The center console has worked out well. I was worried that it was going to
be cramped or a knee-knocker. It isn't. I am 6'2" and my wife 5'11" and we
fit fine.
I did taper it deliberately to give more room. The edges of the console have
3/4" flanges to give it strength and no sharp edges. I am able to "hide" all
of the mostly aluminum hydraulic lines behind this console. There are many
other solutions in the archives that also look good.
I left room under the Dynon screens for analog gauges. The units have worked
well in their brief 15 hours of use. Dynon is a local company for me (near
Seattle, WA) and they have been around for a while. No guarantees, but...
I also made the entire panel removable via nutplates and screws. Riveting it
in place is faster and lighter and drilling out the rivets is easy, but I
used screws anyway. By the time you wire everything together, the panel is
pretty much in permanent anyway. So, you stick your head up under the panel
just like everyone else. And that is no fun.
But, because I made the panel installable, the entire panel was fabricated
and tested outside of the plane before installation. I did all of the wiring
and, no, I have never built a plane or wired one either. I did get a partial
wiring harness for the D100 and D120 that consisted of a bundle of wires
coming out of two connectors. I had to connect all of the other ends of the
wires between units, to the other avionics, and to all the engine sensors.
Most of the wiring is on the engine monitoring side, but the D100 still has
its share. I also installed all of the antennas and fabricated all of the
coax cables.
It took me two weeks to get all of the avionics and power lines hooked up.
It probably took another two weeks to get all of the sensors installed and
wired up. Add a week for antenna work. Add 2 more weeks for other wiring
work: trim, ELT, etc. You need a few specialized tools, but not too many. A
good coax stripper, coax crimper, wire stripper and DB (computer) pin
crimper, regular wire crimper and small screw driver set, almost nothing is
soldered. It also takes some time to go into the magic software
configuration for every avionics unit to configure them to talk to each of
the other boxes. This is something that you are never told about as a pilot.
This is the magic world of the avionics technician. There are special ways
to turn on the radio and transponder to get them into config mode.
Fortunately, these avionics tech manuals are provided or on the internet.
I enjoyed this part of the project. It was very different than everything
else. I'll post a wiring-at-work picture in the Elite Instrument Panel
section.
Bottom line for me: US$15,000.
Probably more with the tools and extra wires. But this was for an IFR
avionics suite, with HSI (Dynon HS-34). If you are VFR-only, you could have
an identical looking panel for $5,000 less. Use the SL-40 instead of the IFR
SL-30. Use a 495 instead of the 496 if you don't want XM Weather. Get a
cheaper transponder. You won't need all of the antennas. I got the extra
cost bright Dynon screens (probably necessary). Here is the equipment list,
don't have the price breakdown handy, but it was all ordered from Pacific
Coast Avionics:
Avionics
--------
EFIS Dynon Avionics EFIS-D100
EMS Dynon Avionics EMS-D120
HSI Dynon Avionics HS34
GPS Primary Garmin 496
GPS (Optional Backup) Garmin 296
NavComm Garmin SL-30
Transponder Garmin GTX-327
Audio Panel PS-Engineering PMA4000
ELT Artex ME406
Sensors (oil temp, oil press., man. press., rpm, amps, volts, EGT (4), CHT
(4), OAT, carb. temp.) Dynon Avionics
Main power distribution board Control Vision Exp2Bus
Pitot with AOA Dynon Avionics Unheated Pitot/AOA
Stick grip with PTT Ray Allen G101
Antennas
--------
Comm Comant CI 121
Nav (VOR/LOC/GS) Comant CI 158C
ELT Comant CI 314-1
GPS (2) Garmin GA 56
Transponder Pacific Coast Avionics AV-22
It is all electrical, no vacuum pump, no vacuum plumbing. The EFIS and GPSs
have built-in battery backup. More than you need for VFR, good to get on the
ground IFR.
Eric
645E
-----Original Message-----
From:
mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:
mike.davis@dcsol.com] On Behalf Of Jesse
Jenks
Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2008 7:03 PM
To: Builders list
Subject: RE: [rebel-builders] Rebel Instrument Panel - Dynon D180
Eric,
I like your panel a lot. I am thinking of doing something very similar, and
the center console for gear lever, hydraulic gauge, and fuel selector as
well. Have your Dynons been reliable so far? Can I ask what the total cost
of the panel was, including all the extra stuff to make the Dynons work? How
hard was the wiring?
Thanks
Jesse
From:
elist@whidbey.com
To:
rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Subject: RE: [rebel-builders] Rebel Instrument Panel - Dynon D180
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:02:04 -0800
I posted pictures of my Elite amphib panel in the Elite Instrument Panel
section. Also shows the center console for the hydraulic selector, etc.
We have similar layouts. I went for the separate Dynon D100 and D120 as
there are 2 pilots in the household and you can switch EFIS and EMS
screens
between the units. Flying pilot just switches the screens to have full
flying display in front of them.
Less expensive to go with the D180 and a bit less weight. But, the Dynon
units weigh so little, it doesn't really matter. One Dynon unit weighs
about
the same or less than a turn and bank, but includes every flight
instrument
imaginable.
I also have not installed a backup ASI or Altimeter and I certified my
amphib for VFR and IFR. Unlike a certified aircraft which must meet the
requirements of Part 23 (in the US), homebuilts need only comply with
91.205. It is up to the builder to decide what they feel is safe.
I plan on using mine to pop through the thin West Coast marine layers that
we have so that I can fly to/from beautiful sunny and warm lakes inland.
Right now, I'm still in my 40 hour test phase and learning to become
friends
with a glass cockpit. I've gotten mighty used to old steam gauges and the
transition to speed and altitude tapes is a bit of work. Engine gauges
with
digital numbers are not intuitive like needles. The Dynon units include
needles and numbers, but I still have to think when I look at the screens.
And I'm a computer geek.
Lots of fun.
Eric
Elite Amphib 645E
-----Original Message-----
From:
mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:
mike.davis@dcsol.com] On Behalf Of
james.smith@dcsol.com
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2008 8:27 PM
To:
rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Subject: [rebel-builders] Rebel Instrument Panel - Dynon D180
I have posted a picture of my instrument panel under the Rebel Instrument
Panel section of files if anyone is interested in what the Dynon D180
would
look like in a Rebel. I am using the D180 which is the combined EFIS and
EMS
system. Also have panel mounted Garmin 196/496 series GPS and Terra Com
and Transponder. Decided against backup ASI and Altimeter although there
is room to add 2 1/4 gauges under the Dynon at a later date if desired.
The
garmin, radios and Throttle are deadcenter of the panel. Now that the
rough
cut is finished, we'll take apart to prime, paint and label. Panel will
be
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