Midwest Panel Builders Install Visit
Posted: Sun May 19, 2024 3:46 pm
Having not posted for some time to the forum, I wanted to share an outstanding experience with a recent Midwest Panel Builders (MWPB) visit to north Texas for our TSi build. Steve and Adam came onsite for three days to get the avionics and related systems installed and working. This was by far the best decision I have made on my project. With their expertise and pre-work done on the wiring harness, avionics shelf and repeatable processes they provide it made for an extremely productive three days. I want to thank Steve and Adam for all of the hard work and the final result which is more than I expected.
These guys are well known in the Sling community and I was fortunate to meet Steve back in 2019 during my final research of the TSi. Having built from flatpacks, one sub-kit at a time, it has taken a few years to get to the avionics stage. Along the way, the MWPB wing and rear fuselage harness wires were purchased when building those sections so those were already installed. Even though MWPB is well known, I wanted to share positive feedback here to reinforce the good things they are doing for us Sling builders.
Some notable new features from MWPB that were installed included the flush panel backlighting and the intelligent boost pump system with the fuel pumps in the wing roots. The backlighting uses a small transformer and a unique process to light up the panel. I chose to have mine linked to the nav light switch so it only does the backlighting when nav lights are on. To prevent fuel vapor lock, the boost pump system helps ensure fuel line pressure and works in conjunction with the firewall Rotax fuel pumps. Because I had selected the new boost system during my harness build, it was already integrated into the wiring harness. Also installed was the new Garmin GHA 15 height advisor antenna for AGL reference. MWPB has YouTube videos of all three of these on their channel for more details.
A nice time-saving feature was the cutout template MWPB provided for the glareshield which allowed for perfect notching out around all of the panel items. The list of items accomplished during the three days is long, but briefly included installation of G3X touch, G5, navigator, autopilot, prop controller, connected engine to Rotax ECU, installed battery and battery contactor/shunt, added circuit breaker box to firewall in addition to usage of VPX system, antennas, wing nav and tail beacon light wire connections, headset jacks, ELT, overhead lights, boost pumps, Tosten stick grips, extended the heater wire to reach the panel and generally cleaned up and secured wire runs.
On the third day, we powered up the system and tested all of the integration to make sure everything was working. The tail was on but the wings were still on a wing stand so we wheeled the wings to each side to plug in and test equipment one side at a time. Testing each of the features on the stick grip was very cool and everything is working beautifully.
Builders doing their own wiring or getting a harness from MWPB and installing themselves are great options. For our build, we were just looking at ways to compress the timeline with this installation assistance package being an amazing option to have available from MWPB - we are extremely happy we took it.
Some pictures of the installation are on Google Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8hos1LjjJkkYeSay6
These guys are well known in the Sling community and I was fortunate to meet Steve back in 2019 during my final research of the TSi. Having built from flatpacks, one sub-kit at a time, it has taken a few years to get to the avionics stage. Along the way, the MWPB wing and rear fuselage harness wires were purchased when building those sections so those were already installed. Even though MWPB is well known, I wanted to share positive feedback here to reinforce the good things they are doing for us Sling builders.
Some notable new features from MWPB that were installed included the flush panel backlighting and the intelligent boost pump system with the fuel pumps in the wing roots. The backlighting uses a small transformer and a unique process to light up the panel. I chose to have mine linked to the nav light switch so it only does the backlighting when nav lights are on. To prevent fuel vapor lock, the boost pump system helps ensure fuel line pressure and works in conjunction with the firewall Rotax fuel pumps. Because I had selected the new boost system during my harness build, it was already integrated into the wiring harness. Also installed was the new Garmin GHA 15 height advisor antenna for AGL reference. MWPB has YouTube videos of all three of these on their channel for more details.
A nice time-saving feature was the cutout template MWPB provided for the glareshield which allowed for perfect notching out around all of the panel items. The list of items accomplished during the three days is long, but briefly included installation of G3X touch, G5, navigator, autopilot, prop controller, connected engine to Rotax ECU, installed battery and battery contactor/shunt, added circuit breaker box to firewall in addition to usage of VPX system, antennas, wing nav and tail beacon light wire connections, headset jacks, ELT, overhead lights, boost pumps, Tosten stick grips, extended the heater wire to reach the panel and generally cleaned up and secured wire runs.
On the third day, we powered up the system and tested all of the integration to make sure everything was working. The tail was on but the wings were still on a wing stand so we wheeled the wings to each side to plug in and test equipment one side at a time. Testing each of the features on the stick grip was very cool and everything is working beautifully.
Builders doing their own wiring or getting a harness from MWPB and installing themselves are great options. For our build, we were just looking at ways to compress the timeline with this installation assistance package being an amazing option to have available from MWPB - we are extremely happy we took it.
Some pictures of the installation are on Google Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8hos1LjjJkkYeSay6
