Ray Swanson
  • Alexandria, VA
  • United States
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Latest Activity

Ray Swanson posted a blog post

Rotax 912 EMS Ready for Final Testing

My Rotax 912 engine monitor is ready for final testing.  I've been tweaking the design a bit over the past couple of weeks and thinking about various mounting schemes.  For now, it is in a box that is 6" x 3" x 3" but there is a lot of wasted space there and that could drop to 6 x 3 x 1.5 easily.  It weighs less than half a…See More
Apr 20
Ray Swanson posted a blog post

Rotax 912 EMS Is Working

Silicon CoPilot EMSI thought I'd share a short video of my EMS project (click on the link "Silicon CoPilot EMS").  I have finished preliminary testing of the circuit board that interfaces to the engine probes and hooked it up to the rest of the system, including the display that can be remoted from the rest of the circuitry and mounted in the panel.  The system is now fully functional, measuring and displaying the full set…See More
Feb 13
Ray Swanson posted a blog post

Rotax 912 EMS Progress Update

This is the last piece of the puzzle; the board that connects to the engine probes and conditions their signals for presentation to the digitizer and then on to the display.  I call it the buffer board.  Its design and layout is complete and the Gerber file was sent to the board shop this afternoon . . . should have it in a few…See More
Jan 23
Ray Swanson posted a blog post

Rotax 912 EMS

This is a screen shot of the engine monitoring system I am developing for the Rotax 912 I'll be installing in my CH701.  The screen is slightly larger than a Dynon D10 with more of a landscape layout.  It is touch sensitive and the buttons at the lower right will take the user to either check lists or a count-down timer.  Each step in…See More
Dec 4, 2012
Ray Swanson posted a blog post

Panel CAD design

My wing kit is on order but still a few weeks away from shipment so I've been playing around with some panel layouts on my CAD program.  I'm an avionics engineer and have access to CNC cutters as well as a facility to paint and etch the panel labels.  Here's my current thinking:This drawing includes the actual cut…See More
Nov 20, 2012
Ray Swanson posted a blog post

Rudder/Tail Position Light

The plans sheet for the rudder/tail position/nav light calls for the lamp mounting socket to be secured to the tail fairing by #6 screws and nuts.  The instructions advise to add a few drops of epoxy on the nuts (inside the fairing) so that when the lamp needs replacement or something on the runway cracks the lamp cover lens, you can back off the screws and the nuts will stay in place.  But what happens (and I guarantee it will) when the epoxy bond between a steel nut and some gel coated…See More
Nov 11, 2012
Ray Swanson posted a blog post

701 Electric Elevator Trim Servo Mounting and Access Panel

The installation drawing for the electric elevator trim tab for the 701 I am building calls for the servo to be riveted directly to the underside of the top elevator skin. It also shows the servo access hole cover plate overlapping the bottom skin and simply riveted to it as well. I guess this would work well if servos never fail or you don't want to check on things during your annual inspection. But, I thought it would be better to mount the servo with countersunk #6 screws (top skin dimpled…See More
Nov 2, 2012
Ray Swanson posted a blog post

Drilling the Horizontal Stab Skin

Making nice progress on the horizontal stab.  The skeleton is drilled and assembled; ready for priming and riveting.  I have laid out and also begun drilling the stab skin.  So far, so good!See More
Sep 7, 2012
Ray Swanson posted a photo
Aug 24, 2012
Ray Swanson posted a blog post

Rudder Riveted!

photo%202.JPGA minor but still important milestone today. . . . I riveted the rudder; then stood back and admired a straight trailing edge!  This plane will be operating off brackish water so all interior surfaces have been primed with Stewart Systems Ekoprime.  The rest of the tail kit arrives in less than a week.See More
Aug 24, 2012
Wayne Clagg left a comment for Ray Swanson
"I don't know of any other than Terry saddler. Talk to him and get the WHOLE story from the get go to where he is now. Se my post on my page for the difference between the vw and the rotax. This is just the high points."
Dec 17, 2011
Wayne Clagg left a comment for Ray Swanson
"Hi Ray and welcome to the club. I have done extensive testing with the vw on the 701. I have a blog where you can go read about it. there are pictures and temps, all sorts of info there. I must say if you want any kind of reliability and peace of…"
Dec 15, 2011

