KitLog pro

Powered By Kitlog Pro v2.0

Dave's RV-7A Builder's Log
' style=
Date:  10-22-2016
Number of Hours:  5.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Pitot & AOA lines

Today was the day that I finally tackled the pitot & AOA lines running from the left wing to the panel. This was one of those sessions where there was a lot of climbing in and out of the fuselage, scratching my head and thinking, rather than actually working on something. I was looking at options (relatively few) for running the lines without going through the center tunnel, and finally came up with a solution to run them along the left side floor and then up the inside of a vertical rib to join up with the static line and enter the panel area.

One of the biggest challenges I faced was the fact that when I had built the wings, I enlarged a tooling hole to accommodate a snap bushing for the pitot line, but back when I started the project, AOA was not really an easy option for most homebuilders. Thanks to Dynon and Garmin, it now is, but there was nowhere to run the AOA line because there was no way to get a drill into the inner wing ribs and enlarge the holes for both lines. Then I had a brilliant (for me) idea…run the AOA line through the conduit that the pitot heat and lighting wiring is running through. I can’t find any overt prohibitions against running wiring alongside nylon tubing, and since the conduit itself is nylon, I don’t see any issues with chafing.

Since there was no more room in the left spar wiring holes for two lines, I drilled out a hole in both the front and aft web (approved by Van’s) and ran the AOA through that. I will secure the lines along the vertical rib with a couple of simple brackets to keep them clear of the rudder cable, but that will be a different day. I still need a couple of tees and fittings for running the pitot and static lines to the autopilot, so I haven’t plumbed the system yet.
' style=

Pitot line is red, AOA is blue

Pitot line is red, AOA is blue

' style=










Copyright © 2001-2024 Matronics. All Rights Reserved.