Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/126719
A D - I -Y G l a s s Pa n e l flight. This has worked out great; she wants to go on trips, knows that everything is okay, and understands the value of adding equipment to my terribly expensive hobby. Another reason the cockpit looks clean is because many of the fuses are behind the panel, and emergency controls are inset at the pilot's left knee. Any fuse that is associated with a control is located on the panel. I knew from the beginning that the airframe and engine would be stable, but many, many panel changes would be necessary. The solution was to design the two large side panels to pop out quickly for full access. This allows me to work sitting up and not lie on my back working overhead. The two main panels are electrically connected with AMP CPC Series 1 connectors, and the Tygon air hose has labquality quick disconnects. The system is leak free. An additional plus is that the Tygon quick disconnects seal when separated, keeping contaminants out of the system. Where the Rubber Hits the Road For several reasons I was dissatisfied with the traditional panel scan and thought by rendering a single, 22 Vol.2 No.5 / May 2013 primary screen properly it would minimize pilot workload. Basically, I imagined a "style" and rendered the screen to fit. This task would have been foolish without my pilot experience. Buttons are another issue for my imagined style—the fewer, the better. If you begin with a small screen and have much more data than screen, you need many buttons; however, if you start with a big screen, then menu selections can be fewer. Pushing buttons to change screens in calm air is a disruption that becomes a major issue during turbulence. All of these experiments were very successful, and I did create a very quick scan. It took many screen designs to get the organization, color usage, font size, and surrounding space right before my mind would quickly absorb the information. Every bit of information needed rationale to justify space on the primary screen. I rendered the artificial horizon (AH) and the horizontal situation indicator (HSI) instruments much like their round equivalents because they are time-proven designs. Garmin 430W annunciators were added to the AH to closely couple navigation status during instrument approaches, and the HSI was the proper placement for turn rate and wind vector. The airspeed tape also shows true airspeed and ground speed, and the altitude tape also shows density altitude. The engine display is a summary but sufficient to set the engine controls. "C" is the highest cylinder temperature, "E" is the EGT average, and "F" is the flap setting. I originally rendered some cute dials to graphically show this information, but then I realized my eyes only focused on the numbers, ignoring the pointer. This is when cute becomes clutter, so I used the space for other information. Fuel levels and accuracy are big issues for cross-country travel, and the RV-10 wing dihedral creates a problem. The top 8 gallons are above the float upper limit and invisible