I got word this morning that my IFR training is back on (there was an issue with my FBO and Part 141 training… all clear now).

In the mean time, I had two separate phone calls today with Rich at Aircraft Extras, Inc. to finally get these AG6 warning annunciators programmed!  After following some instructions in an email that didn’t work (my fault, I entered a data field incorrectly) I called Rich.  He talked me through some steps and helped me understand a couple of the data fields well enough that I got off the phone to tackle it all again.  Well, the umpteenth time is a charm because it worked!!!  Finally!  So I spent the next 6 hours programming and documenting every parameter for each warning screen.  I then did an operational check on each alarm screen by inputting the amount of voltage that it needed to see to kick off the alarm. Thus, now each alarm screen works exactly as it should… (yeah!)

It was a bit tough there for a while on getting these AG6s programmed, but I’m really glad I stuck to the plan for using them.  I can now say that all my major warning annunciations (non-EFIS) are good to go!  One other thing I’ll point out on my AG6 configuration is that on almost all of them I’ve turned off the “Green OK” screen so that I get just the warning screen & only when it alarms.  Clearly, on the canopy, landing brake and nose gear I wanted positive feedback of what was going on with these components.  I’ll also point out that only those issues that would result in an immediate safety of flight issue, damage to the aircraft/engine, or fire are denoted with a red color.  The amber alarms screens show up clearly visible and are an attention getter as well, but I wanted the really bad stuff (obviously, my opinion here) depicted with red.  Finally, I’ll note that the green screens only come alive when the action they represent has been 100% completed.  For the canopy, note that it doesn’t say “Canopy Closed,” but rather “CANOPY LOCKED.”  Same for the landing brake being stowed away and the nose gear extended all the way down.  I actually had a screen stating “gear locked” (since it solved my double gear up/down alarm entry … see below), but after a bit of thinking I decided that I wanted to denote “GEAR DOWN” since to me that communicates more succinctly where the gear is compared to “GEAR LOCKED”.

Moreover, Marc Zeitlin just released his new version of the nose gear automatic extension system (AEX) which streamlined the signal output from the nose gear system with a single wire to each nose gear status indicator light.  What I had to take into account however was that with these one wire outputs it meant one input for the respective gear up and gear down signals.   This meant I had to parse out the normally paired GEAR UP and GEAR DOWN warning screens and put them on separate inputs.  Well, the way the AG6 works is that each alarm has a specific screen code, and the screen code can only be used once in the system since it points all the data to that code.  Well, luckily I communicated what I wanted and Rich talked me through how to “trick the system” by using all the descriptive parameters of the GEAR UP/GEAR DOWN reference number under another unique alarm code (I overwrote the vacuum pump alarm code since I definitely will not be installing one of those in my plane).  With two separate GEAR UP/GEAR DOWN alarms on Annunciator #1, all I had to do (yeah, right!) was turn off the alarm screen (red or green) that I didn’t want to see for each separate GEAR UP/DOWN alarm.

[As a point of note, there were 2 EZ workarounds for the above issue even if Rich hadn’t helped me out.  As I mentioned before, I could have used “GEAR LOCKED” which is a different screen number.  Also, I could have programmed one gear condition on AG6 #1 and the other on AG6 #2, although I did want my final gear positions annunciations in the same place… ALTHOUGH, to further convolute this: my “GEAR UP TRANSIT” and “GEAR DN TRANSIT” indicator lights (not AG6) will not be colocated on the panel so that peripheral vision and color tell me gear moving up or gear moving down … nuff said!]

Ok, speaking of Marc Zeitlin’s new AEX, I’m starting to actually receive my component orders to implement that system.  I have yet to order the actual Laser Altimeter, but pretty much everything else is on its way.  Below is the 12V-to-5V converter that I just got that is needed to drive the 5V laser altimeter.  I wasn’t sure which one to get so I just bought the same exact one that Marc has since his system is working.  Hey, if it works, don’t mess with success . . .  right?!

