R

RFazio

Well Known Member
I upgraded my panel a little. I brought it into the 21st century. When I look at the old panel it seems like it was from the war era. What do you think?

New%20Panel1.jpg



Old%20Panel1.jpg
 
Looks great although I would like to know how the heck you managed to get a pic that makes the Ipad look brighter than the Skyview....:p By the way, your steam panel looked great!
 
It was almost dark

The ipad was on full bright and the skyview had dimmed itself. It is not easy to get the screens bright and the background to show. I took a bunch of pictures. I'm going to try for a better one. People did like the old panel and told me I shouldn't change it. But it was a little behind the times. It was designed in the 90's and we came from a small slow plane that really didn't go anywhere to the RV. When I travel with it, I like to know where I am.
 
When is the second SkyView coming? :D And then what do you do with the iPad?

I like the carbon fiber overlay. Can't wait to see it in person.
 
Gotta Admit

there's something sweet about that steam panel. Besides, nothing impressed chicks more than a panel full of little round gauges. Now everything looks like a video game :D

Nevertheless, nice new panel !!!
 
The Ipad moves down

below the panel and the second screen goes where the Ipad is. The mount is ready for the screen and it's already wired up. I just wanted to cover up the hole with something. The ipad actually works very well there. I've got Foreflight running on it. The left screen is flight, navigation, and engine instruments. The right is info.

I've got to fly down to you next time. I want to take a little trip with it. I'm getting used to it enough that I feel confident to fly it on a bit of a trip.
 
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Richard
New panel is significantly deeper.
Any pirep on the deeper panel would be appreciated.
John
 
Is that a left-side throttle in the "after" photo? If so, i'd be interested in seeing photos/drawings/sketches of how that configuration works. I'm interested in a dual-throttle setup for my -6 but haven't found a mechanism that i'm happy with yet...

Second question: Whose switches are those across the bottom center?
 
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New Panel

John,

Yes the new panel is deeper. When you order a new panel from vans now they only have the deeper ones. It's up to you to cut it to the size you want. The new ones are 2.5" deeper. I went about 2". I was worried about the depth. I thought it might get in the way of entry/exit. It has not been a problem at all. Before I cut the panel I taped pieces onto the old one and got in and out a bunch of times to see how it was. I'm 6ft tall and it seems fine.

Snowflake,

Yes I have dual throttles. I wanted my right hand on the stick. I can make up a drawing for you, but to start Ill try to explain. The center throttle cable goes forward and around to the left throttle. The left throttle goes to the engine. The center throttle pushes the left throttle's bottom backward and thus the top forward. I made a longer lever for the left throttle that goes below the pivot and that is where the center throttle attaches. It works very well. In fact I never use any friction set on either throttle, just the friction of the two cables is enough to keep it from moving. Let me know if you want pictures or a drawing. The switches are marine grade, sealed, 20 Amp ones. I got them here: http://www.wiringproducts.com/contents/en-us/d88.html
 
Richard, that description was great. I'm curious how much "slop" there is in the system, if any. I've seen a few installations like yours and some have quite a bit of play when you switch from pushing to pulling and vice-versa. And those switches are nice and cheap... I like it! :)
 
Throttle

There is no slop. The left throttle is straight to the engine just as any plane would have, so there is no slop there. The right throttle is attached to the left with a regualr clevis and pin, no slop that I can feel. The only little tricky part was getting the geometry to work right. The lower portion of the left throttle has to be egual in length to the upper portion from the pivot. This makes the two throttles move the same amount. Vans throttle cables don't move the standard amount. I forget the measurement, but I think they move less than standard. I had a little trouble getting the lengths correct and I have an extra cable or two in my hanger. The left cable has threaded ends for clevises on both ends. I could get you all the lengths and types if you want. It will make it easier to put together. The left throttle was a throttle and mixture setup we bought and removed the mixture lever from. I figured one mixture cable was enough. I have the ball removed in the later picture because it is very close to the new panel. I'm going to lower the lever slightly so it clears better. I got the left throttle quadrant here:

http://onlinecatalog.leadingedgeairfoils.com/WebProject.asp?CodeId=7.1.6.14
 
Richard, you definitely stepped into the 21st Century. Is the portable GPS in the center an AV8OR, a Garmin or what?

