SonexBuilders.net

I have decided to make my panel vertical,but have noticed that by going vertical I would lose some height compared to 30 degree panel .
I really would appreciate any help and advice .
Ben

Hi Ben, It's true that the vertical panel is a little smaller than the angled panel, in fact 86.6% of the original height, but the bottom part of the angled panel is not necessarily very accessible because large instruments can interfere with the lower cross brace. Plenty of builders also extend the panel a bit lower for small parts like switches. It really depends on your choice of instruments. I have the standard angled panel with the old Stratomaster Ultra Horizon and the viewing angle is not optimal. If I was doing another build I would definitely do a more vertical panel. A good compromise would be a 15 degree panel which will cost you less than 4% of the panel height.

Peter

I'm not quite there yet, but I've been playing around with the idea of making the panel both closer to vertical , and a little bit taller. I saw where someone had done this, left the original glare shield in place (with lightening holes), and added a more attractive curved glare shield over the top of that to accommodate the taller panel.

Gordon

Another option to consider is putting tapered wedges behind the EFIS to make that more vertical and leave the panel at its original angle. Did that on mine and looks right at home.

David A.

I'm working on my panel now. I made it closer to vertical (I cut the glareshield so it was 2" further back than plans, and I'm mounting the panel under it recessed .5" under the lip, so 1.5" back from plans). This leaves my panel at a 72.5 deg angle rather than the stock 60 angle. I might have even wanted to go more vertical, but I guess we'll see how it turns out (and yah - will make wedges if necessary).

My approach for making the panel removable is that I'm going to permanently install the Sonex panel I just bent, but with a largish trapezoid shaped hole cut out of it. Then I'm putting the 'real/removable' panel on front of that supported by a few nutplates. The cost to have that .032" panel cut with all the holes I needed etc... from a local waterjet place is supposedly only $30ish.

I made my panel vertical and have been flying with it for 2 years now. I never really understood the reasoning behind Sonex choosing to make an angle panel stock other than for maybe looks. It would seem to me that with the bubble canopy the glare / sunlight washout would be worse with a panel angled upward vs. vertical. You do loose a little bit of height but you gain back a bunch of room at the bottom of the panel. You can put instruments and switches all the way down to the last 1/2" of the panel by making it vertical. With a tilted panel the bottom cross-tie gets in the way if you put anything longer towards the lower half of the panel.

Keith
#554

My guess is that the idea behind the angled panel is to make the cockpit feel a bit bigger, or maybe it just seemed like a good idea at the time. Wedging the instrument on the 30 degree panel sounds like a good idea.
Peter

I need to make a new support bar to go under the panel since the one I have comes with 30 degree flange. I am thinking about installing this one upside down; that would give a little more panel height and I don't believe it would cause any structural issues. Any thoughts on that ?

Hi Ben, I don't think it's a problem structurally, but it would leave two sharp edges on the bottom of the panel which could cause serious injuries in the event of an accident. I wouldn't have even thought of this myself, but spoke recently to a Sonex pilot who was involved in an accident during which he received serious lacerations, apparently from the flap mechanism. Perhaps you could form a large radius rolled edge on the bottom of the panel or fill in the channel with a cushion of polystyrene foam.

Peter

Hi Peter,
I was thinking about making the panel 1 1/2 lower than the cross bar and make a 90 degree bend at the bottom.
The problem that I see by turning the cross bar upside down is that if there would be enough space left for the switches below the rivets. Thanks for your help.
Ben