What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Show Us Your Panel

More capable than anything I've ever flown. I am a very happy customer.

Brian,
Very Nice Panel!! Does the iPad "eject" from the panel? If so, how does that work? Is the iPad mount an off-the-shelf product?

Thanks for sharing the photo and the review,

Andrew Anunson
 
Brian,
Very Nice Panel!! Does the iPad "eject" from the panel? If so, how does that work? Is the iPad mount an off-the-shelf product?

Thanks for sharing the photo and the review,

Andrew Anunson
The IPad does eject. The mount is called a Flypad mount (https://www.flypadmount.com/). It has a spring bar on the right side. I really like how the Garmin Connext works. ADHRS data and GDL data for a useful secondary display. Thanks for the "nice panel" comment.
 
Panel designer

Hi, Maybe a silly question - but what Panel Designer software have you used ? I am about to upgrade my panel from steam to glass and I would like to design it myself. I know Xpanel and Panel designer - but are there others and which one is best. If it's for Windows of Mac is not important (would prefer Mac though).

Per A
Copenhagen Denmark
Non-Builder
RV6A - Previously N767TS and EC-XCX - now OY-IPA.
 
I did my panel in the free CAD software from emachineshop.com I like their setup since you can design the panel and get an instant (in software) quote to have it fabricated. The downside is that you have to design all the instrument cutouts yourself, but that is actually pretty easy.

FP10022014A0001Z.jpg


Hi, Maybe a silly question - but what Panel Designer software have you used ? I am about to upgrade my panel from steam to glass and I would like to design it myself. I know Xpanel and Panel designer - but are there others and which one is best. If it's for Windows of Mac is not important (would prefer Mac though).

Per A
Copenhagen Denmark
Non-Builder
RV6A - Previously N767TS and EC-XCX - now OY-IPA.
 
I did my panel in the free CAD software from emachineshop.com I like their setup since you can design the panel and get an instant (in software) quote to have it fabricated. The downside is that you have to design all the instrument cutouts yourself, but that is actually pretty easy.

FP10022014A0001Z.jpg

Thanks for this and thanks for such a fantastic panel layout. Do you have a finished photo too ???? My current panel is a mess as the previous owner wanted to mimic a MD-80 I think, but now I am gonna take it all out and put in Glass - so your layout looks amazing and very inspirational !
 
Here's how it came out. I've got 10 hours behind it so far and am very pleased.

Need to get the yellow tape out of there and do a proper marking job.

 
Current 6A panel

Here is my current RV6A panel. I am trying to find out who manufactured the
panel blank and if possible purchase or make new panel inserts in order to
change to my GRT Sport SX EFIS. I will keep the current radio stack, everything
else will probably go.

Thanks,

28592973703_b73aaeb390_b.jpg
 
Last edited:
Gene, from your post it appears you are only changing out the "Black" panel parts.

I would call SteinAir and ask him to cut and paint new ones that fit your new equipment.

I think as long as you give him your "Green" he will be happy :D
 
Gene, I am going through the same sort of thing right now with my -6a. Not sure I have come up with my 'forever (or at least a year or two) configuration so I am just using the old panel as a support assembly and putting in three sub-panels. If, after a bit of flying, if I like what I have done, I will probably just ship the configuration off to Stein to use as a template for a more 'finished' solution using 1's and 0's to cut and etch aluminum. It has been a good adventure. :rolleyes:

Yours is a much more polished interior than mine, but it still screams out to do a 'roll your own' for the black inserts to start. Lots of analog gauges to remove, who knows what you will eventually want to put in their place. My dos centavos.
 
Last edited:
Gene
That looks to be a panel from Glasair. Think that was out of a Glastar. At least that era. It looks a lot like the pics in their gallery.
Couldnt find it in their online parts catalogue but maybe a call could locate the manufacturer. All the best.
 
