New JASDF Stealth Fighter Jet to be "Made In Japan"

Not your grandfather's Mitsubishi...
The words "Mitsubishi fighter" still have the power to send a chill down the spines of American war history buffs. It was, after all, just 65 years ago that the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" ruled the skies over the Pacific by outclassing the vast majority of Allied WW2 fighter planes sent to oppose it. (above drawing by J. P. Santiago)

...but gramps sure would be proud!
Now it seems that a descendant of the legendary Zero fighter may soon be stretching its wings across the skies of Japan - and perhaps further afield. Alarmed by new developments in stealth fighter aircraft technology displayed by traditional adversaries China and Russia, JASDF (Japan Air Self-Defense Forces) planners have been attempting to acquire the American F-22 Raptor jet fighter to replace their current F-15 Eagle fighter planes.

The F-22 Raptor is packed with the latest avionics and stealth technology but its high tech features have the Pentagon concerned about security leaks.

Stealthy, speedy and made in Japan
Even though the United States would lose out financially by not selling Japan the F-22, security issues are front & center these days and Japan is now looking to its own aircraft designers to provide a home-grown solution.

If the history of Japan is any guide, we can expect a more than respectable match for the F-22, F-19 or other state of the art jet fighters to eventually roll off the Mitsubishi production lines.

"Son of Zero", resplendent in carbon fiber
The process may already be in motion - on August 9, the above photo was taken of what may be Japan's next-generation stealth fighter jet. The 46 foot long carbon fiber mock-up was designed and built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, builder of the Zero and many other WW2 fighter planes, at their Komakiminami Factory in Aichi prefecture.

Tokyo Moves Closer to Buying a New Generation of Jet Fighters

TOKYO—Japan moved a step closer to buying a new generation of jet fighters Monday after it accepted bids by three of the world's biggest defense contractors for what is expected to be a deal worth several billion dollars.

In line with a Japanese government deadline, the country's Defense Ministry received bids from Boeing Co. for the company's F-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin Corp. for its F-35 Lightning II JSF and Eurofighter GmbH for its Typhoon fighter, a ministry spokesman said.

The bids were formally submitted to Japan by the U.S. government in the case of the F-18 and F-35, and by the British government, along with BAE Systems PLC and trading house Sumitomo Corp., for Eurofighter.

Enlarge Image

Reuters

F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), planes

Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa has said he expects a final decision by December as part of the government's budgetary discussions for fiscal 2012.

The next-generation fighter program, dubbed the FX in Japan, will likely call for the purchase of about 40 to 60 planes in a deal expected to total about $4 billion, industry officials said.

The project has been delayed for years as successive administrations have sought more time to ponder Japan's military needs amid declining defense budgets and rapid advances in aviation technology.

The latest delay in the FX program came earlier this year when the ministry, which had been expected to start vetting bids in March, postponed the process an additional six months because of the March 11 disasters.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin have both said they are willing to localize at least part of their production in Japan in order to sweeten their bids. Japanese industry circles have called on the government to insist on a localized manufacturing component, most likely through a major contractor.

The new fighter will replace the Japanese Air Self Defense Force's 70 aging F-4 fighters made by McDonnell Douglas, which is now part of Boeing, using technology dating from the 1960s.

The rest of Japan's 361 operational combat aircraft include 202 1980s-era McDonnell Douglas F-15 fighters produced under license by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and 89 newer F-2 fighters manufactured jointly by Lockheed Martin and Mitsubishi Heavy, and which are based on F-16 technology from the 1990s.

Fourth generation jet fighter

Lockheed Martin F-16.

Dassault Mirage 2000.

Aircraft classified by the United States government as fourth-generation jetfighters are those in service approximately from 1980 to 2010, representing the design concepts of the 1970s.

Fourth-generation designs are heavily influenced by lessons learned from the previous generation of combat aircraft. Long-range air-to-air missiles, originally thought to make dogfighting obsolete, proved less influential than expected precipitating a renewed emphasis on maneuverability. Meanwhile, the growing costs of military aircraft in general and the demonstrated success of aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom II gave rise to the popularity of multirole fighters in parallel with the advances marking the so-called fourth generation.

During the period in question, maneuverability was enhanced by relaxed static stability, made possible by introduction of the fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system (FLCS), which in turn was possible due to advances in digital computers and system integration techniques. Analog avionics, required to enable FBW operations, became a fundamental requirement and began to be replaced by digital flight control systems in the latter half of the 1980s.^[1]

The further advance of microcomputers in the 1980s and 1990s permitted rapid upgrades to the avionics over the lifetimes of these fighters, incorporating system upgrades such as AESA, digital avionics buses and IRST. Due to the dramatic enhancement of capabilities in these upgraded fighters and in new designs of the 1990s that reflected these new capabilities, the US government has taken to using the designation 4.5th generation to refer to these later designs. This is intended to reflect a class of fighters that are evolutionary upgrades of the 4th generation incorporating integrated avionics suites, advanced weapons efforts to make the (mostly) conventionally designed aircraft nonetheless less easily detectable, and trackable as a response to advancing missile and RADAR technology, see stealth technology.^[2][3] Inherent airframe design features exist, and include masking of turbine-blades and application of advanced sometimes radar-absorbent materials, but not the distinctive low-observable configurations of the latest aircraft, dubbed fifth-generation fighters or craft such as the F-117 and B-2.

The United States Government defines 4.5 generation fighter aircraft as fourth generation jet fighters that have been upgraded with AESA radar, high capacity data-link, enhanced avionics, and "the ability to deploy current and reasonably foreseeable advanced armaments."

WOOD, ALUMINUM, STEEL AND COMPOSITES

WOOD, ALUMINUM, STEEL AND COMPOSITES ... and the Properties of each.



