Must have been a REALLY gusty day!I only have one comment/question... WTF happened to your gust lock?
What’s wrong with it?I only have one comment/question... WTF happened to your gust lock?
What’s wrong with it?
I think it was late 60's/early 70's that the T six pack became standard. The ones before that are known as 'Shotgun' panels nowadays.I wonder if the googlie eyes above the AI are a TSO'd item?
Off topic, kind of, but why are panels an older planes so hodge podge? It wasn't really until much later models, well into the 90s, that panels started to be a little kinder to us OCD types. The panel the OP posted could not possible be any more random... any WHY do the old Cessnas and Pipers have that god awful plastic molding around all the instruments. Was that supposed to look fancy at one point? What's worse is they came up with the sort of cut-out pieces here and there, almost to serve as a daily reminder of all the additional options you couldn't afford
I get that owners make changes to their panel and swap out avionics, etc., but does one literally just sit there and say "there! I'll put this new CD player right here!" I mean... in the OP's panel, why isn't the VSI in the spot right under the altimeter where the turn/bank is? If you simply swapped positions with the VSI and turn bank indicator that alone would make more sense..
Was the styling just different in the 70s and 80s? Cars of the era, and airliners of the era, didn't have that same appeal of "we just jammed these whereever the hell they may fit"
I mean, let's look at this classic Cessna panel.. why not put all the switches logically in the same spot. Why have alt/master on the left, then a random cluster over on the bottom right.. I would think for wiring behind the panel that would make things easier as well... then we have all this beautiful space in the middle of the panel wasted, and being occupied by one of those "put a future oblong kind of rectangular instrument here" spots (what the hell is supposed to fit there) and a small vacuum gauge... because that beautiful real estate in the center of the panel was wasted now they have to put the airspeed and turn/bank just slightly lower than the other instruments to really F with the order and organization... then they put the flap handle and gauge somewhere way on the right, so you have to lean forward and molest your instructor's knee to find the switch.. and your engine instruments (generally important in a ONE engine plane) are pretty much all the way to the right, out of sight out of mind. That has also wasted a bunch of space on the copilot panel so if you ever did want to put a second AI in, or some other instruments you are SOL. The primer is no where near the throttle and mixture... ugh, the list goes on
At least older Pipers had some more organization... all the key gauges where in a nice neat pattern, engine stuff was right in front of you, carb heat and primer where next to the throttle "quadrant" and all the switches where nicely in the same row
Okay, rant over.
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Or blasted with a shot of double aught buckshot.It looks like someone came up with that panel layout using a dartboard and a blind fold.
Was the styling just different in the 70s and 80s? Cars of the era, and airliners of the era, didn't have that same appeal of "we just jammed these whereever the hell they may fit"
I only have one comment/question... WTF happened to your gust lock?
Seriously? $300 for a bent piece of metal. Wow. And we give Cirrus a hard time for an expensive hammer lolSomeone didn’t want to spend $300 for the right one
True, but they seemed to have more artistic "steampunk" type design to itCars and airliners of the era were just as much of a mess.
True, but they seemed to have more artistic "steampunk" type design to it
I wonder if the googlie eyes above the AI are a TSO'd item?
Off topic, kind of, but why are panels an older planes so hodge podge? It wasn't really until much later models, well into the 90s, that panels started to be a little kinder to us OCD types. The panel the OP posted could not possible be any more random... any WHY do the old Cessnas and Pipers have that god awful plastic molding around all the instruments. Was that supposed to look fancy at one point? What's worse is they came up with the sort of cut-out pieces here and there, almost to serve as a daily reminder of all the additional options you couldn't afford
I get that owners make changes to their panel and swap out avionics, etc., but does one literally just sit there and say "there! I'll put this new CD player right here!" I mean... in the OP's panel, why isn't the VSI in the spot right under the altimeter where the turn/bank is? If you simply swapped positions with the VSI and turn bank indicator that alone would make more sense..
Was the styling just different in the 70s and 80s? Cars of the era, and airliners of the era, didn't have that same appeal of "we just jammed these whereever the hell they may fit"
I mean, let's look at this classic Cessna panel.. why not put all the switches logically in the same spot. Why have alt/master on the left, then a random cluster over on the bottom right.. I would think for wiring behind the panel that would make things easier as well... then we have all this beautiful space in the middle of the panel wasted, and being occupied by one of those "put a future oblong kind of rectangular instrument here" spots (what the hell is supposed to fit there) and a small vacuum gauge... because that beautiful real estate in the center of the panel was wasted now they have to put the airspeed and turn/bank just slightly lower than the other instruments to really F with the order and organization... then they put the flap handle and gauge somewhere way on the right, so you have to lean forward and molest your instructor's knee to find the switch.. and your engine instruments (generally important in a ONE engine plane) are pretty much all the way to the right, out of sight out of mind. That has also wasted a bunch of space on the copilot panel so if you ever did want to put a second AI in, or some other instruments you are SOL. The primer is no where near the throttle and mixture... ugh, the list goes on
At least older Pipers had some more organization... all the key gauges where in a nice neat pattern, engine stuff was right in front of you, carb heat and primer where next to the throttle "quadrant" and all the switches where nicely in the same row
Okay, rant over.
