Carl Froehlich
Well Known Member
I key design element common on the three RVs I built is ease of maintenance and ability to upgrade as opportunity presents, without too much pain. Toward that end I make sure I never violate my rule of ?never be on my back with my head under the panel?. This translates to a panel that is fully removable for work/modification on the bench.
The RV-8 has been the most challenging for this as the towers tend to be a real PITA for wire runs. Even so, a full IFR, dual EFIS screen panel is achievable inside this design requirement.
In simple terms, wiring is divided into two elements:
- Wiring between components that stay on the panel, as example for the RV-8 this is the GTN-650 and the audio panel. Breakers for these components are also on the panel, power connected via a large pin Molex connector.
- Wiring (and all other breakers) are mounted off the removable panel. On the RV-8 the panel wings provide this space. On the RV-10 it is the lower panel skirt. The SkyView displays are all connected via D connectors, so all that wiring stays in the plane when the panel is removed.
- Connecting between the panel elements and the rest of the plane is done via two 25 pin D connectors - of which only half of the pins are used. The rest are available for future options.
This first photo was taking after all the rough wire runs where done:
This photo is after all the behind the panel connectors are done:
This is the back of the panel showing the interconnections and the connections to the rest of the plane.
Here is it all assembled and first panel power up.
I advise builders to keep in mind that the perfect panel they build will be modified many times over. My 2002 RV-8A is on its fifth panel. The first panel in the RV-10 lasted only 18 months. If you stick with stock aluminum panels from Van?s a new panel is ~$26, some time cutting holes and paint.
Carl
The RV-8 has been the most challenging for this as the towers tend to be a real PITA for wire runs. Even so, a full IFR, dual EFIS screen panel is achievable inside this design requirement.
In simple terms, wiring is divided into two elements:
- Wiring between components that stay on the panel, as example for the RV-8 this is the GTN-650 and the audio panel. Breakers for these components are also on the panel, power connected via a large pin Molex connector.
- Wiring (and all other breakers) are mounted off the removable panel. On the RV-8 the panel wings provide this space. On the RV-10 it is the lower panel skirt. The SkyView displays are all connected via D connectors, so all that wiring stays in the plane when the panel is removed.
- Connecting between the panel elements and the rest of the plane is done via two 25 pin D connectors - of which only half of the pins are used. The rest are available for future options.
This first photo was taking after all the rough wire runs where done:
This photo is after all the behind the panel connectors are done:
This is the back of the panel showing the interconnections and the connections to the rest of the plane.
Here is it all assembled and first panel power up.
I advise builders to keep in mind that the perfect panel they build will be modified many times over. My 2002 RV-8A is on its fifth panel. The first panel in the RV-10 lasted only 18 months. If you stick with stock aluminum panels from Van?s a new panel is ~$26, some time cutting holes and paint.
Carl