Updating To SkyView Version 14 & Becoming 2020 Compliant

As mentioned in a previous post, Dynon has recently made version 14 available again for the SkyView after making a few software changes that affected older SkyView units. Support for the new GPS 2020 receiver is included in version 14, so have been anxiously waiting for Van’s to post version 14 for the Skyview along with the associated custom configuration files Van’s provides that are unique to the RV-12. Sure, one could go directly to Dynon … but then it would require pounding through the menus and doing a lot of configuring by hand. Now that Van's has released SkyView 14, figured since it was raining outside, now would be a good time to update the SkyView to version 14 as opposed to sanding the cowlings inside the hangar and getting everything inside the hangar covered with fiberglass dust.


Earlier in the month, I loaded Skyview Version 13 and discovered the map display did not work and there was a big red X across the screen. At the time, figured it was probably because the airplane was in the hangar … so it was rolled outside and the X did not go away. After doing a little more research, it was discovered SkyView version 14 is the first version to support the new GPS-2020 receiver module which explained why there was a big red X across the screen … the SkyView didn’t know how to talk to the GPS-2020 receiver module.

The big red X across the middle of the screen is “no Bueno”, installing SkyView version 14 should resolve the issue.

SkyView Version 14 and the associated configuration files unique to the RV-12 are available in the support section under downloads on the Van’s website. The download consist of one large zipped file that when unzipped contains instructions in the form of a PDF file, the large SkyView version 14 .DUC software file and ten configuration files Van’s has put together with .DFG file extensions. The files need to be copied onto a flash drive and somewhere I read they CAN NOT be stored in a subfolder on the flash drive. Not all of the configuration files will be utilized, it all depends on the installed hardware and options.  There are two Garmin configuration files … one for the older SL40 radio and one for the newer GTR 200 radio. There are two autopilot files … an AP simple and an AP expert … the expert file MUST be loaded if the AP & Knobs Panel modules are installed, as they are on the DOG Aviation RV-12. There are also two light dimmer configuration files one if using the Skyview do dim lights and another if using the newer dimmer potentiometer. The DOG Aviation RV-12 will use the SkyView to dim the lights. For less confusion, only those configuration files that will be installed were placed onto the flash drive.


To enter the SkyView’s setup menus, keys 7 & 8 are simultaneously depressed for a few seconds. Prior to entering the system setup menus, the power for the avionics should be switched on including the autopilot switch if the autopilot servos have been installed … the Garmin radio should also be powered on. The first menu item is System Software and is already highlighted so to begin the update process the left joy stick is joggled to the right to take us to the Load Files menu.

 My fingers are about to depress keys 7 & 8 simultaneously to enter the SkyView’s setup menus.

About to insert the flash drive I’m holding into the USB port. The flash drive contains the SkyView version 14 .DUC file and the .DFG configuration files provided by Van’s. This tiny flash drive will be inserted into the USB port under the instrument panel (it could also be installed into one of the USB ports on the back of the SkyView).


After inserting the flash drive, the left joystick is joggled to the right from the System Software menu … this action will take the user to the Load Files menu. At this point, with Load Files highlighted, joggling the left joystick to the right will bring up the list of the files stored on the flash drive inserted into the USB port.

With the Load Files menu highlighted, joggling the left joystick to the right will enter the Load Files menu which will show the contents of the flash drive plugged into the USB port.

Listing of the available files to choose from on the flash drive that was inserted into the USB port.

The first file that will be installed is the SkyView Version 14 .DUC software upgrade. The left joystick is toggled up or down to highlight the file to be loaded. Key 8 (on the bottom left) is labeled as “Load” and is pressed to actually begin the loading of the highlighted file. In the photo below, my finger is on the button and one can see” Load” is the function above the button. Pressing the Load button will take you to a screen asking are you sure? The loading of the file will begin after answering Yes to … are you sure?.

About to press the Load button with the .DUC  file to be loaded highlighted.

About to press Yes to the question … are you sure?

Screen shot of the SkyView version 14 software load in progress.

The SkyView version 14 software load takes quite a while to complete … there are a few phases of loading and configuring that takes place along with a reboot of the SkyView once the software instillation completes. After the Skyview reboot takes place, the setup menu needs to be entered again by pressing buttons 7 & 8 simultaneously and navigating back to the Load Files menu so the remaining Van’s configuration files on the flash drive can be loaded one at a time. The Van’s configuration files are very small and load almost instantly. After the file loads, pressing the “Done” key returns to the Load Files menu and the next file to be loaded can be highlighted using the left joystick … and the process is repeated for the next file.


