Update on my build...the panel

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:14 am

I haven't been posting much of anything lately, but I have slowly been working on my panel. I only worked a few hours in December, and January will probably be the same, but what I am not counting as build time, is the time spent reading about wires. Fun.

Anyway, here's my panel! It has everything in it, except an autopilot. That will come later...

The green primed covers you see are the autopilot hole on the left, and the center one is a cover for what was going to be the enunciator panel for the EXPBUS, which I decided not to use. I will probably put the smoke switch there (to flip on easily with my hand on the throttle), along with some sort of design element for me and Brit.

And the two empty holes on the right of the switch panel are for future use for nav and strobe lights. They will have plugs in them to start.

Brantel · Post by **Brantel** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 7:38 pm

Looking Great Chad!

Very nice panel! Proves you can go glass without spending a million dollars!

svanarts · Post by **svanarts** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:14 pm

I can't quite make out what that blue dial is above your MGL unit. Whatever it is it looks cool.

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:19 pm

svanarts wrote:I can't quite make out what that blue dial is above your MGL unit. Whatever it is it looks cool.

That's the compass...it's a Ritchie electric compass, usually found on boats. It uses a remote magnetometer for info, just like an EFIS. Found it new on Ebay for $50...

Post by **Spike** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:32 pm

Congrats dude. I am looking forward to Osh this year to actually get a look at one of the Enigmas. Must be nice to be working on that portion of the project.

John

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:35 pm

Spike wrote:Congrats dude. I am looking forward to Osh this year to actually get a look at one of the Enigmas. Must be nice to be working on that portion of the project.

John

It is! I would look at the Voyager or Odyssey this summer...the Enigma has a brighter screen than the others, but the features are newer on the V and O. The Enigma is continually upgraded, and the updates are easy to get, but the others are more powerful...that's the way the EFIS world goes tho...

svanarts · Post by **svanarts** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:01 pm

cjensen wrote:
svanarts wrote:I can't quite make out what that blue dial is above your MGL unit. Whatever it is it looks cool.
That's the compass...it's a Ritchie electric compass, usually found on boats. It uses a remote magnetometer for info, just like an EFIS. Found it new on Ebay for $50...

Oooooooooh..... Shiney.... I gotta get me one of them!

svanarts · Post by **svanarts** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 12:26 am

So I found a bunch of places that used to sell these compasses. They are all listed as discontinued. Is there a reason that Ritchie discontinued selling these?

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:32 am

svanarts wrote:So I found a bunch of places that used to sell these compasses. They are all listed as discontinued. Is there a reason that Ritchie discontinued selling these?

There are still several places selling these as new old stock, but from what I can tell, Ritchie switched their whole line to non-vertical card compass' like this one-

I don't know the reason they quite making them...

svanarts · Post by **svanarts** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:24 pm

I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some huge defect with them. There are a couple on eBay now.

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:01 pm

Nah, I talked to a guy at Oshkosh that had one in his RV and he said it works perfectly...we would never go back to a whiskey compass. He told me all about it, and that was enough for me. I've had the thing out side hooked up to a battery, and it worked great!

lancef53 · Post by **lancef53** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:28 pm

So is the compass lighted? And it qualifys as the needed compass for the DAR inspection?

Cool item--sorry everybody is interested in the cheapest item on the panel--isn't that the way it goes.

Lance

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:27 am

lancef53 wrote:So is the compass lighted? And it qualifys as the needed compass for the DAR inspection?

Cool item--sorry everybody is interested in the cheapest item on the panel--isn't that the way it goes.

Lance

Hehe...no problem Lance!

It is internally lit, and has qualified on the other airplanes I've seen with it, so I wouldn't see why not. My EFIS also has a compass...

Post by **bullojm1** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:03 am

Hey Chad-

Not to criticize you, but why do you even need a compass with your panel? The EFIS qualifies as a legitimate compass, and if that goes TU, you have the Garmin 295 GPS for at least your track. I just want to know if you know something I don't.

Thanks!

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:19 am

bullojm1 wrote:Hey Chad-

Not to criticize you, but why do you even need a compass with your panel? The EFIS qualifies as a legitimate compass, and if that goes TU, you have the Garmin 295 GPS for at least your track. I just want to know if you know something I don't.

Thanks!

I don't...I just really like that little compass!

Nothing more than that...it was the first piece of the panel that I bought, and it's just cool to me...

Post by **Spike** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 12:53 pm

Hmmm, I like the follow up version.

I would wonder however if it would qualify as a compass for IFR work as it needs a power source.

Post by **bullojm1** » Thu Jan 08, 2009 1:32 pm

Spike-

The magnetometer/compass in the EFIS's meet the FAR requirements for IFR flight. This has been discussed on the VAF forums at length. The only gotcha is some of the older school DAR's don't recognize the compass functionality in the EFIS's, so from what I have understood you should have an el-cheapo wet compass somewhat attached for inspection to satisfy the DAR.

Personally, I don't see the reason for a compass in my bird. The GRT EFIS is good enough for me, and I have two GPS backup sources for heading.