Last edited:
Here is my current RV6A panel. I am trying to find out who manufactured the
panel blank and if possible purchase or make new panel inserts in order to
change to my GRT Sport SX EFIS. I will keep the current radio stack, everything
else will probably go.

Laird Owens made the panel blank; the blanks are simply 0.062 aluminum. I have the same panel, and have redone the blanks several times to accommodate new/replacement equipment. If you don't have the plans showing the dimensions etc. of the blanks, shoot me a PM and I'd be happy to scan them and send the drawings to you.
 
The builder did it....

Hi Gene,

I was the "manufacturer" of the glass panel. I didn't supply the blanks. Like Brad said, those were to be cut out from the stock .063 panel supplied in the kit, so the builder cut out those parts.

My suggestion is to trace the outline and hole locations of the existing parts you have now and fabricate a new set. You have all the necessary info on those blanks.

Hopefully you have access to the tools necessary to do that, or perhaps you know a local builder that can help you out.

Best of luck,

Laird
SoCal


Here is my current RV6A panel. I am trying to find out who manufactured the
panel blank and if possible purchase or make new panel inserts in order to
change to my GRT Sport SX EFIS. I will keep the current radio stack, everything
else will probably go.

Thanks,

panel1.jpg
 
Last edited:
This is the current state of my instrument panel; it's changed several times since I first built N164BL. Like Gene's panel, this started out as a fiberglass panel blank from Laird Owens (thanks Laird - it was super well thought out and manufactured!); I cut the aluminum inserts on my mill and after doing a number of them feel like I could do it almost blindfolded at this point :)

34377893326_c0b67f2a23_c.jpg


The flight instrument section has a Skyview system along with a MGL ASI/Altimeter and TrueTrak T&B standbys. Also present is a TAWS annunciator, which is wired to the IFD540. The annunciators are crazy expensive new, but 28v units can be found on eBay for as little as $40. Cut a trace here, jumper a trace there, and now it's a 14v unit :)

The radio stack has a King audio panel, an Avidyne IFD540, and an ICOM A200 secondary comm. The IFD540 is the most recent addition, and has a couple of things not shown in the panel. I modified the software and image of a Stratux box and built a custom enclosure for it; this allows it to be tucked behind the panel and feed weather/traffic data to the IFD540 and not be subject to image corruption when the avionics master is turned off thanks to a read-only filesystem. It also supports more of the GDL90 standard and excludes some of the stratus-specific stuff that neither the IFD540 or FF appear to use.

The engine stack has a Dynon EMS-D10, which I find I prefer to the Skyview's EMS for a couple of reasons. The PS Engineering PM3000 intercom is there as well along with the ELT switches. I built a Bluetooth 4.0 receiver and mounted it behind this panel as well; wired to both the audio panel and intercom it provides the usual music and phone capability. There are some other custom electronics behind that panel that I'll write up separately as well.

The air vent eyeballs are from Stein and work awesome - no leaks and very smooth operation. The cigarette lighter plug is connected to the hot bus and can be used to charge a cell phone, or can be used to provide ground power for running the avionics with an adapter cable I made (try that with a USB jack!). Speaking of USB, not in view but underneath the panel just to the right of the engine controls are USB jacks and serial lines to both the IFD 540 and Dynon system. This allows me to charge stuff in flight but not have a USB jack take up panel space, while the serial ports facilitate development projects or portable stuff to exchange data with the panel mounted equipment.

There are no circuit breakers - all the switches are toggle switches from B&C. Circuit protection is fuses across three buses: main, avionics, and hot/battery.

Not sure what's next for this panel, but the modular design makes updates really easy and I love the aesthetics of it. I don't think I'd change anything if I was going to do it over again.
 
Last edited:
Thanks to everyone for their comments. Thank you Brad for the pdf file. I am in
the process of transferring to SolidWorks to send to my CNC machine. Also a big
thanks to Laird Owens for watching these forums. It is a great panel and I am
looking forward to the upgrade.
 
