Well, as I pointed out, between the holiday stuff, the football, and more importantly, this nasty cold I’m fighting, I have abided by my previous statement that the build would slow down quite a bit.

I did finally receive a pack of 1/16″ roll pins that I ordered, so I was able to mount my gray finger grip back onto the landing brake switch post (permanently).  Last year I had to drill out the original roll pin in order to get the finger grip off to then allow me to remove the switch from the throttle handle housing.  In fact, the hole that is now visible on the side (top) of the switch grip wasn’t there when I started last year and was created as a result of my drilling endeavors.  Presently, I put some E6000 on the bottom side of the switch to help seal up the roll pin hole.

Barring any other adventures, this does it for the completion of my throttle handle switch installation, wiring & prep.  Over the next few days, when I start feeling a LOT better, I’ll drill a hole or two in the lower left area of the instrument panel bulkhead to mount some Adel clamps for use to secure the throttle handle cable (and whatever other wiring needs secured).

The remainder of my work over the past couple of days has been around finalizing the electrical system push. For one, I started compiling a list of even more electrical system components I’ll need for the future (shielded wiring, consumables, etc.).  I also printed out a couple of batches (~12) of heat shrink wire labels and attached some of those.

One main thing I’ve been doing, since I’m really not feeling up-to-snuff, is updating my electrical diagrams.  You can imagine there is simply a myriad of data that needs to be annotated (in digital form, vs. my own chicken scratches!) on these diagrams: wire colors, wire sizes, wire labels –these change a lot with the addition of connectors– circuit changes, etc.  I would say that it’s not uncommon for me to have anywhere from a dozen to 50 data points on each diagram that requires updating, which in and of itself isn’t necessarily or overly difficult.  However, the crosschecking (or consolidating) of ground points, bus tab positions (again, or piggybacking) –and making the decisions on those as well– is what eats up a good bit of time.  And of course there’s the oft required research that may accompany any such decision.

In addition, I’ve done (or simply documented) major circuit design revisions, mainly the items that are controlled via the airspeed switches and/or ancillary relays.  I also did a major overhaul of my panel dimmer and cockpit lighting & dimming circuit design as well. As a point of reference, I haven’t touched this particular wiring diagram since June 2014, so it definitely needed some attention.

I’m about 2/3rds through the diagrams and don’t have that many more to go.  Once I start feeling better, with my electrical system documentation updated, I’ll be ready to start back on some real work . . . like perhaps some wheel pants.  I will note that the wheel pants are most likely the only thing that will get done in the next couple of months since I really need to start flying again: A LOT!