Instrument panel plastic

[Planegary]

Am considering replacing my instrument panel plastic due to it being heavily modified in the past with random holes that are no longer relevant and general age. Have looked around for replacement plastic to no avail. Any suggestions? I thought that I found a website that had them for sale but I must have been drinking or hallucinated it altogether 

[Prior owner]

Vantage plane plastics is one place..

[gsxrpilot]

Throw it out. Don't replace it! It was never a good look for an instrument panel. While you're at it, cut a new aluminum panel, rearrange the instruments to a standard six pack. Lasar etch the placards, shoot it with some textured paint. 

Now you've got a modern panel and your Mooney just got 30 years younger. And you're out $200. Ask me how.

[charlesual]

How?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gsxrpilot]

1. EAA Membership ($40)
2. Free SolidWorks software.
   1. Lay out the panel in SolidWorks
   2. Test fit with Plexiglas templates ($5 homedepot)
   3. Take the final file to a metal shop with water jet and get the panel cut. ($50)
3. Take the fresh cut panel to a trophy shop for laser engraving ($40 and a ride in the Mooney)
4. Paint with textured paint ($20)
5. Install Panel
   1. Detach instruments from existing panel, but not from airplane, pitot static, electrical, etc.
   2. Remove old panel
   3. Install new panel
   4. Attach instruments to new panel
6. Find friendly A&P to sign off on new panel 
7. Go fly.

The end result.

[Planegary]

Humnnnnn gives me something to think about. I had looked at vantage as well as Texas aeroplastics and could not find Mooney instrument plastic

[gsxrpilot]

2 minutes ago, Planegary said:

Humnnnnn gives me something to think about. I had looked at vantage as well as Texas aeroplastics and could not find Mooney instrument plastic

That's like saying you went to HomeDepot and could't find any avocado colored linoleum for your kitchen. No one does that anymore. Don't put back the ugly old stuff when it's just as easy to update it to something more modern and much more functional. 

[Skates97]

Paul, it looks great, and what I plan on doing once I finish with some changes in the next year or so, already have the EAA membership.

If one wanted to go from the old toggle switches to the newer rocker style, what options are out there? I like the rocker look and some that can be back-lit. Something similar to these.

http://www.aerosportproducts.com/product/laser-etched-rocker-switches/

[gsxrpilot]

3 minutes ago, Skates97 said:

Paul, it looks great, and what I plan on doing once I finish with some changes in the next year or so, already have the EAA membership.

If one wanted to go from the old toggle switches to the newer rocker style, what options are out there? I like the rocker look and some that can be back-lit. Something similar to these.

Thanks!

It's funny you mention the switches. I've thought about going the other direction and removing the rockers and going to simple toggle switches. The rockers are so expensive, hard to find, and expensive to replace. I almost thing a uniform row of new toggle switches would look better than my mis-matched rocker switches.

[Skates97]

7 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

Thanks!

It's funny you mention the switches. I've thought about going the other direction and removing the rockers and going to simple toggle switches. The rockers are so expensive, hard to find, and expensive to replace. I almost thing a uniform row of new toggle switches would look better than my mis-matched rocker switches.

If they were in a new panel with everything laser etched instead of a hodgepodge below it with labels stuck on because what they go to is not what the plane originally had I might like the look better. 

[gsxrpilot]

3 minutes ago, Skates97 said:

If they were in a new panel with everything laser etched instead of a hodgepodge below it with labels stuck on because what they go to is not what the plane originally had I might like the look better. 

That's what I'm thinking, exactly.

[ilovecornfields]

1 hour ago, Skates97 said:

Paul, it looks great, and what I plan on doing once I finish with some changes in the next year or so, already have the EAA membership.

If one wanted to go from the old toggle switches to the newer rocker style, what options are out there? I like the rocker look and some that can be back-lit. Something similar to these.

http://www.aerosportproducts.com/product/laser-etched-rocker-switches/

I thought the issue was that the old toggle switches are also circuit breakers so that if you replaced the CB/toggle with just a toggle you have to put the circuit breaker somewhere else. Am I misremembering?

[carusoam]

Somebody recently went with the fancy back lit switches...

As ILC pointed out... a new CB will need to be installed... For each switch.

The old CB/switches are so utilitarian... and expensive 

 

Best regards,

-a-

[Hank]

8 hours ago, gsxrpilot said:

That's like saying you went to HomeDepot and could't find any avocado colored linoleum for your kitchen. No one does that anymore. Don't put back the ugly old stuff when it's just as easy to update it to something more modern and much more functional. 

