Intercom

[zkelley2]

I'm doing an ifr panel because I fully expect to get stuck in crap weather and prefer popping into the clouds all day vs staying visual. But if you're really just vfr keep it light. Your ears and a window is all you truly need to fly the plane. Weight costs fuel, performance and useful.

The LSAs with panels of glass just crack me up. More avionics than a Boeing and its limited to day vfr.

[svyolo]

My choice is VFR, but with the capability to fly an approach because, well, it happens. I will have glass backup.

Glass gives you some additional backup. If you lose pitot or static, you can still maintain altitude and speed with ADAHRS info presented on the screen. Another screen is a better backup than AS and ALT gauges.

[zkelley2]

Got a response back from MGL. You can wire the 3 pax headsets to the V16 and have an intercom with everyone, the only downside is if you have a PTT on the co-pilot seat, it will transmit anything all 3 hooked up say. I imagine this means that all three pax headset jacks are wired to one input.

[Bcone1381]

(whee cant see comments. Your missing out Jon!)

Oooo. Al's got a nice panel there! I was with him when he wrote the check too! That one picture is convincing to me! What I like about Al's has nothing to do with a backup Mini, rather....
-The Mini is Al's engine monitor display.
-The Sport EX can function as a nice map, attitude indicator, or Nexrad radar display.
-The appearance! The natural curvature of the instrument panel fits perfectly with the two screen sizes! The spacing between the screens and the displays and the Garmin Com makes for a nice balanced appearance.

Re: Back ups....Paper. Needs no backup and is light weight for VFR ops but a about 40 pounds for IFR ops. A coffee spill is just an inconvenience, and it gets fixed every 90 days. Passenger can use it to participate in navigation.

There is no bad choice, just lots of good choices. Fore Flight with the Sentury ADSB in will do all, plus its portable, and easy to change with a simple update. But if GRT or MGL, or Garmin, or Dynon make an improvement that I like/want, then its a big decision, and commitment to make the change.

Bill and others hit a critical piece of data is reliability. Flying anywhere in the lower 48, iPad is hard to beat. But if I fly north 4 hours from my house, and the bluetooth won't sync with the iPad, I'm using paper charts and the whiskey compass better be right.

[whee]

I know I miss a lot of good stuff Brooks. I just don't have time to log in on the computer very often and tapatalk is a much more convenient way to access the forum on a mobile device.

Have we convinced you that you don't need a stand-alone intercom yet? That is the goal of this thread... You really just don't need one if you buy a com radio that has a quality intercom built in...and I can't think of a single reason to buy a com with a crappy built in intercom.

Al has a great looking panel that is very capable. A few software updates and some servos and he would have a ifr capable panel that could drive the plane down the ILS.

This in my panel:


The screen on the left is an android tablet that connects to the GRT EFIS via wifi and displays all my flight instruments. It also can tune the radio, via the EFIS, and load a flight plan into the EFIS. My EFIS is a Sport SX but the EX would have been a better choice. I saved room between the EFIS and the V16 Razor head for a GRT Mini. There is so much capability in my very inexpensive panel I'm not sure I'll ever figure it out. So the plan is to use my tablet at a PFD and the EFIS as a engine monitor display.

I plan to add a skid ball somewhere because I like having one. Oil pressure indication and a skid ball and I'd be willing to fly home.

[BravoGolf]

Again I will offer up the PS Engineering 200A, its small, has Bluetooth, Stereo and two music inputs (for you four place guys); it also controls a remote trig radio. It is more money but so far it has worked well. For EFIS I used Advanced Flights 5500T in the 8.4" screen size. I think the 7" screens are too small and the 10" eat up too much panel space. The AFS 5500 also controls my remote transponder. So my panel is pretty clean and I plan on replicating much of it on the Patrol.

[zkelley2]

I know I miss a lot of good stuff Brooks. I just don't have time to log in on the computer very often and tapatalk is a much more convenient way to access the forum on a mobile device.

Have we convinced you that you don't need a stand-alone intercom yet? That is the goal of this thread... You really just don't need one if you buy a com radio that has a quality intercom built in...and I can't think of a single reason to buy a com with a crappy built in intercom.

