Tom completed his Long nose and installed his unique retractable heated pitot tube. The nose looks great! He did and outstanding job on the profile, access panels and tube installation. He insulated a piece of 7/8th inch aluminum tube and then used some leftover foam and a piece of ¾ inch tubing inserted into the larger 7/8 ths material to hold it in place while the flox cured. A digital level was used to check for vertical alignment a couple of times during the process.
Tom designed this bracket to attach to the existing heated pitot tube. The design is a very unique yet a simple and a needed solution to protect the pitot tube from being damaged when the aircraft is parked on the ramp.
The pitot tube in its locked and unlocked positions using the plunger pin to hold in proper position. If you are using the heated pitot, you will need to cut a slot in the phenolic to allow the wires to pass through. Other than that it all looks good.
Tom used a piece of 7/8" tubing insulated with phenolic where the pitot projects through the nose. The ID allows for .006" of clearance so it's a snug fit. No tools are required to get the pitot out of harms way or to reinstall it. A ballpoint pen is all that is needed to depress the plunger pin and a 30 degree counter-clockwise twist and it's free.
Template of the bracket Tom designed to mount the heated pitot tube in allowing for it to be retractable. Tom even includes a call out that tells you where to purchase the plunger and what parts were used for this unique design.
A picture of the plunger Tom used and a picture of the pitot tube retracted (out of the aircrafts nose).
Tom supplied these notes to aid in the construction of his design:
1. An area needs to be cut out of the 1/8" flange to clear the retaining bolt head. An alternative would be to grind off one side of the head but I prefer the flange trim myself.
2. If you are using the heated pitot, you will need to cut a slot in the phenolic to allow the wires to pass through.
Other than that it all looks good.
I used a piece of 7/8" tubing insulated with phenolic where the pitot projects through the nose. The ID allows for .006" of clearance so it's a snug fit.
No tools are required to get the pitot out of harms way or to reinstall it.
A ballpoint pen is all that is needed to depress the plunger pin and a 30 degree counter-clockwise twist and it's free.
The plunger pin part number is on the photo. If you have any questions, let me know and I'll get right back to you.
T Mann
When I sliced up the nose section and then reassembled, I left everything forward of the FS 0.0 bulkhead as a separate piece. I glassed it and the drilled out the point for the pitot mount. Seeing as it was all square with that bulkhead, I figured that would get me 90% of the way there.
I insulated a piece of 7/8th inch aluminum tube and then used some leftover foam and a piece of ¾ inch tubing inserted into the larger 7/8 ths material to hold it in place while the flox cured. I used a digital level to check for vertical alignment a couple of times during the process.
When it came time to mount this to the FS 0.0 bulkhead, I leveled the fuselage the using a clamp on the hatch door, I shimmed it and checked the extra tubing for level. Once I was satisfied, I removed all, added flox and reattached. The picture shows how level it turned out. Yaw was checked by sliding a laser pointer and check it by sighting down the length of the fuselage with another laser straight line tool.
Anyway ……. It be lookin’ good enough for me. I cut off the excess 7/8 inch material flush with the nose, sanded it back and then inserted the pitot from inside the nose. A 20 degree turn locks it in place