SR Instrument Panel

[Dave Qualley]

I just uploaded some recent photos of the construction of my instrument
panel for the Super Rebel.

ftp://dcsol.com/murphy-rebel/sr2500/

I made 4 large sub-panels, and installed nutplates to attach them with
8-32 screws. In designing the layout for the panel I just couldn't seem
to fit everything into the standard panel that Murphy provides, so I
improvised by adding a piece of Fus-300 (Firewall Channel) to the bottom
of the stock panel. This gave me another 3" in depth. The control
sticks still clear the bottom of the panel just fine.

For the labels I started with 8-1/2x11 sheets of ink jet label paper. I
printed the lines and text directly from my AutoCAD drawing onto these
sheets, trimed them to size, then stuck them on the painted panel. I
finished the panel off with a clear matte finishing spray. This
protects the ink on the labels, and adds a little more protection to the
paint.

I'm going to start on the wiring now.. I'm pretty sure I can work it
all out, but to be sure I've signed up for a 5 week Avionics class at
the BC Institute of Technology..

I hope someone else can find this information and the photos useful.. I
agonized over how to go about all of this for a LONG time..

Dave Qualley
#057SR

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[Bob Patterson]

Thanks for sharing your photos, Dave ! I'm sure they will help many !!

A nice tidy panel ! The extra channel on the bottom is a
popular addition to Rebels, too. It gives more space, and helps
stiffen the panel.

A couple of thoughts ...

When you come to do the wiring, you might want to be sure
to use one of the pull-off switch type breakers for the trim. The
trim on the Super is VERY powerful, and you might want to have a
quick way to disconnect it if it decided to "runaway". <I've> never
had a problem with an electric trim servo, but pilots with a LOT
more experience than I have seem to be very worried about the
possibility, so .... an ounce of prevention ?? !!

Cigarette lighter power plugs - I've had several, all
positioned low on the panel. It seems that most gadgets that plug
into these things have long plugs & stiff cords - and they stick
out far enough to get in the way of the stick !! If possible,
you might want to try to position them higher up, and on the
outside left of the panel.

Headphone jacks - didn't notice where you had yours, but
after many aircraft, we've found that the nicest place for them is
overhead, in the center, just behind the front seats. This keeps
the cords out of your view of the panel, and clear of the stick.
It also makes it a lot easier to hop out quickly - say, on floats,
as the dock approaches. :-)

Many builders mount the panel that holds the gyros on
shock-mount posts. The extra shake-absorbtion can greatly lengthen
the life of instruments. Sometimes this necessitates an extra
brace across the back of the opening, since the cover plate is
no longer helping the rigidity of the panel.

Your NEXT most time-consuming decision will be: the
design of the final paint scheme !! ;-)

It looks great, and you're making good progress .....

Keep building - IT <IS> WORTH IT !!! :-)

.....bobp

-------------------------------orig.-------------------------------------
At 02:31 PM 1/12/01 -0800, you wrote:

I just uploaded some recent photos of the construction of my instrument
panel for the Super Rebel.

ftp://dcsol.com/murphy-rebel/sr2500/

I made 4 large sub-panels, and installed nutplates to attach them with
8-32 screws. In designing the layout for the panel I just couldn't seem
to fit everything into the standard panel that Murphy provides, so I
improvised by adding a piece of Fus-300 (Firewall Channel) to the bottom
of the stock panel. This gave me another 3" in depth. The control
sticks still clear the bottom of the panel just fine.

For the labels I started with 8-1/2x11 sheets of ink jet label paper. I
printed the lines and text directly from my AutoCAD drawing onto these
sheets, trimed them to size, then stuck them on the painted panel. I
finished the panel off with a clear matte finishing spray. This
protects the ink on the labels, and adds a little more protection to the
paint.

I'm going to start on the wiring now.. I'm pretty sure I can work it
all out, but to be sure I've signed up for a 5 week Avionics class at
the BC Institute of Technology..

I hope someone else can find this information and the photos useful.. I
agonized over how to go about all of this for a LONG time..

Dave Qualley
#057SR

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[Drew and Jan]

Headphone jacks - didn't notice where you had yours, but
after many aircraft, we've found that the nicest place for them is
overhead, in the center, just behind the front seats. This keeps
the cords out of your view of the panel, and clear of the stick.
It also makes it a lot easier to hop out quickly - say, on floats,
as the dock approaches. :-)

Just don't install it like I did the first time and run all the wires
together. I replaced my first intercom and then learned that each wire has
to be sheilded separately from the others :-[ Anyone need a good RST
intercom some reassembly required.
Drew
-----------------------------------------------------
Click here for Free Video!!
http://www.gohip.com/freevideo/

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[Rick and Cathy Ford]

Dave

I'd love to see some pictures of your finished instrument panel.
I used plastic engraved labels on mine, but I like your idea better.

Rick
436R

----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Qualley <dqualley@home.com>
To: Murphy Mailing List <murphy-rebel@dcsol.com>
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2001 5:31 PM
Subject: SR Instrument Panel

I just uploaded some recent photos of the construction of my instrument
panel for the Super Rebel.

ftp://dcsol.com/murphy-rebel/sr2500/

I made 4 large sub-panels, and installed nutplates to attach them with
8-32 screws. In designing the layout for the panel I just couldn't seem
to fit everything into the standard panel that Murphy provides, so I
improvised by adding a piece of Fus-300 (Firewall Channel) to the bottom
of the stock panel. This gave me another 3" in depth. The control
sticks still clear the bottom of the panel just fine.

For the labels I started with 8-1/2x11 sheets of ink jet label paper. I
printed the lines and text directly from my AutoCAD drawing onto these
sheets, trimed them to size, then stuck them on the painted panel. I
finished the panel off with a clear matte finishing spray. This
protects the ink on the labels, and adds a little more protection to the
paint.

I'm going to start on the wiring now.. I'm pretty sure I can work it
all out, but to be sure I've signed up for a 5 week Avionics class at
the BC Institute of Technology..

I hope someone else can find this information and the photos useful.. I
agonized over how to go about all of this for a LONG time..

Dave Qualley
#057SR

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Contributors' page at:
http://www.dcsol.com/murphy-rebel/contributors.htm
Visit the book store at:
http://www.dcsol.com/murphy-rebel/book_store.htm
Archives located at:
http://www.dcsol.com/murphy-rebel/archives.htm

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Contributors' page at:
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