Dene Collett wrote: > Guys I see a lot of talk about displays that are barely readable in > sunlight > but I have yet to see anybody create a glare shield over their panel. > Everybody seems to just put their panel at the end of the deck. Why not > just > extend the deck a few inches over the top of the panel and create some > shade? It might not be a total elimination of the problem but it would > surely help to solve it.
One consideration on having a lip overhanging the panel is that in a crash scenario, anything stiff and part of the front deck could cut into your skull when your forehead hits it. Obviously nobody would put a knife edge out there and a rounded surface should be the goal. I did create a removable glare shield for N56ML that hangs out over the panel for exactly the reason you state, and it was edged with some rubber edging to soften the edge. The whole thing was added after the plane had been flying a while, and was built in place out of a plyfoam sandwich...1/4" Last-o-foam with a layer of glass on each side. The side facing the pilot was rounded and the glass wrapped around it to soften it, and then a layer of gray felt was added for appearance, and finished off with the rubber edging. I'll try to get a picture of that. I later discovered that felt was a bad idea, as the canopy would focus the sun on the felt and come very close to lighting it on fire! One "advantage" (and this is a stretch) of the original KR2 bubble is that the decking surrounding the bubble forms a huge shade over the instrument panel, creating more shade than anybody would ever want. It's almost too dark in there! I started N891JF over the weekend, and nothing leaked or flew apart. Progress is being made... Mark Langford ML at N56ML.com website at http://www.N56ML.com --------------------------------------------------------