Upgraded Panel from Legacy G3X to G3x Touch

So, I originally upgraded from steam gauges to the G3X in 2013 and have been trying to resist the temptation of jumping into the Touch for 4 years now. I finally could resist no longer...here are the before and after pictures.





By switching from 3 portrait displays to the GDU 460 and the new GDU 470, I gained about an inch and a half of real estate so that I was able to spread the units out a bit more than before. The downside was I had to cut, paint and label a new panel blank to accomplish this. In flying the old panel over the past 4 years, I had come up with a bunch of small changes I wanted to make anyway so just further incentive to cut a new blank. This is the third panel now in this airplane and they get easier each time. The old panel makes a perfect template to use to make the new one.
 
Saint Aviation Panel

Thanks to the guys at Saint Aviation for doing a great job on the replacement panel in my 6A. This equipment is just magic the way it works! Jesse worked with me closely to build the panel to my specifications and knocked out of the park.

r2su41.jpg
 
Last edited:
Not the latest and greatest, but alot better than it was and did not break the bank. About $12000 to upgrade by buying all the dynon stuff used. Ifr and coupled lpv approach capable.

D180
D10a
Ifly 740
Garmin 400w
Garmin gtr 200
Garmin gtx 335
Trutrack Vizion 385 autopilot
Ray allen g407 grips
Converted to electric trims and flaps

FThSok2.jpg

8-F5831-EB-2-CE8-47-EB-9-DAE-35-A4-FFC7292-B.jpg
 
Last edited:
Not the latest and greatest, but alot better than it was and did not break the bank. About $8000 to upgrade by buying all the dynon stuff used.

D180
Ap74
D10a
Ifly 740
Garmin gtr 200
Garmin gtx 335
Ray allen g407 grips
Converted to electric trims and flaps

Did you do all the work yourself, if so how many hours would you say went into re-doing that panel?

Looks great!
 
I did it all myself with a band saw, dremel and a file. The panel part itself took about 30 hrs. The entire project, repanel, rewire whole plane, install autopilot, convert to electric flaps and trims, install pmags, rebuild both wheel pants, rebuild both brake calipers, and program everything took 2 months and about 150 hrs. It was definitely worth it. I would never go back to manual flaps and trims.
 
panel-1024.jpg


ok, here we go: my minimal VFR day only panel... light, simple, and functional :)

Since I bought the -6 already built, I didn't design the panel. The holes were already there, and I've just spent about 14 days rewiring the headsets, installing a new 8.33KHz COM, a Garmin G5, a GT-50, and a Garrecht AT-1 TAS.
Not shown on the foto, the iPad mini which is affixed by the ball.

Retired from the airlines I prefer to enjoy the outside scenery instead of perusing an acre of glass with zillions of useless stuff on it. And no A/P either ;)
 
Last edited:
Hello DC

Nice and a good decision to look most of the time outside, as a VFR pilot!

Can you give a bit more info about the AT-1 TAS? Could not find more info.

Thanks!
 
Raiz is correct. I had a TRX-2000 installed in my previous craft and was very happy with it. The AT-1 is the successor to the TRX-2000 and the TRX-1500.

And for the non-European reader, all these devices are Traffic Avoidance Systems. They will detect all traffic emitting thru standard transponder equipment, modes A/C/S, ADS-B, and FLARM. They also issue conflicting alerts, albeit no avoidance instructions (TAs but no RAs).

The downside is that installation in a metal aircraft such as the RV requires additional external antennas: 1x ADS-B, 1x FLARM on the top of the aircraft and 1x FLARM on the bottom. The GPS was kept internal and stuck to the glareshield.
 
Panel Upgrade Complete: Old vs New

s4lz6a.jpg

2r7acci.jpg


Dual 10" Dynon HDX with all the Dynon supporting cast plus Vertical Power VPX Pro.

