RV-10 Sun Visors from Aviation Tech Products
After a lot of fussing about which way to go with visors, I have finally settled on something that I'm very happy with. Originally I had been working with Rosen to try to get a working prototype for the RV-10. They dragged their feet forever, being busy with other projects. I had always intended to pick it back up when they had time, but they never had time. So I was left with one prototype visor. Humph. Then others tried working with Rosen and actually made headway. One of those people is Alex from RVtraining.com and Aviation Tech Products.After hearing a glowing review from another RV-10 builder who installed them, I decided to get the "Blue Sky" visors from Alex and evaluate them. Again I was hemming and hawing, not knowing what to do. Rosen makes some nice visors, but at a pretty hefty price. And, they're large, and not the easiest to swing out of the way. Alex has both types installed in his plane, and he put the Blue Sky on the Left because there much more manageable in flight. They're also quite a bit lighter, probably weighing less than 1/2 the weight of the Rosen's, despite having the same thickness of lexan. This is good because during higher G maneuvering there isn't much mass to cause them to swing. Alex sells both types, so I told him that before I drilled holes, I really wanted to think about what I was doing and get whatever was the best...for good reasons. He assured me that the Blue Sky visors would be very nice, and very suitable, especially at their much lower $195 per pair price. I left my committment open until I could see them in person. Regarding parts and wear, Alex will have parts on hand if needed, so that shouldn't be a large concern. One thing I actually find as another postive with these is that the visors on our planes (both types) end up being in a spot that you could bump or crunch while climbing in the plane if you're clumsy. Considering they're mounted on a fiberglass door post, I think I'd rather crunch the brackets off from these visors than crack the fiberglass because an anodized aluminum bracket didn't give way.
So before OSH, I took the time to drill the 2 mounting holes required to mount the set. It was very quick, and very easy, taking about 30 minutes. Now that I'm done, I won't have to hold charts up in front of my face anymore!
For mounting, I mounted mine so that the visor block is about 14.25-14.50" from the center of the center post. That seems to give a good position that allows everything to swing well.
Here are some photos to show them in action. Use the above link to contact Alex if you're interested in a pair.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|