Panel Building Process

Your journey begins with a discussion about your wants and needs in your avionics panel. We will offer up ideas drawn from our experience and knowledge of the Sling aircraft and the avionics available. Our goal is to help you get what you want in the most economical way that will make sense for your mission. The proper setup always starts with finding out what you will be doing with the airplane and building upon that. Once you are satisified with the avionics to be installed we will make a list and move forward.

Once we have worked out an equipment list to meet your needs and desires we will start to work on the layout of your panel. We use form and function to design a panel that flows nicely, makes sense and looks incredible! You will then receive a realistic high resolution rendering of your panel allowing you to see the proposed final product before approving it for final production.

Even prior to submitting your panel to you for final approval, we have already made a CAD file for cutting. This process allows us to ensure that we can properly fit the necessary components so that we do not show something that will not work. Also any requested changes by you can be easily reworked on the CAD file to see if it is possible.

Once you are happy with the layout, the file is sent for cutting and will be laser cut from .080″ 6061 aluminum. The laser cutting process gives precise cuts and hole sizing allowing for perfect placement and alignment.

Now that the panel layout has been designed, approved and sent for cutting, it’s time to start the harness. Most avionics companies will send you a harness that is generic in construction, leaving you to figure out where to mount the hardware and provide them with measurements to those devices. You will also be responsible for building the electrical system on the aircraft side.  For Sling owners we offer a unique solution, building on our extensive knowledge of the Sling aircraft.

We will build a complete aircraft harness with mil-spec aviation grade wire built to certified specifications, and includes both the avionics and airframe electrical. We will provide quality weather packed connectors at the wings, tail and panel as well as pre wire the engine sensors. All you have to do is lay the harness into the aircraft and complete the connections at the airframe and you are ready to go. If you are mounting an iS engine, we will even wire the HIC connectors to the engine ECU.

Upon receiving your cut panel it will be powder coated and then taken to our marking laser to have the labeling etched into the panel.  While many places use the silk screening process which may produce nice results, durability is an issue as silk screened panels simply do not hold up to everyday use. We laser etch all the labeling and graphics from the approved design as this process leaves clean crisp lines and labeling that will never wear off. We will also powder coat your throttle quadrant cover to match and laser etch all applicable labeling.

After all of this is accomplished, we start the build up of the panel. Again, we use high quality switches, breakers and other related components to build your panel. In keeping with the modular design, any wires leading to the harness or rack will be put into connectors.

With everything complete, the harness, LRU rack and panel are brought together connected and powered up. Your avionics will be run through a series of tests to check the system for proper operation and communication, ensuring that when you receive your harness and panel, everything will be ready to go. We will also pre-set all the parameters such as airspeed markings, engine sensor ranges and aircraft information. This information will be saved in case you need it in the future. All of your avionics will be updated to the latest software version to ensure you are up to date when your panel leaves our shop.

After all testing is complete, your panel, harness and rack will be packaged up and shipped to you.