I installed some one leg nutplates on the SkyView EMS box because I need to install the screws from the other side in case this box ever needs to come out.

I then installed the EMS on the outboard side of the subpanel support rib.  You can see here why I needed to install the screws from the other side.  The top skin curves down here, so there would be no room to get a screwdriver on these screws if they were installed from this side..

I also installed nutplates on this side to attach the Lightspeed ignition box.

Here’s the Lightspeed ignition box.  You can see the screws that attach the EMS just above this box.  There is another pair just below the ignition box.  These are all reachable without removing the ignition box.  There is just enough room in front of the ignition box for the RG-400 wires to curve downward to run along the top firewall stiffener without contacting the firewall.

I didn’t like the strain put on the ignition wires by the tight bend necessary to curve down toward the top firewall stiffener, so I picked up a couple of right angle BNC adaptors from Fry’s.  These were only a few bucks each vs. the $17 each (plus shipping) for right angle crimp connectors.  This creates an extra connection in each line, but they’re on quite solid, so I’m not worried about it.

I received my Vertical Power VP-X empty shell today.  Instead of using the included mounting brackets, I cut a couple of pieces of 0.063″ angle so that the VP-X could be mounted to the bottom of the two subpanel ribs.  This location will create plenty of room on each end for the connections.  It’s high enough that it won’t interfere with the control cables, but low enough (and forward enough), that it shouldn’t interfere with any radios that poke through the subpanel.  The forward mounting angle is 1 7/8″ aft of the top firewall stiffener, which provides plenty of clearance for the parking brake valve arm.  You can also see in this picture that the ignition wires fall naturally along the forward mounting angle (now that the right angle adaptors have been installed).  I’m likely going to use that angle as an anchor point for a forward wiring bundle.

I drilled and attached the mounting angles to the VP-X.

After cutting the angles to length and drilling them to the subpanel ribs, I installed nutplates on the ribs and reinstalled the VP-X.

Here you can see the nutplates that are used to anchor the mounting angles.  This is *very* strong.  The actual VP-X (as opposed to the empty shell) weights 2lbs.  There might be as much as a pound or two of other stuff hanging off these mounting angles.  Even at 6 Gs, that’s no more than 25lbs or so.  This can easily hold twice that, so there is plenty of margin built into this.

I removed all of the unused wires from DB-37 connector on the SkyView EMS.  I ended up taking out a couple more after this picture was taken.  This was a surprising amount of weight that I don’t have to haul around without benefit.

Here’s the remaining wires.  I’m only using about half the pins in this connector now.  Part of the reason is that all of the position sensors (aileron trim, elevator trim, and flaps) now connect to the VP-X.

I noticed that one of the BNC connectors on the Light Speed ignition box was loose.  I probably violated the warranty (which is likely expired now anyway), but I popped the cover off to tighten it up.

Here’s the connector in question.  You can clearly see that the lock washer isn’t even compressed.  They simply forgot to tighten it fully at the factory.

By comparison, the other BNC connector was tightened fully.  Now they both look like this and are rock solid.

I decided to reroute the ignition sensor wire so that it takes a more direct route back toward the firewall.  This also keeps the wire away from the snorkel (not yet installed).

The wire follows the starter wire back to the engine mount then will get anchored where my finger is so that it will not interfere with the oil cooler.

It then turns up and follows the CHT/EGT wires through the firewall.  It was a pain getting the connector through the pass-through.  I had to remove most of the other wires as well as the connector housing to squeeze it through.

From there, it follows the manifold pressure back and through the aft adel clamp.

Both then turned upward and connected to the Light Speed ignition box.  You can also see a red and black wire running through the right adel clamp.  These are the wires from pins 1 and 3 of the EMS.  The red wire connects to the battery bus and the black wire connects to the firewall ground block.  Together, they’re used to measure battery voltage as well as provide a small amount of power to a couple of the engine sensors.

Both wires run along side the ignition wires.  The black wire then separates here and connects to the ground block.  You can also see that I connected the two VP-X ground wires to their appropriate pins on the J10 and J12 connectors.  These are 18AWG (vs the 22AWG from the EMS) since they carry power for the flap and trim motors which can draw several amps.

The red wire continues on through the front adel clamp and connects to the battery bus.

The label maker I’m using can print on heat shrink tubing.  I’m using that to label certain wires.  All ground wires in the plane will be black, so there’s no need to label them.  All power wires will be labeled as well as both ends of signal wires.

