Eye Brow Instrument Panel Data

[Guest TOSGcentral]

Thommo PM’d me to ask about availability of eyebrow panels.

 

They are no longer available new but are easy enough to make.

 

These are the dimensions of the standard factory unit –

 

Facing the front from the drivers seat -:

 

Width = 45 cm and 6.5 cm high.

 

Cross Section = Top – 13 cm. Bottom 9 cm. Back 6.5 cm.

 

This leaves a sloping front face of 9.5 cm.

 

The attached image show what one looks like. But they are not easy to photograph due to position.

 

ALL of the engine instruments and switches are mounted on these panels. This leaves the usual main instrument panel a bit Spartan with just ASI, ALT, VSI, but plenty of space for radio and GPS etc.

 

 

Aye

 

Tony

 

 

[Yenn]

Tony. Don't worry about the lack of instruments on the inst. panel. The way some people want to put electronic gizmo's in their planes it will soon be filled up with EFIS, Dynon do dads and FMS. Soon need a bigger plane.

 

Of course I am not a cynic.

 

 

[thommo]

Thanks very much for that tony.

 

Would be aloy easyer if some one had one to copy and make a mold of.

 

Some one must have one laying around even if its broken a bit and could be bogged up and used as a plug.

 

Thanks Thommo

 

 

[thommo]

I was out at Wade Air the other day looking at the vision stuff and think i found a plug for the overhead panel.

 

Will try and get it and mite try and get some one to make some up.

 

Daniel

 

 

[Guest TOSGcentral]

A word of advice. If you have not flown with one of these panels before then I suggest you try and get hands on before you commit yourself. You have to shorten up the wiring harness something crucial and then if you do not like the panel you are slightly stuck with the thing.

 

I personally do not like them. They are not in a natural eye line position and split attention. The tendency may be to not scan your engine instruments as much as you should.

 

To underline the point - I had a nasty experience with one last week. I have not flown with one for ages as my own T500s were converted to main panels only so it came as a reminder of how awkward they actually are to use.

 

The main problem however was that I was in a T500 that I did not know and was very keen to keep an eye on the instruments until I got to know it. My purpose for being there was to fix a major steering problem so I could not take my eyes off where I was going either.

 

The early morning sun angle was dazzling me and made the eyebrow impossible to read at a glance or in any other way than staring at it - which I could not afford to do at the time.

 

I had been operating for several minutes before I did get a look and found I was over-charging off the clock on volts but was only doing so at rpm which had me going too fast to use the instruments! No harm done but with a normal main panel I would have not had the angle problem and would have picked it up immediately.

 

Tony