Panel #3

Panel #3 is starting to come together as an integrated well thought out panel. The steam gauges (Altimeter, Air Speed, and vertical card compass) are all back up instruments. The heart of the panel is the dual GRT EFIS units that can show your attitude, heading, and all basic flight information like speed, wind direction, bearing to destination, etc., or show several types of GPS screens or show engine information, or split a screen and show any two. These units will be connected to the Garmin 430 and the TruTrak Pictorial Pilot 2 axis auto pilot. Below the 430 is an intercom and below that is a transponder. If I get the Garin 330 transponder I can get traffic to show on the GRT EFIS. I believe this set up will be excellent for single pilot IFR. I'm not yet IFR rated so I may be missing something.

I call this panel 3A. It has the same instruments and avionics as Panel 3 but they're laid out a bit differently. The steam gauges are in a form that may lend itself better to IFR flight scans. The primary display is a bit left of center (not unlike my wife) and if its as easy to get along with as she is, this layout should be great!

Panel #2.

I wonder how many panel designs it will take until I settle on one. After talking with Stein Bruch (Steinair) it was clear what I had was just a good start. He suggested I could save money by using a Dynon instead of steam gauges to back up the GRT EFIS. Saving money is an attractive idea. He also mentioned that Affordable Panel panels were great for steam gauges and I might want to rethink using Van's panel if I was going with a glass cockpit because the components are all front loaded. Hmmm, well the $24.95 savings that I got by skipping the panel cost me pennies shy of $60 to get here by itself. The panel is now $33 and the rest was S&H. Oh well, if that's my biggest or most costly goof I'm probably doing better than great!

So here's the new panel. The core is a dual GRT EFIS with the EIS. The Dynon to the left is backing up GRT and the two round instruments are a clock and the TrueTrak Digiflight II. I'd love to see this come out with the turn bank indicator. The rest of the stack is similar except I upgraded the intercom to include a DVD player so I can offer inflight movies. There's now a map box and the little square instrument between the radio stack and the map box is a oxygen regulator.

The "Project" is progressing to where it is dawning on me that the parts I'm assembling really will fly. I suppose I've known and believed that all along but somehow it never seemed quite so "real". Its January 2005 and the tail feathers and wings are "done" and the fuselage has a long way to go but it seems "doable", too. After perusing other web sites I see fellow builders like Matthew and Mike are starting to feel the same thing as they complete their planes. So its time to be thinking about the panel.

Here's the dream panel description. First, its all electric. If you want to put a vacuum pump in your home built I won't object. Its an unreliable expense in my opinion but electric steam gauge replacements are not exactly cheap either. The heart of the panel is the Grand Rapids EFIS and EIS mounted on an Affordable Panels panel. The radio stack consists of a Garmin GNC 300-XL GPS/COM, an SL 30 Nav/Com, a Garmin transponder (GTX-320 shown but the 327 is more likely) and an intercom (GMA 340). The autopilot consists of Trutrak's Digitrak and their Altrak. I added a GI 106A VOR/LOC/GS indicator for the Nav/Com a lift reserve indicator and some back up gauges in case there was an electrical failure and I lost the EFIS. These backups are a turn bank indicator, VSI an altimeter and a tachometer. As long as I was dreaming I put a two place oxygen system in for when I decide to fly high.

So why did I pick each of these?

The Grand Rapids Technology EFIS and EIS appeared to give me everything I was looking for and a lot that I didn't know I was looking for. The unit gives Primary Flight Data (PFD), a complete Engine Information System (EIS), and a moving map GPS for $8,995. This unit comes with two screens and each one can display any single data set (PFD, EIS, or GPS) or any two data sets. The PFD page features:

