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Tip: Best Ideas and Things I Wish I Did

dbuds2

dbuds2

Well Known Member
Best ideas:

Spend the money and get Van's locking gas caps, the standard one are very hard to open without a tool. Mine are flying for 3 years and work so much better.

Bungee cord rudder trim. Attached to the left and right cables in the rear fuselage, forming a loop thru the spar. The curve in the loop is right above my stick, I pull the side that needs just a little toe pressure.

Good auto weather stripping between the roll bar and the canopy frame. Eliminating the fragile fiberglass fairing. It also now allows for a hand hold on the roll bar. No wind noise, leak tight and smooth.

Vinyl wrap. Better looking than paint, lighter than paint, easily repair hanger rashes, and changeable.

Brake fluid reservoir on the pedals. And don't worry about needing lower pedal extensions, you won't drag or ride the brakes.

Aft battery mount.

Push button start, no starter key switch. I have a remote security key to open circuit the push button starter switch. Barely ever use it.

FP prop, GA200, makes for a light A/C.

I'm hooked on ADSB traffic awareness. It is very hard to find and see other aircraft.

Things I wish I did:
Put in the little fuel tank one way flapper to help keep the fuel in the inboard cells. I haven't but suspect you could be in good slip in on final and throw the fuel outboard and away from the pick up.

Leading edge landing lights. The stock tip lights are very marginal.

Hire someone to finish the fiberglass fill and finish.

Have a steam airspeed and altitude gage and prominent location.

Trim the stick as long as possible. With seat height set for great visibility, I'm holding on to the top of the Ray Allen grip.

Disconnect radio flip flop off of grip, it's too easily switched.
 
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Why brake reservoirs on pedal? By that you mean use brake cylinders with integral reservoirs? Or just mount the seperate reservoir close to the pedals rather than on the firewall like most RVs?

I am still trying to plan out my firewall on my 4. Not much real estate there to play with with the footwell sticking out.

thanks for sharing your experience. Very useful for us builders.
 
It's rather a pain to crawl down and check or fill the reservoirs on my Cessna, which are mounted at the pedals, and the Cessna has doors. Can't imagine doing it on my RV-3B that I'm building.

It was still annoying even when I was younger....

Dave
 
And why "Push button start, no starter key switch"

What is the advantage to the push button?
 
Bavafa said:
And why "Push button start, no starter key switch"

What is the advantage to the push button?
Click to expand...

No lost keys. No buckled in only to realize your keys are in your pocket. No keys dangling on the panel covering other instruments, scratching things, hitting your thigh in flight, etc. To name a few.

Besides, who is going to steal an experimental, even if most of the keys are interchangeable?
 
It's more for the mag operation than the start operation.

Bavafa said:
And why "Push button start, no starter key switch"
What is the advantage to the push button?
Click to expand...

Many times key switches fail in the "OFF" position, leaving a mag "HOT" and under under normal operations you will never know. During mag check you switch to "left" and "right" but how often do you check the "OFF" position. With toggle switches you test the "OFF" position at every run-up.
 
Mel said:
Many times key switches fail in the "OFF" position, leaving a mag "HOT" and under under normal operations you will never know. During mag check you switch to "left" and "right" but how often do you check the "OFF" position. With toggle switches you test the "OFF" position at every run-up.
Click to expand...

Heck, my car doesn't even use a key. Plane didn't have one either. :D
 
Mel said:
Many times key switches fail in the "OFF" position, leaving a mag "HOT" and under under normal operations you will never know. During mag check you switch to "left" and "right" but how often do you check the "OFF" position. With toggle switches you test the "OFF" position at every run-up.
Click to expand...

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 
 
Bavafa said:
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 
Click to expand...

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.
 
Bavafa said:
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 
Click to expand...

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 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
SmilingJack said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
Bavafa said:
But I do wish I had installed a stater engeged warning light. One that I am thinking of adding which should be rather easy.
Click to expand...

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 :D
 
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)
 
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.
 
Once-through wisdom...

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
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
colojo said:
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.
Click to expand...

My panel isn't quite finished yet, but it was with this in mind that I installed two 12-V power plugs. Friends have told me you can't have too many power connections, especially the USB type. They're on the lower right side of the panel in my 7A, below the map box I am installing (which is another decision I'm glad I made... can't have too much storage for small items). Anyway, one of them is switched to the master, through the VPX system that I installed. But the other one is wired direct to the battery, with an in-line fuse installed for safety. Therefore, it will be "always hot" (and labeled so), so that I can make a battery charger/tester out of an ordinary plug. It will be very easy to just raise the canopy and use this outlet, and not have to take the top cowling off whenever I need to charge or test the battery. I know there's the risk of leaving something plugged in when walking away from the plane for the night or whatever, and draining the battery. But I think it's a good trade-off and the labeling will be a good reminder.