Aircraft structures are basically unidirectional. This means that one dimension, the length, is much larger than the others - width or height. For example, the span of the wing and tail spars is much longer than their width and depth; the ribs have a much larger chord length than height and/or width; a whole wing has a span that is larger than its chords or thickness; and the fuselage is much longer than it is wide or high. Even a propeller has a diameter much larger than its blade width and thickness, etc.... For this simple reason, a designer chooses to use unidirectional material when designing for an efficient strength to weight structure.
Unidirectional materials are basically composed of thin, relatively flexible, long fibers which are very strong in tension (like a thread, a rope, a stranded steel wire cable, etc.)
An aircraft structure is also very close to a symmetrical structure. That means the up and down loads are almost equal to each other. The tail loads may be down or up depending on the pilot raising or dipping the nose of the aircraft by pulling or pushing the pitch control; the rudder may be deflected to the right as well as to the left (side loads on the fuselage). The gusts hitting the wing may be positive or negative, giving the up or down loads which the occupant experiences by being pushed down in the seat ... or hanging in the belt.
Because of these factors, the designer has to use a structural material that can withstand both tension and compression. Unidirectional fibers may be excellent in tension, but due to their small cross section, they have very little inertia (we will explain inertia another time) and cannot take much compression. They will escape the load by bucking away. As in the illustration, you cannot load a string, or wire, or chain in compression.
In order to make thin fibers strong in compression, they are "glued together" with some kind of an "embedding". In this way we can take advantage of their tension strength and are no longer penalized by their individual compression weakness because, as a whole, they become compression resistant as they help each other to not buckle away. The embedding is usually a lighter, softer "resin" holding the fibers together and enabling them to take the required compression loads. This is a very good structural material.
WOOD
Historically, wood has been used as the first unidirectional structural raw material. Nature, in her wisdom, has provided a beautiful unidirectional material by making certain trees grow in certain conditions: They have to be tall and straight and their wood must be strong and light. The cross section of a tree trunk shows the "annual rings" (a ring per year so that we can "count" the tree's age). The dark bands (late wood) contain many fibers, whereas the light bands (early wood) contain much more "resin". Thus the wider the dark bands, the stronger and heavier the wood. If the dark bands are very narrow and the light bands quite wide, the wood is light but not very strong. To get the most efficient strength to weight ratio for wood we need a definite numbers of bands per inch (see ANC No. 18,1951). In fact, what we want is a good balance of "early" and "late" wood, or in other words, very special growing conditions, i.e., the geographic altitude where the tree's growth varies with the latitude and local climatic conditions. Although this is a very interesting subject we will not go further into such details except to mention that it is nature who supplies us with a very efficient material from its plant kingdom. Remember that contrary to the strictly mineral world hopelessly subject to gravity pulling everything down, the plant has a force within itself which makes it grow against gravity, upwards. If we could use those life forces in our machines we could lift off without the help of an engine... Aviation still has a lot to discover....
Another subject we will not deal with this month is the testing of wood. There are a few simple tests (humidity, dynamics, resilience) but it seems that nobody knows them anymore.
Some of our aircraft structures are two-dimensional (length and width are large with respect to thickness). Plywood is often used for such structures. Several thin boards (foils) are glued together so that the fibers of the various layers cross over at different angles (usually 90 degrees today years back you could get them at 30 and 45 degrees as well). Plywood makes excellent "shear webs" if the designer knows how to use plywood efficiently. (We will learn the basis of stress analysis sometime later.)
To close this discussion on wood, let us plainly state the fact that our present day bureaucratic civilization uses so much paper that we are depleting the planet of trees without replanting them correctly. Today good aircraft wood is very hard to come by. Instead of using one good board for our spars, we have to use laminations because large pieces of wood are practically unavailable, and we no longer can trust the wood quality; we have to use many laminations so that the "average" has a reasonable chance to give us the required strength without too much penalty from a weight standpoint. From an availability point of view, we simply need a substitute for what nature has supplied us with until now.
ALUMINUM ALLOYS
So, since wood may not be as available as it was before, we look at another material which is strong, light and easily available at areasonable price (there's no point in discussing Titanium - it's simply too expensive). Aluminum alloys are certainly one answer. We will discuss the properties of those alloys which are used in light plane construction in more detail later. For the time being we will look at aluminum as a construction material.
Extruded Aluminum Alloys: Due to the manufacturing process for aluminum we get a unidirectional material quite a bit stronger in the lengthwise direction than across. And even better, it is not only strong in tension but also in compression. Comparing extrusions to wood, the tension and compression characteristics are practically the same for aluminum alloys so that the linear stress analysis applies. Wood, on the other hand, has a tensile strength about twice as great as its compression strength; accordingly, special stress analysis methods must be used and a good understanding of wood under stress is essential if stress concentrations are to be avoided!
Aluminum alloys, in thin sheets (.016 to .125 of an inch) provide an excellent two dimensional material used extensively as shear webs - with or without stiffeners - and also as tension/compression members when suitably formed (bent).
It is worthwhile to remember that aluminum is an artificial metal. There is no aluminum ore in nature. Aluminum is manufactured by applying electric power to bauxite (aluminum oxide) to obtain the metal, which is then mixed with various strength-giving additives. (In a later article, we will see which additives are used, and why and how we can increase aluminum's strength by cold work hardening or by tempering.) All the commonly used aluminum alloys are available from the shelf of dealers. When requested with the purchase, you can obtain a "mill test report" that guarantees the chemical and physical properties as tested to accepted specifications. (MIL standards, QQA250 XYZ).
As a rule of thumb, aluminum is three times heavier, but also three times stronger than wood. Steel is again three times heavier and stronger than aluminum.
STEEL
The next material to be considered for aircraft structure will thus be steel, which has the same weight-to-strength ratio of wood or aluminum.
Apart from mild steel which is used for brackets needing little strength, we are mainly using a chrome-molybdenum alloy called AISI 413ON or 4140. (AISI .1025 is no longer available.)
The common raw materials available are tubes and sheet metal. Steel, due to its high density, is not used as shear webs like aluminum sheets or plywood. Where we would need, say a .100" plywood, a .032 inch aluminum sheet would be required, but only a .010 steel sheet would be required, which is just too thin to handle with any hope of a nice finish. That is why a steel fuselage uses tubes also as diagonals to carry the shear in compression or tension and the whole structure is then covered with fabric (light weight) to give it the required aerodynamic shape or desired look. It must be noted that this method involves two techniques: steel work and fabric covering.
The advantage of 4130N steel structure is that it can readily be welded together. This applies especially in North America where the welder does not have to be "approved" as he has to be in Europe and Australia. This difference in regulations, historically, has to do with the "pioneer spirit" and explains why welded steel fuselages are so common here and practically nowhere else.
We will be discussing tubes and welded steel structures in more detail later and go now to "artificial wood" or composite structures.
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
The designer of composite aircraft simply uses fibers in the desired direction exactly where and in the amount required. The fibers are embedded in resin to hold them in place and provide the required support against buckling. Instead of plywood or sheet metal which allows single curvature only, the composite designer uses cloth where the fibers are laid in two directions .(the woven thread and weft) also embedded in resin. This has the advantage of freedom of shape in double curvature as required by optimum aerodynamic shapes and for very appealing look (importance of esthetics).
Today's fibers (glass, nylon, Kevlar, carbon, whiskers or single crystal fibers of various chemical composition) are very strong, thus the structure becomes very light. The drawback is very little stiffness. The structure needs stiffening which is achieved either by the usual discreet stiffeners, -or more elegantly with a sandwich structure: two layers of thin uni- or bi-directional fibers are held apart by a lightweight core (foam or "honeycomb"). This allows the designer to achieve the required inertia or stiffness.
From an engineering standpoint, this method is very attractive and supported by many authorities because it allows new developments which are required in case of war. (The U.S. having no titanium or chromium needs to develop practical alternatives.) But this method also has its drawbacks for homebuilding: A mold is needed, and very strict quality control is a must for the right amount of fibers and resin and for good adhesion between both to prevent too "dry" or "wet" a structure. Also the curing of the resin is quite sensitive to temperature, humidity and pressure. Finally, the resins are active chemicals which will not only produce the well known allergies but also the chemicals that attack our body (especially the eyes and lungs) and they have the unfortunate property of being cumulatively damaging and the result (in particular deterioration of the eye) shows up only years after initial contact.
Another disadvantage of the resins is their limited shelf life, i.e., if the resin is not used within the specified time lapse after manufacturing, the results may be unsatisfactory and unsafe.
Finally unless the molds are very well designed, manufactured and maintained, the outside of the structure needs an often underestimated amount of "elbow grease" to provide the desired finish. Also a lot of care must be exercised as sanding down too much will result in a weaker structure. Historically, composites had their peak a couple of years ago. Today it is known (and proven by all those homebuilder "workshops") that only specialists can come up with a reliable and perfect structure and even the specialists take a chance on their own health.
LET'S SUMMARIZE

