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Critique my panel design!

As far as access for maintenance, you might be surprised how much access the large EFIS screens give once removed.

Whether you do or do not go with a more modular removal-friendly panel design consider making mounting plates for each engine control and any other penetrating cable that would normally have to be pulled prior to panel removal. These mounting plates are basically round panels with a diameter larger than the knob for each each push/control. The control cable is mounted in the direct center of the mount plate and the mount plate is attached to the panel from behind with 3 nutplates or can even be machine thread tapped if thick enough. The plates can be a flush fit or an overlap. So when you decide to pull the panel you only have to unscrew each control mounting plate and the panel will come out with the holes sliding over each control. This keeps you from having to disconnect all the push/pull cables from the throttle, governor, mixture, cabin heat, cabin air etc and then remove each through the firewall prior to panel removal. And then later having to re-install and re-rig these controls after panel reinstallation. They just hang around with their mounting plates until re-installed in the panel.

And speaking of the throttle. I prefer the push/pull for it rather than vernier. Just like you show in your design. A vernier control is fine for prop and mixture but vernier on throttle can have some safety issues. One of the reasons most formation clinics and formation instructors won't allow vernier throttles in participating aircraft. Your friction lock works just fine for throttle and allows pilot full and quick control of throttle without having to fight the vernier release in a panic situation.

I also like your choice of the GTR 200B for VHF com. They are awesome and the built-in stereo ICS is fantastic. Too bad they are so deep. If and when the time comes to add a GTN or similar IFR navigator you will require an audio panel to do the switching at which point the GTR 200B ICS and Bluetooth will become inactive. But in the meantime you have chosen a very simple and practical approach with the 200B.

Here is another vote for a aera 660 either surface mounted or flush mounted in the center stack. I would pair it with a GDL 52 and feed the GDL data to both the GDUs and the aera 660. The 660 has a great backup battery, as does the GDL 52 so in an emergency this combination will give you navigation and a attitude indicator with synthetic vision to get you to an airport. The GDL 52 has basically obsoleted the need to pay extra for a GDU panel with built-in SXM.

As mentioned in other comments, please remote mount the GSU 25 units. They not only don't play well with vibration mounted to the GDU screens they add complexity to the screen removal process. You will be surprised how often you will remove the GDU's to gain access to the rest of the panel during maintenance and it isn't a good idea to remove and reinstall pitot and static lines or have to unscrew the whole GSU 25 just to remove the screen.

And finally. The G5 is a fine backup. There was mention of software/manufacturer independence with respect to backups for glitch resistance. Realize that Garmin purposely had a dedicated team design and program the G5 so that there was no commonality between it's firmware and software and any other Garmin product. Meaning the G5 is every bit as independent as backup EFIS offerings from other manufacturers with the added feature of playing well with the rest of the panel via CAN Bus. In the final analysis for most flights your G5 will be a very nice fixed barometer setting knob for the whole G3X system. And having that knob is remarkably convenient I must say. Not $1200 convenient, but convenient. However, that day when the G3X goes black the balance of the G5 cost investment comes into play, which is the basic mission of a G5 in a G3X system.

Jim
 
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And speaking of the throttle. I prefer the push/pull for it rather than vernier. Just like you show in your design. A vernier control is fine for prop and mixture but vernier on throttle can have some safety issues. One of the reasons most formation clinics and formation instructors won't allow vernier throttles in participating aircraft. Your friction lock works just fine for throttle and allows pilot full and quick control of throttle without having to fight the vernier release in a panic situation.

I like my push-pull throttle as well, but I am tempted by the version McFarlane sells that is a vernier if you turn it, but a push-pull if you push or pull it, with no need to push a button on the back. Pushing and pulling just over-rides the vernier. I understand a number of formation pilots use this and have the best of both worlds. It does come with a smaller knob than the older style push-pull (only) control, but could be an option if you really want the vernier.
 
Rob,

Excellent! I forgot about that throttle control. I saw it at Sun N Fun and OSH at the McFarlane booth. I totally agree. The best of both worlds.

Jim
 
What CAD software are you using ?
Many of them have export functionality for STEP.
Solidworks was too heavy for my laptop so ended up with FreeCAD. It reads IGN and STEP files.

I?m currently using Autodesk Fusion 360. It?s free for a year. The learning curve is pretty steep, and a lot of the interface is not intuitive, but I found it to be overall suitable for panel planning.
 
I don't have a flying plane yet - one thing I'm planning on doing is separating switches that are involved in keeping the plane flying to the left of the EFIS, and the ones that are used during the flight on the bottom.