In this picture, I have inserted a dual-USB adapter into the switched outlet, and the other one has the black plug cover. So it can be used for a variety of things during flight as well.

PowerPlugs.jpg
 
You guys having issues with the standard gas caps should adjust them a bit and they work just fine and smoothly.

Things I did, in no particular order:

I built a quadrant throttle into the center of my 9 - mainly for my pilot wife who has some arthritis in the hands and can't do knobs as easily as the quadrant.

Camera built into the wing (facing down) controlled from the cockpit with laptop. Great for aerial photos.

Hat shelf behind the baggage bulkhead for light items (we keep a couple of down coats in there as well as a couple extra ballcaps)

After 7 years of (VFR only) flying, I would probably jettison the round backup gauges and save the panel space. Maybe would put in a D-6 or something instead.

Copilot rudders - in case of emergency.

(Maybe) wish I had gone to CS prop - would have been very useful for a few occasions. But mostly am happy with the FP 3-blade Catto.

Recently did the #3 cylinder baffle modification for better airflow and wish I had done it years ago.

Got some injector nozzles from Airflow Performance and balanced the cylinders so leaning works very well.

IO-360 engine for my 9. In spite of not being recommended by Vans, having learned to fly at very high DA (like, 11-12000 ft in summer) the extra power is worthwhile if/when needed. Weight penalty was ~15 lbs compared to the 320.

Both pilot and copilot steps. Helps minimize the chance of someone stepping on the flaps, makes it easier to get in and out. Also very useful when leaning in and out of the cockpit to do maintenance etc. (the step was necessary when my plane was the A model, but I still very much like it even on the taildragger).

DIY oxygen system (there is a long thread on here that describes several of these). Very useful when flying cross-country at altitudes above about 8k.

I would probably opt for electric pitch trim rather than the manual I currently have. At the time of my install, there were issues with the electric trim so I went with the manual. I now would prefer to have a simple wire rather than the bulky, heavy cable from the manual trim. Might change it out one day...

May be controversial, but I finally just closed up the bottom of the airbox and got rid of the alt air gate.

Two heater muffs, one for each side with separate controls. Copilot prefers to be warmer than I do.

Mistake made - not as much service loop as I would like in some panel wiring.

Access panels for wiring in the top skin in front of the windscreen. Very handy compared to crawling under the panel (particularly so with my quadrant in between seats).

Skybolt fasteners on top cowl (see Bill's post below).

Custom legs for bigger (800-6) tires (also required different wheels & brakes).

Greg
 
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Roger put out a good list and it got me thinking...

With almost 700 hours on the plane:

Likes (and would do again):
Wood stick grips (PTT & AP on the left and PTT on the right)
Andair fuel valve
Brakes on both sides
Tailwheel (Easiest tail dragger I have ever flown!)
Kroger sun shade
Affordable Panels panel
Throttle Quadrant
SkyView (it took a couple of panels to get there but I'm very happy with it.)
Sam James cowl & plenum (I'm kinda mixed on this one, it was a lot of extra work.)
Sky Bolt cowl fasteners
Tip-up (just love the unlimited viability!)
5 point Hooked harnesses w/ camlocs
Doug Bell Tailwheel fork
DJM tailwheel
Classic Aero molded interior covered in my leather. (Momma loves it!)
Dual P-mags!!!

Things I would do differently :
Piano hinges for the wing tips
Add extra fuel tanks (sorry Van)
Rivet in the auto pilot pitch servo bracket while building, even if I wasn't sure if I wanted an auto pilot.)
Add a USB port for the SkyView on the panel. (I added one a month ago.)

Optional:
CS prop. I see no need for one on an RV, especially the -9, unless you are going to do a lot of formation work and the other planes have CS props.
Fuel injection. Carb works great, even LOP due to the dual P-mags.

That's all I can think of now.
 
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What type plugs??

BSwayze said:
My panel isn't quite finished yet, but it was with this in mind that I installed two 12-V power plugs.
Click to expand...

Hi Bruce,
Thank you for this useful post.
And thank you very much for your nice website which I have been following a lot lately, specially for copying what you did for gluing the canopy with sikaflex.

I am going to install at least one dual USB plug as well.
May I ask you what USB plugs you have been using?

Alain.
 
