Tip: Best Ideas and Things I Wish I Did

[Mel]

Originally Posted by Bavafa

So, would it be fair to say and chuck this as a user training/awareness. One could make the case that it is easy to bump one of those toggle switch and not realize it whereas it I would think it is far harder to bump the key to make it turn.
Investing in a good and reliable key switched ignition would eliminate most if not all of these issues. I never knew why some opted for push start but for the reasons listed here so far, I am glad I went with the key and I have a hidden key just in case I lose the original during a trip 

If any of your switches are in a position that they may be easily "bumped" off, you need to rethink your lay-out. I've been flying for over 48 years and have never accidentally bumped a switch off in flight.

I have, on the other hand, personally known several people who have had their engine start by bumping the prop when they thought that the ignition was off only to find that the switch had left a mag hot while in the off position.

[Bavafa]

Originally Posted by Mel

If any of your switches are in a position that they may be easily "bumped" off, you need to rethink your lay-out. I've been flying for over 48 years and have never accidentally bumped a switch off in flight.

I have, on the other hand, personally known several people who have had their engine start by bumping the prop when they thought that the ignition was off only to find that the switch had left a mag hot while in the off position.

Mel,
Your years of experience certainly override mine by about 4 to one. But one thing that we agree on, user training and awareness is a key to a safe operation.

[Bavafa]

Originally Posted by SmilingJack

Nope. I have a starter button on my stick, a master start switch that is only on during engine start and a LED starter light to tell me when the starter is engaged.

So, even if I hit the start button nothing will happen when the master switch is off.

Plus, if my master switch fails....I can jumper it in all of 2 min.

A master switch on the panel that will require to be turned off after the engine start, a push start on the stick, probably a relay or two so it can deal with the voltage that goes thru the stick just to accomplish cranking the engine!

I like mine to be simple.

But I do wish I had installed a stater engeged warning light. One that I am thinking of adding which should be rather easy.

[SmilingJack]

Originally Posted by Bavafa

But I do wish I had installed a stater engeged warning light. One that I am thinking of adding which should be rather easy.

VP makes all that stuff you listed easy. Just a wire and a ground gets the job done.

As for the Starter Engage Light - i would recommend you get a bright enough light to see in the sunny cockpit. I purchased an LED light and it is kind of dim....I plan to change it out one of these days

[N941WR]

Laying out a panel can make or break an airplane.

Take a lot of time thinking about your switch flow. In my case, I laid mine out by function of flight. I can rest my hand on the throttle quadrant and push the levers forward at the same time I push in the carb heat and toggle the flaps up. (There is a good bit more on the theory of panel layout on my website.)

With the proper layout you don't need the complexity of buttons on the stick.

Here is a picture of version 1 of my panel. Even in its current iteration, the sub-panel has remained unchanged.


(click to enlarge)

[bruceh]

Best upgrade for me was getting the canopy bubble made from the UV blocking material.

+1 on the locking gas caps and ADS-B traffic. Heck, flying with a GPS moving map is awesome compared to when I learned with VOR's and cumbersome charts.

[RKellogg]

After building an RV-7A, and flying it for 190 hours, I'd offer the following:

Decisions I would repeat:

- Side-by-side - I like (mostly) the co-pilots I fly with, and am willing to trade away a bit of "sleek" for the improved crew interaction.

- Nosewheel - it hurt to trade away "structurally and aerodynamically efficient" for "easy to operate", but it's working for my mission profile & skillset. I appreciate this especially when arriving late at night at a strange airport and taxiing to the apron in the dark.

- Vertical split cowl - way easier to live with on an -A model. A bunch of work, though.

- Single step - less chance of smashing the rudder on the tarmac when loading pax, less drag, less weight, less cost. (Still have a right step for sale.)

- three piece instrument panel - makes service so much easier, didn't realize how much I would appreciate this.

Two SkyViews - so much useful info, and middle-aged eyesight make me appreciate having a lot of screen area to display it all.

- ADS-B in - Weather, TFRs, Traffic- worth every penny.

- push button starter & mag toggles - eliminating that heavy expensive klunky 5-position key switch was a joy in itself. Have seen several failures of that complex combo switch. Prefer reliable, function-specific switches.

- key switch in series with toggle master, can remove key in either position, no key fob swinging and scratching the IP. A reasonable measure of safety and security with minimal compromise to reliability.

- Paint-before-fly - can't imagine how I would ever be able to take the plane out of service for a paint job after flying it...

- Four into one exhaust - seems to be working well, but was a lot of effort and time. This maximized exit area available for cooling air outflow, compared to 4/2 or 4/4 solutions.

- A/P engage/disengage on stick grip - very useful. This was an afterthought, as the stick grips came with a second 'push to...', and I couldn't think of anything else to use it for.

- Sheepskin seats - Lots of work, look good at 500 feet, but once you are sitting on them the joy sinks in. Cool in July, warm in January.

- extra effort to seal sliding canopy - minimize draftiness in winter months. Learned to use shrinker and stretcher...

Decisions not to repeat:

- adjustable cowl flaps - don't make much difference in CHTs, at least in my case. Cool, but not cooling.

- designing in an evolving EFIS system... SkyView was new and evolving rapidly as I was building. Spent a lot of time making modifications to existing structure and pulling more wires to accommodate the next module as it was released. Don't get me wrong, I love Dyna (the woman who tells me to switch fuel tanks) and the wealth of useful info. This is more a statement about the state of technology.


Shoulda:

- made aluminum spacer blocks and NAS bolts to locate spar center section at build, this would have reduced frustration when installing wing bolts a bit, methinks. Wood blocks and hardware store bolts allowed too much misalignment to be built into the structure.

- piano hinge wing tip attach - faster, cooler.

- blade fuses accessible from panel instead of toggle breakers. Reliability, cost, weight advantages.

- trim bottom of end of exterior canopy latch handle so that it doesn't scratch the top of the windshield bow when rotated 180 degrees.


... probably more edits as I recall additional items....

- Roger

[jfogarty]

Piano hinge wing tip attachment, this was a lot of work when I did the original install, however, I just removed the wing tips for painting, and here's my quote. "Wing tips off and lights disconnected in less than 30 seconds a side." Sweet!

Jim Fogarty
RV-9A Flying

[Bavafa]

One of my desicion that I am extemely happy to have gone that route, is to use Approach Fast hub for my avionics/wiring. This has made addition to my electronics/avionics a piece of cake.

Things I would probably do differently, is going with an expensive paint job.

[colojo]

The guy who built my -8 made a lot of great decisions, some of which you mention. I have a push button ignition, which is awesome. There is a key for the baggage compartment, but it's on a retractable cord that comes out from the nearest corner of the canopy. Pretty neat.

Hear, hear on the upgraded gas caps. Mine has the standard Vans caps and I indeed need a tool to open them.

One thing I wish for: A charging/jumping receptacle for the battery on the side of the fuselage. My -8's battery is tough to access and this would have been very handy. My Mooney has one and it's great.