Brief Description: Installed the panel into the airplane
The past two nights I have been working on installing the panel into the plane. Tonight I finished it. I am really happy with the way it turned out. Tonight I actually tried the Master switch and the master relay energized and I was surprised to see that the master relay takes a full amp of power to energize. Seems like a lot a wasted power just to keep a relay energized. I also noticed that I have a continuous draw of approximately 60 milliamps with everything off. I think it is because I wired the voltage regulator directly to the battery instead of going through the master relay. My thinking was that if the master relay failed I would still be able to keep the battery charged – but I guess I have to change that.
While installing the panel I needed to remove the windshield and I am so glad I decided to put that strip of nut plates on each side instead of individual nuts. I was able to remove and reinstall the windshield in about 20 minutes total time.
I have just a few more wiring connections to make and the electrical will be all done (until I purchase more avionics). I just need to finish the fuel line and I can try to start the engine. Things are really getting exciting!
