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  #31  
Old 01-29-2009, 08:52 AM
rocketbob's Avatar
rocketbob rocketbob is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: 8I3
Posts: 3,564
Default think maintenance

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Axsom View Post
It is definitely something you want to keep narrow.
Bob Axsom
...or eliminate altogther, or at a minimum, make them very easy to remove and get them out of the way. I don't have a center console in my -6, and I can't tell you how many times over the years I've had to lay across the seats to work on stuff underneath the panel. Having a center console in the way would make things a major pain.

The #1 design priority I've had building my rocket is to make it easy to work on.

Those are some beautiful consoles, though.
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Bob Japundza CFI A&PIA
N9187P PA-24-260B Comanche, flying
N678X F1 Rocket, under const.
N244BJ RV-6 "victim of SNF tornado" 1200+ hrs, rebuilding
N8155F C150 flying
N7925P PA-24-250 Comanche, restoring
Not a thing I own is stock.
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  #32  
Old 01-29-2009, 11:30 AM
dtw_rv6 dtw_rv6 is offline
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Martinsville, IN
Posts: 454
Default I agree with Bob

I had so much advice from Rocketbob when I was working on my -6, I'd hate to have to decide what was his best recommendation, but leaving out the center section is definitely in the top 3.

I'm not a small person, and looking back at all of the hours I've spent lying on my back with that fuel selector valve jammed into the small of my back -- I would have been much worse off with something that I had to remove every time I needed to get behind the panel.

At a minimum, make it easy to remove.

Don
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  #33  
Old 01-29-2009, 03:54 PM
prkaye prkaye is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2,116
Default my custom job

My custom centre console and homemade modular panel frame.
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Phil
RV9A (SB)
Flying since July 2010!
Ottawa, Canada
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  #34  
Old 01-31-2009, 07:46 AM
Glasair34me Glasair34me is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Spring Branch Tx
Posts: 23
Default Very nice

Did you make that your self? What did you use for a mold? Nice work!
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RV-8A,Skybolt
Glasair III;finishing
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  #35  
Old 02-14-2009, 11:14 PM
Jon Clements Jon Clements is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Richmond, Victoria, Australia.
Posts: 184
Default Panel Update

Have made some minor mods to the centre console since the last pics - I moved the Ignition Key Switch to the bottom LHS of the panel (and committed to installing starter switches with isolator to the Grips). This allowed space for the Ray Allen Trim indicators to be located mid upper in the centre console. Essentially the Centre Console now provides all the fuel management (switches/indictors/selector) for the four tanks with the addition of the trim indicators.

Quadrant and cables have been fitted but now removed - centre console is about to go in for powder coating (matt black).

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG] [url=http://g.imageshack.us/img407/dsc0[/IMG]

[IMG] [/IMG]
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Jon Clements
RV-7 VH-JWC (Flying)
Little River Airfield, Victoria, Australia
ASP IO-360-M1 Hartzell CS Blended Airfoil
Dual GRT HX, GNS 430W, TruTrak DII VSGV, SL40, GTX327, PSE 9000EX, AVMAP EKP-IV.
Approach Fast Stack Integration.
Classic Aero Interior.

Last edited by Jon Clements : 02-14-2009 at 11:31 PM. Reason: Updated and resized images
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  #36  
Old 02-16-2009, 11:20 AM
rvnor rvnor is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: 70'N ENNA Norway
Posts: 14
Default Nice cockpit Jon C

You have choosen the fuelselektor with 4 inlets. 2 aux tanks? Witch tanks are you using an how big are they? Pictures?
Thanks
OlaM
Norway
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  #37  
Old 02-16-2009, 12:34 PM
pile-it pile-it is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Brighton Colorado
Posts: 33
Question EFIS panel cutouts on tip ups

