A few weeks ago, I saw a posting by Ron ?Smokey? Shrek that included a picture of his RV-8 panel which caught my attention. Smokey had built a ?wedge? for his GRT Dual EFIS display units which allowed a more straight-on view of the DU?s ? and looked really cool in the bargain. Since I was planning to do a little upgrading in the EFIS department in the near future (but keeping the same size DU?s), I retained the idea as a potential way to add a little bit of space between the lower DU and my AHRS, which is located directly forward of the DU?s. Having a little more room for connectors and pitot/static lines would be nice, and putting the DU?s just a touch closer to the eye would be a bonus.
While all these thoughts ran though my head, I must admit that I am pretty conservative, and can easily be set in my ways. I love my panel, and don?t think there is anything wrong with it ? but you never really know if something might be better unless you try it. So I looked for a way to implement Smokey?s design while allowing me to back out of it if I didn?t like it. Essentially, all I needed to do was build two wedges ? one for each side of the stacked DU?s ? that mounted to the panel using the existing DU mounting screw holes, and then had new mounting screw holes/nutplates on the EFIS sides. Using small aluminum angle from HDAS (Home Depot Aviation Supply) and a couple of pieces of .040 I had, I felt I could do this pretty easily. Having drawers full of nutplates and rivets is really helpful ? folks that buy their airplanes rather than build don?t have this advantage!
Here?s the right side wedge before installation:
And here it is installed:
The only problem I ran in to was one of geometry. Smokey put what I?d call a ?two-stage? wedge in his plane, with the lower DU angled more than the upper. In order to tilt the DU?s off of vertical, the hole in the panel has to be taller than if they are perfectly vertical, since they have depth. I wanted to get away without opening up the hole I already had, so that I could go back to my original configuration without building a new panel, so I drew some full-scale outlines on paper and slid the DU?s around on them to determine the maximum tilt I could get away with and still use the original hole (which had a little bit of extra room). I also didn?t want to drop the bottom aft corner of the DU any more than I had to, so this played in as well. I quickly learned that the ?two-stage? wedge wouldn?t work without enlarging my panel hole more than I wanted to at this time, so I came up with a single sloped design. (I still like the two-stage wedge, and could build one later if I decide to keep the idea.)
Both wedges in place, ready for the Display Units:
And finally, with the DU?s in place:
One little thing to watch out for is the ability to get the side wedges attached to the panel ? it helps to have holes in the flange through which you can stick a screwdriver to get to the attaching screws! This is a definite ?plan ahead? area. I also had rivnuts left in the panel from my older, shorter EFIS DU?s that I used to attach the wedges ? this prevented interference from the current screw holes and nuts. All in all, the installation was very straightforward, and with one short flight after installation, I think I like it! I did bump my knee getting in the first time ? I guess it is hard to change four years worth of habit instantly. And if I really don?t like it, removing the wedges is a snap!
Paul
While all these thoughts ran though my head, I must admit that I am pretty conservative, and can easily be set in my ways. I love my panel, and don?t think there is anything wrong with it ? but you never really know if something might be better unless you try it. So I looked for a way to implement Smokey?s design while allowing me to back out of it if I didn?t like it. Essentially, all I needed to do was build two wedges ? one for each side of the stacked DU?s ? that mounted to the panel using the existing DU mounting screw holes, and then had new mounting screw holes/nutplates on the EFIS sides. Using small aluminum angle from HDAS (Home Depot Aviation Supply) and a couple of pieces of .040 I had, I felt I could do this pretty easily. Having drawers full of nutplates and rivets is really helpful ? folks that buy their airplanes rather than build don?t have this advantage!
Here?s the right side wedge before installation:
And here it is installed:
The only problem I ran in to was one of geometry. Smokey put what I?d call a ?two-stage? wedge in his plane, with the lower DU angled more than the upper. In order to tilt the DU?s off of vertical, the hole in the panel has to be taller than if they are perfectly vertical, since they have depth. I wanted to get away without opening up the hole I already had, so that I could go back to my original configuration without building a new panel, so I drew some full-scale outlines on paper and slid the DU?s around on them to determine the maximum tilt I could get away with and still use the original hole (which had a little bit of extra room). I also didn?t want to drop the bottom aft corner of the DU any more than I had to, so this played in as well. I quickly learned that the ?two-stage? wedge wouldn?t work without enlarging my panel hole more than I wanted to at this time, so I came up with a single sloped design. (I still like the two-stage wedge, and could build one later if I decide to keep the idea.)
Both wedges in place, ready for the Display Units:
And finally, with the DU?s in place:
One little thing to watch out for is the ability to get the side wedges attached to the panel ? it helps to have holes in the flange through which you can stick a screwdriver to get to the attaching screws! This is a definite ?plan ahead? area. I also had rivnuts left in the panel from my older, shorter EFIS DU?s that I used to attach the wedges ? this prevented interference from the current screw holes and nuts. All in all, the installation was very straightforward, and with one short flight after installation, I think I like it! I did bump my knee getting in the first time ? I guess it is hard to change four years worth of habit instantly. And if I really don?t like it, removing the wedges is a snap!
Paul