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Classic Aero RV-14 Side Panel Pictures

Luke D

Well Known Member
Advertiser
Hello RV-14 Builders,

I'm sorry this has taken longer than I expected it would. I've lost count of the number of major design changes we've made, and there still may be a few tweaks before it's said and done. That said, these pictures should represent the final design for the most part.

If you have questions about the side panels that others might benefit from, please ask here rather than calling, and I'll try to keep tabs on this thread. I'll also start off by answering a few questions here too:

  • We are starting out with "Cabin Area" side panels for now (that is what these pictures show). Full baggage panels will be available. Timing to be determined as we get further along shipping these.
  • We are still working out pricing. All of the information for the cabin area side panels should be on our website sometime next week. We won't be taking any orders until then.
  • Other products for the RV-14 will include Glareshield trim, and a much more basic side panel package for those that like the more spartan look. Timing to be determined further down the road.
  • The hidden canopy latch mechanism is a custom design to work with our side panels. It is retrofitable. The handle will be anodized aluminum (the mockup is a painted 3D printed part).
  • The lighter area near the top is the painted structure. All other areas are covered in our standard upholstery materials so that they match our seats. Colors can be arranged to your preference.
  • Headset jacks are in the stock location.
  • Based on past experience, we have used 2024 T3 Aluminum for the structure. This reduces weight (we will have final weight numbers when production parts are ready), increases durability, and aids adhesion. The only molded plastic part is the air vent trim.
  • With a few very small exceptions, there are no visible fasteners.
  • The black trim below the latch is machined aluminum.

Comments and constructive feedback are welcome. These have been a long time coming. They may look fairly simple to the casual observer, but hundreds of hours of design and prototyping went into these. Hope you all like them:)

Here are the pictures:

Pilot Side
2474-lrg.jpg


Side View
2471-lrg.jpg


Armrest Area Close-up
2472-lrg.jpg


Air Vent Trim
2477-lrg.jpg


Forward Pockets (wallet and cell phone)
2473-lrg.jpg


Armrest Storage Area (note: only a small water bottle will fit)
2475-lrg.jpg


Spar Bulkhead Area
2476-lrg.jpg
 
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Spectacular!
Will the side panel fit with the JDAir latch?

Thanks Kevin. I wouldn't say it's impossible, but probably unlikely. Quite a few parts would have to be redesigned (including the JDAir latch) to make it work. We are planning a more basic RV-14 side panel package that would accept the JDAir latch with no problem though.
 
Thanks Kevin. I wouldn't say it's impossible...

Luke -- I absolutely love the seats you made for me. I asked in May of 2017 if you would ever make a glareshield trim, or side panels for an RV-8. It was told it's on the future list, but it's a long list.

Is it coming any closer to becoming reality? This post makes me so jealous!
 
Luke -- I absolutely love the seats you made for me. I asked in May of 2017 if you would ever make a glareshield trim, or side panels for an RV-8. It was told it's on the future list, but it's a long list.

Is it coming any closer to becoming reality? This post makes me so jealous!

Hi Chuck,

I'm sorry that we still don't have RV-8 side panels and glareshield trim. We do get some requests for the glareshield trim, but not many for side panels. Now that we have some new equipment to do our own CNC sheet metal cutting and forming maybe we can squeeze one or both of those projects in somewhere in the not too distant future.

If you want to give me a call, I'd be happy to give a more detailed picture of where we're at with our current list of projects.

Best regards,
 
Handle label

Hello Luke,
Would it be possible to label the canopy handle with an Open-Closed label. If there is no room could it be stiched into the panel just above/below the handle or engraved on the black aluminum trim ring.

Thanks,
Marvin
 
Hello Luke,
Would it be possible to label the canopy handle with an Open-Closed label. If there is no room could it be stiched into the panel just above/below the handle or engraved on the black aluminum trim ring.

Thanks,
Marvin

Hi Marvin,

I think it would be hard to fit much on the red knob/handle. The black trim is set back a little and lower, so I don't think it would really grab some one's attention. A small placard above the handle wouldn't be a problem though.
 
Beautiful!

This is really going to finish off our airplanes nicely.

With regards to the air vent trim. Is that an additional piece that will cover the mounting bracket? How do you plan to have us mount it? Looks like you would just replace the existing hardware. I have been holding up the installation of my vents to see how you would treat this area.

Also, planning to install a JDAir canopy latch. Will the side panels accommodate this, or will we have to work through that at the time of order?

Thanks Luke, the work will pay off I am sure.
 
Beautiful!

This is really going to finish off our airplanes nicely.

With regards to the air vent trim. Is that an additional piece that will cover the mounting bracket? How do you plan to have us mount it? Looks like you would just replace the existing hardware. I have been holding up the installation of my vents to see how you would treat this area.

