Show us your RV-14 panel

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by KeithB

Nice panel Keith.

I am curious why you (and so many others) put the ELT control panel way over on the right side when with as small as it is it could easily be located somewhat directly in front of the pilot?

There could be a valid argument that it doesn't meet the TSO requirement for the installation of "in plain view of the pilot".

Another reason I wont locate them there is to avoid a curious passenger messing with it in flight and possibly activating it without the pilot noticing.

The last reason is that from my experience, the highest failure item with the ELT system is the G switch. I have replaced a lot of ELT's because they failed the yearly activation test.
If I am ever in a forced landing situation, I will manually activate the ELT rather than rely on it self activating if needed.
Because of this I want it easy to access.

Not meaning to judge....
Just seriously curious what makes so many people locate them almost out of reach.

[KeithB]

Scott:

I don't have a good answer for you, as your points are valid. It could just have easily been above my G5. I have always thought about it as a device I don't need to access except for testing (or failure) so I wanted it out of prime real estate. Perhaps I'm victim to bias (many other panels including the RV-6A I'm currently flying have it on the far right). Or maybe it's because it is the most dated item on the panel (not been updated, not very ergonomically/esthetically designed as it is either very recessed as I have it mounted or very protruding if front mounted) and I don't want to look at it. Or maybe I naively believe it will never be used (passively or actively).

I can say that the only time I have used one was in my RV-6A when it went off by mechanical fault, I knew it through my headset, and we flew with my passenger pressing the reset button continuously for 25 minutes to silence it until we landed and disabled it. In that case, I was glad it was on the passenger side, but that's a pretty unusual case.

No good answer for you. ( I am okay with the CO detector on the far right as I have it connected to the G3X).

[RVmaniac]

Is the inclusion of a second g3x screen more or less for aesthetics? Being on the passenger side it seems kind of out of the way and difficult to manage let alone see. Besides the fact a single g3x provides all the instrumentation you need most panel shots I see always depict the 2nd screen as just displaying the same info as the primary. Like literally just displaying engine information and using the same moving map as the PFD or fancy IFR screen.

I get the feeling the dual screen setup was popularized by Cirrus, and in their case it makes sense as the input panels are all located on a center stack below the screens somewhat like a car. Making a plane look like a lexus was a big part of cirrus's design philosophy, and they make good use of the dual screen setup by having each one run in full screen mode for their intended purpose. PFD is for instruments, MFD is for nav and it works well. But in all of these RV dual screen setups it seems like the 2nd screen will never really be used for anything. Between split screen mode on the G3X and just having your center stack occupied with your input panel the 2nd screen is just off in the distance doing nothing.

Thoughts?

[Tom023]

A few reasons I can think of are:

- So the plane can be flown from the right for training purposes; I actually prefer flying from the right
- Inclusion of the passenger in the flight and flight processes
- Redundancy in case the left display has a failure
- For those with 20/10 vision like my son, he can actually read the right display from the left
- So I don't have the passenger constantly leaning over me to see what is on the display, which can be both a safety issue and plain, and plane, annoying

What puzzles me more is why some locate the backup attitude display to the right of the right screen.

I'm sure others will chime in.

[KeithB]

In my case, my usual co-pilot/passenger is an active navigator and planner (though not a pilot). Not only will the 2nd screen make flying more enjoyable for her, she will be able to check everything out (route, WX, stops, etc.) without touching my screen, but she will help with navigation and flight plan changes.

Plus, I get redundancy if needed - in an emergency that 2nd screen will be quite valuable, and way easier to see than no screen at all :-). Others will have different reasons I'm sure.

[RVmaniac]

ok so the left seat is not actively using the screen under most circumstances, it's just a small added fee "just in case" (and lets be honest, a little bit of wow factor ). I'm fine with that, just wasnt sure how ergonomic it would be for use as a MFD.

[jswareiv]

Originally Posted by Tom023

A few reasons I can think of are:

- So the plane can be flown from the right for training purposes; I actually prefer flying from the right
- Inclusion of the passenger in the flight and flight processes
- Redundancy in case the left display has a failure

I actually had this happen to me last weekend. My PFD went out and I flipped the switch under the MFD to be used as a PFD. Garmin is swapping it out for a new one.

I originally did it to help others learn to fly from the right, but it sure came in handy. I use it all the time in regular flight though. When ATC tells me there is an aircraft in my vicinity, I flip to the traffic screen to find it if I don't see it out the window and it gives me a great idea of where they are. I will leave it on weather if the weather is bad, or if I am looking at the map on the PFD, I will use the sectional view on the MFD. It's also nice to have when taxiing at a strange airport, flying a procedure, etc. I love having the second screen. I also have another backup, GRT Mini, which is totally separate, but it's small and I like the bigger display if I have it.

[RVmaniac]

Ok thanks guys, sounds like most of you use the MFD as more of a backup than anything else. I suppose it would see more use in flight if the screens were directly adjacent to each other but it appears as though the panel mounts for the 14 do not allow this, at least not if you want to make changes potentially compromising the airframe somehow.

[frghtdg]

Just installed advance VFR panel by Stein.
Perfect.

[frghtdg]

[IMG][/IMG]

Perfect.....after 23 tries to post....I'll work on size next...