I'll be interested to hear:

1) how clearly the iPad picks up and retain satellite signals, particularly as you turn;
2) the lag in the iPad GPS altitude reading in climbs and descents relative to the other GPS;
3) the tracking accuracy of the iPad as you head down the chute to a runway.
4) whether you have the iPad plugged into a power source;
5) which iPad apps you plan to use (WingX, ForeFlight, etc); and
6) whether you're going to use the iPad's ground 3G for real time weather while airborne.

Looks like you're ready for coffee in Block Island or Mount Snow, even on hazy days.
 
Ipad Answers

I use the ipad as information not navigation. Can you navigate with it yes, but not as well as the Garmin 396 or the Skyview. What the ipad excels at is information. You have airport runways, frequencies, elevation, taxi diagrams, etc, literally at your fingertips. I can get airport info from the skyview but not as easy as the ipad. The Skyview is my flying instruments, engine instruments, and navigation. The garmin 396 is navigation and the ipad is the information. I use the garmin as a backup GPS. It has its own battery that stays topped off by the aircraft, should I lose everything else. I also can put two different airports in the garmin and the skyview and toggle between the two sources for the skyview's CDI.

1) how clearly the iPad picks up and retain satellite signals, particularly as you turn; It has never lost a signal. I have it out from under the glare shield. When under the glare shield I lost signal. But with it standing out from under it works flawlessly.

2) the lag in the iPad GPS altitude reading in climbs and descents relative to the other GPS; I never checked this but will do so. From my experience it is very close.

3) the tracking accuracy of the iPad as you head down the chute to a runway. The ipad is not for this.

4) whether you have the iPad plugged into a power source; Yes I can power it from the aircraft with a simple 12V socket.

5) which iPad apps you plan to use (WingX, ForeFlight, etc); I have tried both WingX and Foreflight. Foreflight by far is the best app for my use. Much simpler to use and much better views of the information. I haven't yet tried Skycharts, but I want to.

6) whether you're going to use the iPad's ground 3G for real time weather while airborne. I am not using 3G. I don't want the monthly subscription fees. I am able to get wifi on the ground at my airport. I can get weather just before I take off. I don't get weather updates in the air though I can see what I got while still on the ground. I'm waiting for ADS-B weather on the skyview, which supposedly, will be here by the end of the year. 3G is not that reliable in the air. They do make a box that receives ADS-B weather, connects blue tooth to the ipad, and runs under WingX but I'm holding out to see the skyview system.
 
Thanks for the specifics. I realize the iPad isn't an instrument approach device, I was just wondering how accurate you find the GPS chip in it. That's easiest to see when aligned with a runway at a low altitude at the highest chart magnification level. You'd definitely want an extra set of eyes doing it while you dealt with the landing, though.

I doubt it will be long before WingX, ForeFlight or one of the others puts a course deviation indicator for the flight plan route in one of its layouts.

Seems like at this early stage a bunch of software developers are climbing into the field and selling apps and subscriptions at relatively inexpensive prices. That will thin out as the aviation software industry consolidates and relationships of supply and demand and price vs quantity mature. Even the $199 Amazon tablet announced on 28Sep11will lower iPad prices a bit. Great time to be experimenting with all this.
 
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The GPS in the IPAD 3G works just like any other cheap GPS. I get a lock sitting in my living room on it. It is not intended to be a primary means of navigation so I don't expect it to work the same as my 430W or Aera. For a chart reader and info source and for situational awareness, it is great with one exception, screen readability in the Sun.

The only thing that really stinks about the Ipad is the crappy screen in bright light! There are those that claim that somehow they either have superior vision or like a miracle they ended up with a special Ipad that somehow has a screen that is totally readable in the Sun. This is total baloney!!! They are all made the same and they all stink in the Sun!

There are rumors that the next gen Ipad will have a more Sunlight readable screen. I have my doubts about this because all I have seen is rumors of them adding the Retina display to the Ipad. This will do nothing for improving the Sunlight readability. All one has to do is look at the Iphone 4 in the Sun to prove this. It is zero percent better in the Sun than the non Retina Iphone 1 & 3.
 