• Nature provides a raw material beautifully suited to aircraft structures. Unfortunately we are exploiting nature and today it is hard to find supplies of wood and plywood of the required sizes and quality.
• Aluminum alloys in extruded and laminated form are an attractive alternative especially as they are easy to supply with guaranteed properties.
• Steel tubing continues to be very popular in North America as welding does not seem to create any problems as feared in other parts of the world. A tubular structure is fabric covered.
• Composites can be looked at as "artificial wood" from a structural standpoint. Like everything artificial, it can be better than the natural product but the manufacturer needs to incorporate in the manufacturing process the wisdom provided by nature and/or the quality provided by other raw material's manufacturers (aluminum, chrome moly steel). This is in addition to an expensive mold, and the hazards to our own health (and our family's health when building in the basement).

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LIGHT AIRCRAFT RAW MATERIALS

By Chris Heintz

Designing a new aircraft, or redesigning (modifying) an existing design, should be done by the amateur builder only with the help of a reputable light aircraft designer. The following situations are to be avoided: 1) too heavy a structure and, 2) not a strong enough airframe. Anyone who has been around amateur builders and designers long enough has seen them tapping on their wings or fuselage and saying, "That's strong enough", but is it really?
At low speed and high load factors, say a 75 degree bank and a speed just over 2.5 times the stall speed, the aerodynamic load is inclined some 20 to 30 degrees forward. Will this wing which may even have been "sand bag tested" in the "normal" load condition stand it? Or will the wing, which has been improved from a NACA 23012 profile by adding the "STOL" nose cuff to improve its original abrupt stall characteristics (because not correctly twisted), stand up to the new torsional loads due to a four-fold increase in the twisting moment coefficient (cm from -.008 to -18)?
Such loads are usually associated with an increase in cruise speed, say from 130 mph to 150 mph, by increasing the original design horsepower from 100 bhp to 150 bhp. This will further increase the torsion load on the wing by a factor of (150/130)². Will your "new" wing stand those loads? If you are not sure, you better ask somebody who really knows.
We will discuss the above formulas within the course of this series, but for this month's column, we will stick strictly to a comparison of materials. The values themselves should not be used as design data.
The focus of our article this month is our Table which gives typical values for a variety of raw materials.
Column 1 lists the standard materials which are easily available at a reasonable cost. As this column is not intended to be an "academic lecture," we will not discuss "fantastic" materials because we cannot afford them anyway. We want to acquire a simple, good understanding of practical solutions and practical materials.
Some of the materials that fall along the borderline between practical and impractical are:

• Magnesium: An expensive material. Castings are the only readily available forms. Special precaution must be taken when machining magnesium because this metal burns when hot.
• Titanium: A very expensive material. Very tough and difficult to machine.
• Carbon Fibers: Still very expensive materials.
• Kevlar Fibers: Very expensive and also critical to work with because it is hard to "soak" in the resin. When this technique is mastered, the resulting structure is very strong, but it also lacks in stiffness.

The values given in our Table are for fiberglass with polyester resins, which is very easy to use compared to the more critical (viscous) epoxy fiberglass. Epoxy fiberglass provides a somewhat stiffer and stronger result. ("Prepreg," epoxy pre-impregnated cloth, is still very expensive, has a limited shelf life and needs pressure as well as an oven to cure).
Aluminum Alloy 7075 - "T-whatever", has been left out intentionally as it is a very strong but also very brittle alloy. It is comparable to glass. Unless we state a "life" for a specified part made of 7075, it is unsafe to use this alloy in most light aircraft. (We are not an airline with an on-going maintenance schedule - we want to fly our planes year after year without having to worry about fatigue of our aircraft structure, something we'll talk about later.)
Columns 2 through 6: Columns 2 through 6 list the relevant material properties in metric units. The multiplying factor on the bottom line will transform the figures into North American Units.
Column 2, the density (d), is the weight divided by the volume.
Column 3, the yield stress (fy), is the stress (load per area) at which there will be a permanent deformation after unloading (the material has yielded, given way ... ).

Materials		d	fy	fu	e	E/103	E/d	Root2 of N/d	Root3 of E/d	fu/d
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Wood	Spruce	.45	-	3.5/11	-	1.4	2200	70	22.0	(15)
	Poplar	.43	-	30/12	-	1.0	2200	70	22.0	(15)
	Oregon Pine	.56	-	4.0/13	-	1.5	2200	70	22.0	(15)
Fiberglass	Matte	2.2	-	15	-	1.5	700	17	5.0	7
(70% Glass)	Woven	2.2	-	35	-	2.0	900	20	6.0	16
	Unidirectional	2.2	-	60	-	3.5	1500	27	7.0	27
Alum. Alloy	5052-H34	2.7	16	24	4	7.1	2600	30	7.0	11
	8086-H34	2.7	22	31	5	7.1	2600	30	7.0	11
	6061 -T6	2.7	24	26	9	7.1	2600	30	7.0	11
	6351 -T6	2.7	25	28	9	7.1	2600	30	7.0	11
	6063-T6	2.7	17	21	9	7.1	2600	30	7.0	11
	2024-T3	2.8	25	41	12	7.2	2600	30	7.0	14
Steel AISI	1026	7.8	25	38	15	21.0	2700	18	3.5	5
	4130 N (4140)	7.8	42	63	10	21.0	2700	18	3.5	7
Lead		11.3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magnesium Alloy		1.8	20	30	-	4.5	2500	37	9.0	16
Titanium		4.5	50	80	-	11.0	2400	23	5.0	18
Units for above		kg/dm3	kg/mm2	kg/mm2	%	kg/mm2	km	kg-m2	kg2/3m1/3	km
to obtain:		lbs/cu3	KSI	KSI	%	KSI
multiply by:		.0357	1420	1420	-	1420

Note to Table: The units used are the usual Metric S.I. (or MKFS) international technical system where kg f = kg force (not mass as in the Metric MKS, used in physics.) The usual North American units and the conversion factors are also supplied in the bottom lines.

