OK, sometimes you do things not because they are required, but just because they seem right ? even if they are luxuries. Jewels for instance?.what practical purpose do they serve? Sparkly, pretty, but you can?t eat ?em ? and unless you bury them inside a machine as a bearing, or the cutting part of a blade, how useful are they? Then there are these little German jewels that just make the panel ?work? esthetically - and yes, they serve a purpose as well?..
The layout of our RV-3?s panel includes space for four 2 ?? instruments, two per side. The centerpiece of the panel is the dual-screen G3X, but of course, we would like backups for IFR use. The autopilot and an ADI will back up attitude. While pure economics would dictate that we could put a digital combination altimeter/ASI in a single hole, this leaves an odd asymmetry to the picture. For pure esthetics, it is hard to beat a tiny analog ASI with colorful airspeed rings ? but then we need an altimeter to compliment it. Since I can only take the pocketbook so far when it comes to ?art?, the United altimeters used as a backup in spam cans for about $4K are out of the question, which leaves this little jewel (no other word for it) ? the three pointer Winter, good to 20,000?. It?s hard to capture the beauty of this little gem in words. No, it?s not inexpensive ($900 from the sailplane store) taken by itself, but some things you just do because they work?.
(As a practical review, this unit is very well built, obviously done with care ? I haven?t taken it flying yet to see how it compares to the certified altimetes in the Valkyrie ? I see a climb to altitude in the near future as a test run?.I bought this from the Williams Soaring center in California ? they had the best price by about $20, and were geat to deal with on the phone.)
Paul
The layout of our RV-3?s panel includes space for four 2 ?? instruments, two per side. The centerpiece of the panel is the dual-screen G3X, but of course, we would like backups for IFR use. The autopilot and an ADI will back up attitude. While pure economics would dictate that we could put a digital combination altimeter/ASI in a single hole, this leaves an odd asymmetry to the picture. For pure esthetics, it is hard to beat a tiny analog ASI with colorful airspeed rings ? but then we need an altimeter to compliment it. Since I can only take the pocketbook so far when it comes to ?art?, the United altimeters used as a backup in spam cans for about $4K are out of the question, which leaves this little jewel (no other word for it) ? the three pointer Winter, good to 20,000?. It?s hard to capture the beauty of this little gem in words. No, it?s not inexpensive ($900 from the sailplane store) taken by itself, but some things you just do because they work?.
(As a practical review, this unit is very well built, obviously done with care ? I haven?t taken it flying yet to see how it compares to the certified altimetes in the Valkyrie ? I see a climb to altitude in the near future as a test run?.I bought this from the Williams Soaring center in California ? they had the best price by about $20, and were geat to deal with on the phone.)
Paul
Thanks for posting this; I'm feeling lust settle in, as I am getting to the point in my build where it's time to put the panel together. I think I need to find a way to include one in my budget.
