1 or 3 Piece Panel

I plan on flying with only 2 screen G3X system for the first few hours and then adding a Gtn650-Gemini-Gtx23ES 6-12 months later.
I've got the structure to hold a modular panel but I can't decide on how to finish it. I'm wondering if someone can help complicate it further! (Wiring still needs to be strapped down)



I could just leave it 1 piece, cut the holes for what I currently have and label and paint. When it came time to add the radios I would just cut fit and have to relabel and repaint it.
If I made a left, middle and right I would only have to refinish the middle around the radios. This is preferable but I'm not sure how to accurately transition the edges where the pieces come together without having the actual radios. The angles inside to inside is 6.35 which hopefully is enough wiggle room for the racks.
Should I bring the left and right sides flush to the inside of angles? Radio bezels sit on the sides of the left and right panels and i would have to make something to attach a piece of .063 above and below radios. Or I could then make a rectangle .063 to sit on top of the left and right sides for the radios.

Or I could make the left and right panel inside edges flush with the outside of the radio rack angles, the radios would then be surrounded by the center panel.
With this configuration I would need to add some sort of backing plate to join the vertical splice of the left and right panels to the radio rack angles.
Or....

crabandy said:

Should I bring the left and right sides flush to the inside of angles? Radio bezels sit on the sides of the left and right panels and i would have to make something to attach a piece of .063 above and below radios.

Click to expand...

That is what I did, actually have four pieces, above and below radios are separate pieces.

Side panel pieces overlap the vert angles, but to the edge of the radio face.

Be aware, the face of the radio will stick out some from the surface of the panel, (note shadows on the right of the radios) you really should have the radio in hand when you fit the puzzle together.

crabandy said:

I plan on flying with only 2 screen G3X system for the first few hours and then adding a Gtn650-Gemini-Gtx23ES 6-12 months later.

Or I could make the left and right panel inside edges flush with the outside of the radio rack angles, the radios would then be surrounded by the center panel.
With this configuration I would need to add some sort of backing plate to join the vertical splice of the left and right panels to the radio rack angles.
Or....

Click to expand...

It's a slider, Go with three piece- I'm doing the same by using the old panel as a back plate as you have. I hate getting under the panel to work on wiring- Going to see if the tree piece helps out in maintenance.

Mike, since I've already blown my savings for the year and can't afford the radios what do you think about purposely making the left and right panels 1/4 inch short? That way everything should fit regardless.
Or I could make the center panel sit on top of the left and right sides and make it about 7.35 wide for .5 overlap on each side for the bezel to sit on?

crabandy said:

what do you think about purposely making the left and right panels 1/4 inch short?

Click to expand...

Andy, if anything I would make the side panels a bit long, that way you can trim to fit when you do get the radios.

IMHO, all panel segments should fit edge to edge, with a flat surface, do not overlap.

You can rivet a small piece of angle to the inside of each of the existing angles, to make an inward facing flange to mount the top and bottom filler pieces. Not needed in the area where the radio trays mount. Essentially you are creating a "T" shaped member out of the "L" shape. Also, you will need to shim the mounting face of the angle out to match the bottom flange so that the panel will sit flat.

My setup is actually 7 separate section (not that we're measuring panels or anything )

Panel frame (riveted in), also supports the engine controls
Pilot Sub-Panel
Passenger sub-panel
Radio stack filler panels X 2
Eyeball vent panel sections X 2

You can go ahead an set the width of the radio-stack opening, that is consistant across brands. The height is where it is nice to have the radios. You can go by the install drawings, but they don't always give good dimensions of the face.

I plan to add a 430W after I start flying. I was thinking of buying the tray, backplate, and connector now. I could wire everything up and they just slide in the unit when I can afford it.

Mike, I was thinking about making the shim for the angles .5 inch wider than the angles so the shim could provide support/nutplates for the inside edge of the left and right panels. The radio stack piece would than be flush to the left and right panels, attach to the angles via nutplates and the middle piece should be wide enough to provide a surface fortune radio bezels.
Hmmmm, I think it's coming together...

