Show us your panel!

[MGR1977]

Originally Posted by brian257

Are those blade type fuse holders? Can you get to them and replace a blown fuse in flight, or even see them?

I've got the same question. How do you replace or fix in flight...? Or even identify the device that's the problem in flight?

[Nick]

Quite simple. You don't.

In the airline world everything, literally everything is protected with a circuit breaker. If one pops in flight, you absolutely do not try and reset it. Unless directed to by a checklist that is. And that is incredibly rare.

A lot of people, myself included, put in fuse blocks that cannot be serviced inflight. If a properly done fuse blows inflight, there is a reason. I'll figure out what that is once I'm back on the ground.

I have safety of flight items on circuit breakers that I can reach. Does the other poster? Maybe, maybe not. Judging by the workmanship of what I see, I'd bet you he has thought this out.

[RV8TOR]

How do you access them on the ground?

[elev666]

I’ve been pondering the idea of putting lighted blade fuses in this project,,, but I’m have trouble figuring out how these work , are you fusing the feed to the switch in this case ?

Re :Thermos’s post , I wanted a clean, uncluttered panel and also to retain the canopy jettison handle so Com 2 (GTR-20) and transponder (GTX-45R) went under the panel. Electrical protection is all fuses except for the alternator field breaker; I mounted two fuse blocks on the right panel support rib.

I'm really happy with how it turned out!

[Nick]

Originally Posted by RV8TOR

How do you access them on the ground?

On the -7 that's shown, its a Tip-up. Open the canopy and you have access to the fuses.

On my -4, I have to pull the forward skin. 30 Screws or whatever it is. A pain, yes. Never had to do it for a nuisance fuse fault.

[Thermos]

Thanks all for your kind words!

About access in flight, I agree 100 percent with Nick.

In almost 40 years of flying and instructing in rental airplanes, and in flying the Archer I owned for several years, I only had one circuit breaker trip - vent fan in a beat-up Warrior with an instrument student - and I reset it. A few seconds later we got a burning electrical component smell, so we turned around and went home. Since then I've become a fan (no pun intended) of not resetting breakers inflight, and that's what I teach my students. The only exception is the alternator field breaker.

For the kinds of flying I expect to do, basically day/night VFR and light IFR (instrument climb to mostly VMC on top, approach with conservative mins), I have enough redundancy that I should be able to get on the ground somewhere within 30 minutes after losing one or sometimes even two systems.

elev666, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by fusing the feed to the case but there shouldn't be any additional wiring involved for lighted ATC fuses. If the fuse blows, the LED lights from power that would otherwise go to the protected circuit. I'd love to use them but they aren't available in current ratings less than 3A and I have a lot of systems that need fuses with lower ratings.

HTH

Dave

[Brian_G]

Here’s the panel on my new-to-me 4. Classic and simple.

[David Paule]

I like it. The energy instruments are in a coherent pattern.

What's that curlicue ahead on the top skin?

Dave

[Brian_G]

Originally Posted by David Paule

I like it. The energy instruments are in a coherent pattern.

What's that curlicue ahead on the top skin?

Dave

Thanks. The curlicue is the cowl hinge pins / gunsight.

[wcalvert]

I agree that a CB that pops should not be reset in the air except as directed by a procedure.

Maybe I'm naive, but Mr. Boeing has trained us all to think alike and I think it's good avice.

Blade fuses do the job.