1977 Super Decathlon 8KCAB Rebuild

yup, i agree, just have to work out the dimensions of it all and make the parts, i have some .050" aluminum already at my house. i'll rivet nutplates to the back of the panel to hold the subpanel. will figure it out and get to work as soon as i'm back home.

what turned me off to this idea originally was that it's going to be hard to fasten the sub-panel along the bottom where it's blocked by the plastic that is causing the problem in the first place for the breakers. i'll chew on this a bit, maybe allen head screws or something so that the bottom of the sub-panel will slide into place with screws around the remaining three sides.

thanks for talking it through with me folks! the sub-panel idea won't cost anything so that's really the best part of it.
 
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Called www.aircraft-tools.com (ATS) today to see if/when the instrument hole punch will ever ship. It's backordered another two weeks into late January now. The order was placed the week before Christmas. They still show them for sale on the website but they don't tell you it's basically a pre-order for a production run that isn't done yet. I hate to go negative but this sucks. I'll be trying to avoid them in the future. :mad:
 
@Old Blue

YES!!!! ( I assume you were offering to loan it to me?)

I'll shoot you a PM and THANK YOU!!!!! I am going to owe a lot of people rides when it's done!!!
 
I typed this before you started considering the removable panel. Must have forgot to hit "post."

With flush rivets and a teeny bit of extra aluminum you could cut the area completely out, replace it with blank aluminum, and re- drill.
If you think you would see the resulting seam and rivet heads, consider the lowly J3 Cub:
Mine has eyebrows over the cylinders that cracked in the late 1970s, before I learned how to distribute the vibration. I fixed the cracks with flush rivets and a doubler (and some epoxy) and you still cannot see the repair. J B Weld is the secret today - I was unaware of it in the '70's.
 
Bob,

I got home from a trip today and have been hashing things out on Autocad for the last few hours. The white outline is what will be left when the existing holes are cut out. The blue outline will be the new opening in the panel material and the green will be the outline of the overlay with the CB's and switches mounted in it. 3/8" overlap is needed for the nut plates so that blows up the size of the overlay panel and I've added a couple of extra "Spare" holes to make it all balance out.

It's either going to look like something from the Yakolev Design Bureau or it's going to look like every panel ought to have one! lol It has yet to be seen which way it's going to go! That's a nut plate drawn to scale just for reference in the drawing but I might use the corner nut plates instead or the single arm style, not sure yet.

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Copied it into the full panel drawing to get a better idea of how it'll play out. The additional open spots are for future needs which have to be planned in the sub-panel idea because once it's made it will be much harder to expand it later.

Opinions?
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Reality is setting in as I continue to work through the details. Along the bottom of the panel where the switches were supposed to go there is only about 5/16" of aluminum to work with. A 3/32" rivet for the nut plates would need 3/8" of aluminum at a minimum and the nut plates are 3/8" so they're going to stick up above the flange which isn't acceptable. If I used a rivnut, the 5/16" flange is even more of a problem. The only thing I can think of is to either through-bolt the bottom of the sub-panel to that 5/16" flange which is ineloquent (getting a wrench or nut driver on the nuts from behind the panel would be a royal PITA) or bend little tabs at the bottom of the sub-panel so it sits on the metal of the underlying panel and then bolt it around the sides and top using nutplates. I'd have to make a little jig to make the bends work out consistent and workmanlike but it wouldn't be impossible though I'd be afraid of the sub-panel cracking where the bends are. Or I can start from scratch.

:unsure::unsure::unsure: time to go work on something else for a little while.
 
Bartman said:
Reality is setting in as I continue to work through the details. Along the bottom of the panel where the switches were supposed to go there is only about 5/16" of aluminum to work with. A 3/32" rivet for the nut plates would need 3/8" of aluminum at a minimum and the nut plates are 3/8" so they're going to stick up above the flange which isn't acceptable. If I used a rivnut, the 5/16" flange is even more of a problem. The only thing I can think of is to either through-bolt the bottom of the sub-panel to that 5/16" flange which is ineloquent (getting a wrench or nut driver on the nuts from behind the panel would be a royal PITA) or bend little tabs at the bottom of the sub-panel so it sits on the metal of the underlying panel and then bolt it around the sides and top using nutplates. I'd have to make a little jig to make the bends work out consistent and workmanlike but it wouldn't be impossible though I'd be afraid of the sub-panel cracking where the bends are. Or I can start from scratch.

:unsure::unsure::unsure: time to go work on something else for a little while.
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Bart,
The panel itself is the structure. The CB panel needs only to mount securely to that panel. An .032 panel with 6-8 #6 machine screws will hold that loaded panel just fine. Place the bottom two screws as low as they can be without interfering with the crossbar. Space the rest around the panel avoiding drilling holes at the corners. No need to over-build a simple structure...
Incredible work by the way...
 
