Monday, March 28, 2016

2008 - New Instrument Panel


 The old radio still works but is no longer legal to use.  I also wanted a slightly different arrangement for the instruments.  The airspeed is top center with the compass and clock beside it.  This leaves room for the Altimiter and Turn/Bank neatly below them making a tight triangle of the most critical instruments.  They actually set a little higher this way and closer to your line of sight while landing.
 To the left are the engine instruments, near the throttle quadrant.  This leaves room for a future radio on the right.
I made a new aluminum panel from 0.063" 2024-T3 to get reasonable strength.  It's covered with an overlay from 1/16" mahogany plywood.  I stained it a little darker and varnished it.  I like the look.
 The old military surplus throttle quadrant was rebuilt.  I relabeled the mixture control for the fuel shutoff.  It had been done with a Dymo Labeler.  I also made a knob for it with a stack of rubberized washers.
The big change was a new mounting bracket tilting it and moving it up slightly to get some more knee room.  My knee always rested against the corner, now it clears nicely.


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