FIRST THINGS FIRST – DELAYS
It has been well over a month since I have laid a finger on the plane. No excuses beyond everyone’s favorite “life got in the way.” Holidays, family vacation, kids out of school, weather. The usual. Perhaps I am also in what many builders experience at some point in the build. The sense of being so far in that you have almost forgotten when you started but also can’t see the finish line either. You are just in the build. It tends to be at moments like this when motivation can flag. No more youthful enthusiasm of a brand new project and no second wind given by the glorious view of the finish line. Just work.
I did not really take any time off from thinking about the plane. I was always reading blogs, spending copious amounts of time on Van’s Air Force, and doing research about what I wanted my plane to look, feel, and fly like. Then, on some random day, I decided to get up and get moving. I pulled the trigger on the first of what will eventually be an all-Garmin avionics suite. So that brings us to the first Garmin shipment.
THE NEW TOYS
Here I am, in a compulsory “dopey avionics grin” photo, holding the first pieces of what will become the avionics of my plane. Perhaps the grin is a tad forced, but in reality it is pretty genuine. This represents the first part of my plane that isn’t metal fabrication (beyond my fuel senders moment). My first Garmin shipment contained:
- GAP 26 heated, regulated AOA/Pitot probe (14V system)
- Two GSA 28 autopilot servos for the G3X system
I suppose that isn’t as much as it seems, but it sure felt good. I am already working on wiring diagrams and preparing to run some wires in the wings (once I get to that point of course).
Which model magnetometer are you going with (GMU-11 or GMU-22) and where are you planning to mount it? I am thinking of GMU-11 in the wingtip even though the mostly complete tail kit I purchased from another builder came with a GMU-22 fuselage mount.