Panel update

Thought I'd give a panel update as I bought my first instrument this week.

Nothing exciting - just a compass. One of the 3 compulsory mechanical gauges needed in LAA aircraft in the UK.

I think I'm going to splash out and go for Winter Air Speed Indicator and Altimeter - Winter is a well known brand in the gliding world for their class leading gauges - pretty pricy though.

The other pic below is of the panel update mock-up which I did in Photoshop. I've printed it out at 100% and stuck it to the panel - as you will see I am planning to cut the knee holes out a bit more. After a bit of testing I decided that I wouldn't be able to get out of the cockpit in a hurry with my long legs catching on the panel. Also the back of the panel has a sharp edge so I will be modifying that when I get to it.

I've signed up for a two day course in January with the LAA. Day one is Electrics and day two is Avionics.

Hopefully at the end of this course I will feel confident enough to tackle the panel. Conveniently the panel can be built outside of the airframe and then installed later when everything is sorted.

I just heard through Facebook that Pete has finished wiring up his new Twister - so it looks like he will be taking to the air in that soon.

Magnetic compass

Panel mockup