Glad I did. Of course I did not invent them just found smart people to copy from.
Hinge pin wing tips.
Changed the upper cowl hinge pin set up. Instead I have a bracket at the center mounted to the firewall with a small hole cut in the cowl. Pins are inserted there and there is an aluminum plate that screws down to hold the pins and the center of the cowl down. Very easy to remove the pins and it eliminates the center cowl bulge.
There is a small 3"-4" gap between hinges at the side of the cowl. I added a small plate here to keep the cowl aligned better and eliminate air leakage.
Eliminated the lower cowl pins on the bottom and used a plate with platenuts so that I have three screws on each side.
Firewall mounted oil cooler.
Fuel injection.
Dual P-Mags.
Catto three blade. (sometimes during formation a CS would be better but cost and weight make FP the best choice for me)
O2 setup.
G3X panel and GTN650 for IFR.
Electric pitch and roll trim.
 
After reading this thread I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has no use for keyed ignition switches. My aversion to them is based on their track record of low reliability. For a while I thought maybe I was the only one who had seen keyed ignition switches failing with regularity. The contributors to this thread have reassured me that I'm not the only one witnessing this trend.

As always, this site is a terrific learning tool!
 
Push-button start switch, with a keyswitch safety interlock (no gimmicky "hidden" switches or cutouts...if the key isn't *in* and turned to the *on* position, you can't start the plane AND both mags are off)

Toggle mag switches

Fuel injected engine

CS prop

Aveo Rockrack internally lit switches (by using these and other items which include labels on the items, my panel has *no* labels above any switch, knob, button, etc. Everything on the plane is self-labeled, up to and including the fuel caps!)

Andair fuel valve and electric boost pump (very attractive, and the pump is dirt simple to install with internal bypass valves)

All glass cockpit (Dynon Skyview primary, Dynon D6 backup, Garmin nav/comm/audio panel stack; no vacuum pump; Dynon system includes autopilot, XPDR, ARINC to talk to Garmin 430W, GPS puck - soon to be upgraded to 2020-compliant Dynon GPS puck, etc.)

ADS-B In and Out - *fantastic* capability, love it!

Throttle quadrant instead of Cessna-style push-pull cables

Aveo LED position/strobe lights (light-weight, no high power cables or power supply box; only downside is the strobes are a little less visible during the daytime, probably due to same amount of light output but over a longer time period than a traditional strobe)

Sikaflex canopy (no "targa strip", I like the look of the black band across the roll bar area from the Sika primer)

Hi-Lok fasteners along the canopy side skirts and for the rear window instead of screws (they look like rivets from the outside)

Full Classic Aero Aviator interior, Aviator seats *with headrests* (yes, they make access more difficult to the baggage area, but they look cooler :))

Dual (pilot and copilot) rudder pedals and brakes

Anodizing small pieces to match paint scheme (brake pedals, side canopy latch, canopy hinge mount tabs, etc.)

Made cover for F732A channel (top center of roll bar to aft bulkhead) and installed baggage and directional lights (baggage light on the Hot Buss)

Archer wingtip VOR antenna

1m stripped coax glassed into lower cowling for marker beacon antenna"

Small "shelf" under cowling for GPS antennae

A lot of people will disagree here, but all fuses (not breakers) are on fuse blocks just in front of the panel on the co-pilot's side, accessible with the canopy open. There are no fuses or breakers accessible in flight, as I designed the systems with full single-fault tolerance in mind (main and essential busses, backup batteries, separate nav capabilities, etc.). If a fuse blows in flight, there's a reason for it, and I can't think of any reason to reset it rather than trouble-shoot on the ground. N.B. There are myriad threads on this never-ending debate :) Let's not rehash it here.

NACA scoops glued in with fuel tank sealant (no rivets)

Internal rudder stop

Spring on upper canopy latch (pull down, rotate open/closed) and UHMW block on roll bar for it seat into (there's a description of this mod somewhere on this site) with a nice cover over the gizmo

Fuel drain fairings from JD Air

Skybolt fasteners on cowling (top, bottom, sides)

Screwless spinner (looks AWESOME, one of my favorite mods on the plane)

Smokin' Airplanes smoke system (just for fun!)

No steps (and it's an A model! It's a big step up, but I'm used to it, and I have a small, lightweight stepstool for passengers. No step means no step to crack and have to repair or replace)

Should have:
Just paid someone to do the fiberglass work (especially the wheel pant-gear leg fairings). I HATE HATE HATE (did I say "hate"?) fiberglass.
 