Al has a great looking panel that is very capable. A few software updates and some servos and he would have a ifr capable panel that could drive the plane down the ILS.

This in my panel:


The screen on the left is an android tablet that connects to the GRT EFIS via wifi and displays all my flight instruments. It also can tune the radio, via the EFIS, and load a flight plan into the EFIS. My EFIS is a Sport SX but the EX would have been a better choice. I saved room between the EFIS and the V16 Razor head for a GRT Mini. There is so much capability in my very inexpensive panel I'm not sure I'll ever figure it out. So the plan is to use my tablet at a PFD and the EFIS as a engine monitor display.

I plan to add a skid ball somewhere because I like having one. Oil pressure indication and a skid ball and I'd be willing to fly home.

Did you do the carbon or are those flat sheets cut to fit? Thickness?

Also which tablet is that and where'd you find the mount for it?

[whee]

Did you do the carbon or are those flat sheets cut to fit? Thickness?

Also which tablet is that and where'd you find the mount for it?

They are flat sheets of carbon that my dad laid up. I wanted the ability to pull the panel without messing with the boot cowl.

The tablet is a Samsung Tab S2 8.0" Bigger tablets didn't fit very well. We couldn't find a mount that we liked we bought a case, trimmed the mount out of it and screwed it to the panel. It's not quite what I'd like but it works and looks pretty good. This case is for the 9.7" tablet but its the same otherwise, I can't seem to find the 8.0" case. https://www.amazon.com/IVSO-Samsung-...sr=1-6-catcorr

[zkelley2]

They are flat sheets of carbon that my dad laid up. I wanted the ability to pull the panel without messing with the boot cowl.

The tablet is a Samsung Tab S2 8.0" Bigger tablets didn't fit very well. We couldn't find a mount that we liked we bought a case, trimmed the mount out of it and screwed it to the panel. It's not quite what I'd like but it works and looks pretty good. This case is for the 9.7" tablet but its the same otherwise, I can't seem to find the 8.0" case. https://www.amazon.com/IVSO-Samsung-...sr=1-6-catcorr

Do you know how think he made them? I've always wondered how thick you needed to go with carbon to get the 3 dimensional rigidity needed for a panel.

[whee]

Do you know how think he made them? I've always wondered how thick you needed to go with carbon to get the 3 dimensional rigidity needed for a panel.

Sorry, missed the thickness part. I can’t remember for sure. I think it was 7 layers which is more than necessary.

[svyolo]

Whee;
You attached your avionics to the CF, and the CF to a former that forms the boot cowl? I was going to go the opposite way. I was going to attach EFIS to the frame, and just have a thin CF cover, in 3 or 4 pieces, to cover the open space in the former. I will probably have mostly remote boxes, and just 1 EFIS. I think if I had more mounted to the panel, maybe mounting to the CF cover makes sense. I am doing it so I have access to the back, as I think access from the top isn't as useful on a BH.

I was thinking I wanted to go Dynon/AFS or Garmin, to keep the whole thing with a single company. But GRT and MGL openly support of few features that are a bit of a must have for me, so I am rethinking it. I believe AFS supports it to some extent, while Dynon is philosophically against it. I am not sure about Garmin yet.

[whee]

My avionics are attached to the CF and the CF is attached to some angle aluminum that is riveted to the boot cowl. It looks flimsy but once the angle and boot cowl are fastened together it is ridged. A shrinker stretcher would be a much better way to form the angle rather than notching it. I don't have access to a shrinker stretcher.

It takes about 2 minutes to pull the EFIS which them leaves a big hole to access the wiring behind the panel. We've had to pull it a number of times for various reasons. Also, we made the panel in three pieces and each section can be removed individually.

I agree that top access isn't very useful in a BH, there isn't enough room between the boot cowl and the windshield.

[svyolo]

I bought a Grizzly shrinker, but I still had to notch the corners of the instrument panel. It just lacked the ability to shrink it enough. I tried a few different angles, including .032 that I bent myself. The shrinker wouldn't quite do it.

I thought about it both ways, anchoring to the CF and anchoring to the frame. You have a lot more going on, on the front of the panel than I plan on. I guess I can change my mind later.