Anybody  have any suggestions about panel design? Sun n Fun has my head
spinning. Anybody have any experience with the panel planning  software
or panel building companies?


jeremy  solomon



Dear Jeremy:


Sure!  Here's a couple  ideas I've been sitting on until someone came to
ask:
http://uscockpits.com/Jet%20Fighters/F-35_Cockpit_(dusk_with_virtual_HMD).jp
g
http://www.bredow-web.de/ILA_2002/Kampfflugzeuge/F-35/F-35_3.JPG

And  I am Absolutely, Totally, Completely Serious.

Although, come to think  of it, would you _object_ to such an instrument
panel,
if someone happened  to drop it into your airplane? :-)

Les Nordman :-)

Only you can lay out the panel you would like best. Make a list with the
most important item at the top.

I can still hear my instructors yelling "Airspeed"  and smacking me on  the
back of the head.
In human factors it is often pointed out that the abnormal  situation
should point itself out. In racing it is common to have all of the  gages have
their indicating pointers either straight up, or pointing to the  right when
that gage is in the normal range. I like the horizontal method, as  the scan
time is minimal. So a needle that is not lined up stands out as an  oddity.
You don't have to look at any of them. The odd one stands out as so
obvious, it attracts your attention.

This layout would be odd to a first time observer, but it will look
"Normal" to you or anyone who uses your airplane, in just a few minutes.

You could climb into any plane and fly it with only the airspeed working.
Airspeed management is the only thing that can kill you no matter what else
is working on the panel.

So, the airspeed would be high in the center of the pilots sight line to
the numbers. I would have the pointer showing the full gross, over the fence
airspeed, with this data being the straight up pointer position.
So you can see it without looking at it.

The engine gages should be clustered around (below) the airspeed, starting
with the oil pressure. With no oil pressure, there may be a very short time
for  powered flight remaining. Water temp oil temp water pressure,
just close by. The temps are less important, as they may indicate the
engine is hosed but the engine
(Rotary) may not fail outright, but may just loose some power. I had one
running without an ignition system once that had lost all of its water. It
lost  2 seconds a lap.

This will leave plenty of room for those big glass screens. And that big
(Nearest) button.

Lynn E. Hanover


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