Column 4, the ultimate stress (fu), is the stress (load per area) at which it cannot carry a further load increase. It is the maximum load before failure.
Column 5, the elongation at ultimate stress (e), in percentage gives an indication of the 'Toughness" of the material.
Column 6 lists the Yongs Modular or Modulus of Elasticity (E), which is the steepness of the stress/strain diagram as shown in Figure 1.
Important Note: For wood, the tension is much greater (2 to 3 times) than the compression. Both values are given in the Table. For fiberglass, the same applies, but the yield is so dependent on the manufacturing process that we cannot even give 'Iypical values'.


Both wood and fiberglass need special analysis procedures to predict the strength of a specific structural member. This analysis is quite different from classic strength of material formulas. Today we have to warn the "I wood' be designer" that his off-the-shelf computer program may be okay for metal, but not for wood and composites, even with the so-called "averaging" factors. We will not discuss further here, but the serious student may want a comprehensive textbook for engineers - not technicians who do not have enough mathematical background. (STRENGTH OF MATERIALS by Timoshenko, is a recommended sourcebook - Timoshenko, STRENGTH OF MATERIALS, Part 1, 1955, "Elementary Theory and Problems", $24.95; Part 11, 1956, "Advanced Theory and Problems", $31.50. Available from Krueger Publishing Company, P.O. Box 9542, Melbourne, FL 32902-9542.)
You see, math formulas and computers are tools like, say, a planer. if you know how to set them, where and how to use them, you can do very well with them. But if you play the sorcerer's apprentice, it becomes dangerous for the tool, the operator and the material.


Columns 7 to 10: Columns 7 to 10 are values which allow the comparison of materials from a weight standpoint (the above referenced text by Timoshenko will also show you why we use those "funny" looking values).
Column 7 gives the stiffness of a sandwich construction. The higher the value, the stiffer the construction. From the Table, we see that metals are high wood comes close, but fiberglass is low: which means fiberglass will be heavier for the same stiffness.
Column 8 shows the column buckling resistance for the same geometric shapes. This time, wood is better than the light alloys, coming before steel and fiberglass. (Surprisingly, the usual welded steel tube fuselage is not very weight efficient.)
Column 9 gives the plate buckling stiffness, which is also a shear strength measure. Here again, wood (plywood) is in a very good position before aluminum and fiberglass, with steel not very good.
Column 10 provides a crude way of measuring the strength to weight ratio of materials because it does not take into account the various ways the material is used in "light structures". According to this primitive way of looking, unidirectional fibers are very good, followed by high strength (2024) aluminum and wood, then the more common aluminum alloys and finally steel.
From just this simple table, we find there is not one material that provides an overwhelming solution to all the factors that must be considered in designing a light aircraft. Each material has some advantage somewhere. The designer's

Electrical System: "Where Do I Start?"

Over the years, the most frequently asked question from homebuilders has been, "Where do I start wiring my electrical system? Is it better to start at the switches and work out from there, or start at the ends and work toward the switches"? My answer has always been the same. "Your aircraft electrical system starts in a comfortable chair with a cool drink beside you, and a notebook and pencil in your lap."

Sound too good to be true? Well then, you'll be floored by this. You can do 85% of your electrical system in the comfort of your own home, sitting or standing, what ever your workspace is best suited for. Here is how you do it...
Take your notebook and on the first page make a list of everything in your airplane that has a wire going to it. List each radio, indicator, interior or exterior light, gear warning system, everything. If you have cabin lights, list them separately so you don't overlook one. Nothing is more frustrating than to have wired your airplane and realize that the wire for the aft cabin light was left out! You will be referring back to this list often so don't forget anything. Then, let your list set for a day or so. Go back and check it for any omissions.
Next, draw a line under your list. Virtually every pilot I have known who has owned an airplane has added something to his plane by the third or fourth year of ownership. This is our "Wish List".( If you are building your plane to attempt a world class speed record you may omit this step.)
If you've ever had the opportunity to stick your head up under the panel of an older airplane, you know first hand how bad an electrical harness can get. Its often called a 'rats nest'. It gets this way, a lot of times, because one system after another was added to, and on top of, the original harness. The goal here is to pre-wire your aircraft for realistic 'wish list' items that will be installed in the next few years. What this also means is that when you do get around to adding your 'wishes', you won't have to tear your airplane apart to route wires and coax. Just connect the proper connectors to your stowed harness and mount the hardware. The argument that current radio equipment and electrical systems will be different in a few years might be true, but the current generation of radios such as the King KX 155 and the NARCO MK-12 D&E have been around for most of the last 20 years. Same goes true for such systems as the Whelen strobe lights. In any case, you know you will need the basics such as power, ground, dimmer, and in some cases, audio wires. You are the one to decide whether or not you want to do this step. If it is done with reasonable optimism, you'll be glad you did it.
Once you have determined what is going to be in the airplane, you need to make sure you have the proper wiring diagrams, or interconnects, for your specific systems. There are numerous manuals for basic aircraft electrical systems such as Nav/Position Lights, Landing and Taxi lights, and so forth. Getting diagrams for your radios and such can be a little harder. Most new radio equipment will come with wiring diagrams. If not, contact the manufacturer of the radio system you are going to use. Tell them that you wish to prewire your plane for that system and most manufacturers will help you out.
Now, you have established what is going in your plane and you have the proper wiring diagrams to do it. Most diagrams will specify the proper wire sizes needed to do the job. However, if they do not, there is one source you can use to determine the wire size you need for anything, provided you know two things:

(1) How far am I going to run the wire?, and

(2) How much current (amps) does the circuit use?

