Avionics News January 2014 - 28

Aerotronics builds homebuilt panels on a Lexan jig so they can clearly
see both sides of the components depicted on the X-Panel rendering that
guides component placement.

With the panel built and tested, the last step is transferring it from
the Lexan jig to the finished metal or metal/composite panel.

SALES AND SERVICE

safety-of-flight issue, we talk about it in depth and help them
expand their thought process."
Before Aerotronics starts designing a panel, builders must
complete a detailed questionnaire about their project. Running
a half-dozen pages or more, each one focuses on a specific kit
manufacturer - Van's Aircraft, Lancair, Glasair/Glastar - with
another for generic homebuilts. Compiled throughout the years,
each questionnaire does a lot of nit-picking because it is the only
way to build a plug-and-play instrument panel that will control
every system in a custom-built airplane.
What kind of landing light - incandescent, HID or LED -
has different wire and shielding requirements? Dual batteries
require individual master switches, or is the builder thinking
about an essential bus? "If they haven't already built the battery trays," said Smith, "we'll ask why, with integral backup
batteries in many of today's systems, they are thinking about
dual batteries." This kind of advice is why builders often start
the conversation two years before we start building the panel.
This questionnaire and the builder's equipment list first
takes form in an X-Panel rendering, which locates each
screen, switch and space-taking component on the panel. This
often happens while on the phone with the customer, who sees
the results of their conversation almost immediately on the
emailed full-color rendering.
With a final design and commitment to build the panel,
Aerotronics recreates the X-Panel layout in CAD and cuts
the panel from 1/8-inch Lexan, which is the jig on which the
tech builds the system. Upon request, Aerotronics will send
another Lexan panel to the customer to help him build the
airplane. During construction, the tech and customer have
a direct line of phone and email communication so they can
solve unforeseen challenges or act on suggestions for a better
way of doing something.
Upon receipt of the down payment, Aerotronics orders the
components that will fill the panel, starting with the units where

Continued from page 27

lenge or makes a suggestion that improves the system's capabilities or economy.
When the project is complete, Vold continued, generally the
salesman completes the FAA paperwork and introduces the customer to his new equipment. The complexity of that introduction depends on the equipment. It could be a simple five-minute
checkout using demo equipment in the showroom, or it could
involve ground school and several hours flying the airplane.
"Either way, the goal is to make sure the customer has a good
grasp of how to operate the equipment and system," Vold said.
"We fly with them until they are comfortable and adept in the
basics so they can continue learning about their new avionics."
Starting from Scratch
Upstairs, where Aerotronics' experimental division works,
the fundamental difference from the company's general aviation work fills the tech's benches. They are filled by full panels.
Building those takes up to 90 days, Smith said. Getting to that
point can take two years. Homebuilders "are creating their airplanes, and our job is not to build the panel we want - it is to
build the panel they want," Smith said. "It's their experiment;
we provide the expertise and guidance on how to get there."
That process often starts over the colorful lightshow of demo
panels drawing homebuilders to Aerotronics' booth at a number of different fly-ins across the country. But most of the work
happens on the phone and by email with builders from around
the world. One of the most challenging was a builder in Italy
who spoke no English, and "I don't speak Italian," Smith said.
Google provided the translation for both.
Like their general aviation counterparts, the two experimental salesmen emphasize education, Smith said, but they
are working in a larger universe of possibilities. When customers "start getting a little too exotic," the salesman offers
guidance that's tied-down to safety. "If it is dangerous or a
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avionics news

january

2014

Continued on page 30

Avionics News January 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News January 2014