The other components I got in (as if I didn’t have enough of these things!) were 2 different airspeed switches.  The one to the left is a Normally Closed airspeed switch and used to sense when the aircraft is less than 90 KIAS.  The one to the right is a Normally Open airspeed switch that senses when the aircraft is traveling 40 knots or faster.  These will be installed in series so both parameters must hold true for the AEX to function (along with the throttle being retarded to <10% power and the laser altimeter reading less than approximately 350 ft AGL).

Marco had a question on my last blog post regarding Marc Z’s system that I wanted to clear up here.  Here’s Marco’s question:

This is an excellent point, and I should have clarified this in my last post.  The answer is NO, the gear will not go back up because the AEX circuit latches.  Only by cycling the gear switch all the way down and back up will it then raise the nose gear on the command of the pilot to very specifically override the AEX system.  Otherwise, the AEX will keep the gear deployed until the pilot either lands the plane or cycles the gear switch toggle to intentional raise the gear.  I’m glad Marco asked this question so I could clarify this point!

Depending on weather my Instrument training schedule is up in the air.  As for the build, as time allows I have about 4-5 electrical system tasks I want to finish up.  Then I plan on seriously getting back to some glassing, including (don’t laugh!) . . . the wheel pants!

One good thing about not getting this plane built on schedule is that it allows for me to implement really good upgrade mods that would normally mean downtime & increased complexity on a flying bird.  In other words, I can take just a scant bit of extra time and roll these new mods into the build plan in whatever area before I ever start in that specific endeavor.  Two such mods that I’ll discuss below are the electric nose gear system and the heating system.

First off, I finally did a bit of research and decided on the style of latch I wanted for my oil dipstick access door on my cowling.  I like the way the one below operates so I picked one up from a guy off of Ebay.  For those curious it’s a Hartwell H2868-1.  I like this specific version since most of the ones that are this style simply have a large square plate with a hole in each corner for mounting.  With the wings of this “H” style it will allow me to bend those just a hair to match any curvature I may have on the oil dipstick access door, which in turn, matches the curvature of the upper engine cowling.  In addition, the main reason I wanted a latch-for-the-hatch is to preclude the complexity and pain of having to use a screwdriver to undo any number of CamLocs just to check the oil!  Plus, as with everything we do, I simply think it looks cool… ha!

I don’t normally include this type of stuff on my blog, but since the use of my laptop DIRECTLY impacts my airplane building I thought I’d make an exception this time.  So my MacBook cord finally gave up the ghost.  No worries, I’ll just pop down to the store sez me to myself and pick up another one . . . how expensive can they be?  Well!!! $78 is how expensive they can be.  Sorry, not gonna happen.  Thus, I fired up the soldering iron and soldered what few molecules of the outer shielding I could find, built a bit of a solder bridge (that’s always fun!) and slapped some heat shrink on it.  And Voila!  Works like a champ!

Now, back to real business.

My build buddies apparently understand that I like bright shiny objects and will take off after them with aplomb if any catch my fancy.  Well, Dave Berenholtz from OZ obviously understands this too well and sent an email asking me if I was aware of what Marc Zeitlin was cooking up in his evil lair.  Apparently Marc was dissatisfied with the standard operations of the Automatic Extension (AEX) feature of Jack Wilhelmson’s EZNoseLift electric nose gear system.  The AEX simply provides an automatic feature of retracting the nose gear after takeoff once the airspeed is above 90 knots, and conversely, will extend the nose gear if the airspeed is less than 90 knots.  Short and sweet.

Well, Marc undertook about a year-long project to refine the AEX system, not just for Jack’s system, but any aircraft actuator-centric system (I’ll note for clarity that in Marc’s quest, apparently the “X” got lopped off the end of “AEX” and now it’s just the AE system). IMO, Marc’s system is fantastic in that by adding another airspeed switch, a throttle “microswitch,” and a laser altimeter, it provides a comprehensive set of parameters that must all be true for the Auto Extend to activate and deploy the nose landing gear:

1: Throttle less than 10% open
2. Speed greater than 40 knots (user programmable)
3. Speed less than 90 knots (user programmable)
4. Altitude at or below 350 ft. AGL

Ok!  Wow, this is truly fantastic news for us Canardians!  I printed out Marc’s description of the system and the electrical diagram and got to work since I wanted to assess how this would integrate into my system.