This one source is also the best $15.00 you will ever spend on your aircraft. That source is from the Government Printing Office (GPO) and is called AC 43.13-1A and -2A. It is the aircraft bible of an airframe and powerplant mechanic (A&P).
What you have accomplished so far is about 20% of wiring an airplane. Armed with the information you have generated yourself, you are ready to get down to business. Please, stay seated unless you need to refresh your drink!
Draw a likeness of your airplane, canard or conventional. With your 'checklist' and your diagrams, draw in the 'wires' for your left wing. (This whole process may take more than one piece of paper.) If you have a composite or wood and fabric airplane, remember that you will need to run at least one ground wire out for lights, pitot heat, whatever. A separate ground should be run for each item on your list. For whatever reason, one wire providing ground for an entire wing could break and all systems would quit working. If you elect to run just one ground wire, remember to size it for the total current (amps) of all the systems that will be grounded to it.
Once you have determined what wires are needed for the left wing, do the right wing, the aft cabin or engine/cabin (in the case of a 'pusher') and forward of the instrument panel. As soon as it is convenient, take a tape measure and measure the route in which these four separate harness need to go, noting distances between bends, such as where the harness might go down to the floor from the instrument panel to where it bends to go aft, and where any given system wire has to 'break out', such as a pitot heat in a wing harness. Whatever you do, measure 'comfortably'. Remember, we don't want these harnesses bow string tight. For reasons that will be clear when you go to install your harness, take the measured distance and add 10%. Trust me on this one. It is easier to cut off a foot than to add 2". (And butt slices in a new electrical system look.... well, just do it right the first time!)
You are now 60 % complete with your electrical system! You have done two major things so far. First, you have established the ability to make what is called a wire schedule. You don't have to guess how much wire and what sizes you need to buy. You know exactly what sizes and you can total the lengths so you don't have to buy 300 feet too much ( or 100 feet too little!). Contrary to popular belief, one size does not fit all! Second, and most important of all, your have already wired your plane up in your head! With all of this accomplished in the comfort of your own home!!! The only thing left to do is the mechanics.
You can still do the next 25% of your electrical system in an environment of your choice. Once you have purchased your wire and your RG 58 A/U coax (I'll discuss materials at the end of the article), find a clean workbench about 8 feet long and wide enough to reach across, and several "C" clamps and/or nails.
What you are about to do is prewire and secure (lace or ty-wrap) your four harnesses (left, right, fore, and aft). At one corner of the bench, attach a "C" clamp. For harnesses over 8 feet, secure a second "C" clamp at the other end of the bench. If your harness is over 16 feet, attach a third "C" clamp near your first clamp. For a 24 foot harness, attach a fourth "C" clamp near your second clamp, and so forth. When you go to lay your harness out you will run (zig-zag) the wires between clamps on the opposite ends of the table. If, for example, we need two 18 AWG wires for our Nav light (1-18 feet long to our switch, 1-22 feet long to our ground buss), two 16 AWG wires for our pitot heat(1-14 feet to our switch, 1-18 feet to the ground buss), and three 22 AWG wires for our gear position switches(all 9 feet to your warning lights), in our left wing, this is how we make the harness...
The first clamp we put on the bench represents the end of the wing were the Nav light is. Secure two 18 AWG wires to the clamp, 1-18' long and the other 1-22' long. Run (zigzag) the wires around the second and third clamp and tape the ends to the top of the table. (If you can visualize this, you can see how easy this is going to be!) Since our Nav light and Pitot switches are located in the same area on the instrument panel, you start your pitot heat switch wire (16 AWG -14' long) were your Nav light switch wire is taped to the table and run it with the Nav light wire toward "the end of the wing". The wire you just put in the harness should go around the third clamp , back around the second clamp toward the first "C" Clamp for those who haven't quite got the picture yet. The ground for the pitot goes to the same place as the Nav light ground so tape it down at the same place where the Nav light ground is taped down. This wire should now be routed along with the other wires in the bundle.
By referencing where grounds, switches, and harness ends are, you can make your own harnesses up on the bench. This is a lot simpler than laying on your side or your back trying to route one wire at a time. When you have finished laying in all the wires that you need, you can start securing your harness. This can be accomplished in three ways...
First, if you are using conduit in your plane (Nylon tubing, Aluminum, fiberglass, etc.) all you need is masking tape. Put two wraps of tape at the ends, three wraps at key breakout points (i.e. where the pitot heat wires breakout from the main harness to the pitot heat), and two wraps at approx. 1 foot intervals. As you pull, or push, your harness into the conduit in your aircraft, remove the tape. The whole idea behind conduit is for easy installation of, or removal of, one or more wires. If you leave the tape on and you need to remove one wire, guess what? Second, you can use ty-wraps. These are readily available in plastic or nylon. Get the nylon type. How can you be sure what type you have? If you bend the flat part of the ty-wrap over 180 degrees, the plastic will leave a white or discolored mark. A nylon tywrap will remain unchanged in color.
NOTE: If you have coax in the harness that you are securing, DO NOT deform the outer insulation of the coax! You will create a problem that will wait to happen. By the same token, DO NOT bend a sharp radius in coax. If you have excess coax do not double it up in the harness with tight bends at the ends. Make a loop if at all possible. Over long periods of time, the center conductor can "migrate" to the inside of a sharp bend and short to the shield.
Last is to secure your bundle with 'string tie'. 'String tie' is nothing more than a waxed nylon lacing cord, usually black or white. Please do not use rib stitch. It is waxed Linen and does not have the same properties as waxed nylon lacing cords. There are several things to know about using 'string tie'. First, if you really tie your knots excessively tight, you could conceivably cut through the Teflon insulation on your wires. Second, just as with ty-wraps, you don't want to tie your knots so tight that they deform the outside wall on a coax.
Having said that, I personally like to use black string tie. It looks sharp and lasts a long time if done properly. I use it in the cabin and behind the panel only, though. When it gets into the 120 to 160 degree range inside your cockpit, the wax on your string will get soft enough to congeal. It has to get extremely hot for the wax to 'melt' off the nylon allowing the nylon to dry up and the knot to unravel. The knots that I use are quite simple and will be demonstrated in virtually any book on knots. First, tie a clove hitch onto the harness, then tie a square knot to secure the clove hitch. Trim the ends of the knot back so that there is about 1/8" to 3/16" of cord coming off of the knot. It might take a few practices to do this well, but it becomes quite easy after just a few tries. After tying the first 8', remove the harness from the first clamp and swing the harness around so that you will tie your harness 'in a straight line'. If you tie your harness up as it is wrapped around the clamps, it will want to keep that shape. (With that in mind, and some good planning, you can actually tie your harness so that it will shape it self for the bends you will need to route your harness comfortably in your airplane. A straight harness will route adequately, its just not as professional looking.)
You will probably want to 'tag' your wires before you tie your harness up. At this time, 1/8" white shrink tubing (5/16" works great for marking coaxes) and a fine tipped permanent marker works great. Merely print onto the shrink tube what the wire is for (i.e. NAV LIGHT or COMM ANT.) and shrink it onto the wire approximately 3" from the ends of the wire.
Your harness(es) is/are now tied and tagged, but not quite ready for your airplane. Wires that are going to the switch panel or breakers can be 'broke out' individually, tied, and terminated (ring terminals installed) so that all you have to do in the airplane is hook up the proper terminal to the right switch or breaker. Say, for instance, your switches are spaced 1" apart on your instrument panel. If you have already determined what switches are for what system, then it is just a matter of breaking out your wires to correspond with your switch placement. The same can be done with your ground wires, instrument dimmer wires, etc.. You should always leave enough wire length to allow at least three terminal replacements (approx 1 1/2 inches).
