GyroRon
06-07-2004, 06:54 PM
Well got to spend three days messing with the Dominator this past Sat. Sunday and today. Spent half of Saturday trying to get all the stuff I needed for mounting the instruments in the panel and hose clamps for the coolant lines and other odds and ends...
Then later saturday I got the radiator system totally done and filled her up with Dexcool coolant. It took a few hours to place everything where I wanted it and I had to make another trip to Lowes to find some hose adapters to step up the hose from 1 inch to 1.25 inch to slide onto the radiator. I wanted to get the wiring done saturday as well but the radiator work and errands took all day to do. I did also fill the pre rotator system Saturday night before I left to go home.
Sunday I started the day all set to wire the gyro up. Then of course I found out once I get to the airport I got no wire at the hangar to use, so I had to get some wire. Once I got done with that I get started on the gyro. First thing I do is notice that the coolant system has draw all the coolant out of the overflow bottle. Looking for where it all went I find a small leak at the bottom of the radiator. When I had mouted the radiator I thought it was sealed up and ready to use, but apparently there was a plastic insert in the bottom of the radiator where a temp sensor goes. The insert was leaking! Good thing I found it now instead of later!!! I also discovered my pre rotator pump was leaking fluid out from around a screw going into the side of the pump, this screw was behind a dataplate on the pump so it had to have been tightened - but not tight enough - at the factory. I took the plate off and tightened the screw and all seems well.
The rest of Sunday went well. Spent about 4-5 solid hours on the wiring of the gyro. Had to clean up the harness on the EIS as it comes with full length wires for stuff you will never use and so on, also had to hook up the separate EIS box that allows me to have rotor tach readings on the EIS display. So anyway by dark I had finished and everything is hooked up and done short of strapping down the battery.
Today I drove 3.5 hours each way to meet Wayne McCullough who lives near Maxie Wildes place. Wayne painted my tail and pod and I went down there to pick them up. He did a good job and I am very pleased. I should have some pics in a day or two of the stuff on the gyro! When I got back in town I went around to find something to stuff in the hole in the radiator where the sensor is supposed to go. I couldn't find anything at home depot that was a good fit, so I went to autozone and only knowing the radiator was a VW and probably out of a Rabbit, we found the one and only sensor they had in stock that would fit... too bad it was 25 bucks and all I was trying to do was block off a hole :( Then I got home and inserted the pin in the tail to hold the anti servo tab and secured it by crimping the bottom of the piano hinge to keep it locked in place and then I sealed up the radiator and made me a nice yaw string holder out of a coat hangar.
So here is a few shots taken yesterday. This one is the from after I had the wiring done - or almost done - on the back side of the panel but not ran to the back yet. And BTW I ran the wires through the keel to keep it clean...
Then later saturday I got the radiator system totally done and filled her up with Dexcool coolant. It took a few hours to place everything where I wanted it and I had to make another trip to Lowes to find some hose adapters to step up the hose from 1 inch to 1.25 inch to slide onto the radiator. I wanted to get the wiring done saturday as well but the radiator work and errands took all day to do. I did also fill the pre rotator system Saturday night before I left to go home.
Sunday I started the day all set to wire the gyro up. Then of course I found out once I get to the airport I got no wire at the hangar to use, so I had to get some wire. Once I got done with that I get started on the gyro. First thing I do is notice that the coolant system has draw all the coolant out of the overflow bottle. Looking for where it all went I find a small leak at the bottom of the radiator. When I had mouted the radiator I thought it was sealed up and ready to use, but apparently there was a plastic insert in the bottom of the radiator where a temp sensor goes. The insert was leaking! Good thing I found it now instead of later!!! I also discovered my pre rotator pump was leaking fluid out from around a screw going into the side of the pump, this screw was behind a dataplate on the pump so it had to have been tightened - but not tight enough - at the factory. I took the plate off and tightened the screw and all seems well.
The rest of Sunday went well. Spent about 4-5 solid hours on the wiring of the gyro. Had to clean up the harness on the EIS as it comes with full length wires for stuff you will never use and so on, also had to hook up the separate EIS box that allows me to have rotor tach readings on the EIS display. So anyway by dark I had finished and everything is hooked up and done short of strapping down the battery.
Today I drove 3.5 hours each way to meet Wayne McCullough who lives near Maxie Wildes place. Wayne painted my tail and pod and I went down there to pick them up. He did a good job and I am very pleased. I should have some pics in a day or two of the stuff on the gyro! When I got back in town I went around to find something to stuff in the hole in the radiator where the sensor is supposed to go. I couldn't find anything at home depot that was a good fit, so I went to autozone and only knowing the radiator was a VW and probably out of a Rabbit, we found the one and only sensor they had in stock that would fit... too bad it was 25 bucks and all I was trying to do was block off a hole :( Then I got home and inserted the pin in the tail to hold the anti servo tab and secured it by crimping the bottom of the piano hinge to keep it locked in place and then I sealed up the radiator and made me a nice yaw string holder out of a coat hangar.
So here is a few shots taken yesterday. This one is the from after I had the wiring done - or almost done - on the back side of the panel but not ran to the back yet. And BTW I ran the wires through the keel to keep it clean...