used to provide so weather proofing prior to riveting on.
The unit is held in place with clecos whilst riveting.
As shown before the power unit for the pitot heat is mounted on the access panel. The excess wires could be cut but I’ve tidied them up by coiling round the unit and using a cable tie to hold in place.
The first crimps of many!
The last thing to do is cut the pitot power wire to the correct length and connect them up before securing the panel in place. The only problem is I don’t have any male spade connectors so I’ll have to finish that job off when they arrive.
Moving on to the primary power system I’ve decided to add a master battery relay. This allows the switching high currents from the battery to the starter and the main bus by a normal 25amp switch.
Now the master relay is mounted the primary power system can be connected. I’ve decided to make my own cables up so I’ve purchased a sprung loaded crimper that uses a vice or hammer to make the crimp.

First of a few cable required to be fitted.

Ian Daniels agreed to keep an eye on my build and sign of the completed stages. So that’s it for today whilst Ian inspects the work I’ve done so far.
He’s a busy man with several projects on the go but came in today to inspect my work so far and sign off another 10 stages. The photo shows a build record sheet. I now have 17 out of the 27 stages signed off.