B200 Central MIP Panel

This is the central section of a King Air B200 Main Instrument Panel that we supplied to a customer a year or so ago, complete with six of our dual radios, operational altitude alert, and an RNS530 unit.

Below is a better shot of the backlighting whilst the panel was still in the process of being populated ...

As with most of the parts that we supply, we fitted all of the hardware to the panel prior to sending it. This allows us to verify that everything fits correctly, and it also hopefully means that the installation once delivered will be a little more straight-forward.

Master Caution, Master Warning Buttons

Over the past week or so we've had a couple of requests for Master Caution/Warning Buttons that differ slightly from the glareshield versions that we typically offer through our website.

The first example is a little larger than our standard version, and measures 27mm (1.06 in.)  x 21mm (0.83 in.)

This button is held in place by a bracket that we also supply, and as all instrument panels and glareshields differ in thickness, we customise each bracket to ensure the correct fit.

The second set of Master Caution/Warning Buttons is more along the lines of our standard version, although the text has been altered and they're supplied without any surround.

Replica GMA340 Panel

This replica GMA340 audio unit was one of several components that we supplied for the pedestal unit that accompanied the AS350 job, which was previously written about here. 

As with all of our panels, the buttons are backlit.

Although there's no evidence of the dual encoders on the circuit board (shown below), these were both actually fitted directly to the main panel and wired directly from there. This isn't the ideal way of doing things of course, but there was a limited amount of space to work with - and so this was the solution.

The circuit board itself was designed to be as universal as possible - the wires were just taken away from the headers to the I/O controller that our customer was interfacing with. 

This audio panel could also be incorporated alongside one of our intercom systems.

Cabin Pressurisation Panel

This is another custom panel that we made for one of our good customers a couple of years ago.

The adjustable front on the Cabin Altitude gauge is connected to an encoder, and the gauge faceplate was engraved onto translucent material which allows it to be backlit.

Citation Mustang Oxygen Panels

These are a new addition to our range of backlit cockpit panels for the Cessna Citation Mustang.

Although they're not shown on our website yet (like a lot of items that we make), if you're interested in a set of these, you can contact us here.

The Captain's Oxygen Panel (fully backlit and populated with the hardware) is priced at US$195-00.

The F/O's Oxygen Panel (fully backlit and populated with the hardware) is US$156-00.

This particular set was configured for 12V lighting, although if you would prefer 5V instead, this is no problem to arrange.

The Oxygen Mask fitting is a dummy part - it is in no way functional.

And we've also recently updated our Citation Mustang Circuit Breaker Panels, which can now be supplied with riser plates that will allow them to sit forward of the cabin's structure slightly. Below are some photos ...

This is not a very good representation of the lighting unfortunately, which was far more subtle than it looks here! 

ATR Main Electric Panel

This is another ATR-72 overhead panel that we made a few months ago for a customer. 

We've previously made an ATR-72 Engine Start Panel, which uses the same replica Korry switches that are shown here. For more detail about the general construction of this panel, the post regarding the aforementioned Engine Start Panel can be found here.

C206 Main Instrument Panel

This was large custom job that we finished back in mid-2017, although we've been so busy that it's only now that we've had some time to write something up about it. The job itself was co-ordinated between our customer in France and ourselves in New Zealand, with some of the items being sent to us to fit (the General Simulator G1000 units, the TRC mixture pots, and the Flight Illusion standby gauges) and the rest of the parts being manufactured in our workshop and the entire instrument panel assembled and wired.

After spending a long time calculating various angles etc. to get our drawings correct, we had the glareshield formed for us by a local company and upholstered.

A quick note: as this was made more than two years ago now (back in 2017), we've since modified a couple of the components to better reflect the actual aircraft. Small details perhaps, but more aesthetically pleasing (see below) ...

The flaps lever: 

Pull switches:

Updated vinyl flaps labels:

AS350 Main Instrument Panel

Here are some photos that show an AS350 MIP that we designed for a local customer back in 2017. It was designed to sit in front of an LCD monitor, so everything was constructed to be as low-profile as possible whilst still being functional.

[ Click on the photos to see the larger images ... ]

A separate post that details the individual bezels and their hardware will follow shortly ...

Backlighting was also incorporated ...

And the following viewpoint shows how little (if anything!) protrudes out the back ...

LCD1000 Units - some improvements ...

Whenever possible we like to make improvements to our products. Sometimes these stem from better manufacturing processes, and sometimes they're the direct result of customer feedback and suggestions - which we're always keen to hear!

Several of these enhancements are shown below on our LCD1000 units (which are based on the Aspen EFD1000) ...

Adjustable backlighting

The button back-lighting in these units can now be set by the user at any time, and the selected brightness will be saved in memory. The saved brightness setting will even be used after the unit has been turned off.

It's a simple process to perform:

Press the BRG1 and BRG2 buttons at the same time to enter the brightness setting routine.

Press the BRG2 button to increase the brightness.

Press the BRG1 button to decrease the brightness.

When satisfied with the brightness, press the CDI button and the setting will be saved.

More accurately profiled knobs

As shown below, the knobs are now subtly tapered to better reflect the real ones.