Thank you to Dynon for the Great Support.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Still exploring the depth of its capabilities. Seems very intuitive and straightforward in use. I do think it would be nice to see a more in-depth pilot manual and / or an online simulation or training device allowing pilots the chance to explore options and develop procedures on the ground then applying that when airborne.
Overall I?m very impressed with the way and how much information is presented to the pilot vs the cost. Looking forward to flying it more and exploring further.
 
Well that was useless. Cant make the pictures smaller so they are not showing up well. Don't know how this happened!
 
Last edited:
New Panel upgrade

dateposted-public
dateposted-public
9 months worth of work but it's finally looking like an airplane!

 
Last edited:
New Panel Template

Thinking of Upgrading my RV-8 Steam gauge to Flat Panels. I saw a interactive Template program on here somewhere and I cannot find it again. Can someone point me to it?


Also any Advice on systems. Dynon verses GRT. The GRT components advertise more flexible compatibility with existing components with option to upgrade or add on in the future and appear to be cheaper. I realize you get what you pay for but Looking to keep costs at a minimum. Open to suggestions from those who have just done it and can give comparison +'s or -'s of Dynon system to a GRT.
 
Thinking of Upgrading my RV-8 Steam gauge to Flat Panels. I saw a interactive Template program on here somewhere and I cannot find it again. Can someone point me to it?


Also any Advice on systems. Dynon verses GRT. The GRT components advertise more flexible compatibility with existing components with option to upgrade or add on in the future and appear to be cheaper. I realize you get what you pay for but Looking to keep costs at a minimum. Open to suggestions from those who have just done it and can give comparison +'s or -'s of Dynon system to a GRT.


Looking for this?

https://www.ehangar.org/
 
dsc06367-780.jpg


latest iteration of my panel. Loads of fun painting and working on a riveted (yes, non-removable), panel ;)
 
Questions about panel

dsc06367-780.jpg


latest iteration of my panel. Loads of fun painting and working on a riveted (yes, non-removable), panel ;)

That's a nice fit-for-purpose panel, I am aiming to do something similar for day VFR. A couple of questions if you don't mind?-

Regarding the G5, is it adequate to be used (visibility) for the primary flight display, including being able to easily see e.g. vertical speed, at a glance?

I think in a previous post that there was originally one G5 in the panel, now there are two. Is it necessary to have two? And do you have the remote magnetometer and OAT probe installed?

I also looks like the panel has changed from yellow to grey, is there an advantage to one colour over the other?

Thanks!
 
hi Paul

the legibility of the G5 is very good, albeit the display and the digits are small. It is a perfect replica of the PFD I had in the A320 series and presents all the data in a clear, uncluttered and logical way. The resolution is very good.

VS is shown right of the altitude scale and is small in display. This is partly offset by the ability of choosing the limits of the range displayed during set-up, I think I settled for 1000 fpm for the moment. Of course, like all glass displays, you have to get used to look at the right spot for the data needed.

Originally there was no G5, then one, and now 2, they seem to multiply! On a serious note the idea for the panel was to have emergency IFR capability. Having a Davtron OAT in the right wing and the Garmin magnetometer in the rear fuse gives me winds aloft and TAS amongst other things. A benefit of the GNX375 is the GPS course deviation bar also displayed on the HSI.
The main use of the HSI is of course SA (situation awareness) whilst taxiing, line-up, or any phase of flight whilst using the heading bug.
Redundancy is also improved, each G5 being fitted with its own backup battery and being capable of displaying as either PFD or HSI.

The main problem with the panel being yellow were canopy reflections. I usually have a camera at hand whilst flying, but wasn't too fond of the yellow reflections on all bar a few pictures.
 
Garmin multiplies

Originally there was no G5, then one, and now 2, they seem to multiply!

