Apr 11, 2024     panel placards - (10 hours)       Category: Instrument Panel

Todays part of this obviously didn't take 10 hours, but there was plenty of prep work that all added up. Lindsay Hemann was kind enough to help me lay out all my panel labels. She was able to get everything on a standard 8.5x11 sheet of paper twice over, which is important because when you send it to have it made into dry transfers they charge $110 per sheet, no matter how much or how little it has on it. Thanks Lindsay!

Anyway, there isn't much to say about the process. I got a couple of them a little crooked, but for the most part they came out really nice. At some point in the future I may scrape these off and try again, either for aesthetics our out of necessity if they wear out, but for now this will work and looks about a million times better than stick on labels. Interestingly enough, they really didn't want to transfer to the satin clear coat on the instrument panel without significant rubbing on the backing paper. By contrast, the stick placards practically jumped off the sheet to latch onto the plastic stick grip

If I were doing this again, I would bite the bullet and do all the placards before installing everything in the panel. It would have been a lot easier to do this with the panel laying flat on the bench and would have been worth the risk of having to change something later.

  Apr 05, 2022     modified layout - (3 hours)       Category: Instrument Panel

I was originally planning a 6 pack of switches left of the PFD and below the G5. 2 P-mag switches, IBBS switch, Alt Field, Batt Master, and maybe an avionics master.

I reasoned that even if I decided against a Avionics master or whatever, I could stick the field breaker in the empty hole or something.

Well, plans change. I ended up going with the big chrome start button from stein, a 3 position locking Honeywell switch for batt/alt master, and matching honeywell switches for P-mags and IBBS. Based on assurances of my Avionics guru, I'm not doing an avionics master either.

So, I was ending up with an empty hole, and worse, the spacing looked absolutely goofy with the big start button.

I didn't get any pictures before I fixed it, but trust me, it was goofy looking.

I debated on whether to just leave this, plug the empty hole, or go for a different layout with some kind of faceplate or recessed start switch.

Ultimately, what I arrived at was a simple dime/dollar patch. I reasoned that I can do a vinyl stick on to cover up the seam. Then, looking around the shop I saw a rattle can of caution yellow and decided to see what it might look like if I made the dime portion look like an intentional insert. I've got to say I really like teh look and will likely leave it this way.

I also scuffed and prepped the panel and vent sub panels and then shot them with satin clear. I've included a photo of the brand of clear coat I used for future reference.

My plan at this point is to install the panel & all the stuff that goes in it, then label it. Once I've flown for a while and determine that I don't want to make any panel changes, then I can do another layer of clear over the labels if need be.

I also took a long hard look at spacing for the engine control knobs and believe that I have room to install the big three plus alt air and oil cooler all on the knob sub panel. I started looking at this because I was considering putting the toga button on this panel next to the throttle. Still not sure if I'm going that route or if it makes more sense to put it a little higher

I measured the knob size, as well as how far they stick out from the panel based on a mixture control cable I got somewhere or another, and think that this spacing will work nicely. Pilot drilled the sub-panel and will come back to this later, but here's a picture for future reference.

  Mar 17, 2022     more instrument panel work - (10 hours)       Category: Instrument Panel

Got back from a trip and got back into the shop yesterday. continued laying out and drilling holes in the instrument panel. I know a lot of guys send their panel off and have it laser or water jet cut, but I decided to go old school with this. lots of measuring, drilling, filing...you get the idea.

What took the most time was figuring out how to incorporate the large Stein fresh air vents that I picked up used on VAF.

I ended up cutting about 1/2" off the lower lip of the firewall, and making some extensions out of the big .063 scrap chunks that were left over from cutting out big holes for the screens. The pix below are of them in process, but hey ended up really nice. The vents look like they belong, not like they were just stuck on as an afterthought. The reason for the weird tab on the left one is that it picks up the with panel over there and can be drilled for the anti-turn washers on the toggle switches easily without having those holes show through the main panel. All those switches are big heavy Honeywell locking switches, so I also like the idea of having a little more meat in that area to hopefully cut down on the panel flexing and switch wiggling.

I primed the panel after it was done and forgot to get a picture, but I think it's going to turn out nice.