Congratulations! You have just completed 85% of your wiring job in the comfort of your own home. All you have to do is route the harnesses in your aircraft, secure them to the airframe, and hook up the loose ends. Instead of spending two weeks running one wire at a time, you'll spend, at most, two days routing and connecting wires to the appropriate system fixtures.
A professional job is one that evolves out of good planning and good technique. Just a little effort can make the difference between a rats nest and "GOOD JOB!"
ABOUT MATERIALS
BUY aircraft quality electrical supplies. Period. You can buy a cheaper gyro, you can shop for a good price on your radio, you may have to purchase a less expensive leather for your interior, but none of these items are as prone to starting a cockpit fire as the quality of your wire, terminals, switches, and circuit breakers. Yes, this is the experimental market. But when it comes to building in, not potential, but probable, electrical failures that might be VERY costly, the money you spend up front may be the best life insurance you ever bought.
The argument that there are alternatives, that these products or those products are OK to use, might be good with both feet on the ground. I personally want to stick with supplies that have been designed and tested for aviation use. Wire, Coax, Circuit breakers or fuses, terminals, and switches, these are items that I want to discuss.
WIRE: There are three types of wire that you want to use, all of them are Mil Spec wire. Of the three types, there are about 10 to 20 variations of each type. The variation is not important, the type is.
FIRST; MIL-W-22759/16-XX. This wire is a single conductor, multi-strand type, that is the most popular aircraft wire on the market today. The only part of that number that really concerns you is the 22759 and the XX. The XX is the gauge wire size (AWG). For instance, if the XX was 20, then the wire size would be 20 gauge. If XX was 2, then it would be 2 gauge wire (battery cable).There are 21 variations of '22759' listed in AC 43.13-1A. All are suitable for aircraft use.
SECOND; MIL-W-81044/--/XX. Here again, the only number that really concerns you is the 81044 and the XX. As before, the XX represents the wire size. This wire is also of the single conductor, multi-strand type. THIRD; MIL-W-27500/ZZ-XX-N. This wire is a multi conductor wire, with shielding. As before, the XX represents the wire size. The 'N' represents the number of conductors in the shield. If we order MIL-W-27500/16-22-3, we have asked for 3 conductors of 22 gauge wire in an ETFE Teflon insulation and shielded wire. From a wire standpoint, these three are the cats' meow. It just doesn't get any better than this.
For all of you who want to use 'automotive wire', just keep in mind that it won't be the flames that'll get you, it's the toxic fumes PVC insulation gives off that will do you in. Teflon stinks like no stink I can describe, but you can still breath. Another thing is PVC will continue to burn with very little heat. Teflon insulation will self extinguish if the heat is not maintained.
COAX: RG-58 A/U. Unless a manufacturer specifies something different, this will do the trick. Just like wire, there are about 15 variations of RG-58 coax. A/U is the best of the RG-58 coax for our purposes. It has a dense shielding, and a quality insulation around a multi-strand center conductor. What you want to stay away from is solid conductor coax, or RG-58 that has a soft, white foam insulation in it. It is not as durable under heat primarily. And do not route any coax forming sharp bends. The center conductor will tend to migrate to the inside of the bend and possibly short on the shielding. If you don't use good techniques to install coax, it will give you problems eventually. While I am addressing coax, let me mention coax connectors. Save yourself from long term problems and use crimp on BNC connectors. If you don't have the proper tooling, get your local radio man to crimp them on for you. If he tells you he solders all of his BNC's, do yourself a favor and look further. Over a period of time, solder type BNC connectors have a tendency to pull apart, or at the very least, lose good grounding to the shield. If you can rotate the body of the connector on the coax, the coax connection is bad. It is best to cut it off and replace it with a new one.
CIRCUIT BREAKERS and FUSES: I'm often asked if I have a preference. It all depends on the type of flying that I am doing. Fuses are fine if all you are going to fly is Day/VFR and not in congested areas. Otherwise, fumbling for a replacement fuse as you are being vectored to the final approach, or at night with a flashlight in your mouth, can lead to an awkward, if not fatal, situation. And half the time you grab the first fuse you can find, only to find you've installed a 1 amp fuse instead of the 10 amp fuse that you needed.
I personally like pullable circuit breakers. On one occasion I was flying between Houston and San Antonio, Tx. when I noticed smoke filling the inside of my turn coordinator. In a Cessna 172 (factory equipped) there is a nice, neat row of circuit breakers. Unfortunately, you can't pull them to disable the circuit. "So there I was" at 4500', one eye out the window looking for a place to land, one eye on my turn coordinator hoping not to see those fingers of flame. I've got another eye on my comm radio to make sure I'm on a frequency that will do me some good (being I am in no-mans land), and one more eye on the circuit breaker, praying that it will pop out soon. This, all the while knowing that emergency procedure for an electrical fire says turn off my master switch, turn everything off, turn my master switch back on and then my systems on one at a time to isolate the source of the smoke or fire....excuse me, I knew the source of the smoke, it was just that I couldn't 'turn it off' without turning everything else off. And if I turned everything off, I would lose my radios, comm, transponder, and all! I couldn't pull out the lousy circuit breaker. Ask me sometime how much it would have been worth to me to have been able to reach over and pull out the circuit breaker. Trust me, I would have paid more than the cost difference between resettable circuit breakers and pullable ones!
IF YOU MUST buy used circuit breakers, PLEASE... test them before you install them. Used circuit breakers are usually old . What you won't see is that the contacts are corroded together, and instead of popping at 5 amps like the little button says, it'll take 20 amps before it will pop. If that is the case, the next time it pops will be at about 2 amps (if at all) because the heat sensitive mechanism inside has been fried. Of all the money you spend on your airplane, new circuit breakers don't cost, they save. They save you from frying your electrical systems. Burn up the power supply in virtually any piece of avionics and what it will cost you to have it replaced will easily have paid for your circuit breakers! They may even save your life.
TERMINALS: What is commonly called an 'automotive terminal' is so sub-standard for aviation use, it isn't funny. Even the term 'automotive terminal' is an oxymoron. These type terminals haven't been used in cars for the last 40 years! Here's the problem with them. They have a soft copper alloy base that is tin or nickel plated. That, in itself, is not bad. It is the properties of that metal that make it bad. When those terminals are exposed to a temperature range of as low as 0 degrees or lower in the winter to 180 degrees under the cowling or behind the panel in summer, that metal expands and contracts with the temperature. Over a period of time, the metal becomes brittle, it no longer contracts, and you have a permanently loose electrical connection! If you haven't experienced it, ask anyone who has a lot of electrical experience if they have ever been able to pull a wire , or has seen a wire pulled loose, from an old terminal or butt splice for no apparent reason. Now you know the reason. An aviation grade terminal has the same basic metal terminal, but it also has a second sleeve around the crimp portion of the terminal. This second sleeve has to reach a greater temperature range before expansion and contraction comes into play. The amount of compression you put on your aviation quality terminal today is the compression that will be on it in years to come. This second sleeve of metal also extends past the metal terminal barrel. When this portion of the sleeve is crimped with the proper tool, it forms a rigid diamond firmly around the wire insulation without compressing the wire itself, providing proper strain relief. This prevents the wire from flexing right at the point of compression, know as the fracture point. The plastic insulation on an automotive terminal will not hold nor maintain this strain relief due to the flexibility of the plastic.
SWITCHES: Is it really good to use an AC rated switch for DC purposes? Possibly. I don't recommend running down to your local hardware store to buy switches for your airplane. They do, however. carry some that would suit the bill for some applications. Your safe bet is to get a DC rated switch if possible. Most all switches have ratings printed or molded onto the side of the switch housing. If you do use an AC rated switch, try to use one with at least a 3/4 horsepower rating. If you can find switches with an MS35058-X number on them, that would be your safest bet. These are a toggle type switch.