I got my transponder from Dynon.  I purchased the high-power, class 1 SV-XPNDR-261.  This thing is nice and tiny, but still puts out 250W of transmit power.  It also meets the full ADS-B out requirement when connected to a TSO-C146A GPS (such as the Garmin GTN series that I’m going with).  It also displays TIS traffic on the SkyView which is handy around the areas I fly in.

I also received the ARINC-429 module.  This lets the SkyView interface fully with the Garmin GTN unit to get features like GPS steering for the autopilot, CDI autoscaling, and vertical guidance for approaches.

I also purchased a second SkyView Display Harness.  I decided to purchase this separately so I can hold off on purchasing the second display until just before flight.  I can move my single display between sides on the panel when building the overall harness.  You can also see that I purchased a second panel mount USB cable.

I also received a second battery for the right display.  I can go ahead and mount this and connect it to the right display harness.

I also picked up two 30′ network cables.  I’ll cut these up to the custom lengths I need when connecting components.

I also picked up a hobbs meter from Aircraft Spruce.  Although the SkyView has a hobbs built in, I don’t like the idea of having the only record of aircraft flight time being stored electronically.  If there is a failure or I have to send a display back for service, there is always the possibility that the total flight time is lost.

The Dynon transponder uses a TNC connector instead of an BNC connector.  Fortunately, Fry’s carries RG-58 TNC crimp on connectors.  I’m using RG-400 which uses the same connectors.  I crimped it on to the end of a piece of RG-400.  I’ll cut it to length and put a BNC connector on the other end to connect to the antenna.

I was originally thinking I’d install the transponder and antenna under the passenger seat, but Dynon recommends at least 3′ of separation between the transponder and COM antennas.  Instead, I decided to mount the transponder behind the baggage wall underneath the pitch servo.  The transponder clips to a mounting bracket that is screwed to the center rib just in front of the shelf where I’ll mount the ELT.

Now that the EMS is in its final position, I cut the oil and fuel pressure lines and added crimp ring terminals.

I also crimped the connectors on the manifold pressure sensor wires and installed it in the MAP sensor.

Lastly, I installed the sensor wire on the oil temperature sensor.

I played around with routing the shunt and fuel flow sensor wires over to the right side of the engine.  I decided to have them follow the Light Speed ignition sensor wire to where it mates up with the starter wire, then turn and follow that across the engine compartment.

Here you can see those wires follow the starter cable over to the connector.

They then jump over to the alternator feed wire.  The shunt wires separate there and will connect to the shunt just behind the left tube here.  The fuel flow wires follow the alternator feed wire forward to where the fuel flow sensor will be mounted.

I opened the new SkyView Display Harness and installed the panel mount USB cable.

While looking at the wiring diagram for the transponder, I noticed that there were a couple of loopbacks, so I installed these using some 22AWG wire.

I also got an order from Van’s that included this pressure switch.  I installed it in the right port of the manifold using an AN915-1 elbow.  This will drive both the hobbs meter (connected to the NO pin) as well as one of the annunciator lights to indicate low oil pressure.

I went ahead and installed a wire to the ground pin.  Since I don’t have a ground block on the firewall side, I ran this through the pass through so I can connect it to the ground block on the cabin side.

I decided to go ahead and label the ground wires.  The labels are facing downward since I’ll only be able to see this from below once the last skin goes on.

I have no idea why I didn’t think of this before.  Since I have a label maker that will print on heat shrink tubing, I printed up some labels for my drill bits.  Trying to read these numbers on the bits themselves has become quite a pain.  You can also see that I put the screw/bolt size on the label as well so I don’t have to look these up on a drill guide.

I installed the ARINC-429 module on the front side of the subpanel on the pilot’s side.

I installed the backup battery for the left display on the back side of the subpanel.  Batteries have to be replaced from time to time, so I wanted these to be fairly easy to access.  With the tipup canopy open, these are easily accessible.

I also put a new terminal on the battery positive cable with a 12AWG wire for the battery bus.

I also installed a couple of adel clamps to tie the battery positive cable to the engine mount.  Without this, the terminals would have to carry all of the weight of this cable (and it can weight quite a bit when I’m pulling 6Gs).

The battery bus cable comes through the pass-through and will connect to the battery bus via the bolt on the bottom.