Creating a new Instrument Panel - Part 2 - The design and cutting holes!

Design of the new panel

My original plan was to avoid issues with magnetic deviation on the compass, (thou it will still needed to be turned professionally), I tried to keep all of the pneumatic instruments between the electrical driven instrument's, and the compass. But after a number of test layouts, I still found myself putting the switches and fuses near the compass. I know that when the Borgelt Vario was turned on, the compass deviation was the greatest.

I took this drawing to Albuquerque Reprographics to have a pattern copy made to be used as a cutting template for the instrument layout.

There were some slight relocation of the instruments based on the size of their cases, but the finished panel would look similar to the drawing.

I was able to cut the openings using a 57mm, 70mm, and a 80mm hole cutter. the trick to get an even cut is, the panel face needs to be secured flat, and the cutter needs to be spinning fast and then slowly lowered to the panel face. I'm sure it would have worked better on a drill press, but I had to do this by hand.

I then applied a spay coat of my DCC cockpit gray, making sure that the face had a matte finish, you don't need any glare coming off of a glossy panel!

Next post will cover the wiring of the panel.  ... This should be fun!