Ch 22 - Electrical/Avionics - Part 16

Passenger’s USB outlet

The most interesting man in the world is rumored to have said (at least once)… 

“I don’t always have a back seater, but when I do she's got to have two big… outlets!“

Jonathan Goldsmith aka the most interesting man in the world

Really, nowadays this sounds like such a no-brainer. USB outlets are cheap, plentiful online, and so useful. One can keep a passenger entertained (and quiet) for hours at a time, without any complaints of dead cellphones upon arrival.

And when the GIB (Guy/Girl In Back) is another pilot, you can turn them loose on Foreflight, and have them be useful all the way there and back.

I recall, my first Rough River trip with Wade in 2016. On that first cross-country flight the vacuum pump failed (in VFR weather) right after climbing above the cloud deck (pre-instrument panel upgrade). We continued flying westward on top into improving conditions.

Wade and me at a fuel/restroom stop

A bit later, his tablet's battery also died, so I handed him the one I was using up front, but because of the lack of power in the back seat that one eventually died too. For the rest of the flight, traffic alerts and moving map were only available through my iPhone (connected to JT's Main Bus). While definitely not an emergency, the situation was certainly less than ideal, and a bit inconvenient. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way anymore, because today I am installing a twin USB outlet behind my seat for the GIB's use.

USB outlet from eBay

I was looking for a unit with a shell

Wiring this thing is as easy as it gets

Dimensions

I was originally going to mount it horizontally, right beside the fire extinguisher behind my right shoulder, but I discovered that this location could be troublesome. When I tried closing the canopy, its thin brace tube (behind the headrest) swept a vertical plane that would hit any plug attached to the outlet. 

You can imagine how the brace tube swings down with the canopy

Even worse, it could become difficult if not impossible to open the canopy until whatever device connected to the outlet got unplugged.

That wasn’t going to fly!

My second best location turned out to be pretty close to number one. I chose to install the outlet almost vertically, by attaching it to the front seat back surface. 

The volume above the servo was already dead space

The brace tube doesn’t swing that low, so the outlet can be in use at any time without fear of damage, or entrapment. Also, by placing it above the pitch servo, I recycled some unusable space, and took advantage of existing wiring runs and ties.

Leftover firewall plywood recycled for yet another project

The plywood was floxed to the front seat-back

Two wood screws hold the outlet in position

With the Master Switch ON, the outlet is automatically powered.

Wiring the outlet to the Master Bus allows me to automatically shed its load in case of alternator failure, after switching to the Essential Bus.

I am now looking forward to long more relaxing flight with a much happier GIB.