I've got to drill a few more holes in random locations for parking brake knob, panel dimmer knobs, etc. but the major work on this is done.

FYI- Just in case it's helpful to anyone, the Klixon mini-breakers have a slightly smaller hole than the Honeywell switches. I don't remember the drill size off the top of my head, but I measured them and ended up going down at least one drill size.

  Mar 03, 2022     Panel layout - (6 hours)       Category: Instrument Panel

Spent a couple of days laying out stuff on the panel.

After much back and forth, where I considered breakers, fuses (per Bob Knukols book) and even biting the bullet and ordering the vertical power unit, I ultimately decided to go with breakers. I talked with my avionics guy re. just using fuses and his advice was that there has been more than one instance where you get a fault on an avionics box and a hard reset cures it, so it would be nice if anything that contains a processor had a means to do a hard reset without cycling the entire avionics suite. After lots of careful measuring, I determined that there would be enough room on the panel for breakers if I packed them tight.

made a drill jig out of a piece of scrap with hole spacing 0.07" x 1.2" which accommodates the mini klixon breakers and went to town. This spacing results in 30 breakers on the panel, with barely enough room left over for the remote ELT switch way right above the longeron. I don't have a picture of it, but I cut that hole as well and it all fits.

I also laid out and cut the hole for the G5 on the right side. I don't have a chassis punch or a hole cutter that bid, so I used a fly cutter in a slow turning electric drill and kept it centered by backing it up through a hardwood block

  Feb 28, 2022     panel cutouts and avionics racks - (18 hours)       Category: Instrument Panel

Over the last couple of days it warmed up enough to get back into the shop.

Finished the panel cutout for the center stack and the G3x screens, The cutout for the sub panel and the supports for the radio racks. Thanks to careful measurement ahead of time, I was able to avoid having to cut the ribs that run forward from the panel. You can see in the pictures below that everything clears by about 1/4"

Based on where I put these screens, there is still room to put toggle switches below them, but just barely. Lots of guys have ordered a panel blank thats an inch lower to accommodate this a little better, but I like the idea of the leg room and I don't want to order another panel blank anyway. Plus, I have a sneaking suspicion that I could manage to catch those switches withy knees getting in and out, and possibly accidentally hit them while trying to poke the touchscreens in turbulence.

I spent probably about 6 hours researching options for switch and breaker styles and layout. and think that I can make everything work with a series of 3 way switches under the radio stack which will keep them safe from people (me) banging knees on them getting in and out. More on that later.

  Feb 22, 2022     panel cutouts and avionics racks - (16 hours)       Category: Instrument Panel

Darwin Berrie advised me a while back to lay out the oil cooler and other stuff on the firewall first, since you have some latitude to move other stuff to fit around them.

I ordered the RV10 firewall oil cooler mount but it still hasn't arrived, so I moved on to something else a few days ago. Specifically, I decided there was no reason not to jump into the instrument panel.

I had bought a really cool Aerosport carbon instrument panel used on VAF last year, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like it has enough free space to install the G5 where I want (left of the PFD) so I shelved it and went back to Vans simple flat panel blank.

I originally thought that my center stack would consist (top to bottom) of; autopilot controller, GTN650, Audio panel. But after measuring everything, I discovered that if I flipped the order and put the GTN on the bottom, I wouldn't have to cut the center rib behind the panel. Hopefully I won't regret moving it to the bottom. Time will tell.

I though that I'd make short work of this, but my air nibbler isn't up to cutting through the .063 instrument panel blank, so I went old school with a drill, dremmel, rotary file, hand files, etc. and slowly but surely it started to look like a panel.

The GTN is so deep that I needed to cut a hole in the sub panel for it to stick through. It was also questionable whether I could get the back shells on the audio panel without the wiring having to make an uncomfortably tight bend with the sub panel right behind it, so I bit the bullet and cut a hole in the sub panel the height/width of both units.

The last couple of days has been lots of trial fitting, trimming, fabricating mounting brackets, and engineering a way to beef up the sub panel to gain back the rigidity I lost.

I'm pretty happy with where it was as of this morning, but we've had a cold snap and I can't get the garage much above freezing, so I'm out for a day or two.

I still have to fabricate some supports for the back of the audio panel rack, but other than that, this is all pretty much ready to rivet together.