Initially, this all seemed too good to be true!  Where was the catch?  Well, as always seems to be the case there were two specific problems with this new system: the first in relation to my build and the other, a general operational requirement that I desired, which was offered in Jack’s original system but removed in Marc’s modification.

First, the operational requirement:  Marc’s version offers no backup battery capability since Marc personally uses the ratchet drive backup system to extend the gear in case of an electrical failure.  Jack sells his EZNoseLift systems with the option of the mechanical ratchet drive backup -OR- a small 1.2A backup battery that will lower the gear sans ship’s power if the electrical system fails.  Hmmm….  Since I have the backup battery, this was not a good thing in regards to my system.

Next, as for the integration into my build?  Marc’s version requires a 3PDT switch to control the gear up & down. My already terminated and installed throttle-mounted SPDT nose gear switch is in the “done” column and is perfect for driving Jack’s EZNoseLift system. Moreover, since this is an F-15 throttle handle, how this rare switch is mounted and its metal hat switch form factor make it very difficult to just pull, plug and replace with another switch.  Moreover, I really have to say that I love my throttle handle just the way I’ve now configured it!  On the pic of my throttle handle below you can see (mid-side handle) the stepped-hat nose gear up/down switch.

Also, one thing was clear as I stared down this road of integrating the new parts of Marc’s upgraded system while keeping the best part of Jack’s current system, and that was I really needed to truly understand and have comprehensive knowledge of how both these systems worked.  To be honest, with so many versions of Jack’s system out there, I wasn’t even sure what my switch panel looked like!  I went down to the shop and snapped a pic of the switch panel face . . .

. . .  and the actual wiring of the switches on the backside of the panel in order to identify the correct switches and wiring circuits.

After pondering my gear switch issue for about a day, out of the blue I had a Eureka moment: Duh! just swap out Marc’s required 3PDT switch with a 3PDT relay… right? Problem solved.  Uh, but wait a minute sports fans.  With this being a CANARD gear switch, a problem is presented in simply swapping a switch out with a relay since there’s that pesky “-OFF-” position on our gear switch that doesn’t translate over to a “middle position” between N.O. and N.C. on a relay.  Obviously, on canards we don’t simply use a binary, all-the-way up or down gear position (except for TOs/landings), but use the gear switch to position the nose in a myriad of heights off the ground when parked. Thus, my requirement was to be able to hit the nose gear up/down position, have it run up/down for a few seconds and then move the switch to the “OFF” position to stop the gear from moving any forward.  Again, with most aircraft you simply have an up or down gear position, but we Canardians apparently like to be eccentric! 

I was at the juncture of simply knowing that I wanted to replace Marc’s required 3PDT switch with a relay that I could then subsequently control with my throttle mounted SPDT switch. But how?  Not smart enough in the ways of electrons, I posted my dilemma onto the AeroElectric Connection forum.  Within an hour Charlie England started off his response with a question that gave me my answer: “How about 2 separate 3 pole relays?” Yes, one relay would control up and the other down.  When my throttle-mounted switch was in the middle OFF position, neither relay would be powered on to do any action so the system would be “at rest” . . . or OFF.  I had found my middle position!

[Just as a point of note, since Marc’s 3PDT switch positions were wired to create 2-N.C. states and 1-N.O. state in the up position, and opposite in the down position, it allowed me in the end to only need one DPDT relay and one SPDT relay to replace the 3PDT switch.]

