LE Main Spar holes!

[MikeD]

Hi All,

I'm calling on the vast experience on this forum... again.  I'm finishing off an abandoned project and am now planning the installation of nav light wiring etc. The original builder did not provide any conduits in the strake area.

My research has brought up the info below but I would like any opinions or gotcha's that other builders may have experienced :

Regards

MikeD (U.K.)
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Wiring From The Wing To The Center section CP30, Page 6

Cut a 2" diameter hole in the outboard bulkheads in the center section spar, opposite the point where the wiring comes inboard through the hotwired holes in the wing cores. Mike bought some pin male and female plugs and sockets from Radio Shack and wired nav. lights and strobe lights through these plugs and sockets, breaking the wiring bundle a few inches inside the center section spar. This enables you to reach in through the hole in the bottom of the center section spar, and pull the wiring bundle down and out so that it may be disconnected in order to remove a wing. The comm. antenna (s) should of course also have a BNC connector at the same location. Mike ran his Nav/Strobe light wiring bundle out through the wing, together with the comm. antenna coax and has no perceptible interference. All this wiring is now brought inboard through a hole cut in the CS6 and CS7 bulkheads (a 1" diameter hole is fine) and then inboard to just inside the fuselage sides at which point you can drill up to a 1/2" diameter hole in the forward bottom of the spar box, and run the wiring down through these holes into the area aft of the back seat bulkhead.
CAUTION! Do not drill through the lower spar cap.

[dorr]

I've just reconnected wiring with a new wing to an old fuselage...Be sure you have at least 12" extra wire in the wing section, cutting the wire too short makes the connections really difficult if you ever take the wings off.  Lifting the wing up and holding it off the spar while you connect wires is a real pain and requires 6 hands.  Extra wire in the wing allows you to connect while the wing is on a saw horses... with fewer hands.  The strobe end of the wing should have enough room for light unit and 2 connectors - meaning a big hole to work with.  You don't need a conduit in the spar or wing.  However the wings I just rigged had a light pvc tube in the wing and that made it quite a bit easier to feed wires through.  I suspect the spar could have similar benefits but I've never needed it either.

Beagle

[MikeD]

Beagle,

 Thanks for the info, I will act on that advice.

Miked (UK)