I just watched Robby Pederson’s Super STOL You Tube Video, he doesn’t have a Panel built out of Plexiglass. He has a very small center panel with with a Small Glass Panel & gauges. The Pilot’s side & passenger side are just the truss mount frame. You can see his Headset wires wrapped around one of the tubes on the Passenger side. It definitely gives a clear view for landing, and I really like the Plexiglass Boot Cowl. I concur with your statement about having the Flight instruments in front of the Pilot for landings. I would HIGHLY recommend a Master Switch & an Avionics Switch. If I were building a panel, I like your idea of using Plexiglass in front of the pilot. I’d put the required Steam Gauges in front of the pilot in the Plexiglass panel so you could see through it. Then I would have a Center Panel very similar to Robby Pedersons with a Glass Panel in the Center Section for a small Glass Panel with GPS, AHRS & Engine Instruments, and I would leave the passenger side wide open.
Rob’s video is inspiring to someone like myself that would love to get a SuperSTOL, very well worth watching. It gives you a very good visual from the Pilots prospective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj4s4h8ATuI[quote=“Tralika”]My preference is to have the flight instruments directly in front of the pilot seat, . . . . . When landing in a tight spot I don't want to have to shift my eyes any further than I have to. Glancing straight down to check my airspeed and then straight back up again is better than glancing to the side and down to see the display in the center of the panel. I wear progressive bi-focal glasses so it would most likely require a turn of my head to get a center mounted display in focus. It’s a small thing but important to me. . . . . . .
If you get a chance, check out Robby Pederson's Super STOL. He builds the panel and the boot cowls out of plexiglass. When he's on short final in a high angle of attack he can look down through the panel and out the boot cowl to see the ground. I don't remember what he has for flight instruments but it's not much. Most of the panel is just plex so he can see through it. Keep in mind that there is quite a bit of frame behind the Super STOL panel which makes for even less space than the Highlander panel. You won't know for sure if the equipment or layout you've chosen will fit until you get your kit.
I didn't see any switches for Landing Lights, Strobes or a Beacon on your image. You might also consider an Avionics switch for your flight instrument display and radio(s). Most manufacturers recommend having their equipment turned off when starting and shutting down the engine. You can turn each piece of equipment off individually but it's much easier to have an avionics switch to do everything at once. Also there is less wear on the individual switches. If your master avionics switch breaks you can replace it yourself for $10 in 30 minutes or so. If the switch on your expensive flight instrument display or radio breaks you have to send the equipment to a radio shop or back to the manufacturer for $100 or more and maybe weeks with your plane grounded.
The panel blank supplied by Just with your kit is aluminum and pretty light. I'm sure how much weight your going to save by replacing it with some other material. If you really want to save some weight consider replacing the stainless steel firewall from Just with titanium. I used .020 material from McMaster-Carr and saved about 8 pounds.
https://www.mcmaster.com/#titanium/=16qjqaw[/quote]