It's time to mount the magnetometers. You may recall that I fabricated a mount which keeps both magnetometers aligned with each other, but it is adjustable only in yaw. Therefore, it required some fixtures to bond the mount in exactly the right position. I needed a steady reference point to work from. I cut some aluminum angle pieces. I leveled the fuselage in pitch and roll. Then, I drew a line on the bulkhead with a level. I used 5 minute epoxy to bond the angles on the level line. There's one axis taken care of.
Then, I used plumb bobs to drop a line to the floor at the tip of the nose and tail. This gives me direction of flight (yaw). I measured out a few feet and strung a fishing line parallel to that line. You can just see it at the top of the frame. Now I could measure in at the front and rear of the magnetometers to line them up in yaw. Finally, a level helped me find roll level. I can then use popsicle sticks on the inboard or outboard sides of my temporary aluminum angle supports when bonding the mount to the bulkhead.
The angles are in place with 5 minute epoxy. This gives me a sturdy reference for mounting which can be removed later. It is level in pitch and I can use popsicle sticks to fine tune the roll axis when I bond the magnetometer mount to the bulkhead.
Finally, I clamped the mount to the angles, duct taped all but one side of the mounting surface and packed flox behind it. Once it cured, I used a heat gun to pop off the supporting angles and there it was, perfectly level, lined up with the direction of flight and ready to plug in the magnetometers. I could swear I took a picture of them plugged in, but can't find it. Anyway, this method worked well.
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