If I made a left, middle and right I would only have to refinish the middle around the radios. This is preferable but I'm not sure how to accurately transition the edges where the pieces come together without having the actual radios. The angles inside to inside is 6.35 which hopefully is enough wiggle room for the racks.
Should I bring the left and right sides flush to the inside of angles? Radio bezels sit on the sides of the left and right panels and i would have to make something to attach a piece of .063 above and below radios. Or I could then make a rectangle .063 to sit on top of the left and right sides for the radios.


All of the newer radios are flush with the sides - the 6.35 dimension - and do not overhang the edges left or right.

az_gila said:

If I made a left, middle and right I would only have to refinish the middle around the radios. This is preferable but I'm not sure how to accurately transition the edges where the pieces come together without having the actual radios. The angles inside to inside is 6.35 which hopefully is enough wiggle room for the racks.
Should I bring the left and right sides flush to the inside of angles? Radio bezels sit on the sides of the left and right panels and i would have to make something to attach a piece of .063 above and below radios. Or I could then make a rectangle .063 to sit on top of the left and right sides for the radios.


All of the newer radios are flush with the sides - the 6.35 dimension - and do not overhang the edges left or right.

Click to expand...

I don't know about the newer radios, but the face of my new PS5000EX audio panel is wider than the rack and wider than the face of my KY97 and KT76 (by a hair). I was going to rear-mount my radios so the face was even with the panel, but the varable width of the face made that difficult. I decided to go with the traditional mounting with the face protruding from the panel.

I like having the face of the radio sticking out a bit, gives me an anchor point for a couple fingers when trying to push buttons in turbulence.

My PAR1000 and GTR225 both have a bezel and are not flush. It was hard enough cutting those holes, I can’t image flush! Now that might have to go on the Nightmare thread!

WingsOnWheels said:

I don't know about the newer radios, but the face of my new PS5000EX audio panel is wider than the rack and wider than the face of my KY97 and KT76 (by a hair). I was going to rear-mount my radios so the face was even with the panel, but the varable width of the face made that difficult. I decided to go with the traditional mounting with the face protruding from the panel.

Click to expand...

Interesting, the similar PMA6000 is spec'd at 6.25 wide, while the PMA-5000 does not even give a width dimension.

http://www.ps-engineering.com/docs/PMA6000B_IM.pdf

I wonder why the difference...

The KY-97 is shown at 6.30.

All of the avionics racks should fit into a slot 6.30 wide.

This is one of my pet peeves...You would think that after all these years, that the width of avionic's gear that is intended to go in the normal stack would be consistent. Not even close! Even within the same brand there is no standard!

This entire post is why my next panel will have round or hidden radios. VFR makes this easy.

Tempted to go just VFR, but IFR is just to comforting for X/C and when the need arises.
I decided to take the left and right panels flush to the inside of the angles, the radio stack panel will be cut at a later date to fit the top and bottom of the radios. The bezels should slightly overlap the angles and left and right panel inside edges.

Thank you to everyone who helped me with this, especially Stein who took the time to call and re-assure me!

Gil,

I have to correct myself. I was out in the shop last night and realized that I mis-remembered. It is the screws attaching the face of the KY97 that make the face wider than the rack. The PMA5000 face is the same width as the rack. However, I made my panels to either side of the radio stack overlap the stack opening by 1/16" so there is no visable gap. Sorry for providing incorrect information.

On a side note, you mentioned that PMA specs the 6000 at 6.25 and the KY-97 at 6.3. I found that in reality, the rack for the PMA5000 is just a hair wider than the racks for the KY-97 and KT-76. I can just squeeze the PMA5000 between the same rails that fit the other racks with a little play.

az_gila said:

Interesting, the similar PMA6000 is spec'd at 6.25 wide, while the PMA-5000 does not even give a width dimension.

http://www.ps-engineering.com/docs/PMA6000B_IM.pdf

I wonder why the difference...

The KY-97 is shown at 6.30.

All of the avionics racks should fit into a slot 6.30 wide.

Click to expand...

My RV-6A re-build instrument panel ended up being multi-piece. But I did this mainly because I have a local water jet vendor who likes small jobs, and also have access to large, quality brakes.