I have tried it on a mount and that does not work at all. The only way to make it usable in bright Sun is to handhold it so you can angle it just right.
 
Wow

Very close. How did you do that! I wanted to put the steam gauges on the side but couldn't fit the 3 1/8" inch ones there. What is that square just to the right of the ignition switch? Did you put a USB connection on the panel? What labeling are you using? I need to get labels made up for mine. I'm thinking of going with lighted labels from fiberlites.

Jcoleman, I'm using a ram mount for my ipad. http://www.ram-mount.com/Products/AppleMounts/tabid/1647/Default.aspx
 
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Center stack is further to the right on mine. I replaced the metal panel and cut about 2 inches off the bottom to make it easier to slide under there. The labels are lighted also. The small square was a shuffle but I just pull music from the iPad now. For the iPad mount I simply made an angled piece of aluminum and Velcro the iPad to it. Also have the sky radar box driving adsb for the iPad. I put the USB connector under the panel, it's stationary and pointing down for easy access.
 
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Flybuddy2 and RFazio, do either of you have autopilots?

I got a reply from Trutrak indicating that what it would take to feed NMEA data from a portable GPS or an iPad app to a Digitrak (or any other single axis autopilot for experimentals) would be an adapter from the iPad USB to an A-B switch that shifts the signal to the autopilot between the normal nav instruments and the iPad app signal.

If the NMEA signal could flow over the iPad power cord USB, you would avoid an additional Bluetooth or Wi-fi signal bridge like iNavX requires.

Since the iPad2 3G permits multitasking, seems it could fly you VFR from Fisher's Island to Nantucket while listening to Mozart, then help you rent the bicycles and pick the restaurant once you arrive. ;)

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At 14:15 9/19/2011 -0500, [email protected] wrote:
Hi Steve,

It would need to be a device wired into the Digitrak itself and be able to receive the Bluetooth signal. I know Anywhere Map uses something like that. Anyway, you could use it in conjunction with the regular panel avionics, you'd just need a switch to toggle between them for the AP source. I hope this helps.
 
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Interior

Flybuddy2,

Where did you get that interior? I love the side panels. I need those side panels. Classic aero doesn't have them for 6's only 7's. That's the only part of my interior that is kind of lacking.

RF
 
I've got a trutrak but it's being fed off of the gx55. Here's a thread on iPad and nmea output

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=74875


cyberbiker said:
Flybuddy2 and RFazio, do either of you have autopilots?

I got a reply from Trutrak indicating that what it would take to feed NMEA data from a portable GPS or an iPad app to a Digitrak (or any other single axis autopilot for experimentals) would be an adapter from the iPad USB to an A-B switch that shifts the signal to the autopilot between the normal nav instruments and the iPad app signal.

If the NMEA signal could flow over the iPad power cord USB, you would avoid an additional Bluetooth or Wi-fi signal bridge like iNavX requires.

Since the iPad2 3G permits multitasking, seems it could fly you VFR from Fisher's Island to Nantucket while listening to Mozart, then help you rent the bicycles and pick the restaurant once you arrive. ;)

----------------------
At 14:15 9/19/2011 -0500, [email protected] wrote:
Hi Steve,

It would need to be a device wired into the Digitrak itself and be able to receive the Bluetooth signal. I know Anywhere Map uses something like that. Anyway, you could use it in conjunction with the regular panel avionics, you'd just need a switch to toggle between them for the AP source. I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
 
I've been wondering if a set of -7 side panels would be fittable into a -6. The more I look at the plans side-by-side the more I wonder just how different these two airframes are.
 
F-645 webs

Your new instrument panel looks great. I have a RV6 and would like to upgrade to the large skyview. How did you adjust the web supports for the new panel to allow room for the skyview? Thanks alot.
 
Mine is a Slider

The sliding canopy 6 does not have the same supports for the instrument panel. It is supported all around the edge with a 3/4 inch angle rivited to the skins. I have seem guys with 6 & 7 tip ups re-making their web support to go around the skyview. It is fairly straight forward. Some manufacture a new web with a wider spread, and some just add a piece to the web to widen it. Look around I'm sure you'll see some examples.

Good luck
 
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