RocketAviator Posted December 8, 2016 Report Posted December 8, 2016 Anyone have a Rocket Battery Board that would be willing to post an image and provide dimensions and let me know if it has any pins or other specifics. I need to change out my batteries during annual and Id prefer not to have the A&P crawling over and on top of all the avionics and other items in the tail getting the batteries replaced. Any help or information would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Quote
Yooper Rocketman Posted December 9, 2016 Report Posted December 9, 2016 I'm at the office right now, but will be heading to my hangar in an hour. I will take a picture and try to get you some dimensions. Tom Quote
Yooper Rocketman Posted December 9, 2016 Report Posted December 9, 2016 I would definitely change those batteries as a set! Dual batteries will last much longer if matched. Tom Quote
RocketAviator Posted December 9, 2016 Author Report Posted December 9, 2016 I do change them as a set. Already ordered 2 now I'm broke or should I say double broke! Thanks Tom Quote
peevee Posted December 9, 2016 Report Posted December 9, 2016 I don't have the board, but I have a tracing of one. I'll get pics in a few. Quote
RocketAviator Posted December 9, 2016 Author Report Posted December 9, 2016 10 minutes ago, peevee said: I don't have the board, but I have a tracing of one. I'll get pics in a few. Super thanks Quote
peevee Posted December 9, 2016 Report Posted December 9, 2016 (edited) It's such an irregular shape you might have a hard time without a tracing. I can do one but it'll be a week or two as I'm leaving tomorrow. When we picked up our plane at maxwells it didn't have a board, this is a copy of his which is probably a copy of someone else's, haha Edited December 9, 2016 by peevee Quote
RocketAviator Posted December 9, 2016 Author Report Posted December 9, 2016 10 minutes ago, peevee said: It's such an irregular shape you might have a hard time without a tracing. I can do one but it'll be a week or two as I'm leaving tomorrow. When we picked up our plane at maxwells it didn't have a board, this is a copy of his which is probably a copy of someone else's, haha Thanks I will give it a try. Quote
Yooper Rocketman Posted December 9, 2016 Report Posted December 9, 2016 Sorry. Got busy last night on the Lancair and forgot. Hope this helps. Tom 1 Quote
peevee Posted December 9, 2016 Report Posted December 9, 2016 1 hour ago, Yooper Rocketman said: Sorry. Got busy last night on the Lancair and forgot. Hope this helps. Tom I'd be busy too if I had one. Glad to see mine looks like yours at least. Quote
mooniac15u Posted December 9, 2016 Report Posted December 9, 2016 Is a battery board used for crawling into the tailcone? Quote
peevee Posted December 9, 2016 Report Posted December 9, 2016 3 minutes ago, mooniac15u said: Is a battery board used for crawling into the tailcone? I think the idea is you put the board in place and move the battery from the tray to the board so you don't have to crawl back there. I haven't actually looked or noticed how far back the second battery is. Quote
mooniac15u Posted December 9, 2016 Report Posted December 9, 2016 2 minutes ago, peevee said: I think the idea is you put the board in place and move the battery from the tray to the board so you don't have to crawl back there. I haven't actually looked or noticed how far back the second battery is. Can you reach the battery through an inspection port to detach it? Quote
peevee Posted December 9, 2016 Report Posted December 9, 2016 19 minutes ago, mooniac15u said: Can you reach the battery through an inspection port to detach it? No clue. Quote
Yooper Rocketman Posted December 10, 2016 Report Posted December 10, 2016 As Peevee noted, the dual battery box is mounted on a shelf in rails, held in place with a couple AN 3 bolts going through the box lip and shelf floor (nut plates thank god, all you need to do is pull the bolts). The battery board rests on a lip supporting the shelf at the aft side, and on a cross member on the forward end. Access is by leaning through the inspection opening of that compartment and leaning in towards the rear. I never actually crawl into the fuselage, as there is little room and you would likely damage something. Once the bolts are removed and the board is placed in position (it notches into an area at the front so cannot move) you pull the battery box forward and on to the board. I usually rotate the whole box assembly 180 degrees, VERY CAREFULLY, as the corners are SHARP and would easily dent the thin fuselage wall if hit. It's also a challenge getting it around the static ports and hosing without damaging anything. The key is do do it slow and carefully. Rotating allows more room to pull the battery box to the bottom of the board (battery cables would be your limitation on this) and I can usually pull the box right close to the actual opening for easy access to the 4 screws holding the cover on. Quote