View attachment 58643
Looks beautiful!I just convinced my Dad that he needs this in 1968 Cessna 182. I think we will end up with a separate digital fuel gauge somewhere too.
I just convinced my Dad that he needs this in 1968 Cessna 182. I think we will end up with a separate digital fuel gauge somewhere too. I'm not crazy about the old clock or its location but hey, it still works.
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^that 727(?) cockpit is not too bad though, all the engine gauges are logically in the center visible to both pilots and your core instruments are all in the same line in a nice cluster. Care was taken with it, they even outlined certain instrument families
Comparing apples/apples for sure, but the vintage Skyhawks and Grummans seem like a legit free for all. In that 172 panel I posted, what on earth was the point of that dead space in the middle, most critical part of the panel? And why scatter the switches all over the bottom of the panel and scatter the engine gauges on the far right?
Field approval on the Garmin A/P, or waiting for next year or whenever they get it through approval?
Comparing apples/apples for sure, but the vintage Skyhawks and Grummans seem like a legit free for all. In that 172 panel I posted, what on earth was the point of that dead space in the middle, most critical part of the panel? And why scatter the switches all over the bottom of the panel and scatter the engine gauges on the far right?
Looks beautiful!
I would maybe just swap nav 2 and the engine gauge cluster.. and if I had money to spare put a backup electric AI in the blank.. just in case the G5(?) goes belly up. But that's stylistic... you have everything neatly organized in a pattern and line and gauges make logical sense as to where they are... as opposed to just a random mess
Cool, thanks, that makes more sense then doesn't really experience my other issues with the panel. Still seems like a lot of real estate to use for something that really just needs a light and a tone to tell you where you are on final. I would have swapped the marker lights and the airspeed/turnbank.. I think that would make the panel neater and more logical.They put marker beacon lights there, when that was a "must have" for IFR.
Thanks, makes sense. I'm sure the engineers and designers did everything for a reason. I guess from today's perspective those reasons are less apparentEngine stuff on the Cessnas kinda made sense in the original layouts for IFR... the far right side was taken up by a massive ADF receiver so the engine stuff sat in between the stack and that. That and needing to bring stuff through the firewall. Was easier to do on the right side near the heater air box and stuff already coming through from the other side there.
true, good point. the extent of my nav 2 usage is basically to intercept a radial on a missed approach. pretty much never gets any real usageI know darn well he'll rarely use #2 nav
The Cessna 150 I had put the master switch at the top of a stack of switches along the RH side of the center radio stack, right above the landing light switch. All switches were push/pull types. Of course on the darkest night of the year I slapped the wrong switch at about 300 feet after departing and everything went dark.
Thanks, makes sense. I'm sure the engineers and designers did everything for a reason. I guess from today's perspective those reasons are less apparent
I agree, I love overhead switches. The newer Archers have lights, magnetos, starter, and primer switches overhead, and then AP/radio/pitot on the main panel
The GTN650 is awesome. I have about 60hrs behind one now and love it.. really getting to know it inside and out. Sat behind a 430 the other day and it felt low tech, lol. I remember when our club back on the east coast got the first 430 Warrior I was blown away by itputting a GTN 650 at the top under the audio panel
Sounds like you have fun work ahead of you, I imagine that's one of the cool things with owning an airplane, the flexibility to build a panel that's right for you. I always kind of wished my FJ Cruiser gave me more options aftermarket to customize the gauge cluster without looking hodge-podge
The GTN650 is awesome. I have about 60hrs behind one now and love it.. really getting to know it inside and out. Sat behind a 430 the other day and it felt low tech, lol. I remember when our club back on the east coast got the first 430 Warrior I was blown away by it
PS, for the GTN, would you get Flightstream with it? Pretty cool to build a plan on your ipad in Foreflight then just zap it into the GTN (and vice versa)
PS, for the GTN, would you get Flightstream with it? Pretty cool to build a plan on your ipad in Foreflight then just zap it into the GTN (and vice versa)
Yes, the 510.
I think it was late 60's/early 70's that the T six pack became standard. The ones before that are known as 'Shotgun' panels nowadays.