Because the DOG Aviation RV-12 has the optional autopilot servos and the SkyView AP & Knobs Panel modules installed, the Van’s AP expert configuration file needs to be installed (if the AP & Knobs Panel modules are not installed, the user should use Van’s AP simple configuration file instead).

The Van’s AP expert file is selected and my finger is about to push the Load button.

The next configuration file loaded was Van’s configuration file for the ADS-B 470 module. Van's supplies two ADS-B configuration files ...  one for the ADS-B 470 module installed and another configuration file if the 470  module is not installed.

About to load the Van’s configuration file for the ADS-B 470 module.

Continuing the fun, the next file loaded was Van’s configuration file for the GPS-2020 GPS receiver module.

The Van’s configuration file for the GPS-2020 GPS receiver module highlighted and ready to load.

About the time Van’s began offering the Garmin avionics package as an option, the panel lights dimming circuit was modified and a potentiometer was placed on the center panel section to dim the lights using a knob in lieu of the SkyView. The Dynon Skyview can to do this function but guessing the Garmin unit can’t, which apparently necessitated the changeover to a manual dimmer. As such, there are two configuration files for dimming the panel lights depending on whether or not the newer panel knob is installed. There is a Van’s configuration file for Knob-Dim and one for EFIS-Dim. The avionics package was purchased around the time of the changeover, so the DOG Aviation RV-12 does not have the dimmer knob.  As such, the EFIS-Dim configuration file is the appropriate one to load because the SkyView will be controlling the panel lighting brilliance.

The Van’s EFIS-Dim configuration file is selected for instillation. This file is used for RV-12’s that shipped prior to moving the instrument panel lighting control to a knob on the center instrument panel section.


The last Van’s configuration file that needs to be installed is the one for the Garmin radio. Van’s has a file for the older Garmin SL40 unit and one for the newer Garmin GTR 200. This configuration file will allow the SkyView to push frequencies from the SkyView’s screen directly into the standby frequency on the radio. It also allows for the radio to update the SkyView screen if the frequency is selected manually using the knobs on the radio. This is really slick … as an example, when using the map it is possible bring up a box filled with information about a particular airport you plan to land at. Say you want to contact approach … using the joystick on the SkyView, the approach frequency in the information box menu is highlighted … once highlighted, the approach frequency can be sent directly to the Garmin radio by pressing one of the buttons on the SkyView which will cause the highlighted frequency to be “pushed” to the standby frequency on the Garmin radio. Sweet! No fussing with tuning knobs on the radio. Plus, on the DOG Aviation RV-12 there is a switch on the Tostin control grips wired to the Discreet Input 1 on the Garmin GTR 200 radio that was configured to transfer the “standby” frequency to “active” by pressing the switch on the Tostin grips. So frequencies can be selected, transferred to the radio and made active without ever needing to touch the Garmin radio. Because the Garmin GTR 200 is installed in the DOG Aviation RV-12, the Van’s configuration file for the GTR200 is installed to make the above magic happen.

About to install the Van’s configuration file for the Garmin GTR 200 radio by pressing the Load button.

Once the SkyView version 14 software was installed along with all the appropriate Van’s configuration files, to check the status of everything, I powered down the SkyView and Avionics and then powered everything up again and entered into the Setup Menu and selected Network Status. Because I’m treating this as an initial install, the configure option was selected.

Selecting System Setup and about to push the joystick to the right to enter the SkyView Network Setup menu.

Selecting Configure from the Network Setup menu and about to push the joystick to the right to enter the Network Configuration Menu.

From the Network Configuration menu, pressing the Detect button my finger is on will begin a scan of the SkyView hardware components.


After the scan is completed, I think the SkyView rebooted or I rebooted it (can’t remember which) then navigated back to the Configuration Menu to check the status of everything. All the entries should be in white text. Yellow text means there is a version of the software that is newer and by using the joystick that software can be loaded. Red text means something is wrong … as an example, if the auto pilot servos are installed but not powered up, the first two entries in the list below will be in red text.

Result of the network scan … all is well and everything was detected correctly. There is no yellow text indicating newer software is available and no red text indicating the hardware can’t been seen or there is an issue that needs to be addressed.


