I have accomplished today something that I have been planning on my mind for a long time, which is creating a TO/GA button on the throttle lever. It works like a charm!
So how did I do it: First I disassembled the throttle quadrant and removed the throttle lever. The lever is made out of aluminum but it is anodized so it becomes non-conductive. I had to sand off a thin layer to expose the aluminum as my plan was to run only 1 wire into the throttle handle and use the body of the lever as ground. I glued 1 black wire 22AWG on the front face of the lever. It is invisible and doesn't interfere with the throttle end point and travel. Next, I cut some round shapes of acrylic to fabricate the TO/GA button housing, installed the button, and grounded one terminal to the screw that holds the throttle hand together with the lever.
Using the laser engraver I labeled "TO/GA" on the handle and reassembled everything back in place. Tested and I could confirm in the PFD that it all worked great!
Next on the build was to install the PTT and PTC buttons on the armrest. The buttons are illuminated and engraved with their functions. inside the armrest, I did all the wiring connections so that it allows me to remove it all for maintenance. I installed the AUX Audio plug routing it to the inside of the armrest compartment and 2 USB-C ports to the back of the armrest. I am so excited about the results.
Today I also tested the ELT using a handheld radio. Working great. Still need to test GPS reception but it is hard to get a fix inside the garage. I might have to go through this test later.
Finally, I sprayed Corrosion X on the steps of the airplane to prevent corrosion while they are bare metal. I thought they were powder coated but I was wrong... I should have primed them before installing but I will not go through the effort of removing it now. I will let the paint shop deal with it in the future.
https://youtu.be/zOctBW5vC5E