Highway In the Sky Guidance – effortless and intuitive 3-dimensional guidance
Vertical Guidance – Never miss an assigned altitude, or begin a descent too late.
User Defined Approach – Vertical and lateral guidance for ILS like approaches to any airport.
Digital and graphical display of GPS data
Unlimited Pitch and Roll – no gimbal limits!
Slaved Directional Gyro – No manual input required!
Airspeed, Altitude, and Vertical Speed – No delicate mechanical movements.
True Airspeed –
Density Altitude –
Outside Air Temperature --
Wind Speed and Direction – Continuously computed.
G-meter
Moving Map – with gyro-stabilized for smooth, no jerk screen updates.
Altitude Encoder Output
High speed processor for smooth and seamless (no jerk) display
User-selectable and programmable screens with split screen or full screen modes
Alarms and Redlines user settable
Instant Start-up – 15 second gyro alignment time

I could go on about the capabilities of this unit but after comparing it to the Dynon, which appears to be a nice and very affordable VFR unit, and to the Blue Mountain, there didn't seem to me to be a lot of choice based on my flying desires.

Now when it came to the radio stack, if I could have reasonably avoided buying another Garmin product I would have. I've dealt with their service department on a 195 that I own and I swear their motto is "If you don't like our service, we'll service you again." I rue the day UPS Avionics sold out to Garmin. The bottom line is no one else sells anything close and I have no choice other than go with something second rate or something older, less advanced, etc. I'll grumble a little every time I see the name getting into the plane and complain bitterly when I have to deal with their service department again...and I'll bypass the arrogant boys at the Garmin display in Oshkosh. Nuff said.

The GNC 300-XL GPS/Com is IFR certified en route and is only about $100 more than the equivalent VFR GPX/Com. I wanted 2 Com radios and a GPS unit. This gives me both for less than $3,000. I'm not IFR rated but expect to become so after building the RV-9A. Hence, I can easily justify the extra $100. The GPS will also connect to GRT EFIS so I have a decent size color moving map there. Currently the GRT moving map is pretty much bare bones but there are plans to expand it. Its always dangerous to count on the future availability of planned upgrades. GRT seems to be a reliable company and if it doesn't materialize, what is there now (airports and nav aids w/o planimetrics) is most of what I want.

The SL-30 provides a second Com unit plus it has Nav information which gives the VOR/ILS/GS info and the chance to add the $1,400+ GI 106 Nav head. I suppose I could save some money and just use the SL-40. Well, this is my dream panel. My real panel may have the SL-40.

The choice of transponders is largely driven by money. I like the GTX-327 because its solid state, light, and reasonably affordable. The GTX-330 is mode-S capable, so that will be one less upgrade needed when the FAA or Homeland Security decides I need a mode S transponder. What is cool is it can locate traffic (location, direction, altitude and climb/descent info) and display it on the GRT moving map. I enjoyed the GRT comment that when approach would give a traffic advisory and he couldn't spot it he'd reply, "No visual contact but I have it on my fish finder."

The intercom simply rounds out the radio stack. Even though I'm building the 9A for cross country flying, I don't know that I'll add XM Radio or CD music capability. The feature on XM radio that intrigues me is the ability to get DUATS NEXRAD maps. Here's a chance to get information that's typically 5 minutes or less old and has a view that no onboard radar can possibly give. You can truly see around storm fronts. While some would argue that 5 minute old data is worthless I don't necessarily agree. A lot of it depends on the risks you're willing to take. Staying 20-30 minutes away from adverse weather and 10-15 minutes from marginal weather seems prudent and it makes 5 minute old weather rather adequate.

I was rather surprised at how short the stack actually is. I may move the radios up and put a map box in a the bottom. Before I decide I want to see if I can make on that will actually hold sectionals and maybe AFDs too. My first priority is a functional panel and cockpit and if the map box is too short for a sectional it likely won't become a reality.

The oxygen regulator is truly part of the dream. I do plan to use the ability of the 9A to fly high for when I plan long distance cross country. It may not be part of the initial build and the actual unit that goes in may not be this exact one but in time it will happen.

About the only other comment worth mentioning now is I plan to have a dual electrical system so if I have an electrical problem there will be more than enough redundancy to allow safe continuation of the flight to either the final destination or a nearby alternate field without having a total pucker situation.

If you have comments or suggestions, feel free to send them to me at don_at_propjock.com.