1952 and prior Floating panel drawing

[GAHorn]

Nice. What did the shop charge for cutting that?

[bagarre]

That CAD file gets us even closer!

Ryan, would you be able to merge the details of the paper drawing and the CAD file into a comprehensive CAD file?

It would be nice to have a CAD file for the original floating panel (stock cutouts for lights and everything) for both 2 1/4" and 3 1/8th" outer holes as well as one with the over/under center holes.

It would also be nice to have CAD files for the same layouts but without all the stock cutouts for those that dont want the dress panel over top. Hilltops's design might be a better outline for without the dress cover as it maintains the outer shape of the dress panel.

Now, If I only knew someone that does hydroforming to make a custom dress panel (I plan to shape it by hand)

[KS170A]

Nice. What did the shop charge for cutting that?

If I recall correctly, somewhere around $45 I think. That was in 2010.

[Ryan Smith]

That CAD file gets us even closer!

Ryan, would you be able to merge the details of the paper drawing and the CAD file into a comprehensive CAD file?

It would be nice to have a CAD file for the original floating panel (stock cutouts for lights and everything) for both 2 1/4" and 3 1/8th" outer holes as well as one with the over/under center holes.

It would also be nice to have CAD files for the same layouts but without all the stock cutouts for those that dont want the dress panel over top. Hilltops's design might be a better outline for without the dress cover as it maintains the outer shape of the dress panel.

Now, If I only knew someone that does hydroforming to make a custom dress panel (I plan to shape it by hand)

Send me a copy of the paper drawing and I can make it happen.

Furthermore, any other 170 parts that anyone wants in CAD, I'd be happy to assist.

[n2582d]

Now, If I only knew someone that does hydroforming to make a custom dress panel (I plan to shape it by hand)

Previously discussed here. Can we get 20 guys to order a batch made?

[bagarre]

20 is probably a pretty tall order, specially because I'm not looking to do a reproduction of the original.

I plan to dimple punch the instrument holes so I don't need the costly bezels and it's easier to see the far side instruments. That and the two center holes will make my setup less than stock.
It's actually a fun metal shaping project to make a cover tho.

[hilltop170]

Richard, just a curiosity question. Why would you not use post lights if you were redoing your panel? I always thought that post lights were the second best instrument lights you could get. The best being interior lighted instruments. My instruments are lighted by eyebrow lights (in place when I purchased my plane) and they are so-so when all work, but its rare that all of them will come on at any one time.

Frank

Frank, I think there are better ways to light instruments than post lights which require a bunch of additional wiring which clutters up behind the panel. My current favorites are door post flood lights which look original and work very well. Now with LED lights, they use even less power and can switch between red and white.

[hilltop170]

Pictures of both sides of my 1951 C-170A floating inst panel and false cover.

There is one missing inst rim on the false panel in the far right side hole which makes it look larger but really is not.

If two inst holes are to be in the center position, those holes must be laid-out by hand as the existing hole is too low to add another 3-1/8" hole underneath it. There is plenty of room above the existing center inst hole to move it up some as long as the existing inst light above it is removed.

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[bagarre]

Send me a copy of the paper drawing and I can make it happen.

Furthermore, any other 170 parts that anyone wants in CAD, I'd be happy to assist.

I think everything we need is now in this thread to make the CAD files, no?

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

I suppose you could get it really close with the pictures. Even though they are taken pretty straight on there will still be some distortion from the lens prospective. It would be better if there was a close flat tracing of the whole panel. Or we could assume the inside hole centers didn't change and then a tracing of at least the outside two holes relative to the next inside holes would do.

[hilltop170]

I got some stiff wrapping paper yesterday and I will make tracings of the false panel over the floating panel. I need an address where to send the tracings.

[Ryan Smith]

Tracing a picture can get you somewhat close, but parallax error and will still exist and it's far from accurate. You only get an idea. See an earlier attempt at one of my panel layout ideas for an example of a tracing of a head-on shot of a panel. This was traced from a pretty square shot of Doug Mowry's panel in his airplane, but it was by no means symmetrical from left to right, and even though it's of a flat surface, you're still in a third dimension versus a flat, two dimensional sheet where you have no angle perspective. Be easy on the technical/legal comments...this was just daydreaming several months ago. I've since changed it, and remember, I don't own an airplane.

[Ryan Smith]

Arash and all, if anyone needs to send me anything, my address is correct in the 2013 directory. Email and phone are not; email is simply a domain change (from @bellsouth.net to @comcast.net). I figure this is the safest thing as I've chased phantom PMs here before.

[hilltop170]

.........Ryan, would you be able to merge the details of the paper drawing........into a CAD file?

It would be nice to have a CAD file for the original floating panel (stock cutouts for lights and everything)............

........Hilltops's design might be a better outline for without the dress cover as it maintains the outer shape of the dress panel.........

Send me a copy of the paper drawing and I can make it happen........

Ryan-
Thanks for the offer to help get the instrument panel details into a CAD file. Below is the tracing of my original false and floating instrument panels as they would be installed on the airplane. The screw holes shown are for the shock mounts. I did not show instrument knob cut-outs or instrument mounting screw holes as every panel will be different. The elongated holes are for the original internal instrument lighting which would illuminate between the false and floating panels. I would not try to re-use those lights unless I was going strictly per original. My memory says they did not light the instruments very well. If two instruments are to be used in the center position, the existing upper hole must be moved up to make room for the new lower hole.

It's interesting that the smaller diameter false panel instrument holes on the left are not exactly concentric with the 3-1/8" diameter floating panel instrument holes.

I did not try to smooth out irregularities in the edge of the false panel, I just traced it as it is. Let me know if this tracing will be good enough for your CAD conversion and I will mail it to you tomorrow.

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[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Of course Ryan is the final authority but I think that should be a winner when combined with the known dimensions of the original drawing we have.

Of course I'm not tackling this project, thanks to Ryan, but if I were I'd create the original in cad. Then I'd overlay Richards tracing and fine tune it. When done we should be able to have a CAD for any of the original configurations as well as maybe a custom one that didn't exist, that being one with two full instruments in the center.