CHAPTER 53 - Forward Details

The first two shots show the static installation. I'm including this here because the line stretches all the way to the front and it didn't really fit anywhere else. It's a pretty simple installation, so let's move on.

Up front I fabricated Van's stock battery box. I'm planning on using a Sensenich metal prop, so this should be a good location. That third photo shows the raw fabrication. The next photo shows the primed base installed and you can see the black plastic anti-chafing strips for the battery. The base is installed with bolts and I wish I had waited because I now have to remove it to drill a hole in the firewall for the nose gear leg bolt. Oh, well, hindsight. The next shot shows the box in place with hinge pins in but not yet secured. I'm still thinking how I want to do that; probably just some kind of spring clip riveted to the box.

While I was working up there, I went ahead and routed the lines for the passenger brakes. Pretty simple in concept, but you want to be sure there's enough slack to allow the pedals to move without chafing the lines.

Finally, I installed (temporarily) the forward deck structure. I was trying to get an idea of how much room there was in the cockpit and what the view over the panel was like. To that end, I used my original panel mockup. I no longer am planning on all the steam gauges; a lot has changed since I started building. Still, it's interesting to see how I was planning to get a full panel in place.