Your best bet for securing aircraft quality electrical supplies is from your aircraft supplier. I'd venture a guess you didn't go to your local hardware store for your gyro's, fabric, or aluminum sheeting. Why would you go there for your electrical supplies? Virtually every major aircraft supplier carries aviation grade electrical supplies. (Although not everything they will sell you in the way of electrical supplies, in my opinion, is worthy of putting in an airplane.)
TOOLS
Whatever type of project you are dealing with, there is probably some specialized tooling that you had to, or will need to purchase to do your construction. Most people don't have Epoxy pumps just laying around the house or a 3X rivet gun with a good assortment of Cleco fasteners. The majority of homebuilders have had to obtain some special tools for the construction of their airplane. For under $150.00 you can buy NEW tools that will enable you to do an airworthy quality job on all of your aircraft electrical wiring AND coaxes in your airplane, excluding your battery cables. If you know exactly what you are buying, you can find used tools that will do the same job for under $75.00.
If you inspect a piece of MIL-W-22759, you will find that the conductor is made up of very fine wires. Compressing a terminal onto these wires is critical. If I take a bundle of pencils and wrap banding around them just right, I can't find any loose pencils in the bundle. If I wrap them just a little too loose, I can remove pencils from the center of the bundle (which would equate to a poor electrical connection INSIDE my wire). If I wrap the outside of my bundle of pencils too tightly, I will break the outside layer of pencils. If a 22 AWG wire has 26 strands of fine wire and you find that four or five strands are broken, then the capacity of the wire at the point of compression has been compromised by 20%. You might just as well of started with a 24 gauge wire and crimped it correctly, right!? The best general crimpers that you can get is an AMP product called a PRO-CRIMPER or a similar crimper. Any AMP dealer or aviation electrical tool supply co. should be able to get one of these ratcheting crimpers for you. They should be easily found for under $90.
The major advantage of these crimpers is in the design. These crimpers have a spring that is triggered by compression load. If I insert either a 22, 20 or 18 AWG wire into a red terminal, having different size diameter of wire, I would get a different compression ratio if the jaws of my crimper merely came to the same place each time. This tool does not always close to the same 'place'. It senses the compression being applied to the terminal and the wire, and once the proper compression is reached, all your squeezing of the handle is transferred into the spring. You cannot under or over crimp your terminations unless the tool is out of calibration. Provided you don't use the tool for a hammer, or drop it from the roof, chances are you'll never use the tool enough to justify a go/no go compression check. This tool also provides for two separate crimping patterns in one step. It provides for a rectangular crimp around the wire for a more uniform compression across the wire, and a diamond pattern around the insulation of the wire to provide strain relief. It is very undesirable to have anything flex right next to a point of compression. There is a high probability of fracture. By providing strain relief, even 1/16th of an inch from the compression point, there is less likelihood of wire breakage. These crimpers will crimp red, blue, and yellow terminals, or 22 to 10 AWG wire. Virtually every wire in your plane except your battery cables. For the record, when using aviation grade terminals, red terminals are for 22, 20, and 18 AWG wire, blue terminals are for 16 and 14 AWG wire, and yellow terminals are for 12 and 10 AWG wire.
Another advantage to these crimpers is that they have removable "jaws". For a reasonable price, a second "jaw", or die, can be purchased to crimp on BNC connectors. The BNC connectors that I use are AMP P/N 225395-1 (Male) and 225396-1 (Female). It is unfortunate that one tool can't crimp all manufacturers' terminals and BNCs. (Its just as unfortunate that Chevrolet parts won't fit on a Chrysler, if you ask me!)
Just like crimpers, there are a lot of wire strippers out on the market that are great for use on household wiring. Not too many are good for aviation use. Just remember one word; STRIPMASTER. No better stripper available for the price. One can find these strippers at most commercial electrical supply outlets. New price will range from $15 to $40. There are a lot of "copies" out there, so look for the Stripmaster name on the spring cover at the center pivot point. The advantage of this type wire stripper is that while one set of moveable jaws holds the wire by the insulation, another set of moveable jaws with 360 degree cutting edges for each size wire, cuts through the insulation on the wire without nicking the wire strands. The last and continuous action while pulling the two handles together on this type stripper is it will gently pull the insulation off of the end of the wire. There is no rotation needed of the cutting edges like most cheap wire strippers require. This rotating action usually results in the nicking or cutting of wire strands under the insulation. Other types of automatic strippers (not suited for aviation use) typically cut through the insulation with two parallel blades and then literally rips the insulation off. These tools usually takes a few strands of wire with it, too.
For those of you who wish to do your own soldering when it is required, a 40 watt pencil iron from Radio Shack should do quite nicely. Be sure to get a 'flat' tip for it (approx 1/8" wide). Pin tips generally don't apply enough heat, quickly enough, to the area needed for the type joints one will usually encounter in aircraft systems.
To complete a well rounded assortment of electrical tools, you will need a flush cut pair of wire cutters. There are several types of cutters, diagonal, semi-flush, and flush are the most popular. The main reason for wanting flush cut cutters is that when you go to trim your ty-wraps, if you are not using a ty-wrap tool, diagonal and semi-flush cutters will leave sharp edges on the 'tail' of your trimmed ty-wrap. These sharp edges will be present even if you try to cut as flush to the locking mechanism as possible. This won't prove to be a problem until you have to reach up behind the panel. Ever pick blueberries without a long sleeve shirt? I hate sharp edges on ty-wraps!
Anyone who makes a living with their hands will tell you that the right tool for the job makes all the difference in the word. Wiring an airplane is frustrating enough for most people. Having the right tools will make the job a lot easier.
SOLDERING
A few tips on soldering. First, contrary to popular practice, no matter how hard you press on the solder joint with your iron, it won't get any hotter. It'll just bend the soldering iron tip or deform the connector pin or both. Heat is transferred through solder. Be sure to have a moistened sponge around when you solder so that you can continuously clean your tip as you work. Mearly stroke the tip lightly across the sponge (both sides of the tip) and 'wet' the tip with solder. Wetting the tip means applying just enough solder to the tip to lightly coat it. If you have a big ball of solder on your tip, all that will be accomplish is a big mess around your solder joint.
Second, 'tin' the wire end and the socket. This is done by applying just enough solder to the wire to penetrate the strands of wire. If too much solder is applied it will 'wick' up underneath the insulation. That is not desirable, especially if it wicks too far up under the insulation. A lot of intermittent problems occur with soldered joint when solder has wicked up under the insulation. If forms a rigid fracture point under the insulation and after repeated bending or vibration, the wire will break at the end of the solder. Troubleshooting these kinds of intermittencies are a real pain since the visable joint appears to be fine. To properly tin the end of a wire, lightly wet the soldering iron tip and hold it on the end of the wire. Place the end of the solder about 2/3 up the exposed wiring and wait for the solder to flow. Since solder flows toward the heat, the solder will not tend to 'wick' up under the insulation. This wicking action usually occurs when the heat is placed where the solder should go and the solder is introduced to the wire on the end where the soldering iron should go!
Next, a socket should be filled approx. half full with solder. Once both the wire and the socket are tinned, it is just a matter of holding the wire near the mouth of the socket, apply heat to the socket, and when the solder in the socket becomes fluid, insert the wire and allow the two to 'flow' together.
If tinning your wire or socket, or soldering your wire into the socket, takes more than just a few seconds, check your technique and / or your equipment. First, is your soldering iron clean and properly wetted? Second, is the wire or the socket corroded oroxidized? The metal surfaces should be clean. Flux can be used, but sparingly. And be sure to clean any excess flux from your joint after you are finished soldering. Flux, when left exposed to air for a period of time, becomes corrosive. Isopropyl Alcohol can be used to clean the excess flux away from the soldered joint. Last, make sure you are not trying to heat too big a surface with your iron. All things being right, if it takes more than 4 or 5 seconds to properly heat the surface that you want to solder, you really need a hotter iron. Your soldering iron will do most of your wiring.
SIMPLE SOLDERING RULES