High_Flyer said:
Hi Bruce,
Thank you for this useful post.
And thank you very much for your nice website which I have been following a lot lately, specially for copying what you did for gluing the canopy with sikaflex.

I am going to install at least one dual USB plug as well.
May I ask you what USB plugs you have been using?

Alain.
Click to expand...

Hello Alain, thank you for the kind comments! I'll help out all I can. I don't have any pictures handy.

I bought the 12-volt panel plugs from Pacific Coast Avionics. They are a VAF advertiser and very good people! https://www.pacificcoastavionics.com/default.aspx I don't see these plugs listed in their catalog or online, but they carry a lot of stuff that didn't make it into the catalog. Just call them. I'm sure you can find similar items closer to you, if ordering from here is difficult. There's nothing unusual about them. A simple cigarette-lighter style plug receptacle that you install easily and wire up easily as well.

The USB adapter simply pushes into the receptacle. I found mine at a local electronics store, and they are sold all over the place, online. Here are some examples of some found on Amazon.com, for example:

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acar%20charger%2Cp_89%3Aixcc,ssx%3Arelevance

I hope that helps! :)
 
BSwayze said:
Hello Alain, thank you for the kind comments! I'll help out all I can. I don't have any pictures handy.

I bought the 12-volt panel plugs from Pacific Coast Avionics. They are a VAF advertiser and very good people! https://www.pacificcoastavionics.com/default.aspx I don't see these plugs listed in their catalog or online, but they carry a lot of stuff that didn't make it into the catalog. Just call them. I'm sure you can find similar items closer to you, if ordering from here is difficult. There's nothing unusual about them. A simple cigarette-lighter style plug receptacle that you install easily and wire up easily as well.

The USB adapter simply pushes into the receptacle. I found mine at a local electronics store, and they are sold all over the place, online. Here are some examples of some found on Amazon.com, for example:

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acar%20charger%2Cp_89%3Aixcc,ssx%3Arelevance

I hope that helps! :)
Click to expand...


Just a note: those inexpensive plug-in USB chargers are really handy, but can be very unreliable. I have personally had three fail in cars and in the air, after varying service lives from a couple of weeks to a year. For this reason I always carry a spare and/or a spare USB backup lithium battery pack.
 
1001001 said:
Just a note: those inexpensive plug-in USB chargers are really handy, but can be very unreliable. I have personally had three fail in cars and in the air, after varying service lives from a couple of weeks to a year. For this reason I always carry a spare and/or a spare USB backup lithium battery pack.
Click to expand...

This reminds me to order one. Read about USB chargers here. Great knowledge and nice looking smart charger.
 
M McGraw said:
Does anyone have a picture and part number for this?
Click to expand...

I do, somewhere. Let me dig it out for you. I *think* we used titanium Hi-Loks (not at the hangar at the moment), which means you shouldn't use cad-plated steel nuts (stainless steel is okay).

I'll find my receipts for these and let you know.

ETA: Just looking at the specs at gen-aircraft-hardware.com, IIRC I used HL19PB-X-Y (X and Y are length and diameter, you'll have to measure the depth as well as decide on hole size), and the PB means cad-plated (so I guess I was wrong on the titanium, perhaps).
 
Last edited:
dbuds2 said:
Best ideas:

Good auto weather stripping between the roll bar and the canopy frame. Eliminating the fragile fiberglass fairing. It also now allows for a hand hold on the roll bar. No wind noise, leak tight and smooth.
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about this mod, seems like a great idea. Please could I trouble you for a couple of photos and som detail about the type/profile of the seal and how attached?
 
Pictures coming

-goose said:
I've been thinking about this mod, seems like a great idea. Please could I trouble you for a couple of photos and som detail about the type/profile of the seal and how attached?
Click to expand...

I'll take close up pictures today and forward
 
Throttle quadrant for -9A

RV7A Flyer said:
Push-button start switch, with a keyswitch safety interlock (no gimmicky "hidden" switches or cutouts...if the key isn't *in* and turned to the *on* position, you can't start the plane AND both mags are off)

Toggle mag switches

Fuel injected engine

CS prop

Aveo Rockrack internally lit switches (by using these and other items which include labels on the items, my panel has *no* labels above any switch, knob, button, etc. Everything on the plane is self-labeled, up to and including the fuel caps!)

Andair fuel valve and electric boost pump (very attractive, and the pump is dirt simple to install with internal bypass valves)

All glass cockpit (Dynon Skyview primary, Dynon D6 backup, Garmin nav/comm/audio panel stack; no vacuum pump; Dynon system includes autopilot, XPDR, ARINC to talk to Garmin 430W, GPS puck - soon to be upgraded to 2020-compliant Dynon GPS puck, etc.)