Hi DC
This seems to be the way things can go! Originally I wanted to install only old school steam airspeed, altitude, VSI, skid ball and compass for local VFR flying. Plus a non-vacuum artificial horizon for added safety, in case of unexpected reduced visibility, hence the G5.
But the G5 seems to provide all of the required functions, and would be even *more* useful with a compatible GPS e.g. Aera 660. And then, one need only add GMC 305 and a couple of servos to also use the G5 as an autopilot. Even if that was not the original intention...
I currently fly another plane with steam gauges and a Dynon D-10 but tend to refer only to the steam gauges, so it will probably take an effort to adjust to using the digital airspeed, altimeter and vertical speed.
 
Instrument Panel

Here is the best photo of my panel that I have. The PFD and G5 are a little washed out. The panel is all Garmin G3X touch.
Not a 6, but I guess it's ok to show a 10 panel?

20190907-200226.jpg
[/url][/IMG]
 
Last edited:
Backlight switch plates

For backlighting of my switch plates, I used 12V led strip lights available on Ebay for very little money. I went a little overboard and used RGBW light strips and wired all of the colors independently allowing me to change to any color I want by adjusting the intensity of each color.

1. I grouped sets of switches, organized and prewired each group to fit into a switch plate. The wires were routed to a single small bundle and connector at one end to be plugged into the main harness. This simplifies the backlighting as well as allows me to remove each switch group from the aircraft if needed.

2. The switch plates are made of the same plastic used for nameplates in the office, etc.. The plastic has a thin layer of one color over a second color base. In my case I used black over clear base. This way when the black color (about 0.015? thick) is removed, clear plastic remains (about 0.125 thick). By reversing the text and placing the black side down, a light shining through lights up the text. This is known as ?second surface engraving? and is basically how all lighted switches in automobiles are done (only with paint on plastic rather than engraving stock). If you don?t want to light them, painting the back shows through nicely. I have a small 3?x36? XCarve CNC that I do the engraving on. Details are in my build thread in my signature line.

3. With the switch plates engraved, I then make a small ?light box? to cover the back side. Generally, these were made from thin aluminum, but odd shapes were made from fiberglass laid over an appropriately shaped foam plug and painted black to make them opaque. This is where routing of the wires into a small bundle is important. Holes in the light box for exiting wires need to be sealed for light leakage. One hole is easier to seal with a piece of black insulation foam than many holes. The holes are ?U? shaped to allow the assembly/disassembly without removing the connector. In most cases I attached the light box to the back of the instrument panel with 4-40 flush screws, and the switch plate to the front with black 4-40 button head screws.

4. The light box is lit with one or two small strips of LEDs wired back to a central control/dimmer. Two small strips of LEDs were often required to light around the switch bodies and avoid shadowing. In my case with RGBW lights there are 4 ground wires and one power since the LED strips have a common power for all colors and separate grounds for each color. For each switch plate grouping, I connect the ground for each color to a separate common ground. Then each common ground goes through a 1000-ohm pot to the aircraft ground. I have 4 pots to control the intensity of each color independently. Power just ties back to a common fused power wire for all of the backlight LEDs.

Most of the details are posted in my KitLog build thread. There is a link in my signature line. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask. If I can make some time in the next few weeks I will post a detailed thread in the electrical section.
 
Just got my plane back from the avionics shop (I'm a wimp and didn't want to tackle this myself). Now IFR capable so time for me to get back IFR current and proficient. Here's old and new. New panel has G3X Touch 10", G5, GMC 305 Autopilot controller, GMA 245 Audio Panel, GNX 375 WAAS Navigator/ADS-B Transponder, GTR 20 Com Radio (behind the panel), SL-30 Nav/Com (for backup com and VOR/ILS nav), heated pitot with AOA, and an in-panel mount for iPad mini running Garmin Pilot. At some point, I will probably upgrade the iPad mount to a 7" G3X, but need to rebuild finances first.

Pics of old and new:
Old Panel:
49610245186_f87794066e_z.jpg


New Panel:
49610244811_5cd2e101af_z.jpg
 
Back
Top