ELT ground plane + wiring, Seatbelts

ELT ground plane

I had researched how to make a ground plane for the ELT, as the aerial is mounted inside the fuselage. I used strips of aluminium bolted or riveted to the bottom of the aerial. It was fairly simple to fabricate. I used rivets where possible to save bolts and minimize weight,

ELT wiring

My ELT mounting kit came with the usual armed/ON/TEST switch which I am going to mount in the right side wing root. This makes it fully visible to the pilot, easy to reach, but unlikely to be accidentally touched.

The kit contained two different plugs and a length of cable, requiring the plugs to be soldered to the cable. It wasn’t the easiest job, but I got it done with heat shrink to insulate.

I’ve taped the cable in place temporarily and ordered some grip-lock ties to secure the wiring. I’ll be able to go ahead with the interior covering in the meantime.

Dynon

I also got the Dynon order in today and ordered some interior grey paint and primer as well.

Seatbelts

Yesterday I spent time researching seat-belts and rubber gear leg boots. I now have a solution for both. I plan to use normal car seatbelts with a retractable shoulder belt. However we are going to replace the buckle with one from the standard lap-only belt. This will enable the lap belt to lock when done up.

The supplier will remove the ball-bearing from the retractor unit for me and this will prevent it from locking in turbulence or when on an incline etc. It will only lock for a G-force. This should be perfect, and very simple.