January 2, 2009 - Elevator Trim

I took a day off work and spent it out at the Skypark working in my hangar.  The major emphasis was finishing up the elevator trim system. 

Because the wires coming out of the trim servo are very fine, a frequently asked question is how you attach them to the wires coming from the cockpit area.  I like the simplicity and ease of the D-Sub pins.  Just crimp the pins on, connect them together, then heatshrink over them to keep them together.  Admittedly, it's a little more work if you have to disconnect them for some reason, but I shouldn't have to do that very often, if at all. 

    
First had to run the wire bundle of 5 wires from the aft fuse through the horizontal stab, and into the left elevator.
    
Looking from the top down to the left HS.  The wire bundle on the right is just a reflection off the vertical stab.  
    
Using some scrap hinge wire and a pull string, I got the wire bundle through the HS and left elevator without too much difficulty.  I did have a pull string in there but it fell out during painting. 
    
I crimped the D-Sub pins to the wire bundle, then used my heat gun on the heatshrink.  I kind of enjoy working on the wiring. 
    
I screwed the servo unit back into the left elevator, hooked the pushrod to the trim tab, and tested the trim by moving the "hat switch" on the pilot's stick.  Worked great! 
     
 
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