With the switch issue taken care of, now it was time to tackle probably the biggest electrical challenge I’ve ever faced.  I had asked Marc & Jack, et al, on the Cozy forum if there was a way to wire back in the 1.2A backup battery into Marc’s design to provide a means of getting the gear down if a total electrical failure were to happen.  I had some back and forth on a type-of-relay question I had, but nothing on the backup battery except an expressed desire by some to see that “put back into the system.”  With no real response, and having one solved problem (the new AEX system) creating a new problem (no backup emergency gear extend feature), I figured it was time for the proverbial: “Well, if’n you want somethin’ done yer gonna hafta do it yurself!” (Said in Ken Curtis’ Festus voice from “Gunsmoke”).

I spent a day and a half deconstructing both Marc and Jack’s respective systems, and then ala “Tony Stark” (without the flare, billions of dollars, Hollywood CGI or Jarvis) I melded the backup battery feature from Jack’s system into Marc’s new design. Thus, after chasing imaginary electrons around on paper over a couple of days I was finally able to meld the backup battery and emergency gear extension feature back into this promising new & improved system!

After verifying that my new combined design worked, I then cleaned off all my specific extraneous system info to then submit a generic copy onto the Cozy forum.  I received word back from Marc Zeitlin that it would work as per my (actually his & Jack’s) design, with a number of “why-didn’t-you-use-this-component-vs-that-one” type questions, which is great since that’s how system designs are optimized.  So now I have some system design “homework” from Marc that I will attempt to iron out.

Regardless, doing nothing else from this point on (besides buy all the required components!) results in a new baseline electric nose gear system that provides a very usable AEX system and allows me to incorporate the backup battery feature/emergency gear extend feature.

If you’re curious, here’s a final thought on reasons I chose the battery backup system vs. the mechanical ratchet wrench backup gear deployment system: the battery weighs considerably less, takes up no panel space as does the mechanical unit, and most importantly –for me– if I’m working any non-standard issue while in the process of landing, I don’t want to be messing around with a ratchet (which itself weighs as much as the small backup battery) and spending time getting the gear down when the flick of a switch will do it for me.  Finally, a very important thing to consider that I learned while flying in Marco’s Long-EZ is that IF YOU DROP SOMETHING on the floor, it is no longer something of use to you!  And unless you tie off that ratchet handle, it may end up being nothing more than added weight in your airplane while you WISH you had a means to get your nose gear down [just saying . . . IMO!]

Now, on to my final topic of this LONG post.

I had a good discussion with both Buly Aliev and Nick Ugolini regarding the integration of Buly’s oil heater system pump and system design.  I have lots to think about still on this system, but one thing I did take away from my discussion with Nick is the heat output is best realized by controlling the speed that the oil pump is pumping in hot oil into the system.  Thus, in able to control the speed of the oil pump, one method utilizes a PWM controller switch, so that’s just what I picked up.  I can now say, “Behold, the oil pump and its PWM controller switch!” (not that I will necessarily, but I can if I want . . . !)

That’s all for now folks!

If you’ve been following my blog you know that I’m on a brief hiatus from building to finish up my Instrument rating.  My plan is to finish up my rating by mid-March, at which point I plan on getting back to the build hot ‘n heavy.  Who knows?!  Maybe I’ll even finish up installing those wheel pants! ha!

One reality that I had to accept as I was preparing for an upcoming Instrument flying stage check was my lack of understanding of the Garmin GNS430 GPS navigator, which is installed in all the Cessna 172s that I fly for training.  I had resisted in really getting deep in learning the GNS430 since for my Long-EZ, my plan was to install an Avidyne IFD 440/5×0 GPS.  But alas, with a couple of stage checks and my FAA check ride looming on the near horizon, I realized that I really needed to nug out some training on the GNS430.  This decision was made easier in part when I received an email from the ubiquitous King’s offering a 20% discount on any of their training courses.   So I pulled the trigger and bought the King GNS430/530 training course (which is pretty good by the way).