I'm going with a custom fuel injection system so i'll have dual pumps, ECU's etc... all that stuff is up and to the left and away from lights, AP, avionics.

Not sure if anyone else mentioned a similar approach. I'll read this whole thread tonight
 
I?m currently using Autodesk Fusion 360. It?s free for a year. The learning curve is pretty steep, and a lot of the interface is not intuitive, but I found it to be overall suitable for panel planning.

Wow, good on you Draker. I use SolidWorks and Autodesk Fusion 360 in my classroom (Fusion only for machining) and thinking of using Fusion for a project like this gives me nightmares. Totally agree that it is not intuitive at all. In the future don't forget that SolidWorks is free if you are an EAA member (and why wouldn't you be! :D)
 
I?m currently using Autodesk Fusion 360. It?s free for a year. The learning curve is pretty steep, and a lot of the interface is not intuitive, but I found it to be overall suitable for panel planning.

I tried Fusion 360 as well, but ended up with FreeCAD for simplicity and loads of YouTube How-tos. Fusion 360s export command export the visible component to many formats. IGS or STP is pretty universal for most CAD imports.

Those control knobs/cables looks really good. You should upload them to GrabCAD.com.
 
I had a few requests, so I made available all the 3D models I created for this panel design. These are only the ones I modeled. Many 3D models of the devices in this panel can be found already on the Internet.

I've exported them all in .STEP format. If you can't open STEP, let me know and I can probably export them in some other format. For now I have the following devices modeled:

Flight Data Systems AP-60 Audio Panel (just the chassis modeled)
Flight Data Systems GD-40 CO Detector (just the chassis modeled)
A-1840 T Handle (sold by Spruce)
A-740 Pull Handle (sold by Vans)
BLK Throttle Handle (sold by Vans)
BLUE Prop Handle (sold by Vans)
RED Mixture Handle (sold by Vans)
Honeywell Hobbs Hourmeter
Honeywell MIL Style RV6 potentiometer
Klixon 7277-2 Circuit Breaker
UMA 2-1/4" Airspeed Indicator
UMA 2-1/4" Altimeter
UMA 3-1/8" Altimeter
EA 4.2A Dual USB Charger (sold by Spruce)

EDIT: Added:

Artex 345 ELT Remote
Blue Sea 5046 Fuse block
My bracket for securing Garmin GTX45R and GPS 20A to Van's ELT mount

These are offered in hopes that they are useful but it's your airplane. Use these at your own risk and verify. I will take no responsibility if they're wrong and your hole is 1/4" off!
 
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wirejock said:
Just curious. Have you tried installing the extra tall panel? I couldn't find an easy way to slide it in place and finally gave up and went back to the standard. I want to be able to pull the panel as a unit to work back there.

I saw your log actually. It was kind of puzzling because the full size/width panel looks like it should fit! Was the canopy deck the way? Even given the trouble you pointed out, I was going to still give the full-width single piece panel a try.

Just to follow up on this observation. Yes, upon getting the full-size panel, there is indeed a clearance issue with installing it! It's not the extra-tallness that's the problem, it's the width: I had a panel cut that stretches end-to end in one piece (as opposed to the removable "ears" for the vents) and found that it is impossible to install due to needing to pass the F-704H center section uprights:



It's about 1/2" too wide to install. My plan is to carefully cut 1/4" off of both extreme outboard ends, and it should pass through. Let this be a lesson to future panel designers. There is a reason Vans made those vent pieces removable!
 
Well, this panel design has become reality. Thank you all for the feedback and guidance. The panel turned out exactly the way I wanted it!

Here's the result:



Some prep work. Removed the aft half of the subpanel ribs and relocated them inboard to fit the 10" displays:



The panel was cut by Bill at Up North Aviation. He did a super and precise job AND offered a few design tips that simplified the oval section that houses the engine control cables. The paint is the same rattle-can Rustoleum I'm using for the rest of the interior.



Labels. I exported every label from CAD and jammed them into the smallest area PDF I could, sent them off to ReproGraphX to make rub-on graphics. You can save a bunch by choosing to wait a while for shipping. Got em in the mail, carefully transferred them over to the panel, and the clear coated on top of them.



After what seemed like centuries of wiring, it's done:







Everything fits! Glad I did the design in 3D, with the forward fuselage model Vans provides. Allowed me to make all my mistakes on the computer rather than on the airplane:



Garmin's COM radio is just a bit too long, and extends through the subpanel, so you have to cut two holes for the connectors to pass through:



Overall super-happy with the way it turned out. Very motivational milestone!

 
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