[Webb]

Not enough space on the panel so where's the best place to RAC mount a Garmin portable?

 

[RV7Guy]

Bracket

Hey Webb,

I made and "L" bracket and mounted it to the panel. On the lower leg of the L I mounted the locking bracket there. This is the one that allows the unit rock for and aft and turn each way. I'll see if I have a picture I can post. I have it on the right side of the panel. Very convenient. I can remove the unit in 10 seconds and take it with me for driving or security reasons.

 

[ronschreck]

Not enough space on the panel so where's the best place to RAC mount a Garmin portable?

I also put mine on an "L" bracket at the bottom right side of the panel. Since it is not flush mounted I can grab the unit with my right hand and operate the buttons with my right thumb as it was designed to be used. The Gizmo mounts look nice, but I would have to install some sort of finger rest to be able to easily use the GPS in turbulence. Also, I use the GPS in other airplanes and it is a snap to take it out. I always remove it to a secure spot when I RON at an unsecure airport.

 

[terrykohler]

I made an angled bracket from two pieces of .060 stock, which is attached to the bottom flange of the IP with nut plates and a couple of machine screws. The width of the bracket is about half that of the GPS - it's not visible sitting in the AC. The GPS is between my knees and is permanently tilted to my downward line of sight. The snap-in mount which came with the unit is fastened to the bracket. This setup doesn't interfer with the stick, take up panel space, allows mounting aft of the panel face, and makes it easy to unplug the unit if I want to take it with me.
Terry

 

[L.Adamson]

Mine is attached to the left side triangular piece with thumbscrews & nutplates. It also uses the Garmin mount for quick detachment. It's preset at the perfect angle for the best possible crispness and brightness.

On the left, it's easiest to see and get too. I would not go to the right side on side by sides, as I've flown from the right seat, and didn't exactly like reaching across someone in the left seat to change GPS settings. It wasn't as easy to see either.

I've found that it's better to have closer to your line of sight also. I fly in areas with a lot of restricted airspaces, and GPS's are marvelous devices for navigation around these areas.........as we know. It's better to catch these boundary lines in your scan, than having to look down, or across the cockpit.

Now...............I'm going for the 696. This will take the place of the Van's gauges, which is more centered in the panel. That's my preference overall, especially with the larger display of the 696.

L.Adamson -- RV6A

 

[Garage Guy]

We had some space at the top of the radio stack on our tip-up RV-6 (though not enough to flush-mount a 496), and not much space anywhere else. The best we could come up with was using some RAM parts to mount the 496 out from the panel enough to clear the glareshield:

A bit of a pain dealing with 4 different cables for power, GPS antenna, XM antenna, XM radio audio, but it turned out okay. It's solid, it can be moved and angled around a bit for viewing from left or right seat, and it doesn't obstruct your view of anything you need to look at.

 

[n5lp]

Marine Mount

I didn't have room to recess mount my 496 but I did have a spare instrument hole. My panel is a mishmash because of changes over the years. In the dark days of vacuum systems I had an attitude indicator and heading indicator front and center. When I switched to a Dynon, that left an empty hole below it. When I got the Garmin portable I just bolted a Marine Mount to the hole cover. Very simple and it lets you pivot the Garmin left and right and tilt it up and down.

 

[Geico266]

Web, just to add a mixture to the previous opinions (all are great options) I like to have my hand held in my hand. I can manipulate the rocker keys faster with my thumb than trying to push it, especially in rough air. This is great to "look ahead" for an airport, TFR's, airspace, weather, ect. I use the remote anenna, & XM hockey puck on the dash to get good signals. IF I really need to look at it all of the time I use my beanbag dash mount thing (auto package) and it works just fine. Obviously, this would be a smooth air option only so I don't have a bean bag missle flying around the cabin.