The black front panels were made by Front Panels Express. I just love that company. They charge a fair amount for each (mine average $50 apiece) but they do an awesome job...plus this $80K airplane deserves it. The switches are mostly Mighty Fine Switches, made by Honeywell.

Thereby hangs a tale. My buddy Gustavo, a highly-skilled scrounger, has been keeping these switches in his basement for about 30 years. When I started building my RV-7, he asked "What switches are you using?" He knows full well that this airplane will spend a significant fraction of its life flying from Manassas to Dallas so that I can drink his beer. I told him about the excellent NKK switches I bought from Digi-Key for $6-$10 apiece. "Throw those pieces of $&@# away," he commanded, "they have no place on my airplane! I'll send you some real switches."

I can't blame any vendor for the wiring...that's all me. True to his word, Gustavo sent me a bunch of excellent switches. Some Airbus somewhere has a bunch of holes in its cockpit, I reckon, but I'm working on the "don't ask, don't tell" rule. Or as we say in Spanish "Menos pregunta Dios y perdona."

The center console forces the Airflow Performance fuel pump to be further forward, with the attendant plumbing changes, but that's not a big deal.

I also spent the $30 and bought a better-looking handle for the fuel valve. The one that comes with the kit would do justice to a garden faucet. Of course, I worry about its design...aluminum handle bearing on a steel valve shaft. I think I'll carry a screwdriver and the steel garden faucet handle in the cockpit, just in case.

While I am not knowledgeable about ergonomics, I did want to implement a good, clear fuel tank panel. The big red handle points to the fuel quantity gauge for the tank in use. If I switch to an empty tank, I deserve the Big Loud Silence that follows!

The only switches that Gustavo could not provide were the progressive off-on-on DPDT locking switches that I'm using for the Main and Essential busses. Those had to come from Stein Air, for the frightening sum of $72 apiece. I justify that because a) he had them in stock, and the $50 vendor didn't, b) if one of them breaks, half the loads on the airplane go dark. The only thing missing are the two guards I bought from Perihelion Design, which I haven't installed yet. They will keep me from bonking the two ignition switches inadvertently. I am opposed to having a long row of identical switches. That's why mine all look (and above all, feel) different. Again, do yours your way. This is all a very personal choice that each builder has to make.

Explanation for the switch functions:

LDG: Both taxi and landing lights are on.
TAXI: Only taxi light is on.
STRB: Strobes and nav lights both on
NAV: Only nav lights on. Yup, it's all very Nuckolls-esque!
TRIM: Gives control of the aileron and elevator trim actuators to either the left stick or the right stick.
MAIN: Turns on the battery contactor, and then the generator field.
ESS: Ditto, but for the essential bus.
BUS TIE: This is normally open, but if one generator fails, you can parallel the two busses so that one generator can power both busses. Load shedding up to you, of course. The two batteries can also be paralleled for engine start, if desired.

I just love these 1 1/4" UMA gauges. They are little jewel-like wonders, for which I happily parted with $400 for the set of three. I simply do not understand builders who spend $100K on their airplane and fill the panel with $50 instruments that look like they were bought at Advantage Auto Parts. Remember what opinions are like. I've got one, too.