Profile Information

Aircraft Model
STOL CH 701
Project Status
Less than half
Building From
Kit
Your website (about your aircraft...)
http://websites.expercraft.com/n302ks/
Building Experience
Have already built an airplane
Flying Experience
Private Pilot
Building and Flying Info / Your Profession / Other Background Info
Avionics Engineer

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Ray Swanson's Blog

Rotax 912 EMS Ready for Final Testing

Posted on April 20, 2013 at 6:54am 7 Comments

My Rotax 912 engine monitor is ready for final testing.  I've been tweaking the design a bit over the past couple of weeks and thinking about various mounting schemes.  For now, it is in a box that is 6" x 3" x 3" but there is a lot of wasted space there and that could drop to 6 x 3 x 1.5 easily.  It weighs less…

Continue

Rotax 912 EMS Is Working

Posted on February 13, 2013 at 8:51pm 7 Comments

Silicon CoPilot EMS

I thought I'd share a short video of my EMS project (click on the link "Silicon CoPilot EMS").  I have finished preliminary testing of the circuit board that interfaces to the engine probes and hooked it up to the rest of the system, including the display that can be remoted from the rest of the circuitry and mounted in the panel.  The system is now fully functional, measuring and…

Continue

Rotax 912 EMS Progress Update

Posted on February 5, 2013 at 4:14pm 2 Comments

My last posting showed an image of the computer file that was used to create a printed circuit board.  Here is that board with all of the components and integrated circuits soldered in place.  This is ready to hook up to engine probes for testing via the 25 pin D connector on the left side of the board..  It's job is…

Continue

Rotax 912 EMS Progress Update

Posted on January 23, 2013 at 3:24pm 2 Comments

This is the last piece of the puzzle; the board that connects to the engine probes and conditions their signals for presentation to the digitizer and then on to the display.  I call it the buffer board.  Its design and layout is complete and the Gerber file was sent to the board shop this afternoon . . . should have it…

Continue

Comment Wall (3 comments)

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At 5:00pm on December 17, 2011, Wayne Clagg said…
I don't know of any other than Terry saddler. Talk to him and get the WHOLE story from the get go to where he is now. Se my post on my page for the difference between the vw and the rotax. This is just the high points.
At 8:25pm on December 15, 2011, Wayne Clagg said…
Hi Ray and welcome to the club. I have done extensive testing with the vw on the 701. I have a blog where you can go read about it. there are pictures and temps, all sorts of info there. I must say if you want any kind of reliability and peace of mind the cht MUST stay below 300 with the sensor under the head stud by the exhaust port. The others say 450 is acceptable because they have no choice. just read the blog and I'll be happy to answer any questions from there. As for the redrive I was a little disappointed. any kind of reliability there will require the heavy flywheel and a two blade wood prop. I used a light flywheel and three blade composite prop and fought it constantly. Remember, you are buying and they are selling, they are going to tell you what you WANT to hear. My opinion of " no trouble" and theirs is completely different. Talk to Terry Sadler, he is on the group here. Ask him for the WHOLE story from beginning to end.
Having said all that, I must tell you I have abandoned the vw and installed the rotax. The airworthiness certificate was handed to me today. The crankcase on the vw cracked at 148 hours when I was on the way to Oshkosh where I was scheduled to fly it in the Monday airshow. I never made it. The crack was in an area that let oil spew from a oil gallery off the pump. I almost lost the plane, had 1.5 quarts of oil left when I got it down with the whole engine compartment soaked. I could smell it on the exhaust, how it kept from catching fire is a mystery.
I used a cowling of my own design. I still have it and the mount if you are interested. Cheap.
Do a google search for Wayne's experiments and read up. Keep in touch.
wayne
Keep in tou
At 5:43pm on December 15, 2011, American Light Sport Aircrafters said…

Welcome to the family.

I wish you the all the best with your project. If you ever get the chance to visit the Zenith factory please take the time to stop by our builder assist facility too. We are their newest and nearest builder assist facility and like to have visitors. We are right here in Mexico, Mo., not far from the factory.

Take care and good luck,

Bill Carter

American Light Sport Aircrafters

Builder Assist & Assembly Center

www.LightSportAircrafters.com

 
 
 

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