Tbone

Tbone

Well Known Member
Is there a "methodology" on switch placement or layout that will promote ease of use during the flight phases. I have searched the web but nothing specific. I am at the point of switch layout and will soon drill for those locations. I will be using Bob Nuckolls mag/start layout "no key", vision a/p, electric flaps, e-bus alt feed, position lights, strobes, dual landing/taxi lights with wig/wag, avionics master, boost pump, pitot heat, DC PWR master. I have outfitted the panel with Dual Dynon D180/100, HS34, Vizion 385 a/p, 8000B audio panel, garmin 430w, SL40, GTX327, heated pitot, ACK 409 remote, 12v acc. Plug and USB charging port. I'm trying to have a "ease of flow" for proper switch placement. Any suggestions or advice. I have this equipment in hand so not interested in any "what if you swap or change this out" type of comments....But won't object to any simple cost effective changes:). RV 7 TU, panel cut, IFR . :D
 
Sounds as though you are the right track. Think flow pattern, either left to right or foreward to aft. For me in the -8, switches are on the right side. From front to rear it goes in the "probable" order of activation:

Master, alternator, avionics, taxi lite, landing lite, wig-wag, auto pilot, pitot heat, ground power, alternate buss power.

On the left are my mag toggle switches and boost pump, located ahead of the throttle quadrant.

Don
 
You may want to develop your checklists and then look at flow patterns for setting up your switches. It's nice to move around the cockpit in a linear fashion as you go through each procedures, such as engine start, pre-takeoff, etc. If you set it up correctly, you can breeze through the checklist using the cockpit layout (i.e. flow) to guide you and then just refer to the checklist to make sure you've done the important steps.

-John

Tbone said:
Is there a "methodology" on switch placement or layout that will promote ease of use during the flight phases. I have searched the web but nothing specific. I am at the point of switch layout and will soon drill for those locations. I will be using Bob Nuckolls mag/start layout "no key", vision a/p, electric flaps, e-bus alt feed, position lights, strobes, dual landing/taxi lights with wig/wag, avionics master, boost pump, pitot heat, DC PWR master. I have outfitted the panel with Dual Dynon D180/100, HS34, Vizion 385 a/p, 8000B audio panel, garmin 430w, SL40, GTX327, heated pitot, ACK 409 remote, 12v acc. Plug and USB charging port. I'm trying to have a "ease of flow" for proper switch placement. Any suggestions or advice. I have this equipment in hand so not interested in any "what if you swap or change this out" type of comments....But won't object to any simple cost effective changes:). RV 7 TU, panel cut, IFR . :D
Click to expand...
 
What John (Boomer) said - try developing the checklist first, then look at switch placements based on your flow. We did this on our RV-3, and the checklist is almost (note I said ALMOST) superfluous for normal operations, even though it is a technically advanced airplane.
 
switches

Piper at one point put the avionics master in a location separate from all other switches. I much prefer this, it pretty much eliminates inadvertently shutting off avionics. Same with EFIS, a miniature toggle switch next to the EFIS.
 
And don't put your avionics master (or anything else you don't want turned off in flight ) right below your vent eyeball.;)

-John
 
Switches

I believe you can still find locking toggle switches for avionics master or at least put a guard on it. Locking toggle switches require pulling out on the toggle before moving it to the off position.
 
jrs14855 said:
I believe you can still find locking toggle switches for avionics master or at least put a guard on it. Locking toggle switches require pulling out on the toggle before moving it to the off position.
Click to expand...

At the same time, if you are going to land off-airport, you want to be able to turn off your master easily without having to think about pulling past a lock. I guess you need to decide a preference between safety (not inadvertently killing the master in flight) and safety (being able to kill the master quickly and easily in the case of an emergency).
 
If you fly formation at all, you will want to have HOTAS-- hands on throttle and stick as much as possible. For the switches that are on the panel that are required for the mission, put them close to the throttle.

Don't forget about the radio... Dialing in frequencies in formation is difficult and you don't want to take yours eyes off your lead. The flip-flop button is the on you want at hand.
 
I use separate switches for Mags, with wiring to prevent the R mag firing during start up. I put the starter button just a bit further away from the mag switches than is comfortable to flip the Right mag on.
 
Think checklist and emergency flow

Personally I looked at the checklists and also the natural flow in problem solving issues. Or at least my approach to the problem solving...

This then helps if you are approaching an in flight issue, then the process, if you decide on a left to right, allows for a good sequence.

Think also about how you as the pilot would approach the problem and also how others would as well as the switch setup you decide on will be used by others at some point also. The more logical, the safer the aircraft.

FYI: Mine move as follows:

Battery Master, Alternators, Electronic ignition,Left Mag, Right Mag (i.e. G3i setup), Start Button, Master Avionics, Aux Battery, Landing light, Nav Light, Strobes, Alt Air, Fuel Pump, Pitot Heat, Flaps.

Reasoning for the FP, PH and Flaps last is that they sit over quadrant ready for landing and takeoff..

After that I have a full set of emergency bypass switches top right if the VPX should ever fail (highly unlikely):

Aternator, Nav/Com, AP, Left Lndg and strobe, Fuel pump, Pitot Heat.

Have fun, decide a series, then sit down and test and recheck and re ask... You will never be short of peoples opinions. :)
 
Arrange your switches by functionality in groups of no more than four. You can use switch guards, push buttons or dimmer pots as seperators if necessary. The idea is that you shouldn't have to be able to read the switch placard to know which switch you are flipping.
 
I plan on using my mag switches also as a start switch as per Nuckolls method and guard them with the switch guard "loops" that I ordered from SteinAir. I may order a couple more to protect switches that need to keep me in the air. I haven't been a big fan of the locking toggles or the ones with the red shield bail. They stick out of the panel too far and look out of place in my instrument panel. We use them at work for certain components but they are overhead and are out of the way. Formation flying would be interesting but not something I have planned for. I have looked at several of the POH's listed and will plan "accordingly" for my mission. I will sit with my eyes closed and go thru my procedures and deem the switch locations from that. I would like to submit my plan to the group with a "drawing" with the layout but haven't found a program to map it out. (Read free!). Others on the group have done so and the feedback would be appreciated.:D
 
Even without flying formation as a consideration, having the frequency swap on the stick is handy. On landing, when you roll across the hold line, you don't have to look down to find the swap button on your radio to raise a ground controller.

My Master/Alternator split switch is in a "no-man's land" between my throttle/mixture/CH controls in the middle of the panel, and my lighting switches which are more or less right in front of me. I'm less likely to hit the master/alternator by accident, as my hands don't generally need to be in that region of the panel. Yet, they are easily and immediately accessible in an emergency.

Here's an earlier photo just after I bought it... I've changed a bunch of instruments around since but the switch and engine control placement are still the same.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pEJlVBSUTcRj2YP78ihIm9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
 
cfiidon said:
Sounds as though you are the right track. Think flow pattern, either left to right or foreward to aft. For me in the -8, switches are on the right side. From front to rear it goes in the "probable" order of activation:

Master, alternator, avionics, taxi lite, landing lite, wig-wag, auto pilot, pitot heat, ground power, alternate buss power.

On the left are my mag toggle switches and boost pump, located ahead of the throttle quadrant.

Don
Click to expand...

Curious as to why you put switches on the RHS. In mine the switches are on the LHS, but the radio stack is RHS. I'm redoing the panel to move everything I might need to fiddle with over the LHS so that my hand never has to leave the stick.
 
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