Mounting Bracket/Support for GPS 175

[TheNewGuy]

My GPS 175 comes in on Saturday and I just noticed in the manual I will have to fabricate support brackets for the unit. This is not my forte, nor do I have the materials and tools to do such a thing.

Does anyone have any mounting brackets for sale or a CAD file I could buy? There is a local shop who can jet cut items.

There is a wide open space behind the panel so I’m not sure what type of support I need but if anyone has any ideas that would be great. Thanks!

 

[andoman]

3/4 x 3/4 by 1/16 thick aluminum angle is what I used. A length of angle on each side of the rear of the tray up to a flange on the back of the panel does the job. See arrow in pix.
If the unit is light, a couple of “ears” at the front of the unit to the back of the panel works. (Circled in pix).

 

[TheNewGuy]

3/4 x 3/4 by 1/16 thick aluminum angle is what I used. A length of angle on each side of the rear of the tray up to a flange on the back of the panel does the job. See arrow in pix.
If the unit is light, a couple of “ears” at the front of the unit to the back of the panel works. (Circled in pix).

Thanks for the reply. Unit is light. Did you only use the “ears to support that tray/device or was your beefier setup a part also? Hard to tell from the photo

 

[andoman]

The ears are supporting a GMA 245 tray and the angle is supporting a stack consisting of a GNX 375 over a GTR 200. There is actually an angle on both sides of the stack.
Viewed from the front. The angles are on the left and right of the stack and the ears are behind the circles. The auto pilot control head on the top of the stack is super light and needs no support.

 

[andoman]

At the front of each large tray there is also a supporting screw into an ear made of angle riveted to the back of the panel. See inside the small circle at the lower right:

 

[RVbySDI]

The supports do not have to be complicated, or fancy. These components are all pretty light. The supports can be made out of angle aluminum or even aluminum bar stock. You can easily buy all of this at Lowes, Home Depot, Ace or pretty much any hardware store in their “aviation department”. You can usually use bar stock and tie one radio to another then have one of the radios attach to some piece of the panel structure to secure them all. That would then support the entire stack.

As for tools, a band saw or even a hacksaw can do the cutting. A drill to drill a hole. Wrenches and a screwdriver for installation. I use nutplates that get mounted to the bracket in line with the holes already in the tray for this exact purpose. If you don’t want to install nutplates, a nut and washer work. Just be sure you can gain access to both the nut and the screw head at the same time for any future maintenance.

 

[Majorpayne317641]

I made two simple plates and drilled holes with ventilation slots. I don’t have really good pics of them but it was aluminum sheet cut to size and bent tabs that got riveted into the panel.

 

[TheNewGuy]

Thanks all, what I had seen online certainly seemed out of reach for me. Responses here have helped a ton. Shouldn’t be too hard after all. Thanks!

 

[andoman]

I recommend you find an RV local to you undergoing an annual or avionics upgrade.
You’ll see that it’s quite simple and many approaches work fine.

 

[Ironflight]

Thanks all, what I had seen online certainly seemed out of reach for me. Responses here have helped a ton. Shouldn’t be too hard after all. Thanks!

Lots of good suggestions here - this is “avionics mounting 101” stuff. One thing to remember though - when mounting anything “light” in an aircraft, make sure that your mounting system will support the weight multiplied by the design load factor of the airplane. So for a typical aerobatic RV, weigh the item and multiply by 6.0 (design load) or 9.0 (ultimate load). I’d use 9.0. Your brackets and supports ned to be able to support that weight.

Not always obvious to someone who has never worked on airplanes but has a background in houses, cars, oats, etc…..

 

[skirting_virga]

So for a typical aerobatic RV, weigh the item and multiply by 6.0 (design load) or 9.0 (ultimate load). I’d use 9.0. Your brackets and supports ned to be able to support that weight.

I'm relying heavily on "TLAR engineering" in my new panel. It will be under engineered in the sense that I probably am using too much metal. My laser cut main panel is .100" thick, but also mostly holes. Drop in the bucket for weight.

I have seen GTN 650s mounted in cantilever bending off the stock RV-8 panel with no rear support. Planning to do better than that, at least.