Thanks for the reply Chris and the nice complement but it's looking like I'm going for the new panel blank and it's going to be done again from scratch without the removable electrical sub-panel. Now, if I screw that one up too then I might have to eat crow and come back to the first one and do it like you described!

If/when anyone needs to get behind the panel it's just a matter of removing the top cover and the four bolts that anchor it along the bottom. From there it can be leaned forward and whatever access someone needs should be there. I'll make sure there's extra wire to make servicing individual items easier.

Also, after looking at pictures of panels yesterday, mine is going to be a traditional black panel. I had thought that a printed vinyl wrap might be cool with a graphic of some sort incorporated into it but that idea's in the trash bin and it'll just be a nice satin black powder coat or paint.
 
What about a panel wrap with all the legends, placards and other desired notations in the color and font of your choice...?
Just trying to help you spend money...
I myself bought the most expensive can of spray paint I could find for my panel makeover...🙄

20220105_175549.webp
Chris
 
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Chris,
I was thinking about a printed vinyl wrap for the panel like you said with the labels and stuff printed on it but then a nice graphic with the N number and placards all done up in a nice style to make it look really custom but I dropped it because I'm not artistic enough to bring it all together in the short amount of time I have. I was thinking maybe a bald eagle delivering a new Lycoming engine like a stork would be cool for the panel, maybe a nice faux ostrich skin print, maybe a Calvin peeing on an Extra, the possibilities are endless! lol
 
Bartman said:
Chris,
I was thinking about a printed vinyl wrap for the panel like you said with the labels and stuff printed on it but then a nice graphic with the N number and placards all done up in a nice style to make it look really custom but I dropped it because I'm not artistic enough to bring it all together in the short amount of time I have. I was thinking maybe a bald eagle delivering a new Lycoming engine like a stork would be cool for the panel, maybe a nice faux ostrich skin print, maybe a Calvin peeing on an Extra, the possibilities are endless! lol
Click to expand...
Calvin peeing on an Extra...?
WOW!
Tell us how you REALLY feel...😳🙃😳
 
Busy today chasing parts and following up on delivery dates.

Engine is almost done, the lady that answered the phone recognized me by my name on the caller ID so that probably means they're invoicing the work!

The prop isn't ordered yet (5 month lead time) but the shop I'm working with is working on making 100% sure they've got the right STC package and PCU governor before they submit the order.

The markings on the g-meter weren't done correctly so it had to be sent back to Century Instruments to be corrected and they were very gracious about doing it over. They're also overhauling a United altimeter so that'll complete the instruments when it's all delivered.

Radio and transponder were ordered, radio arrived today with antennae and stuff, the transponder has a 6 month lead time.

Last but not least, the JPI EDM-900 engine monitor was ordered the week before Christmas and today JPI informed me that they have approval for the EDM-900 to go in the 8KCAB but they don't have approval for an EDM-900 to go in an 8KCAB with the Hartzell Trailblazer prop. They offered me a form that allows me to apply the STC package towards a field approval but my IA doesn't think we'll get a field approval out of either of the two FSDOs that are in the area. I've emailed ACA to ask about the problem so I'm hoping they'll get back to me early next week.

In my downtime I'll be starting to prep to do fabric on the tail surfaces and then the fuselage and there are a few details that I left undone as the weather turned cold and I shifted to finishing the panel and electrics. Fuselage fabric needs the headliner to be done and that needs warmer weather so the vinyl can be pulled tight. If I run out of things to do I guess I can keep flying extra hours to make sure it all stays paid for!

The biggest surprise is the engine monitor potentially coming to a dead end. I'll be looking forward to next week to see if it resolves itself. In the meantime I guess I'll research whether or not the Garmin engine monitor has the same issue.
 
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Steve Pierce
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Appendix A to Part 43 - Major Alterations, Major Repairs, and Preventive Maintenance
(a) Major alterations -
(1) Airframe major alterations. Alterations of the following parts and alterations of the following types, when not listed in the aircraft specifications issued by the FAA, are airframe major alterations:
(i) Wings.
(ii) Tail surfaces.
(iii) Fuselage.
(iv) Engine mounts.
(v) Control system.
(vi) Landing gear.
(vii) Hull or floats.
(viii) Elements of an airframe including spars, ribs, fittings, shock absorbers, bracing, cowling, fairings, and balance weights.
(ix) Hydraulic and electrical actuating system of components.
(x) Rotor blades.
(xi) Changes to the empty weight or empty balance which result in an increase in the maximum certificated weight or center of gravity limits of the aircraft.
(xii) Changes to the basic design of the fuel, oil, cooling, heating, cabin pressurization, electrical, hydraulic, de-icing, or exhaust systems.
(xiii) Changes to the wing or to fixed or movable control surfaces which affect flutter and vibration characteristics.
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That didn’t turn out well. So you are altering a monitoring system - you are allowed to do so with a logbook entry if it is outside that list.
At least that is the way some of us look at it. Others like to take the most restrictive approach.
 
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