Lancair Live!

More progress today. Troubleshot the Avidyne GPS, flap switch circuit, and started tying up the harness. Did initial setup on autopilot, servos, automatic trim, engine and airspeed values, etc.

Also wrapped and installed the overhead panels. Went with LED overheads. Bright and small. I decided to wrap the instrument panel as well as I’m still debating on layout and color. The overhead wrap is the same color. I think it turned out pretty well. The vinyl is Avery, a high-quality automotive wrap.








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Got the overhead panels installed today, and am currently wrapping the instrument panel. Overheads with the LEDs make the interior look a lot more modern.

Getting closer. Still running down a few squawks.




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Those lights are really sleek. I like having them as it’s nice to have lighting when you drop something in the dark as well as unloading at night.


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I did some tests with the ADSB antenna and found that it works pretty much anywhere inside the cockpit mounted vertically and horizontally. I decided to mount it vertically under the pilot seat. It’s more than 3’ away from any antenna. Works great. Traffic displays on both AFS-6600 panels. I really like that is shows on both the PFD (with altitude delta) and MFD (god’s eye view).

For those who go from a GTX-345 to Dynon, Garmin uses one blade antenna for both their Transponder and ADSB, whereas Dynon uses two different antennas. Displayed below is the ADSB antenna inside and the original transponder antenna outside.

Back to flying! Lots of lessons learned during this install. I’ll do an in-depth post with tips and advice. For now, here’s some pics using the AFS panel. Flew from AZ-MT-ID-AZ this weekend. I really like my AFS/Dynon panel!

And yes, I still have to dial in the AOA and fuel quantity transducers. However, I did get most everything else dialed in.






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WOW! Impressive amount of work Ryan, looks AMAZING!
congrats and WELL DONE!
Drew Dickinson

Really nice job Ryan. That’s huge accomplishment!


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It's been a few weeks, so I figured I would post an update. I've flown the plane around 25 hours and still working out the little stuff as well as chasing gremlins down.

A few lessons learned: When removing the AFS 6600 screens so much, don't be in a rush when tightening down the D-pin connectors. I didn't fully seat one of my MFD connectors, and it took about 10 hours before it started acting up. I got a system freeze, where I couldn't change any menus or pilot input to both screens. I was about to enter the Grand Canyon VFR corridor and ended up landing at the Grand Canyon Airport. Luckily it was a weekday and Jon at AFS tech support helped troubleshoot. 10 minutes later it was fixed.

Second, carry tools that you'd need to work on avionics while on the road, especially when the panel is new. That came in handy when I had my issue.

Third, take someone up to do the AOA calibration. While technically feasible to do single pilot, having the second person helps so that one person can solely focus on following Dynon's checklist. BTW, they did a great job itemizing the correct steps. I had a previous AOA setup in my old cockpit, and the Dynon is a generation newer. I like the fact that the AOA has a clean and configured settings. When properly calibrated, it is very accurate.

I have more lessons, but will wait for another post. Picture included because flying a new panel past the Grand Tetons is cool!

Update: 65 hours on the new panel. I was getting nuisance ADAHRS mismatch warnings randomly. I checked connections on ADAHRS 1 and 2, and all looked good. Coming back to Phoenix from Las Vegas, I got that message and it kicked off my autopilot. I sent an email to AFS and they asked for the logs. They quickly ID’d the source was the G5. It’s really sensitive to any pitch or roll, and the mounting bracket had loosened enough to trigger the warning.

I really love the added capability of the panel and am surprised at how much data is collected. It definitely makes troubleshooting shorter!

Ryan Riley wrote:I'm still looking for a decent Lancair IV/ES instrument panel Solidworks template. If anyone has one, I'd be much obliged if you can share. Otherwise I'm going to design it from scratch.

Ryan,

If this is the same as your panel then I have the SolidWorks file for it.

Maurits


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