First Engine Start

Well, there was an onerous beginning to this short saga....and no photographic evidence either, as I failed to follow through with all of the busyness of the engine's initial ops.  My first attempt at the start up resulted in a brief but intense shower of high pressure gas spewing from the fuel line that connects the fuel flow transducer to the flared AN fitting on the firewall shelf.

After safely shutting everything down, I drained the 5 gallons of fuel and removed the offending fuel line from its two end fittings.  What I found was that the fuel line's flared end had cracked, I would surmise due to work hardening or some such negligence on my part during the installation.  It was probably 1/16 - 3/32 inches too short in length as well.

At this humbling juncture, I made some more measurements and contacted Tom Swearengen of TS Flightlines and had him manufacture a braided steel, teflon lined unit for me.  So no more stinking aluminum flared fittings made by my hands!  Everything now in the high pressure portion (downstream of the fuel pumps) of my fuel system is steel (with the exception of a couple of fittings on the fuel filter and the body of the fuel filter itself).  I feel much better now about the integrity of the fuel system.

The short clip of the first start up is posted below.  There is a lot of background noise prior to the first start: a landscaping crew at work across the street and my large pedestal fan behind me running at full blast.  Also, I managed to shoot the video in a portrait orientation, so just tilt your head for the full effect. :-)

To say the Viking engine is smooth is an understatement.  It is a thing of beauty to behold when running.  Granted I have not run it up to any significant RPM yet, but if idle is any indication, it will be a real treat at the higher speeds.

Canopy Closure Switch

Apparently there have been a handful of incidents with pilots getting distracted after being airborne only to discover that their canopy is not latched.  There have been crashes....supposedly all in the guise of a distracted pilot.  Purportedly, the RV-12 flies just fine with the canopy unlatched and there is no propensity for it to depart the airframe in flight.  The fact remains that it has apparently been a signficant safety issue.

To this end, Van's engineered a canopy latching switch, which will serve notice to the pilot by a signal/notification to the EFIS of the problem. As I understand it, if the switch (and thus the canopy) is not locked, then once the engine reaches 3700 rpm, the EFIS will display some info informing the pilot of the condition.

The picture below contrasts the original canopy latch, shown on the left with the new one on the right.  You will note the small micro switch above the latch on the right, which will eventually be mounted on the face of the latch.

Another wire (the white one) was required to be strung from one of the wiring harnesses terminating in the instrument panel all the way back to the roll bar, where it exits at the underside of the center as shown below.  The other two wires will interface with the cockpit light.  Also of note is the nylon latch stop, which was also swapped out with the original unit.  No pictures of those.

Shown below is a picture of the canopy latch switch mounted to the "hook" which is then riveted to the back side of the roll bar, just as the original.  Of further note is the small ground wire mounted above and the right of the canopy micro switch.

This shot shows the canopy latch handle engaging the arm of the canopy latch micro switch - this is what we are after.

And a final shot showing the canopy micro switch NOT fully engaged - this is one of the circumstances which we are trying to avoid!  Looks like mission accomplished.

Skyview Avionics Installation, Part 2

The avionics install is continuing to progress very slowly with the power distribution layout almost complete.

In the picture below, you can see the power bus (mounted above the ADS-B transceiver) with its two independent feeds - from the battery only on the nearside and the alternator on the far side.  Immediately to the right of the power bus is the 6 fuse block mounted into the top of the center instrument panel.

And the pictures below show the same set up from other angles.

Of interest below is the ignition/start switch panel, in the lower left hand corner of the instrument panel. The two wider rocker switches at the top are the Master switches.  The switch on the left actually doubles as a start enable and a battery (only) master switch.  The switch on the right is the more conventional alternator master switch.  The two masters are there for redundancy such that the power bus can be independently powered by either one.  The battery master switch doubles as a start enable switch so that the starter cannot be unintentionally activated when the engine is running.  This was a necessity as the engine start switch is on the index button of the pilot's control grip.  You can imagine the fun that Murphy would have with that.  The start enable switch is also there to prevent starter current from running through the power bus and destroying component in the unlikely event of a battery contactor failure.

The second tier of three rocker switches are, from left to right, the ECU selector switch (either computer 1 or computer 2), fuel pump 1 and fuel pump 2.  So there you have it - the ignition panel of the Viking engine.

 

There is a rat's nest of wires that is already forming behind that switch panel....and its not yet complete.  See the lower portion of the picture below.  You will note the primer missing around the four holes on the instrument panel deck - this is where the Van's AV-50000A control module picks up ground from its mounting screws.

It is now time to plumb the manifold pressure input lines to the ECU. A couple of snips and the norprene lines are slipped on to the barbed fittings of the ECU.

As dictated by the power distribution wiring schematic (not shown), a secondary fuse panel was required.  This was mainly due to some of the differences between the Viking fuel injected engine and the Rotax carbureted engine.  In the shot below, the five fuses are for the ECU power, the two fuel pumps, the start circuit and the heater.  There is one unused slot.

A clearer perspective of the location of the auxiliary fuse panel, located above the comm and the "stock" RV-12 main switch and fuse panel (not yet installed).

As a bit of finality prior to the first engine start, the battery was hooked up to the contactor and grounds and a bit of integrity checking of the power distribution was performed.  All passed (I think) with flying colors.

Next stop on the avionics agenda is the first engine start!!!!!