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Running pitot tubing on finished airplane?

MacCool

Well Known Member
I have an RV9A...I'm replacing an AFS4500 with an AFS 5400. The 5400 doesn't support my AOA with a wing sensor, so I have to abandon that port on the right wing. It DOES support AOA through my Dynon heated pitot tube mounted on the left wing, but I have to get tubing from the pitot AOA port to the cockpit.

What's the best way to do that? Can I fish it though the wing in some expandable sleeving? (recommended to me by my A&P). Removing the fuel tank would be way down on the list....
 
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I have an RV7 that I built the wing with an aluminum tube for the pitot. Years later after the wings were closed up and installed on the fuselage, I decided to use an AOA/Pitot. I pulled the aluminum tube out and in it's place used the flex tubing supplied by, I think, the SafeAir aoa/piotot/static kit. I was then able to run the AOA tubing through the wing using the holes and bushings intended for wing wiring. All my wiring and the tubing fit through the bushings without making new holes. This was all done without removing the wings or the fuel tanks.

So, if you have holes that can be shared with the wires, it is not that big of a deal to run an extra tube for the AOA.

but, since I'm not sure how different the -9A wing, or your wing specifically, is constructed, your experience will be different.
 
Where there's a will, there's a way.

I'm assuming you already have the first holes for running wiring and such opened up and bushing installed, however, if not:

My 6A project didn't have any lights, so I had to open up the tooling holes. Two pieces of 1/4-20 all-thread, one coupler, one coupler modified by drilling to 1/4" (halfway), and adding a side setscrew to hold the 1/2" unibit. I sleeved the all-thread to protect the drilled holes as I progressed. Go slow from each end (if the wing is off), flashlight and guide as necessary to hit the tooling hole, and consider yourself lucky that you have more than one inspection panel!
 

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Thanks for the tips. I guess availability of holes and grommets depends on how the original builder put it together. I'll know more about that once I pull the inspection panels.

I did talk to the A&P for the guy that I bought the plane from....he's the one that installed the new Dynon pitot last year. He ran new tubing in expandable sheath, says it's do-able but usually takes two guys and about 2 hours. I'll look the plans over and see if I can tell what's possible.
 
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