I think @Planegary just needs the plastic cosmetic cover that goes on the panel and covers up all of the holes, screw heads, etc. Eith Plane Plastics or Vantage should have one, but between the price and the amount of trimming to fit, I'm replacing my broken one with a homemade cover made from mahogany veneer. The hard part is finding center locations for the instrument holes when your original part is in 3 pieces . . . .

[Yetti]

Much to @gsxrpilot dismay you can still get the plastic panels.    Of course you would have form them yourself.  They are aircraft quality.   https://www.professionalplastics.com/ABSFORMINGGRADE-FR?&search_id=3596745

Going to the professional plastics site and typing airplane in their search was a fun excursion.

Is that what I did?    I got a sheet of alum  Layed it out with a sharpie and ruler and cut it out on the home milling machine.    The travel on the little mills is not that great so you have to move it around a couple of times and reclamp.  

Well actually I did it twice since I screwed up the first one.

Used the Rustoleum alum primer from HomeDepot and Rustoluem hammered paint.

 

 

Edited January 31, 2020 by Yetti

[Trailboss]

9 hours ago, carusoam said:

Somebody recently went with the fancy back lit switches...

As ILC pointed out... a new CB will need to be installed... For each switch.

The old CB/switches are so utilitarian... and expensive 

 

Best regards,

-a-

 

I had these installed as part of a panel upgrade.  They did install separate breakers for each switch/circuit.  It has stirred a bit of commotion between an I/A and the panel shop...and has lead to other interesting topics on this forum such as the Repair Station vs. A&P discussion.  (That I'd link here, but don't know how...)

 

[carusoam]

Thanks TB!

 

I believe this may be the repair station Discussion mentioned the other day...

Best regards,

-a-

 

[cctsurf]

I believe this is the discussion referenced:

 

[CharlesHuddleston]

On 1/30/2020 at 9:02 PM, gsxrpilot said:

1. EAA Membership ($40)
2. Free SolidWorks software.
   1. Lay out the panel in SolidWorks
   2. Test fit with Plexiglas templates ($5 homedepot)
   3. Take the final file to a metal shop with water jet and get the panel cut. ($50)

 

 

Asking because I honestly do not know, but why do you need to join EAA in order to take this on? I would honestly love to do something like this, but would want to do it the right way!

[Andy95W]

You might not have to join EAA to do the project, but you should.  It's an excellent organization that does a lot to help all of General Aviation, the magazine you get is great, plus you get access to all kinds of additional resources like the Solidworks software.  EAA does for "regular" people like us what AOPA used to do for us.  

If you're going to join an aviation group, make it EAA.

[Eight8Victor]

6 hours ago, Andy95W said:

You might not have to join EAA to do the project, but you should.  It's an excellent organization that does a lot to help all of General Aviation, the magazine you get is great, plus you get access to all kinds of additional resources like the Solidworks software.  EAA does for "regular" people like us what AOPA used to do for us.  

If you're going to join an aviation group, make it EAA.

What Andy says is right on. Anyone that is active on here would absolutely get more than their money's worth just from the magazine. 

[Hank]

7 hours ago, Andy95W said:

You might not have to join EAA to do the project, but you should.  It's an excellent organization that does a lot to help all of General Aviation, the magazine you get is great, plus you get access to all kinds of additional resources like the Solidworks software.  EAA does for "regular" people like us what AOPA used to do for us.  

If you're going to join an aviation group, make it EAA.

I'm a member of both. EAA for the local group and Young Eagles, AOPA for their work in Washington--the larger their membership is, the more attention they receive.

Edited February 9, 2020 by Hank

[G Miller]

I wrote an article for The Mooney Flyer that was published in the July 2016 issue. You might find the information in the article interesting for your application.

[cctsurf]

On 1/30/2020 at 9:02 PM, gsxrpilot said:

6. Find friendly A&P to sign off on new panel 

I would place finding the friendly A&P as #1, 'cause springing this on them after the fact is a recipe for "nope", but yes I want to do exactly what you suggest.

On 2/8/2020 at 11:51 PM, CharlesHuddleston said:

why do you need to join EAA in order to take this on?

Joining EAA also gets you one of the things he used to bring this about: EAA members get a version of Solidworks included in their membership.  Sweet bonus in my opinion!

[gsxrpilot]

On 2/8/2020 at 10:51 PM, CharlesHuddleston said:

Asking because I honestly do not know, but why do you need to join EAA in order to take this on? I would honestly love to do something like this, but would want to do it the right way!

Yeah, just like others have said here, the only reason I suggest an EAA membership in this case, is that SolidWorks is included in the membership. And buying a copy of SolidWorks out right would be several hundred dollars. It's completely legitimate, legal, and all that stuff. It's a benefit to EAA members.