Tilt down instrument panel for sliders

RScott · #1 08-07-2007, 10:54 AM

I came across the Chapter 105 newsletter where Dann Parks writes about his tilt down panel. See: http://eaa105.org/Newsletter/Archive...003-August.pdf

Photos aren't the best. In the second photo you can see the panel in the down position. He ran the wires across the bottom piece (which is vertical in the photo because it is tilted down), then up the back of the panel for a very sanitary installation.

az_gila · #2 08-07-2007, 12:58 PM

...and that bottom piece would be a nice place to mount the little "boxes" that seem to crop up...

Such as: Antenna splitters, altitude code parallel to serial converters, USB converters, computer interface hardware, and perhaps even small back-up batteries....

A neat idea...

gil A

Rick_A · #3 08-07-2007, 02:31 PM

How well will the panel hinge after all the components are installed?

I put in a hinged fuse panel and found after I attached all the wires I lost a lot of movement. Even though I measured the wires in the "down" position when I got finished clamping and bundling wires the panel now only goes half way down. I know some may think that a longer service loop is the answer but the service loop itself gets in the way.

If you hinge the whole panel, how do you deal with the Pitot/Static lines since they are only semi-flexible? I would think that avionics mounts would also present a big problem - especially if there are any radios that extend through the subpanel.

Bob Martin · #4 08-07-2007, 02:53 PM

Half way sounds good to me.
Still better than reaching behind my tip up...
or crawling under the panel.
Do you think it wasn't worth the effort to hinge it?
What would you do the next time?

JonJay · #5 08-07-2007, 02:55 PM

Dan is a neighbor and friend. His airplane is top notch and full of innovations. However, he will be the first to tell you that it adds complexity, build time, and a bit of weight. I am not sure if he has pulled down the panel yet to service anything but I have no doubt it works well considering the exceptional quality of his workmanship.
I have found on my fixed panel that, although not much fun, you can gain relatively easy access by taking out the passenger seat back and stick and lay on your back to get at whatever you need to. It also takes less time than pulling the panel screws. I kept access in mind when I wired things up to insure I could get to everything from below. 55 hours, no need to go under there, yet....
If you are set on it, send me a pm with your email address and I will have Dan get in touch with you.

SteinAir · #6 08-07-2007, 05:00 PM

Me...my opinion is just the opposite when it comes to the hinged panels. I've seen all sorts, including one just like the one being discussed. The problem is that in theory and when empty they work great. When loaded up with a typical panel full of stuff they frankly are normally almost useless. Here's why.

Normally, people are putting in radios that are in need of going through the sub-panel, and many times the racks are attached to the sub panel - so there you now have a problem with the radio stack. Even if they aren't attached, you have to hog a hole big enough to let them rotate out of there. Then, you have to make sure you have a huge hunk of antenna pigtail so it can move, along with any associated other items hooked into the stack like EGT/CHT probes (if you put an engine monitor in the stack), pitot static lines (autopilot), etc.. Next, you have a ton of other things coming and going, like a fat wire to power the whole panel, many people have control cables like carb heat/alt. air, throttle/prop/mixture (none of which move well).

I'm not saying it won't work, just that in order to make them tilt like you want; you end up with a lot of extra work, weight, time, and not a huge amount of benefit. Rarely do they work when populated and wired up like they do when blank. If you put in any modern EFIS (like Dynon, AFS, GRT, et.al) when you remove them you have a big gaping hole that is pretty easy to work through for things behind the panel.

Lastly, I'm not a huge fan of this exact design, because I like to see plenty of airflow around the avionics, and being able to "reach" up under the panel is really slick. Typically most of the electrically important things are along the bottom of the panel anyway, and sitting in the seat makes them easy to get to. With this desing, now all your switches and breakes if traditionally isntalled are almost entirely inaccessible, and unless the panel is rotated completely down 90degrees, the switches/circuit breakers will be hidden under all the other "stuff" in the panel. I'm curious to see what he intends to do with all the control cables in this installation. They don't normally like to be bent in any sort of tight radius.

Anyway, I'm not flaming Dann's install, because it probably just might work with his stuff he plans to install (of course I'd encourage him to toss all the round gauges along with the VM1000 and go with a couple Dynon's or something - the pricing would work out almost the same and he'd have lots of added functionality). What I am saying is that with the typical radios (Garmin SL's, etc..) and other stuff in the stack, it's unlikely to work as well as one might think. This is definately a case of "been there done that" (not by me, but by many others)....and it rarely adds much benefit other than a wow factor.

Just my 2 cents as usual and no flames intended.

Cheers,
Stein.

Rick_A · #7 08-07-2007, 05:35 PM

Bob, I think you are asking me if I would do the hinged fuse panel again. The answer is yes, but I would mount less "stuff" on it. Right now I have 2, 6 postion fuse blocks; 2, 12 position blocks and the isolation diode. If I did it again, I wound move the 2 small blocks to the sub-panel.

I've also got a couple of switches and breaker in the panel in the same area. They were fine until I attached the wires. Now the connectors just barely clear the hinged panel and fuse blocks.

RScott · #8 08-07-2007, 08:02 PM

Dann's plane was on display at Arlington in '06 and he lowered his panel for all to see. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me at the time. It was a clean installation and the wiring behind the panel was as neat and organized as you could hope to find in any professional installation. It did not appear to have the problems folks here have suggested, but I wasn't there to see him fold it up or lower it. He did use Becker a radio and transponder to insure things would fit behind the panel. A photo I have of the closed panel shows a Dynon an LRI, a GPS I don't recognize, but which could be an AvMap, and several 2 1/8" instruments. Engine controls are also mounted on the fold down panel. Cabin vents are in the fixed in place sub panels on either end.

dannparks · #9 08-10-2007, 12:27 AM

Hi guys. I saw the thread and thought I would chime in with some updates and commentary. Those photos are very early in the design process and the actual components are quite different. Here are some photos of the completed panel (although still during construction).

(These photos are from the RVOTW section on this site.)

There are a few secrets to the concept. As you can see, there are no cutouts in the bulkhead. This means that no instrument is longer than 7". This means no long conventional radio stack. The Becker comm, transponder, and Dynon D10 are 7" long and mount in simple holes. The second is that all wiring and hoses go along the hinge line. This way it can tilt all the way without stretching or binding the wiring. The exceptions to this are the comm and xponder antennas which you can see go through the bulkhead. The control cables also pass next to the hinge so they don't stretch or bind. It can tilt without disconnecting anything.

This design could also be done with a fixed radio stack in the middle, with tilt down panels on each side. Anything to make it easier to get behind it.

This design has worked perfectly for me. It was easy to wire completly on the bench. It is easy to tilt (although heavy). And I have gotten inside it many times replacing dead brand new avionics (that's another story).

If I was to do it again I would replace all the steam guages with 2 big EFIS and engine monitor glass panels (they weren't available when I built this). And I would still make it tilt down. An added bonus of the concept is that I can remove the panel fairly easily and replace it with a new one.

Hope the updates are of some value. I'd be glad to answer any questions.

BTW: The large box on the right is a glove box.