Sunday, January 8, 2017

Started work on panel planning. I decided to go with a dual Garmin G3X 10" touch display system with a G5 backup display. A Vertical Power VPX Pro will control the circuits and dual alternator based electrical system. A TCW backup battery will provide electrical redundancy for a G3X display and critical circuits. The G5 display has a separate backup battery also.

The center radio stack will include a GTN-650 nav/com/gps, GMC307 auto pilot controller, GTR-200 com and GMA-245 audio panel. The arrangement I came up with will require cutting the sub panel through hole a little deeper to accommodate the GTR-200, but I don't think it will be a major deal breaker.

Although the G3X can display and manage the 2nd com, I decided to put the 2nd com radio in the center stack to have an extra set of buttons and display. My thinking is that it affords some redundancy and I've found that when flying formation, the radio ops are always a challenge and having a dedicated radio panel in the center might help out with situational awareness. That's my theory anyway, it may be different when I get to fly with it. Also, after looking at all the other boxes that need to be fit behind the panel I figure the center stack is an efficient use of space for the radio.

There are a lot of support boxes that must be located behind the panel including the GEA24 engine monitor, GSU-25 air data, GAD-29 ARINC interface, GTX-45R transponder / ADS-B, TCW backup battery and the VPX circuit controller. I cut out foam blocks to match the dimensions of all these boxes (including space for the large connectors) and fit them in the space between the front and sub panels. I plan to use swing down hinged shelving to support the GTX-45R and VPX boxes to make access easier.


Next step is to talk to SteinAir and get a quote. There goes the savings account...

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