• Don't...apply heat too long to a surface
• Don't...apply too much solder to a surface
• Don't...try to solder dirty, corroded, or oxidized surfaces. Clean them first.
• Don't...solder wire ends and then crimp terminals on
• Don't...crimp on terminals and then solder the wire end
• Don't...solder any connection that is not 'solder specific'. Most connectors use either a crimp pin or a solder type pin.
• Do...make sure that your tip is properly maintained
• Do...make sure surfaces are clean and brite
• Do...Solder with discretion. Solder joints are the one biggest problem that I have to deal with when I troubleshoot someone else's work.
• Do...Practice soldering before you tackle your radio harnesses. It's a lot easier to do a job right the first time than to have to do it a second time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I started my aviation career in the early fall of 1974. My first job was as a Flight line mechanic for Cessna Aircraft Co, working at the Pawnee (single engine) division. Within 5 months I had changed direction and became a flight line Radio electrician. (I must confess, the choice of working on the outside of the airplanes during winter, or working inside the airplanes during the winter, played an important part of my decision to pursue aircraft electrical maintenance!) I was caught in a layoff only to be rehired in the twin engine division as a Radio and Electrical assembler. Within 3 months I was promoted to Radio Electrician. In the summer of 1976, wedding bells were ringing and my bride and I moved to Houston, Tx., to be closer to her parents. My first job application went to the Cessna dealer there and was hired 2 days later.
In 5 1/2 years I managed to work up to the position of avionics shop manager. In 1985 I moved to Orlando, Fl. and took over the installation department at the local avionics shop. Five years later I was given an opportunity to work full time on not only warbird restorations, but part time as a electrician/mechanic on a TF-51. That is the dual trainer P-51 Mustang "Crazy Horse" that is owned and operated by Stallion 51 Corp. During the next few years I spent working on everything from Waco's to B-24 bombers, from bi-winged, round motor aircraft to CA-127 jet fighters. Truly an exciting part of my career. In 1992 a friend and I started a business doing nothing but aircraft electrical systems restoration and radio installations. I was still able to work on those magnificent WW II planes and early model (pre-1940) aircraft restorations.
After 2 years of playing the FAA paper chase game, I decided to get into the experimental market full time. Since I had worked on several different types of homebuilts since 1987, I decided to concentrate in the composite construction market and offer consultation services in the field of electrical installations. I have, for several years, been at Lakeland, Fl., volunteering my time in the electrical workshop and the forums. I attended Oshkosh in 1994, again volunteering in the electrical workshop. In June of 1995 I went to work for Velocity, Inc. in Sebastian, Fl. where I worked until August of 1998. I am once again self employed.
I currently hold a Private Pilots Cert. (SEL), and an A&P Mechanics Cert. I am a member of EAA, AOPA, and am a past President of a local aviation group, the Valkaria Aviation Association. I have two years of college and several degrees in the school of Hard Knocks! (Don't most of us!?!)