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What’s behind your panel? (Pictures)

For all three of my RV projects the design allows for full panel removal in just a few minutes. This provides for easy maintenance, panel updates and such.

The trick it to take the time now to identify what stays in the plane and what comes out when the panel is removed. For example stuff that stays in the plane are all the non-avionics wiring, the remote avionics (XPDR, COMM #2, ARINC, EMS Module) and most breakers. The stuff comes out of the plane are the panel itself and all the interconnecting wiring between the GTN-650 and the Audio Panel.

The breakers on the panel are only associated with the GTN-650 and the Audio Panel.

Panel to plane connections are all D connectors except for one 0.093” pin Molex that provides power to the panel mounted breakers and associated aircraft ground.

This is the panel:
143-D96-E2-A32-D-4786-B5-D3-75-E54-C7-F9-A1-F.jpg

This is the panel out of the plane:
504-EBC8-A-7908-4516-A48-C-428115-B3-FFFE.jpg

This is a look behind the panel. On the bottom you can see the XPDR, Comm #2 and the EMS module. On the top is the ARINC, the B&C voltage regulator, a SkyView network hub and a dimmer module.
D3-BB0-B7-B-219-E-4-A2-C-9-CAF-C36-ED658-D528.jpg


For the RV-8 the side wings are perfect to mount all the switches and breakers you need - all stay in the plane when the panel is removed.

For planes like the RV-10 the bottom apron provides for mounting switches, breakers and such:
ECC2704-B-9457-47-C1-8-ABD-9-A91130-CE815.jpg


A couple of design principles:
- Never on your back with your head under the panel.
- No matter how well you think things out, you will make changes and updates to you panel. Plan on that now. The first RV (RV-8A) now flying for 20 years is on panel #5. The above RV-10 panel is the second panel, and it was changed last year to reposition the SkyView autopilot module to a better spot.

Carl
 
Here's how the back of mine ended up:



If I had to do it again I would have made that tray holding the circular connectors extend a little farther aft. It is VERY busy in that area and the wires are kind of crushed in place. We'll see how reliable it all ends up.

I would have also added another connector to the tray rather than have that long one (which connects the radio wiring to the sub panel). Bad planning.
 
Completely agree with Carl's design principles. The photos I am posting here show my attempt at achieving those goals. I have done significant mods to my panel twice since it was completed 8 years and nearly 900 flight hours ago.

There are a couple of things I would change if I was doing it again - but nothing really major.


So here is the panel in it's current configuration.

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Here is a sequence of photos showing the wiring behind the panel during construction.

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The "center radio stack" is housed in a removable modular unit that screws to the back of the panel and to the sub-panel. It connects to the rest of the aircraft wiring using a single 50 pin dsub and a 25 pin dsub.
There are exactly zero wires that attach to the actual "panel".
 
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