RV7 Centre Console, Paint etc
Thanks for the nice comments, I have also had a few emails asking what I had done on the Console etc. I have added a few more pictures to the Picasa album so take a look:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Mark.CastleSmith/RV7DuringTesting
The console was designed a couple of years ago before EFIS started becoming affordable and popular. I could halve the panel space now if I redesigned the panel with modern instruments. The console has worked really well, it does not limit the control column movement, gives bags of extra space, provides a useful place to terminate the various electronics located close by including the stick switches (Flaps, Trim, PTT, Com and VLOC flip flop) and also helps to push on when getting in and out! It also provides an excellent location for the Andair fuel selector which is fitted with an extension shaft. Hopefully the pictures give enough info on how it is constructed. I have shown it 'open', but there are cover plates on both sides.
We like flying right handed so we have also located the throttle quadrant to the left hand side of the RV and also fitted a quadrant on the right hand side. Because we could not get a mirror image quadrant with the correct markings, we milled about 0.2mm off the top of the RHS quadrant to remove the lettering and then engraved new lettering and anodized to match the LHS quadrant. There is no mixture lever as we have fitted full FADEC.
The instrument panel and console were painted with a paint that is commonly used on scientific instruments, it is very hard wearing, has a slight texture and is dead matte, there are absolutely no reflections from the paint at all so we also used it on top of the panel as well. We do not get any reflections on the canopy. After painting, the panel was engraved and then I used a very fine artists brush with only a few hairs left to fill in all the engraving with white enamel - that took a few hours!
I have also shown a picture of my own design of a simple system to monitor the electrical power state of the aircraft. She is entirely electrically dependent and has two alternators and batteries. The LEDs are dimmable and show (I hope) at a glance the power status of the alternators, main and essential busses. If all power is lost, operation of the essential bus switch connects the main battery directly to the essential bus (do not pass go, or a fuse or a contactor etc).
The paint on the aircraft itself is from the car industry. It is a 'colour changing paint'. There are many manafacturers out there who make such paints but most are very obvious and hit you right in the face with large metallic flakes etc. We wanted something more subtle (we are British after all!!). In dull light the paint looks like a normal silver paint job, but as soon as the sun shines on it, it sparkles all the colours of the rainbow, particularly on the rounded edges. Difficult to describe but looks stunning. Before you all ask: yes it is heavy -needs 4 coats and a laquer, yes it is expensive and yes it is difficult to repair, but what the heck: you only build a plane once: oops: I just started an RV3! oh well.
Hope this is of some interest