I am getting ready to start section 31 and plan on putting dual skyview 10" screens in
Geoffs new panel. I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas on how to figure out if I need to modify the ribs as other have done to get this to fit. I also plan one 2 Garmin 430s in the stack.
Any help on figuring this out now without having to order the avionics would be great!
thanks
I'm assuming like Mike mentioned, you have all the installation manuals with all the dimensions for your selected avionics. The Garmin manuals are a little difficult to find. PM me if you need them.
I had the same concern as you. Many of the popular vendors, like SteinAir, Aerotronics, and Stark Avionics will sell you the trays you need, then sell you the actual avionics at a later date. This helps with budget.
There are many examples of dealing with the ribs. There is a write up on
Tim Olson's site. You can also see what I did, my site link is in the signature. You'll need to determine if the ribs are in a location that will interfere with ribs. You may not have to modify all the ribs. Since I hadn't made an efis decision at the time I put the upper fuselage together, I went adhead and modified them all. In retsopect, since I went with GRT HX, I probably didn't need to make the modifications I did.
The other area that you'll need to focus on is the access hole on the sub panel for the radio stack. I just cut mine a few weeks ago. You need to account for the angle mounting of the avionics. Cutting this hole is almost impossible without the instrument panel in hand. I tried several methods to estimate where the hole needed to be, but waited until I had the panel and all the trays to make the actual cuts. It was a good idea, since some of my estimates were off.
You'll probably want a couple other holes (one of each side) for pass through of cables. You'll need to determine the size and how you'll reinforce them. There are multiple examples in the plans.
I was also going to recommend getting the DXF files to start laying out your panel, but they aren't online as of today. I recommend doing this asap, since you may intend to install more than will fit. I was about .25 inches too long, so I had to alter my original plans a little. Then once you have them laid out, share them here or with others. You'll get great feedback about usability. You'll be surprized at some of the comments you'll hear on topics you probably didn't even consider. Then you can determine which feedback you'll want to incorporate into your panel before you actually cut any metal.
While I'm not an
Aerosport Products employee, I do maintain Geoff's website. I'll try to get all the new products online shortly. We attempted to get everything online before AirVenture, but that didn't happen.
bob
