Avionics question?

Is it safe to get the height of the instruments off of Garmin's website to cut the hole in the panel? I am doing the following...
Garmin 340
Garmin 430
SL40
Garmin 327
It looks like the hole should be 6.9 inches tall. Is this safe to cut or should I wait until I can physically stack the instruments and measure the stack?

I'd wait

Personally, I'd wait. Most avionics mfrs that I've seen recommend you use a .040" or larger space between trays. Some trays have "dimples" which preclude you from mounting them any closer. It varies.

And then depending on the radio, the little retainer arm (the thing that swings up or down to engage and pull the radio into the tray) may stick UP, may stick DOWN, and you may need to build in some artificial clearance between trays for that.

My 2 cents is -- wait til you have the trays in your possession and can measure exactly.

)_( Dan
RV-7 N714D
http://www.rvproject.com

Get the trays

I purchased and mounted the trays in the panel a year ago. I just ordered the radios a week or so ago. I purchased from Stark avionics and he recommended getting the trays first and not burning the warranty on the bench.

I have the same panel but went with the 330S transponder for collision avoidance integration with the 430.

As Dan noted the trays have dimples that provide a good spacing.

Darwin N. Barrie
Chandler AZ

I vote "wait". That way you can build the stack and brackets and get exact measurements for your hole size. There isn't much overlap from the radio faces (on some) to the panel face, and a nice looking panel is really killed by a hole that is too big, exposing itself.

It's really fun building the panel, though. That was my favorite part. Enjoy, when you get all your equipment.

Roberta