Jon: I was wondering how you did the structural work on your panel to install the EFIS units. I have RV7a with a tip up and am wondering how to get around the forward fuselage ribs that attach to the instrument panel where your EFIS units are located. If you have some pictures showing how you did it I would appreciate if you could E-Mail them to me.
Thanks,
Ken Eisemann eisze@comcast.net
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  #38  
Old 02-17-2009, 04:30 AM
Jon Clements Jon Clements is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Richmond, Victoria, Australia.
Posts: 184
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by rvnor View Post
You have choosen the fuelselektor with 4 inlets. 2 aux tanks? Witch tanks are you using an how big are they? Pictures?
Thanks
OlaM
Norway
Hi Olam -

Send me an email for more info. I converted the outboard leading edges to Long Range Tanks with assistance from an Aviation Maintenance Engineer. An extra 70L each side...a lot of work but probably the best solution in consideration of engineering and quantity issues...

cheers

JON
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Jon Clements
RV-7 VH-JWC (Flying)
Little River Airfield, Victoria, Australia
ASP IO-360-M1 Hartzell CS Blended Airfoil
Dual GRT HX, GNS 430W, TruTrak DII VSGV, SL40, GTX327, PSE 9000EX, AVMAP EKP-IV.
Approach Fast Stack Integration.
Classic Aero Interior.
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  #39  
Old 02-17-2009, 04:33 AM
Jon Clements Jon Clements is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Richmond, Victoria, Australia.
Posts: 184
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by pile-it View Post
Jon: I was wondering how you did the structural work on your panel to install the EFIS units. I have RV7a with a tip up and am wondering how to get around the forward fuselage ribs that attach to the instrument panel where your EFIS units are located. If you have some pictures showing how you did it I would appreciate if you could E-Mail them to me.
Thanks,
Ken Eisemann eisze@comcast.net
Hi Ken -

Shoot me an email to my office address jon.clements@jcba.com.au as a reminder (I am away from my office at the moment). I'll take some more shots to show you my approach. Pretty simple modification.

Regards

JON
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Jon Clements
RV-7 VH-JWC (Flying)
Little River Airfield, Victoria, Australia
ASP IO-360-M1 Hartzell CS Blended Airfoil
Dual GRT HX, GNS 430W, TruTrak DII VSGV, SL40, GTX327, PSE 9000EX, AVMAP EKP-IV.
Approach Fast Stack Integration.
Classic Aero Interior.
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  #40  
Old 01-14-2012, 04:48 AM
Bob Axsom Bob Axsom is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 5,685
Default Yes I agree - my entire concole is fwd of the seats

Quote:
Originally Posted by rocketbob View Post
...or eliminate altogther, or at a minimum, make them very easy to remove and get them out of the way. I don't have a center console in my -6, and I can't tell you how many times over the years I've had to lay across the seats to work on stuff underneath the panel. Having a center console in the way would make things a major pain.

The #1 design priority I've had building my rocket is to make it easy to work on.

Those are some beautiful consoles, though.
I have worked on the instrument panel a lot in the past seven years and my access is always to fall in on my back across the two seats. Any obstruction there is going to make work behind the panel very much more difficult. My entire center console is forward of the spar and seats, and below the level of the seats until it passes the plane of the instrument panel. The angled panel is positioned to conform to the natural position of the curved back manual pitch trim cable. The width of the original console was to accomodate the basic fuel selector valves with two 90 deg. fittings (one on each side). It was too restrictive on the inboard leg and I had to rotate the valves and reindex the handles to enable making it narrower. The plate with the engine controls originally had the carb heat in there as well and the width of that little sub panel made it very uncomfortable for my 99.9% of the time passemger so I moved the carb heat control up into the panel (1st photo), moved the remaining three controls as close together as practical and reduced its width. I later found I could squeeze the carb heat into the sub panel between the prop and mixture controls (2nd photo) after one mod. access requirement forced me to disconnect the carb heat cable and pull it back through the firewall. That experience forced me to see the error of my ways. The small sub panel is removable with three screws and this is a necessity for some of the behind the panel work I've done. Not directly related but another free piece of information, the tiney little PPT switches didn't hold up over time and I replaced them with more substantial switches.





Bob Axsom

Last edited by Bob Axsom : 01-14-2012 at 05:36 AM.
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