Looking at the above list of items, some may be thinking, that can’t be right … where is the 261 Transponder, ADS-B 470, GPS-2020, ect.? They do not appear on the list of “Network Devices” because they are not on the SkyView’s system “ buss”, instead, they are wired directly to the five SkyView’s serial ports which have their own configuration menus that will be looked at next. Serial port 1 will feed GPS position information to the ELT (emergency locater transmitter). Serial port 2 is wired to the optional Dynon ADS-B 470 module (which in my case is installed). Serial port 3 is wired to the Dynon 261 Transponder. Serial port 4 is wired to the Garmin GTR 200 radio and provides the push pull capability mentioned above. Serial port 5 is wired to the Dynon GPS-2020 GPS receiver (or GPS-250 receiver if the new 2020 compliant GPS receiver is not installed).


To view the menus for the serial ports, keys 7 & 8 are pressed simultaneously to enter the Setup Menu then the left joystick is pressed down to highlight System Setup. With the System Setup menu highlighted, the left joystick is joggled to the right to enter the System Setup menu. The left joystick is moved down until Serial Port Setup is highlighted. Joggling the left joystick to the right will enter the Serial Port Setup menu. By default serial port 1 will be selected … moving the left joystick down will select the remaining serial ports.

Serial port 1 only feeds GPS position data out to a single wire that runs to the ACK 406 ELT unit to keep the ELT informed of the current position so it can be transmitted in an emergency.

Serial port 2 sends and receives from the optional Dynon ADS-B 470 module (which is installed in the DOG Aviation RV-12).

Serial port 3 sends to and receives data from the Dynon SkyView 261 Transponder.

Serial port 4 is wired to the Garmin GTR 200 radio and sends and receives data that provides the push pull capability discussed above.

Serial port 5 is wired to the Dynon GPS-2020 GPS receiver module (or GPS-250 receiver if the new 2020 compliant receiver is not installed).


Apparently, SkyView version 14 has updated software for the 261 Transponder as well, because when looking at the Transponder Setup menu settings (under the Set Up menu) there was yellow text saying there was a newer version of the software available. (Sorry, forgot to take a photo of the screen before allowing the software to update. After the update the status field for the transponder showed “Power Cycle” in red text and the compliant field said NO. After powering the SkyView off then rebooting the SkyView, returned to the Transponder Setup menu and was pleased to discover the  text was white and the avionics are now 2020 compliant.

Pointing to the wonderful word “Yes” for 91.227 compliant … meaning the hardware in the DOG Aviation RV-12 now meets the year 2020 regulations set forth in 91.227 mandating aircraft operating within certain controlled airspaces to be equipped with ADS-B out transmitting the aircraft’s altitude along with position coordinates from a compliant GPS source.


One would think at this point you would be good to go … but not so. Now that we have a fancy GPS receiver, we need to load map and terrain data into the SkyView. I’ll cover that in the next post but below is what the display looked like after installing the maps ... no more red X where the map should be. Amazingly, the whole time the software and maps were being installed it was raining outside (rather hard at times) so the hangar door was never opened during the software instillation and the hangar is all metal ... yet the map on the SkyView showed my proper location!

There is no longer a red X where the map is. Amazingly, even being in a 100% steel hangar with the hangar door closed due to moderate rains, outside the GPS-2020 receiver was able to bring up the map showing my correct location!

Cowling Sanding – The Saga Continues

Yesterday afternoon was spent sanding and tweaking the lower cowling half. Was able to finish off sanding both sides and then test fitted the upper cowling to see how the parts mate. During the test fitting discovered a little more material needed to be removed in the area where the side of the cowling transitions to the joggle … plus the edges of the jogle needed a little cleanup as well. As mentioned in a previous post, even using 80 grit sandpaper, it takes a lot of sanding to work the 1/8" excess (Van’s suggests leaving) down to the trim line.

The joggle on the left side of the lower cowling after trimming and cleanup. Note what looks like a light area in the round port … that is a tall ridge of resin that needs to be sanded down.

Sanding the 1/8" excess material Van’s suggests leaving down to the trim line takes a fair amount of elbow grease. The long edge my left hand is on is finished … and the edge of the cowling that will go over the firewall shelf is almost done. Then it is on to the other side.


As with the upper cowling, the sanding is not being done to the aft edges of the lower cowling until the overall fit has been checked first with the back plate for the spinner in place. I was running out of good light so did not mark and cut the oval opening in the lower cowl half. The trim line in this area is barely visible and only if holding the part at the correct angle to the light. It appears roughly a 1/4" or so of material needs to be removed all the way around, so that will be the starting point for the next work session.

