Avionics trays
I started prepping for installing the panel by mounting the avionics trays to the panel and then mounting the connectors and wires onto the trays. The big pile of spaghetti wire looks a lot better when it’s installed. Mounting the connectors was very easy on some trays–well, actually all the trays except for the SL-40. That thing is a PITA. The holes in the tray didn’t line up with the connector housing and you’re trying to install tiny screws at the back of a very narrow and long tray. I ended up drilling out the outer holes to #30 and still had to do some filing. I probably spent half an hour on that one tray and 10 minutes on the others combined.
With Julie’s help guiding the wiring through the subpanel, I mounted the panel into place on the fuselage. We ran into one minor snag. I didn’t make the cutout for the audio panel wiring quite big enough. I’ll have to remove the panel again and go at the subpanel with the Dremel. Before doing that, I trial fitted the quadrant mount. I still have a few holes to drill there and installing a chunk of angle for holding the control cables will be easier without the trays in the way.
Overall it’s looking great. This is the really fun part–putting the panel together after months and month of planning.