Captain Avgas
Well Known Member
Several of my friends with "glass" instrumentation are planning on using removeable modular RV7 panels such as that produced by Experimental Air (and until recently by Affordable Panels). For further details go here:
http://www.experimentalair.com/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=5
I asked SteinAir what they thought of using an RV7 modular panel and this is Stein's verbatim response:
"With the advent of the big glass EFISes, we find very little benefit to the modular panels. You can easily remove an EFIS to gain access to the panel, and with a frame behind the plates (as in Affordable panels) that is .75" in width, you loose a lot of usable panel space due to that frame. That's over 1.5" vertical space lost and almost 4" in horizontal space, just due to the frame. With older panels using lots of small gauges they made sense, but with large EFIS screens you just pop one of them out and you've got a big gaping hole!"
There are now numerous EFISs out there (some installed in modular panels and some not) and I would like to ask those who have either type if they agree or not with Stein's comments ie. Is it just as convenient to remove a generously sized EFIS (eg GRT, Dynon D100, AFS) for avionics access as it is to remove a full section of a modular panel given that most people these days seem to have at least 2 screens.
http://www.experimentalair.com/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=5
I asked SteinAir what they thought of using an RV7 modular panel and this is Stein's verbatim response:
"With the advent of the big glass EFISes, we find very little benefit to the modular panels. You can easily remove an EFIS to gain access to the panel, and with a frame behind the plates (as in Affordable panels) that is .75" in width, you loose a lot of usable panel space due to that frame. That's over 1.5" vertical space lost and almost 4" in horizontal space, just due to the frame. With older panels using lots of small gauges they made sense, but with large EFIS screens you just pop one of them out and you've got a big gaping hole!"
There are now numerous EFISs out there (some installed in modular panels and some not) and I would like to ask those who have either type if they agree or not with Stein's comments ie. Is it just as convenient to remove a generously sized EFIS (eg GRT, Dynon D100, AFS) for avionics access as it is to remove a full section of a modular panel given that most people these days seem to have at least 2 screens.