Lots And Lots Of Sanding On Upper Cowling Half Begins

The work session began by working the excess fiberglass on the upper cowl half down close to the trim lines with 80 grit sandpaper At this point in time, the plan is to only sand down the sides and the front of the upper and lower cowling to the trim line. The goal is to obtain a nice fit centered on the engine with approximately a 1/8" gap between the cowling and spinner back plate that will be mounted on the hub the propeller will attach onto. By leaving the cowling halves slightly long, there should be just a little wiggle room to make tiny adjustments to the overall fit.

Sanding down the upper cowling to the cut line using Dura-Block sanding block and 80 grit sandpaper.

Even though there is only 1/8" of material to remove to get down to the trim lines, it still requires a lot of sanding ... even with 80 grit paper. As can be seen in the above photo, a Dura-Block sanding block was used to sand the cowling … this made it really easy to make the edges straight without ripples. The sandpaper was switched to 150 grit once close to the trim lines to allow for an accurate finish sanding just barely down to the trim line.


About the time sanding on the upper cowl’s front and sides was completed, Mike and Bernie rolled up. On a lark we held the prop spinner plate on the hub and did a test fit of the upper cowling. Have to say, the amount of material on the upper cowling that overlaps the upper fuselage skin is approximately the amount of material in excess of the trim line. It is amazing, but Van’s trim lines are very close to being perfect in length but it looks to me as though the cowling would be skewed ever so slightly to the left. I should be able to correct for that if I want to take the time to do so. Won’t really get a good handle on it until the bottom cowl is sanded down and fitted to the upper cowl.


The work session yesterday was a short one … only had time to sand down the upper cowling prior to getting distracted with Mike’s lawn tractor, which we were able to fix BTW.

Slicing & Dicing Of Cowling Halves Begins

Friday work on the upper and lower cowling halves began by preparing the cowling pieces for trimming. Van’s plans calls for trimming the upper and lower cowling pieces to within 1/8" of a trim line that has been scribed into the pieces then hand sand the pieces down to the trim line. The scribed trim line on the upper cowling was easy to see and mark using a mechanical pencil with a fine lead to fill in the scribe line so it was well defined. That was another story on the bottom cowl … there were places where the scribe line could not be easily seen, especially inside the hangar, or felt since it is typically a score. The only way to make out the trim line was to have the cowling outside and angle it in such a way the faint “line” would become visible so it could be marked. This was a real pain in the keister.

Using a pencil to highlight and darken the cut line on the upper cowling half.

Once the trim lines on both the cowling halves were identified and marked, a cut line was placed 1/8" away from the trim line on both cowling halves.

Marking the cut line 1/8" away from the trim line using a red Sharpie pen.

Was about to begin cutting the cowlings when Mike and Bernie rolled up towing a trailer with a John Deere lawn tractor in it.  It had an interesting problem in that once started, it would not shut off by turning the key to the off position. That seemed like more fun at the moment than getting all itchy cutting fiberglass, so for the remainder of the afternoon and evening we were trying to figure out the ignition issue with Mike’s tractor. At one point, seemingly everyone around the airport ended up at Mike’s hangar trying to isolate the cause of the issue. We ran out of time, but isolated the problem to one of two items after finding a wiring schematic on the Internet. All that is left to do is remove a wire from a connector to truly isolate the issue.


Saturday turned out to be a nice day and was spent outside slicing and dicing the cowling halves. A Dremel tool outfitted with a cutting wheel was used to cut the excess material off both cowling halves to a 1/8" away from the trim line as per the plans. The lower cowling receives some extra attention in that there is a joggle and a flange that the upper cowling needs to fit over. The plans call for cutting the flange on the lower cowling down to a length of 5/8" and to sand the joggle so there is no extra material in the joggle or on the flange to prevent the upper cowling from seating tightly to the lower cowling when mated. A round hole for the gascolator needed to be drilled into the cowling … (think it ends up being 1 1/16") I used two step drills which easily did the job.

Smoothing the edge of the flange on the lower cowling half using a sanding block after cutting off the excess material so the finished length of the flange is 5/8" from the joggle. The flange closest to the viewer has not been sanded yet.


This was a good place to stop for the day but the lower cowling needs to receive much more attention in that there is an oblong hole which needs to be cut for the exhaust pipe and a quite long slot that needs to be cut for the nose wheel’s landing gear tube. Cutting the long slot now will make the lower cowling very flexi … so will hold off and sand the sides of both cowling halves to the trim line first, then drill the holes for the six screws will secure the upper cowling half to the joggle/flange on the lower cowling.

