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Flexible aluminum conduit in wings

I'm kind of a minimalist when it comes to this - that is, skip the conduit altogether. The conduit may be "light" but that much would still add extra weight that you will be carting around 100% of the time.

That said I do have a small plastic tube behind the wing tanks but only out that far, and just grommets through the ribs the rest of the way out to the tips. And a length of fishing line all the way out, to pull new wires or stuff through if needed. That came in handy when I retrofitted an AOA port out near the tip a few years back.
 
Aluminum will not shield against electromagnetic interference. That aluminum conduit is not smooth inside.
It might be difficult to push wires through. And it is expensive.
 
Vans conduit

Consider the Vans conduit. The metal conduit will require hole big enough to pass and some method of retaining it. Vans conduit is installed in holes slightly smaller. It's a pain to pull in but once installed, it won't move. A little dab of proseal at each hole prevents rotation or chaffing. No shielding.
 
Conduit in the wings is a useful way to "future-proof" your airplane. Someday you may want different lighting, different pitot, other avionics/electrical doo-dads that maybe haven't even been invented yet. Van's plastic conduit is simple and effective. Can't see a reason to use aluminum over the plastic.
 
I would be very surprised if it was lighter, almost certainly larger diameter and you will need to protect all wires pulled through it from shorting out to it. Twisted pairs and shielded two or three cores aircraft quality wire will do much better for shielding and screening. Unless you are building lawn art or doing house wiring stick with the lightweight corrugated plastic stuff that vans and aircraft spruce sell. The conduit is only there in the wing to guide and contain the wires.

KT
 
Failure modes

Typically in conduit, the wires are run lose and are not tied together in a bundle. With aluminum, I worry about the wires chaffing on the inside and wearing thru the insulation. With plastic conduit, I think this is less likely. I would stick with the tried and true plastic stuff.
 
aluminum conduit in wings

I used 5/8" dia x .035 wall aluminum tubing from the aviation aisle of Aircraft Spruce. 0.0775 lbs/ft. Used it on the aft rib holes where there is nothing to secure the cables to between the ribs (forward rib holes I can secure the cables to the aft side of the wing spar rib). Tube fits inside Heyco snap bushings. It's rigid, light, and smooth inside.
 
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