ADS-B In and Out - *fantastic* capability, love it!

Throttle quadrant instead of Cessna-style push-pull cables

Aveo LED position/strobe lights (light-weight, no high power cables or power supply box; only downside is the strobes are a little less visible during the daytime, probably due to same amount of light output but over a longer time period than a traditional strobe)

Sikaflex canopy (no "targa strip", I like the look of the black band across the roll bar area from the Sika primer)

Hi-Lok fasteners along the canopy side skirts and for the rear window instead of screws (they look like rivets from the outside)

Full Classic Aero Aviator interior, Aviator seats *with headrests* (yes, they make access more difficult to the baggage area, but they look cooler :))

Dual (pilot and copilot) rudder pedals and brakes

Anodizing small pieces to match paint scheme (brake pedals, side canopy latch, canopy hinge mount tabs, etc.)

Made cover for F732A channel (top center of roll bar to aft bulkhead) and installed baggage and directional lights (baggage light on the Hot Buss)

Archer wingtip VOR antenna

1m stripped coax glassed into lower cowling for marker beacon antenna"

Small "shelf" under cowling for GPS antennae

A lot of people will disagree here, but all fuses (not breakers) are on fuse blocks just in front of the panel on the co-pilot's side, accessible with the canopy open. There are no fuses or breakers accessible in flight, as I designed the systems with full single-fault tolerance in mind (main and essential busses, backup batteries, separate nav capabilities, etc.). If a fuse blows in flight, there's a reason for it, and I can't think of any reason to reset it rather than trouble-shoot on the ground. N.B. There are myriad threads on this never-ending debate :) Let's not rehash it here.

NACA scoops glued in with fuel tank sealant (no rivets)

Internal rudder stop

Spring on upper canopy latch (pull down, rotate open/closed) and UHMW block on roll bar for it seat into (there's a description of this mod somewhere on this site) with a nice cover over the gizmo

Fuel drain fairings from JD Air

Skybolt fasteners on cowling (top, bottom, sides)

Screwless spinner (looks AWESOME, one of my favorite mods on the plane)

Smokin' Airplanes smoke system (just for fun!)

No steps (and it's an A model! It's a big step up, but I'm used to it, and I have a small, lightweight stepstool for passengers. No step means no step to crack and have to repair or replace)

Should have:
Just paid someone to do the fiberglass work (especially the wheel pant-gear leg fairings). I HATE HATE HATE (did I say "hate"?) fiberglass.
Click to expand...

Suggestions for the throttle quadrant and pictures? I loved the T/P/M quadrant I had in my Piper Cherokee. Where to buy??
 
There are a few items I wish I had installed when I built my plane, but they did not exist at the time in the garage-built world.

What I wish I had installed:
A glass cockpit. They are so cool these days, but really did not exist at the time.
USB Ports. Whoda thunk we needed them.
ADSB. Situational awareness large time.
GPS - a fledgling industry back then. I started with a Garmin Pilot III. How did we ever navigate with VOR's etc?
Tubeless Tires/Rims - Tubes suck large time.
Altitude hold. - Added later.
Fuel totalizer - Added later.

What I did correct:
Magnetos on toggle switches.
Push button start - my Dad's 1957 182A had this. What I learned to fly in.
- both the above means NO KEYS.
Manual flaps - flaps down/up in a split second.
Manual trim - both aileron and pitch. Simple, not much to fail.
Electronic ignition on the right side. I run 37BY's all the way around. I start on the impulse coupled mag.
Wing leveler - Although the original was a NavAid converted to Trio.
Carbureted - So much more forgiving than fuel injection. Simple, simple simple.
Using Van's supplied parts ie, brakes, aluminum hard lines, fuel selector valve, etc. - Can be fixed at almost any airport in the US.
Van's fuel level sensors - They be as accurate as any at the bottom of the tank.
5606 brake fluid - again available at most any airport if needed.

If I were to build today my main goal would be to keep the airplane simple. A glass cockpit for sure, but simple. Less things to fail.

I look at cars today and think that none of them are going to be restored in 50 years. They are to complicated with to much wizware; not like my 1967 Mustang which is simple, simple simple and parts are available. I do accept that in the homebuilt world that we'll be able to upgrade the electronics to the latest and greatest, but by the time most of us fly our homebuilt the panel is out of date.

My advise, keep the plane as simple as can be for the mission.
 
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