Deriving The Transponder’s Hexadecimal Code

When using SkyView version 13 or older, one of the items that requires an entry into the SkyView by the builder is the Hexadecimal code for the transponder. This code is unique to the N number and needs to be installed in mode S transponders. The code is called ICAO and is a 24 bit code. To avoid a long string of ones and zeros, the code is converted to an Octal or Hexadecimal number. The FAA has an algorithm that generates the code based on the N number … so each N number is assigned a unique eight digit Octal mode S code (which, for American aircraft, begins with 5).


Apparently, one of the nice features that comes with SkyView version 14 is that the algorithm is now built into the software. When the user inputs the aircraft’s N number (which is the first thing that needs to be done before the configuration menus can be accessed) SkyView version 14 software will automatically calculate the proper transponder code based on the N number and populate that field in the transponder’s setup menu with the hexadecimal equivalent of the FAA’s octal code. Unfortunately, Van’s has not released SkyView version 14 yet … so will need to enter the mode S code manually.


(Return from the future ... About a week after this was posted Van's released version 14 and the associated configuration files).


Here is how the code can be obtained prior to registration of the aircraft. Most builders, myself included, have been to the FAA’s web site and have done searches on the available registration N numbers for their airplanes. Although not necessary, the builder can reserve an available N number by paying a $10 fee which reserves the number for a year… upon which time it can be renewed for another year for another $10.( More than one number can be reserved … there was a point when I had four numbers reserved but now that has dwindled to two). Most builders reserve an N number for their aircraft prior to completion and the transponder code can be found by looking at your reservation on the FAA’s web site.


For those who have reserved an N number for their aircraft and know they will use it when registering the airplane, the unique transponder code assigned to the N number can be obtained by doing an N number inquiry at the FAA’s web site. The inquiry will return your name and address and show that the N number is reserved in your name. There is also a field listed for Mode S Code followed by an eight digit number. This number is the transponder code and is represented as an Octal value and NOT Hexadecimal as is required for the SkyView transponder!


Unfortunately, the transponder menu in the SkyView requires the Mode S code to be entered as a HEXADECIMAL value NOT the Octal value shown on the FAA’s web site. So the Octal number shown on the FAA’s web site needs to be converted to Hexadecimal before it can be entered into the SkyView set up menu for the transponder. Making the conversion is easy … and I’ll make an effort to make the seemingly complex simple and show you how …  after a brief discussion on computer numbering systems to help those who don’t understanding the difference between Octal, Hexadecimal and Binary numbers. Of course in a couple of weeks version 14 will be mainstream and the following will be moot … although it may be useful as a double check.


Computers and digital devices store numbers and data internally by semiconductor devices being in one of two states … on or off … which is represented as a 1 or 0 and is called a binary “Bit”. To store numbers or data, the semiconductor “Bits” are grouped together to form “Nibbles”, “Bites” and “Words”. Computers and digital devices predominately use two numbering system standards to represent digits… Octal and Hexadecimal. Octal digits are represented by grouping three binary bits and Hexadecimal digits are represented by grouping four binary bits. The Octal numbering system was a mainstay in the 70’s and has, for the most part, been retired by the Hexadecimal numbering system. This may explain why Octal is used on the FAA web site …. Years of tradition unhampered by progress.


Computer numbering systems made easy ... or not. In any numbering system the highest digit in any one column is one less than the base of the numbering system. The familiar Decimal base 10 numbering system we are all accustomed to is represented by digits ranging from 0 to 9 with 9 being the largest digit in any column. Binary is base 2, so it is represented by digits ranging from 0 to 1 with 1 being the largest digit in any column. Octal is base 8, so it is represented by 0 to 7 with 7 being the largest digit in any column.


Think of it as an odometer in a car … as an example, in Octal 7 +1 is 10 because there is only 0-7 in any one column so 7 +1 trips the odometer to the next digit of 10. Here is where it gets a little dicey … Hexadecimal is base 16, so one less than the base would be 15 but that is two digits …. not to worry 15 is “represented” as the letter F, 10 is A, 11 is B, ect. … so in Hexadecimal, F+1 is 10.


