Here's Bob Herrick's 1962 Cessna 182E Skylane. Watch this one as we try to
give it that "big airplane" look !!
The object here is to get rid of all the plastic on the instrument panel
and install better lighting. The original is cracked, dingy, and looks
cheap. Notice the antique clock ?
Fabricated a new left panel. Countersunk screw holes for 100 degree black
instrument screws. Acid etch alodyned in preparation for paint.
Mock up to insure proper fits and painted airframe background in matching
grey.
Primed and painted instrument panel and installed bezel back lighting
where required.
The initial fit looks much cleaner. The flush screws really make the
design smooth. I'll be adding a digital out side air temp to the lower
center hole in the main panel and a digital clock to the clock hole by the
ignition switch. I've got some plain nuts on the shock mounts now, but I'll
be adding some fancy nuts to hold the panel in place when finished.
The right side panel is stationary with a plastic overlay. Yuck ! So I
remove the plastic and begin to fabricate a new panel out of sheet metal.
This is the first rough fit of the right side instrument panel face
plate. There's still a bit of dress up work to do, but that shouldn't take
too much longer. Once this is done, I'll make a final mockup with everything
in place for a final fit. Then on to the paint finishing process.
I refinished this the same as the left side. Acid Etch, Alodyne (first
photo), Primer coat (second photo), and the finish coat (third photo). Got
the airframe detailed to match the new panel so that when its
screwed down, It'll look like its all one piece.
With the right side painted, I installed it straight to the airplane
using flush screws. I painted these screws so you can hardly see them.
Got the lower switch and breaker panel installed. Also got the new
digital OAT/Voltmeter installed as well as a new digital clock . Also used
post lights for the temp & fuel gauges and the flap indicator.
Here I'm down to a few details before completion. I've got to finish
installing the cabin heat and cabin air cables. and the new OAT probe. Also,
I've got new finish nuts to install the new pilot's panel with to top it all
off.
More Info on panel lighting:
Installing bezel lighting does require a bit of planning. The light comes
from a very tiny bulb that is placed at the top of each ring. The light
illuminates the clear plastic ring thus providing a "glow" effect to the
instrument. If you notice in the photo below, the tachometer has a bezel
light installed and it recesses the instrument ever so slightly into the
panel. I took this photo at an angle so you can sort of see the light ring
around the instrument rim. One of the most attractive things about bezel
lighting is that it is so smooth, flush, and invisible that you never really
know its there until you turn it on and then whoa ! lookit dat !
This is not a good photo, but maybe you can get an idea. This is how the
bezel lights look at night. Notice the nav indicators on the right side and
the turn coordinator are already back lit. The rest of the instruments have
the bezel lights. The bulbs are located at the top of each bezel and
(although you may not be able to tell here) they do a good job of
illuminating the instruments. You can definitely see where on the ring the
light source is coming from, so some advanced planning is in order. The
instrument casings are placed such that sometimes you cannot locate the
light at the top of each instrument. In that case, you have to rotate the
bezel light to whichever side of the gauge you can get the best lighting
effect from and still have room for the wires and the light bar. A bit of a
challenge, but if you look close you can see which ones are on the top and
which ones are on the side. I was able to get most of them on the top, but
notice the v.s.i has it on the side. I was at least able to get it sourced
at the 0 mark for the needle and came out alright. Even if I had to put it
on the other side, you still could've seen it o.k. Over all, I think I
came out pretty good on this aspect.
And here's a look after fabricating the custom eyebrow and powder coating
the yokes. In the last photo, Bob and I take it out for a ride !
Before
After