Yooper Rocketman Posted December 10, 2016 Report Posted December 10, 2016 21 hours ago, peevee said: It's such an irregular shape you might have a hard time without a tracing. I can do one but it'll be a week or two as I'm leaving tomorrow. When we picked up our plane at maxwells it didn't have a board, this is a copy of his which is probably a copy of someone else's, haha HEY!!! Not to start tread drift but I thought you pulled the plug on getting a Rocket????? Tom Quote
peevee Posted December 10, 2016 Report Posted December 10, 2016 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Yooper Rocketman said: 22 hours ago, peevee said: HEY!!! Not to start tread drift but I thought you pulled the plug on getting a Rocket????? Tom We came to an accord. It's sitting in our hangar. Need to get the mixture set because it's all sorts of funky at idle and get a block heater installed. MSC can't get it in for another week. I flew it back from GGG and haven't touched it since. Edited December 10, 2016 by peevee Quote
peevee Posted December 10, 2016 Report Posted December 10, 2016 29 minutes ago, Yooper Rocketman said: As Peevee noted, the dual battery box is mounted on a shelf in rails, held in place with a couple AN 3 bolts going through the box lip and shelf floor (nut plates thank god, all you need to do is pull the bolts). The battery board rests on a lip supporting the shelf at the aft side, and on a cross member on the forward end. Access is by leaning through the inspection opening of that compartment and leaning in towards the rear. I never actually crawl into the fuselage, as there is little room and you would likely damage something. Once the bolts are removed and the board is placed in position (it notches into an area at the front so cannot move) you pull the battery box forward and on to the board. I usually rotate the whole box assembly 180 degrees, VERY CAREFULLY, as the corners are SHARP and would easily dent the thin fuselage wall if hit. It's also a challenge getting it around the static ports and hosing without damaging anything. The key is do do it slow and carefully. Rotating allows more room to pull the battery box to the bottom of the board (battery cables would be your limitation on this) and I can usually pull the box right close to the actual opening for easy access to the 4 screws holding the cover on. makes you wonder who the poor 5 year old that had to crawl back there and install it all was. Quote
FloridaMan Posted July 10, 2018 Report Posted July 10, 2018 Can someone verify this drawing that I made off of the two photographs here? awi Quote
carusoam Posted July 10, 2018 Report Posted July 10, 2018 Antares, Looks good... Could be the way i’m Reading it... click on the pic, then two finger expand the drawing for better readability... Double Check, expect an error, but, I didn’t see one... The part is complex enough that making a paper doll first, may save a bit of hassle... Best regards, -a- Quote
FloridaMan Posted July 11, 2018 Report Posted July 11, 2018 The below is modified with another Rocket owner's measurements. He also highly recommends glue/tacking a piece of 1/4" round rod to the top of the board at the long edges. He said over the years he's seen a couple rockets that had the battery box slip off of the board and put a nasty dent in the side of the fuselage and the modification can help to prevent this if the battery box started to get away from the operator. I'm leaving the previously posted drawing in the thread since carusoam has validated it. The differences may be within tolerances: the orientation is from the top of his with the modifications. The notch on this one is 1.3 vs 1.5, the angles are about 2 degrees different, and the battery ledge edge is 1/4" wider in this one. I've also attached a PDF with 1:1 scaling. I haven't tried it yet, but you should be able to print it with Acrobat DC (free) and select the "Poster" option in the print dialog to get it to print across multiple sheets. You should then be able to cut it out, tape it together and make a template that you can trace onto your plywood. Once again, I haven't tried it and all of this is at your own risk. BatteryBoard.PDF 2 Quote
PJClark Posted January 12, 2020 Report Posted January 12, 2020 @FloridaMan did this drawing work for you? My Rocket came with one but it got left at the avionics shop...grrrr. Quote
carusoam Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 this one is for PJ... You know when you have enough MS.... MS is in your thoughts all the time... So there I was getting a snack in NYC up by Columbus circle... Central Park... and the Met... I hit my MS account to see who left me a message... Wait a minute.... Where was I...? http://pjclarkes.com/location/third-avenue/ So... PJ if ever you are out in NYC... this place is pretty good! Best regards, -a- Quote
FloridaMan Posted January 13, 2020 Report Posted January 13, 2020 23 hours ago, PJClark said: @FloridaMan did this drawing work for you? My Rocket came with one but it got left at the avionics shop...grrrr. Yes. Print out the PDF, tape it together, trace and cut. 1 Quote
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