A couple of questions

[builderflyer]

Hi Guys,

Question: Do any of you guys have experience with the antenna on the belly and the turtle deck? If so, which is best? How do you mount an antenna on the turtle deck without hitting the "back bone"?

Thanks for Your Time,

Wes

Hi Wes,

My Sonex has a belly mounted antenna and I flew out of a controlled airport for 10 years. Never had any problem communicating with ground control from anywhere on the airport. Other's experience may be different. I just don't like the appearance of the turtledeck mounted antenna even though it is a more effective location, no doubt, especially while on the ground.

Art..............Sonex #95 taildragger.............Jabiru 3300 #261

[WesRagle]

I just don't like the appearance of the turtledeck mounted antenna even though it is a more effective location, no doubt, especially while on the ground.

Art..............Sonex #95 taildragger.............Jabiru 3300 #261

I like the looks of a belly mount better too. I'll go that route. Never had too much trouble with it.

hi wes,
just a couple of suggestions. when sitting in your seat , seatbelts strapped tight you will want to be able to operate the fuel valve. good for safety reasons. we used a small pushrod knob and ball joint.

michael

Hi All,
This is how I installed the fuel valve and it's remote control. Just remove the handle from the valve and install it so it lines up correctly, install the handle and the remote control. The reason for this set-up is to avoid side loads on the fuel valve which might cause it to leak at some stage.

The push pull knob also gives instant check that the hidden valve has not been accidentally nudged to partially closed position.

David A.

Plus Stan, plus others I can't remember who!!

OK!! I admit it. I was just being lazy. I'll figure out a way to make a remote shutoff. It won't be as nice as what y'all have done. I'm already tired of Googling for a red knob. It will be one less dance during airworthiness inspection :-)

Ref. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d51tXC5clTo

Thanks,

Wes

[GordonTurner]

I would be interested in more feedback from people with belly mounted antennas. My work plane has one in too, one on the bottom. The bottom one works better flying, can’t tell the differe was on the ground. But these things sit a little closer to the earth.

Thanks for input.

Gordon

[WesRagle]

Hi Guys,

Seems all of the Onex folks are attaching the "guide plate" for the remote fuel cutoff to the front of the sump. That requires clamps or something similar to hold the plate to the sump.

I'm going to have a sub-panel to hold the switches, controls, vent, etc. It seems like it would be simpler to make a small extension below the vent to guide the push rod.

Question: Why didn't you guys bring the control knob all the way out to the plane of the panel? Was it just preference or is there a good reason not to?

Maybe the sump is just too low in a Onex. I need to check that.

Thanks,

Wes

[Rynoth]

OK!! I admit it. I was just being lazy. I'll figure out a way to make a remote shutoff. It won't be as nice as what y'all have done. I'm already tired of Googling for a red knob. It will be one less dance during airworthiness inspection :-)

I went with a half-measure as I didn't want to fabricate/install a bunch of hardware for a full fuel on/off lever. I attached a short bit of cable to the stock ball valve handle and attached it to a pull-ring on the dash (has a bit of safety string/thread to keep it in place/avoid inadvertent shutoff). It's an emergency shutoff that can be reached from the seat, though it's only good for shutting the fuel OFF in a shoulder-strap-tight emergency situation. I think this is arguably the more important safety aspect for an easy-to-reach shutoff in our application. Normal operation is with shoulder straps comfortably snug and long arms to the valve in the stock position on the tank.

[WesRagle]

It's an emergency shutoff that can be reached from the seat, though it's only good for shutting the fuel OFF in a shoulder-strap-tight emergency situation. I think this is arguably the more important safety aspect for an easy-to-reach shutoff in our application. Normal operation is with shoulder straps comfortably snug and long arms to the valve in the stock position on the tank.

Hi Ryan,

For my particular situation the thing I worry about most is forgetting to turn the fuel on. The Zenith carb is a float bowl carb with no mixture/idle cut off. Combine that with a hidden fuel valve and I could mess up and take off on residual fuel in the bowl. I don't know how long the engine will run with the fuel turned off but it is something I worry about. So ..., since I'm going to make the fuel cutoff anyway, I want it to be abundantly clear when the fuel is turned off. A long throw on a red knob should do the trick. I scrounged enough stuff from the scrap box/left overs to get it done except for a red knob with a 10-32 threaded stud. That knob isn't an easy find.

Wes

[Rynoth]

Wes, gotcha, that definitely makes more sense in a float-bowl carb setup.

[peter anson]

For my particular situation the thing I worry about most is forgetting to turn the fuel on. The Zenith carb is a float bowl carb with no mixture/idle cut off. Combine that with a hidden fuel valve and I could mess up and take off on residual fuel in the bowl. I don't know how long the engine will run with the fuel turned off but it is something I worry about. So ..., since I'm going to make the fuel cutoff anyway, I want it to be abundantly clear when the fuel is turned off. A long throw on a red knob should do the trick. I scrounged enough stuff from the scrap box/left overs to get it done except for a red knob with a 10-32 threaded stud. That knob isn't an easy find.
Wes

Wow, how big is the float bowl on the Zenith carb? Seriously, if you forget to turn the fuel on you'll be lucky if you get as far as starting to taxi. Guess how I know. By the time I have warmed up the engine, done a run-up and taxied to the end of the runway I have probably gone through a litre of fuel already.

Peter

[GordonTurner]

Without going into the ntsb archives, it seems i have long heard stories of people doing exactly this. The guy who doesn’t preflight well, maybe he doesn’t spend much time on the warm up, the run up, and if his taxi route is short....probably still has the control lock in and maybe a stray wheel chock dragging along too :)

[WesRagle]

Hi Guys,

Took a break from the heat and went to Red River New Mexico. It was nice to have 40's in the morning and low 70's in the afternoon. Much cooler weather finally due here next week. Can't wait!

Pic of one of the mountain lakes near Red River:




Back to work.

Wow, how big is the float bowl on the Zenith carb? Seriously, if you forget to turn the fuel on you'll be lucky if you get as far as starting to taxi. Guess how I know. By the time I have warmed up the engine, done a run-up and taxied to the end of the runway I have probably gone through a litre of fuel already.
Peter

Like I said, I don't know how long it will run on a bowl of fuel. But..., I have been guilty of scrambling from a short stop at a local strip so If I'm going to the trouble of making a remote shut off I might as well make it obvious when the fuel is off.

Forever Forward,

Wes