[olegusan]

Hello, RV12 builders/flyers,

I need an idea for running electric power to the canopy frame (glare shield).
I have a backlit magnetic compass installed on the glare shield and would like to power it for night flying. (see the picture attached).

Has anyone tried to accomplish that?

 

[SkyDweller]

Hello, RV12 builders/flyers,

I need an idea for running electric power to the canopy frame (glare shield).
I have a backlit magnetic compass installed on the glare shield and would like to power it for night flying. (see the picture attached).

Has anyone tried to accomplish that?

Not with this specifically as I don’t use a wet compass, but you should have a power and ground bus behind the panel for easy access. In my plane I just pull out my PFD to access both. Yours may be accessed under the panel.

Take care evaluating the distance between the glare shield and any avionics below it. Drill a hole in the top of your glare shield under or behind the compass (depending on how the wire comes out for a clean look), add a rubber grommet to the hole and run your wire through following aviation-preferred methods for securing and organizing the added wires.

This would be the easiest way to do it without adding switches, etc. that way the illumination comes on with your master. You won’t see it during the day, but as darkness falls it’s ready to go. If it’s LED illuminated as I expect it would be, you’ll never burn that bulb out before the plane itself is ready for the scrap yard.

 

[olegusan]

Not with this specifically as I don’t use a wet compass, but you should have a power and ground bus behind the panel for easy access. In my plane I just pull out my PFD to access both. Yours may be accessed under the panel.

Take care evaluating the distance between the glare shield and any avionics below it. Drill a hole in the top of your glare shield under or behind the compass (depending on how the wire comes out for a clean look), add a rubber grommet to the hole and run your wire through following aviation-preferred methods for securing and organizing the added wires.

This would be the easiest way to do it without adding switches, etc. that way the illumination comes on with your master. You won’t see it during the day, but as darkness falls it’s ready to go. If it’s LED illuminated as I expect it would be, you’ll never burn that bulb out before the plane itself is ready for the scrap yard.

The problem is that the glare shield is attached to the canopy frame (not the panel).

So it has to be some kind of self-aligning (floating) connector between the canopy frame and the rest of the airframe.
The connector would disengage when the canopy opened and re-engage when it closed.

I wonder if anyone had implemented this.