SonexBuilders.net

Hello,
Recently purchased a OneX "N77NX." I've logged about 25 hours so far. It is a great little bird. I am looking to upgrade the panel at this time. It appears to me that I will have to remove the forward canopy as well as the top panel cover to access the rear of the instrument panel. There seems to be no easy access at this time. Any ideals?

Cpt Tidy
N77NX

Hello Captain,
There is indeed no easy way if the builder didn't modify the cockpit section during built.
I made a couple of mods to make repair and replacement of instruments easier, they took some time but already saved me much more time and plenty of headaches....
First was to install the glareshield with nutplates and screws instead of rivets, secondly, the instrument panel is fully removable with nutplates and screws and finally I cut a large hole in the centre of the glareshield which is covered by a perforated glareshield extension and uses the same screws as the glareshield to attach to the instrument panel.
Recently I had a radio failure and it took my only minutes to remove and reinstall a new radio head. I also did some mods to the wiring behind the panel which was also easy via the opening in the glareshield.
Once you have removed your windscreen and glareshield, these mods are an option to avoid any future problems, nice pass-time for the longer winter evenings!

Enjoy,

Onex Instrument Panel Access

Hi Cpt Tidy

Dirk has described some options for "access" that will work.

I have taken it a bit farther and made a "split glareshield"......making the aft 7 1/2" of the glareshield removable and completely opening up access to the back of the panel . That way you can leave the fuel tank and its connections "undisturbed" while you work on the panel. You STILL will have to remove the windscreen but that is not a hardship.

It takes me about 20 minutes to completely open up the back of the panel so it is not a "big deal". Right now I have radio problems with my MGL V6 com so I have had to get in there recently.

If you are redoing your panel you may want to make it a bit deeper. I started with a "clean sheet" approach and made a new panel out of .063 6061-T6 and made it 2 3/4" deeper to get the needed extra space.

I don't know how to post pictures on here but if you email me I can send you some photos of my modified panel and split glareshield. gdbaxter78@gmail.com

Gordon.....Hummel 2400...Onex

I am working on the panel design for my Xenos. I made a panel 2" lower than stock and still trying to figure out how to fit everything. I used a spare 2024-T3.5 (extra 20 yrs of natural ageing) 0.032" channel I had that was the RV-6 fuel tank rear piece. Nice to have the top and bottom flanges already bent for me. It is about 7-3/4" height. Also using some 2024-T3 0.063" to make the reinforcements to the spar angles and upper longerons. I will use lots of #8 screws to attach it everywhere so I could remove it in the future. I also plan to make an access cover in the glare shield to eliminate the frequency of needing to remove the panel. So far I have the fresh air vents installed. Here are some pictures and my current version of a layout.

I am thinking of using a vernier mixture cable for my elevator trim. I could have fine adjustment and large movements if needed. I don't know where to mount it but currently thinking at the spar tunnel between the seats. Not much panel space left. Also trying to think how to access the fuel shutoff valve. I plan to mount the fuel boost pump on the spoiler pulley mount on the front side of the spar tunnel. I already have it drilled for the pump. I could mount the valve at the pump entrance so I can reach it. I would then use a Teflon lined braided hose from the tank to the valve. I am not sure if the plastic tank is rigid enough to use aluminum tube of short length. I'm thinking of mounting the red cube between the pump and the firewall. I'll probably have a cover over the spoiler cables and I could just make the cover tall enough to enclose the fuel line and red cube.