The holes cut, I temporarily installed the 2 BMA Sports in the panel and started marking out the other instruments.

Itching to get on with the panel work, I decided to make a template for the amperage, voltage and fuel level steam gauges.  Drilling and punching the first hole was quick and easy, but...

When the gauge was installed in the template, I noticed that the label, "VOLTMETER" in this case, was tilted a little.

The problem with this UMA gauge turned out to be in the gauge itself.  The label is tilted.  I'll wait until all the gauges. can be installed to decide if it is really a noticeable problem.

Another little problem I noticed was that my template material wasn't large enough to take all the holes I needed.  So, I started over with another piece of thin sheet metal.

I punched the first hole in the panel and clamped it in place so I could match drill through my template.

Two holes in a nice square piece of metal was all I needed.  I drilled, clecoed and clamped the template to the panel and and moved on to the second hole and so on.

Here are the first three holes punched and drilled for screws.  The first hole of the next row has the pilot hole drilled for the punch.

The dimmers are going above the radio stack.  I made a template for the 4 dimmer pots.  The template will become a backing plate after the holes are drilled.

The panel was matched drilled to the template.

O. K., the panel is showing some progress with more holes showing up.  I do know that it only takes one mistake and I have to start over.  Whew!  Take a deep breath and work on something else for a minute.

What is that connector with the yellow dust cap?  I knew a few days ago, but there are so many connections and wires that I'm getting confused and have to look back at drawings and schematics all the time.

This little bunch of wires is an example.  They all go to the FADEC cabin harness.  Fortunately, all these are labeled.

Previous Day | HOME | Next Day