Also, planning to install a JDAir canopy latch. Will the side panels accommodate this, or will we have to work through that at the time of order?

Thanks Luke, the work will pay off I am sure.

Hi Jason,

Yes, the vent trim is an additional piece that covers the stacked up components (vent bracket, vent, and inlet plenum). It is held in place by some black countersink screws that are somewhat obscured by the black trim piece you see. We usually like to hide all fasteners, but in this case, I thought this was the best trade off.

To answer your question about the JDAir latch, the latch you see in the pictures is not like the stock latch from Vans. You may notice that the latch pushrod is nearly hidden from view. In person you'll also notice that it is move up and away from the armrest area giving more room for the pilot's elbow.

For the JDAir latch to work with this system, several things would need to be changed. First the JDAir latch would need to be changed in a few ways. The pivot point geometry would need to match ours. The forward "knob" would probably need to be made smaller to clear the spar bulkhead cover. There may be other changes needed. Second, a different (taller) version of our machined trim piece would need to be made. Third, several other pieces of the side panels would need to be re-designed and re-made. I'm not exactly sure how many changes would be needed without really digging into it more.

Right now we still have a lot to do to get these side panels to a "production" level for lack of a better word. We have all the design work done, and prototype parts made. We still need to work out all of the manufacturing documentation, and processes to have finished parts ready in time to deliver for the first customer orders. Most customers would probably be surprised to realize that there are over 120 individual sheet metal parts to make up just the "cabin area" side panels you see in these pictures. We also have a pretty good sized list of customers patiently :eek: waiting to order these. Our main focus right now will be to get as many of those customers taken care of.

For a variety of reasons, it would be my preference to not modify these panels and the JDAir latch to work together. We may do that at some point in the future though if there is enough demand and if Darwin at JDAir is up for it. It would take a fair amount of time though.

On the other hand, we are planning to offer a more basic side panel option for the RV-14 similar to the "Sierra" side panels we offer for the RV-7 and RV-9 models. This other side panel option would be easily modified to work with the JDAir latch. We have lots of experience over the last 16 years making these modifications.
 
I would have like to say the same thing... but I installed JDAIR latch !

Me TOO! I'm just finishing the JDAir latch (which I don't regret).

Hi Eric and Kevin,

I understand the situation is frustrating. Based on the number of calls we've gotten lately about RV-14 side panels, I want to be careful about what we promise customers, and when we promise we can deliver it. We still have a ton of work to do to be able to deliver the first batch of side panels. Once those first orders are taken, the clock starts ticking down until the expected deliver dates. There are always unforeseen challenges that will arise on something new like this (especially when it's more complicated than products we've made in the past). We will need to focus our attention on delivering those promised orders.

We did modify our RV-7/9 side panels (Sportsman II) quite a few times over the years to accept the JDAir latch. Because the Sportsman panels have a different design, a relatively simple change to the upholstery was all that was needed. But, the design of the RV-14 required us to do some things very differently. These differences made it much more difficult to accommodate changes from the stock Vans configuration. In addition, the new RV-14 side panels are more styled and complete than the Sportsman II panels. This also makes customization more of a challenge.

We'll do our best to provide the best solution possible for each customer within the current constraints we are dealing with. We are planning a more basic side panel option that will accommodate custom situations much more easily, so that will certainly be an option for the JDAir latch in the not too distant future. Also, In the past year, we've moved more manufacturing capability in house, and we are continuing to do that. Going forward this should give us more flexibility to accommodate smaller (more custom) part runs and special requests, so we'll see what we can come up with.

I apologize for the inconvenience. Our business started out with one seat option in cloth only. We continue to improve, but sometimes it takes us longer than we would like.
 
Foreward picture

Luke,

do you have any pictures where the side panels terminate on the pilot side forward underneath the avionics panel? I have a parking brake control in that location. Just trying to see if the side panel & parking brake will interfere with each other.

Thanks,
 
Luke,

do you have any pictures where the side panels terminate on the pilot side forward underneath the avionics panel? I have a parking brake control in that location. Just trying to see if the side panel & parking brake will interfere with each other.

Thanks,

Hi Tony,

I snapped a quick picture out in the shop. Note, this is obviously not a real plane. Just a mockup. We don't have the small vertical stiffeners riveted in, but you can see where they would go. There is light shining through one of the rivet holes. You can also see where the rudder tubes would mount. If the parking brake is above the intermediate longeron it should be fine. If it's not too far below we may be able work around it, or move it up a little to make it work. I hope this helps.

2478-lrg.jpg
 
Forward pic

Thank you Luke,

I believe it will work as it is mounted just above the intermediate longeron.


Regards,
 
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