|
A
DIFFERENT RV-6 PANEL DESIGN
Yep, .
. It sure is a good looking panel! I wish I could take credit for
this
idea, but I can't. It is the brain storm of one of Columbus, Ohio's
RV
builders, Daryl Green.
MAKE SURE YOU CLICK THE PICS FOR A BETTER LOOK
SEE!
WHAT IS
IT MADE FROM?
Well, it is a carbon
fiber design. It is made of the same stuff that most of the Indy cars are made of.
As you probably know, carbon fiber design has been around for quite some time now.
Most people cover up the pretty weave with paint, . . but Daryl had the great
idea to bring out the fiber detail by making this panel clearly stunning.
He lettered it with white rub-on letters, and then painted it with several coats of clear.
Just another view
A local expert with Indy
cars created Daryl's instrument panel using an autoclave. This process is
fairly expensive and somewhat time consuming. It is done in this manner to get the
smooth finish that is seen here. It also removes most all of the air voids
creating a very strong panel. Daryl's panel is only 0.05 in. thick!
The instrument and
switch holes were all cut very quickly using a water jet process at a local
manufacturing facility. This was done for the accuracy, however; you could
do it yourself, manually. He supplied them with an AutoCAD ".dxf" file for
the data.
A clearer look at the pretty weave
The glove box!
The rear view!
You can clearly see
that Daryl reinforced some areas with aluminum for added strength. These
areas are easily reinforced by epoxying strips of aluminum to the rear of the
panel as shown.
IS
THIS DESIGN FOR SALE ??
Well, if you have the
money. It is a little expensive but really an eye stopper. Aircraft
Extras is in a position to offer only an RV-6 panel just like this one,
including the offset passenger side instruments. You will have to cut your own holes where you desire for the
switches and instruments. There are also other carbon fiber materials available with a
little different color through the weave.
PRICE?
Well, you can have one of these
panels for $550.00 to $590.00 depending upon a few
custom option decisions. Some of these decisions are: radio stack
location/size, glove box location, if you want the center stack detailed, & etc.
WILL
IT FIT MY PLANE ?
Well, we think in order
to accomplish this at the present time, you will have to have this panel "in
hand" before starting your instrument panel area. In other words, if you have
already mounted your instrument panel overhang, this panel may not just slip
right in easily. On the other hand, if you have just started your fuselage, you
are in luck. Just build your fuselage around this panel! Later, we
intend to supply full size templates for the builder to experiment with the fit
of this panel.
Look
for more pics as Daryl fills up his panel!
Pressure is on now!
|