So why do computers use Octal and Hexadecimal numbering systems? Because it makes it easy to convert the hardware level binary ones and zeros into numbers easier for us to deal with without having very long strings of ones and zeros for each number. Octal and Hex numbering systems are “convenient” because three binary “bits” grouped together represents an Octal digit and four binary bits grouped together represents a Hexadecimal digit.


Binary examples of Octal digits: 1 in Octal is 001 in Binary.    2 in Octal is 010 in Binary.    4 in Octal would be 100 in Binary.    7 in Octal is 111 in Binary.


Binary equivalents of Hex digits are identical to the Binary numbers above from 0 to 7 with the exception there is a leading 0 added.  7 in Hex is 0111 in Binary.    8 in Hex is 1000 in Binary.    F (or 15) in Hex is 1111 in binary.    B (or11) in Hex is 1011 in Binary.


Rule of thumb, ANY Octal value can be easily converted to a Hexadecimal value by converting each digit of the Octal value into groups of three binary bits. The resulting binary string can then be converted into a Hexadecimal value by counting off groups of four binary bits ( moving from right to left) instead of the three used for Octal. (Conversely, any Hexadecimal value can easily be converted to Octal by changing each digit to a four bit binary, then moving from right to left create groups of three binary bits, then convert them to the corresponding Octal digit for the binary value of the three bit grouping).


Below is a graphic showing how to convert an Octal value to a Hexadecimal value. As a hypothetical example, if the FAA showed the mode S code of 52072351 on their web site for an aircraft’s mode S code, it would need to be converted from Octal to Hexadecimal so it could be entered into the SkyView’s transponder setup menu… the conversion results in a Hexadecimal value of A874E9.

As can be seen in the above graphic, converting an Octal value to Hexadecimal is not that difficult … it just requires a piece of paper, a writing utensil, a little patience, and some practice.


Using the above method, I was able to convert the Octal mode S code shown on the FAA’s web site to Hexadecimal and install the Hexadecimal code into the DOG Aviation RV-12’s  SkyView setup menu for the transponder.

Instrument Panel Window Dressing & Compass Installed

The task for the afternoon was to finish up fussing with the instrument panel so the upper forward fuselage skin can be screwed in place ... allowing for the fitting of the cowling halves to begin. Mike had some self-adhesive cable tie mounts that he was willing to donate to the cause so basically, the wiring was cinched up with wire ties and anyplace where it looked as though a wire could chafe, such as on the firewall, self-adhesive cable tie mounts were used to both secure the wires and to raise them off metal surfaces.

While playing behind the instrument panel, decided to rearrange the way the static and pitot lines connected onto the airspeed indicator. It was determined the lines would fit better and make for a neater instillation if the two fittings on the back of the airspeed instrument were flip flopped. The Y fitting for the static lines running to the backup instruments was secured to the side of the map box by using one of the self-adhesive cable tie mounts.

Photo of the new way the static and pitot lines run to the backup airspeed indicator.

The Y for the static lines can be seen on the left of the map box attached to a self-adhesive cable tie mount with a wire tie.

The installed ADS-B module with the wires for the AP & Knobs Panel modules dressed and secured onto the top of the ADS-B module with a self-adhesive cable tie mount.

Photo of the instrument panel wiring all dressed and ready to be closed out by the upper forward fuselage skin.

The last task necessary to finish up the instrument panel was the instillation of the backup PAI 700 vertical card compass. The compass ships with black brass screws already screwed into it that are to be used as the mounting screws for the compass if it is panel mounted. Not sure if I mentioned this or not before, but all of the screws that have been used to mount the backup instruments have been brass and the screws used to mount the three instrument panel sections have been 18-8 black stainless screws. This was done in the hopes of reducing the amount of magnetic metals in the vicinity of the compass.

Installing the PAI 700 vertical card compass using a non-magnetized Philips ratchet.

Savvy builders may have noticed there are no slots cut into the instrument panel to allow access to the compass’s two adjusting screws. This was done intentionally because of not being sure if the vertical card compass will work at all mounted where it is. Vertical card compasses can be finicky, so did not want to slice holes in the panel for the adjusting screws only to find out it won’t work there and needs to be replaced with another type of compass that likely won't use those adjustment holes . I have already purchased three inch brass screws so when attempting to “turn the compass” or adjust it, I’ll just switch over to the longer screws and push the screws forward, which will push the compass away from the panel enough to gain access to the two adjusting screws. Once the compass is adjusted as best as possible, the long screws will be replaced with the much shorter mounting screws that came with the compass.

Completed instrument panel ready for the first flight.