As I was just getting into the 430 training, I was thinking I would buy a 430W to install in the Long-EZ since I use it so much in my training airplanes.  With the completion of my Commercial rating still looming on the horizon, I would still require a lot of time behind the 430.  Since the Avidyne IFD440 is a slide-in replacement for the Garmin GNS430W, why not use the 430 now and simply replace it with the IFD440 later?  Sounded like a good plan.  For clarity, I discussed this at length with Marco who agreed with the merits of my logic (although being a big Iron driver, he’s not a big fan of the 430).

Although it wasn’t my intention initially, as I dug deeper and deeper into learning the GNS430, curiosity of how its features compared to other units got the best of me.  So during breaks in training I would sneak in quick peeks at the Avidyne and GNS480 features.  As I would Google certain features that I wanted more info on regarding the 430 (holds, OBS, airways, etc.) I kept coming across overwhelmingly positive reviews on those features for the GNS480 [Admittedly from those bubbas flying behind them… to the guys that hadn’t flown the 480s, the report was that the learning curve was ‘too steep,’ the interface ‘too FMS-like,’ and a constant projected fear of no further Garmin support on these units].

As my curiosity deepened, before bed one night I spent a good 45 minutes watching a video specifically on the GNS480 operations.  I was deeply impressed with the power & capability of the GNS480, and every chance I got I would spend a few minutes here and there researching it more.   After a day or so of this, I sent the 480 video to Marco with a good hunch that he’d really like this unit as well (he did!).

If you’ve ever gotten a feel for my modus operandi, it will probably not surprise you that I was already communicating with a number GNS430W sellers in line with my latest 430W plan.  However, there was an oddity playing out during my short-lived quest to acquire a 430W.  First, nearly every seller of every 430W unit that I engaged with turned out to be a scammer.  Moreover, I spent a good week working a promising deal that in the end turned out to be yet another scam.

However, I guess all things work out for a reason, because during the week I was working the potential 430W purchase with what turned out to be yet another scammer (NOTE: nearly every 430W listed on Barnstormers and other sites turned out to be a scam), I was concurrently learning more and more of the GNS480’s capabilities.  Remember, during the majority of this time I was practicing instrument approaches and studying IFR flying. Truth be told, this training was probably the tipping point in my choosing the GNS480 over the GNS430W.  Why?  Well, as I re-flew my recent actual IFR flights and approaches on the respective 480 and 430 simulators side-by-side, the GNS480 clearly had superior capabilities when it came to flying IFR flights and approaches (in my opinion).  [I’ll expound on the specific comparisons in a later post].

To be clear, with the great price (but not unrealistically low) that I would have paid for the GNS430W that I was dealing on, I would still have gladly bought it and installed it.  My requirements goal here was to install a lower cost WAAS GPS unit that allowed me to fly my Long-EZ IFR.  Nonetheless, by the time I determined that the 430W seller that I was dealing with was a scammer, I reset my search primarily on finding a quality, well-priced GNS480 unit.  Well, in short order I was able to serendipitously do just that, finding a local GNS480 seller (and experienced pilot) that had a unit for sale.

I met with the seller, Phil, at a local airport where I was able to play around with the unit in its Commander docking station.  The fact that Phil was selling an entire Plug-n-play package was the deciding factor in why I pulled the trigger on this unit.  Here are all the components that were included:

• Garmin checked & software updated to Vers. 2.4 and 5.1 (allows ADS-B+ out)
• Mounting tray (“tube”), backplate and electrical & coax connectors
• GA 35 WAAS GPS antenna
• Data card reader + 2 data cards
• Lone Star Commander docking station

A result of my evaluation, and subsequent purchase, of the GNS480 has brought me to the conclusion that this will be the final and only GPS unit that I plan on installing in my Long-EZ. Clearly this means that my proposed Avidyne upgrade is simply off the table now.  With the GNS480’s handling of voice and nav comms, its inherent WAAS GPS/VOR/LOC/ILS capabilities, and its fantastic handling of airways, I am more than thrilled to have made my decision final in identifying this GNS480 as Long-EZ N916WP’s long term GPS navigator unit.