Instrument Panels?

[barntt]

I"ve looked and looked and haven't found very many Pictures but with a bunch of talented builders in here has anybody built a Instrument Panel with three seperate front cover sections so one could if one wanted to rebuild or replace things they would only have to mess with just one front cover section? Would like to rebuild my single section panel into a three section and put a Dynon D1000 Skyview in front of the Left seat. 496 and comms in the Center section and ??? You know?? what ever new stuff comes along down the road. I know the frame member comes to the front on both sides so a little moving forward might come in to play here a couple of inches. Just searching out what someothers have done so as not having to reinvent stuff or overcome what others have already accomplished some of you guys are really talented builders! Does anybody do this or sell something that works? Plug and play bolt right on kind of thing? I am not a builder so any help would be Great! Keeping it as lite as possible also! Thanks in advance. Bruce

[danerazz]

Not a highlander, but my father built a sonex and did exactly that. He just cut a hole in the standard one piece panel and used nut plates to attach the insert holding all the stuff. Makes changes, repairs, troubleshooting really easy. He has also redesigned his panel twice since finishing the plane, and just pulling the insert, making a new one and putting that back in is really easy. I am planning on doing the same thing on mine. He even has his switches on the insert. It is basically an easily removed stand alone panel.

[barntt]

Thanks Dane
The one I have is a wood Panel and has things glued to it. The Curved piece at the top and the tray for the Dynon D180 so I will have to start from scratch. I think the Dynon D1000 could be put in this one but might not be as far left as I want it. Its a real rats nest behind this panel and I want to clean that up a lot. I didn't build this bird it was bought this way. So this is the plan for the moment. Going to get it done so I can do a fast switch out and not lose a lot of FLYING time. Thanks again. Bruce

[User GDS]

Seems like it would be fairly straightforward to build a frame of angle stock and install nutplates all around it. The bottom 3" would probably have to be un-altered because of the throttle, choke etc.

If you decide to do this project, it would be a good time to replace your windshield and/or do the aluminum side panel mod that Steve Henry posted on the forum. I have the stock Lexan windscreen and I just replaced it, the job took about 5 hours. With the old plastic as a template, it's easy.

(For the curious, my original windshield cracked when I was putting the wing root cuffs back on and I got a little too ham-fisted jamming and tightening the fasteners. Temp was about 40F, one big pop, one bad word...)

[danerazz]

If the base panel is stiff enough, most of the stuff you would put on a highlander panel is not very heavy and pretty shallow, so not much of an arm to it. You should be able to forego the angles as the "insert" panel will also act as a doubler around the base panel cutout. It really should be as simple as cut a big hole, cut an insert panel just a bit bigger than the hole, put a few nut plates in and be done.

[barntt]

Me Thinks that might work! Will check that out. Thanks keepem coming guys

[SheepdogRD]

You might be interested in what Jim Pekola did with his Highlander Extreme, which was an Arlington Grand Champion a few years ago. He extended the panel into the cockpit several inches. Here's the panel:

panel.jpg

And here's the view from the side, so you can see the depth:

slats open.jpg

The extension puts the panel closer and makes more of it reachable without loosening the seat belts.

[barntt]

Wish I could see how Jim's panel is fabricated? Thats what I am kinda wanting but it would have a Dynon D180 for the PFD in front of the left seat, HS-34 under that, Garmin 496 with MGL V-10 and Dynon intercom under the 496 in the center. My panel isn't tall enough right now so will make it about three inches taller and maybe 3 inches forward of the crossbar its attached to now to get the 180 a little higher and get the HS-34 under it, was thinking about the EXPBUS II switch panel to clean up the rats nest behind the panel. I have a D10A and EMS-10A from another project and might stackem on the right side of the D-180 for a simple MFD and backups until my ship comes in and I can justify the D-1000 and Dynon comm! Then it should be a easy swap if done right! Thanks Guys!! Bruce

[SheepdogRD]

Wish I could see how Jim's panel is fabricated...

Luckily, I saved some pix of it under construction.

Panel-Extreme-2.jpg

Panel-Extreme-3.jpg

Panel-Extreme-4.jpg

Panel-Extreme-5.jpg

The first and last ones enlarge nicely to show some detail, and to highlight his craftsmanship.

[SheepdogRD]

At the other Extreme, so to speak, is the nifty minimalist panel in Karl von Kaenel's Highlander, seen here in a screen grab:

Panel - kvka.jpg

You can see it in some of the videos on his Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/kvka/videos.

[Winston]

I also spaced the panel aft. I used a piece of 2 x 3 aluminum tube with segments milled away for switch access.

[stede52]

Here's another one

[barntt]

Wow Thank You Guys so much. Just seeing how You fellers framed up helps so much! I am a visual learner so this helps. I figured you guys know whats light and how to make it strong. I can study this stuff zoomed up and get some materials gathered up. Thanks Again. Bruce