Date:	11-12-2009
Number of Hours:	3.00
Brief Description:	AeroConversions Trim System indicator
For awhile now I've been planning on having a trim indicator system for the AeroConversions Trim system (or Dial-A-Trim like some guys call it). When I laid out my panel, I included 5 LEDs which would be used to give the rough location of the trim position, (the 5 LEDs shown on Image 3). The only issue was how would I light these LEDs? I kicked around purchasing some sort of digital position sensor or maybe some type of long potentiometer that would have enough travel to go the whole length of the trim travel. I thought I could design some sort of cool circuit which would take these inputs and then drive a cool display, indicating the trim position. In the end, however, I thought this is a Sonex, designed with the keep-it-simple approach. So instead of spending lots of time and money, I did it the simple (and cheap) way. First, I screwed the 5, $1.45 mirco-switches to a little piece of angle with #2 screws and nuts and screwed it to the side of the trim frame with #6 screws using holes in the frame that I drilled and tapped. See Image 2. To actuate the micro-switches, I cut out and bend a piece of angle and attached it to the plastic part that moves with the trim. I attached it using #6 screws by drilling and tapping the plastic part, on the opposite side from where the screw for the cable goes. All told, my entire trim indicator system cost about 13 bucks.