Location and length of Mic/Phone wiring

Hi everyone,

I have a 750 Cruzer and it has come time to design/plan for the pilot/co-pilot phones and mic jacks.

I fly a Cherokee at present and one of the things that annoys me to no end is the location of the comm jacks in the plane. They are in the floor under the panel, so plugging into the jacks results in interference with the flap handle and other things in the airplane.

My goal with the Cruzer is to avoid tangled headset wires at all cost, which in my mind leads to installing jacks into the center console behind the control stick OR suspend the jacks from the roof behind the top channel. This might make initial connection of the headset a bit more inconvenient, but would get the wires out of the way of all controls/switches.

So to my questions:

1) Has anyone installed jacks in the console behind the control stick and if so was it a pain, and were you able to confidently remove any interference with the rudder cables and center tube???

2) Has anyone installed jacks suspended from the roof??? Any problems connecting the headsets on a day to day basis???

3) Suspension from the roof would result in quite a long routing of the shielded wiring. Should the length of the jack wiring be kept as short as possible to lessen interference, or if the shielding is installed properly, does the wiring length matter???

Any suggestions/gotchas would be most appreciated.

Thanks

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on October 8, 2019 at 11:00am

That's my pet peeve, too ... I don't like the headset cords dangling across the cockpit.  In my STOL 750, I mounted my Bose LEMO jacks in a recessed fixture on the console:

The cords then run back between the seat frame and the console and come up behind the seat backs and over the shoulder ... absolutely no dangling cords!  :>)  There is a lapel clip for the cord that I clip to the pocket on the back of my seat to help keep it in place.  I also put headset hooks on the transverse support that is above and behind the seat backs:

This lets you just hop in your seat and reach back above and behind your head and put your headset on without any cord tangle or fuss. (I later retrofitted 4 point harnesses, but this configuration works just fine with them, too!)

Some opt to mount the jacks further aft, but I like to be able to visually confirm they are plugged-in, and in the event of a headset failure, I could easily swap the plugs/cords and use the other headset.  The mounting plate is actually a headset jack mount (Aircraft Spruce) that is intended to be installed with the recessed area protruding above the surface, but I just inverted it and made it recessed.  Recessed, I never have a problem with the plugs getting hit by other objects.  Just be careful to secure the wiring in the tunnel to zip tie mounts or Adel clamps, but there's plenty of room.  I have dual sticks but don't see why it wouldn't work with the center stick, too.

John

N750A

Permalink Reply by Robert Boyd on October 9, 2019 at 5:27am
Nice, thanks for sharing
Permalink Reply by Fred John Thomas on October 8, 2019 at 5:59pm

I put mine right behind the seats on the lower baggage floor. I have large acess holes back there too.

Are you making the harness for the radio, you will have to finish some of it in the plane to be able to route the wires.

Permalink Reply by Shawn Magin on October 8, 2019 at 8:16pm

Best thing about being experimental is ...that you can put them anywhere YOU want to.

Permalink Reply by Tim Hine on October 10, 2019 at 8:46am

Thanks for the reply. Great suggestions. Very impressive interior John, looks very professional! 

Anyone have a comment/experience with the length of the shielded wiring???

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