The winter project has begun…I hope to get all the panel, avionics and wiring done this winter. I started by getting out Visio and creating wiring schematics for everything. That took a month or so. Many thanks to all those who posted their wiring diagrams online – I pulled a little bit from everywhere. I’ll post mine as soon as it is all finalized. Once I had the wiring schematics sorted out, I began ordering wire, switches, connectors et cetera.
While I waited for the many packages to arrive, I constructed the panel. Because I have access to a laser engraving system at work, I chose to make lexan sub-panels (you’ll see what I mean when you see the pictures). They turned out very well. In addition to cutting out these panels, the laser was good at creating embossed lettering that I painted over and sanded off to make some professional-looking labels. I used clear lexan and sanded both sides with 600 grit wet paper, then painted the back side with black plastic paint, and the front I applied a matt clear coat. I painted the panel with some Krylon Stainless Steel spray paint with a matt clear finish. Turned out great.
As you can see from the pictures, I went with a 10″ Dynon EFIS with backup steam airspeed, altitude and attitude (vacuum). I have a PS Engineering audio panel, Garmin SL40 and I-Com A210 radios and a Narco AT165 transponder. I used breakers identical to those found in a popular experimental power panel. I saw this panel at Oshkosh and wrote down the part number of the breakers. Found them on Digikey for ~$3/ea. If things look a little crooked on the panel, its because I just put everything in to see how it fit together – nothing is tightened down.
The only thing I’m not really happy with is the air vents. Those beige ones came with the project when I bought it, but they should really be gray or black. I’m not sure if I want to shell out $35/ea just to get the color right, tho. The hole in the middle between the vents is for a speaker that hasn’t arrived yet from Digikey.
