[EdH]

Reading around, there seems to be at least one 8.4" AFS unit flying in an -8, but has anyone used; or is planning to use, the 10.4" unit?

Interested to know what the space issues are - the unit will obviously fit, but will it cause problems trying to find space for other units (eg. SL40/GTX327)?

 

[xblueh2o]

Watching this thread. Interested in seeing the answer to this.

 

[Avionics Systems]

This is our Advanced demo panel with AF-5600 and AF-3400 in an RV-8 frame (no the photo is not up for a Pulitzer!). We did change the shape of the center panel but everything is designed to fit the factory mounting. As you can see the big screen will fit an RV-8 just fine. We'll have this panel at Oshkosh if you want to see it up close. Feel free to contact me with any questions about it.

[/IMG]

 

[EdH]

David, thanks for the reply and the photo. Was amalgamating the two side sections into the custom panel the only way to accomodate the equipment?

 

[DanH]

Ed, stock RV-8 panel for comparison, this for an 8.4 GRT. It's about all the EFIS you can squeeze in the stock center section. The left and right margins are the panel mounting overlap and about 1/2" for the flanges on the tray support structures. The margins left and right of the EFIS are 1/2" or so, same deal. The cutout for an AFS5600 is 1.8" wider; no room for it without revised sheetmetal.

BTW, the trimmed area (white lines) at far left and right is for a Showplanes canopy setup.

 

[EdH]

Thanks Dan. As a comparable unit example, that's pretty useful and answers my questions, especially as I wanted to keep the stock panel setup.

 

[Joe]

Notched Panel Overlap

Ed,

I can't speak directly for the AFS unit but I put a 10-inch Dynon Skyview unit nearly in the center of my RV-8A panel and had enough space for a full-width avionics stack on its left. This involved a bit of trickery in utilizing the otherwise-wasted space in the overlap between the center and left sections of the panel by notching. I first saw this idea on VAF (thank you!) and implemented it on my panel because it yielded the extra half inch or so that I needed.

The right mounting bracket for the avionics stack has notched "feet" and sits over the notched area of the panel overlap. There are still three fasteners holding the center to the left panel and I "blended" the avionics stack mounting bracket fasteners into their pattern. Everything looks normal from the front -- this just allowed me to move everything left by the small amount I needed. (It's serendipitous that the layout of the Dynon split screen splits the panel centerline with the PFD and Map displays.)

--
Joe

 

[SteinAir]

As others have noted it'll fit in a stock panel, or you can modify it to make it work. For comparison, here is a RV8 we just did with a big Skyview and a 430W. No modification to the stock panel at all, though the EFIS screen is not perfectly centered the PFD portion is pretty much in the center depending on how you configure the display (this is the way the customer wanted it). You can get by with as little as about a 1/4" between the stack and the EFIS, but you have to get creative on stack mounting. Same with the edges of the panel and the wings as noted previously. If you want things perfectly centered, do what Dave and others have done and just modify/build a new panel!

Cheers,
Stein

 

[EdH]

Joe and Stein,

Thanks for the offsetting pointers. We're figuring that's what will make the 10.4 work if we use rack radios.

Rob at Advanced has mentioned that they are considering an interface with some 2 1/4" radio and transponder units, so that would be the perfect solution for us.

 

[Rhino889]

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