Compass Mounting?

[Subsonic]

OK, that's two votes for the lower panel option. Has anyone found a good working location for a vertical card compass in the panel?

[wyandot jim]

As far as the compass being in my line of sight when landing or take off. Not a problem I focus to the left side of the nose. Remember I also have a Starduster Too that I can't see crap out of During level flight it is right were I want it for my scan. I'm old make that very old school and I use the compass a lot during cross countries. In most of the stuff that I have flown all I had to get me around the country was the never fails Whisky Compass

[Subsonic]

Jim, If you use your compass a lot on cross countries, do you draw a line on a sectional first (on the ground), orient the map and determine the heading for the line and write it on the map? I'm old too, but just started flying so probably not so old school and have always kept up with computer technology so my iPad mini with Foreflight sits on my yoke, my iPhone has it too, as back up, and I just put a Dynon Pocket Panel D2 on my panel. Each device has it's individual battery, but is connected to auxiliary lithium ion batteries, and may alternatively be plugged into plane power. Unless the unit were to overheat and fail, I'm not likely to have multiple independent power failures. I really do feel like the compass is now relegated to a 4th backup position. I may be answering my own question about where to mount the compass. Up and out of the way, may be the way to go, and not worry about it's accuracy too much. PS. Interesting that the "Whiskey" Compass got its name from the phonetic whiskey for W, meaning "wet" for the fluid used to damp the motion. Probably myth that downed pilots would resort to drinking the fluid after a couple days...

[wyandot jim]

"Jim, If you use your compass a lot on cross countries, do you draw a line on a sectional first (on the ground), orient the map and determine the heading for the line and write it on the map?"

Yep still do that. I do use the VORs for back up when they work I have had very few that worked over the years.

[Homer Landreth]

One big advantage of moving it (at least in my installation) was that the interference (from radio, gps and ferrous metal) was greatly reduced by placing it on top of the dash. At some points my compass was off by 10 degrees when it was mounted in the dash, now the greatest correction is 3 degrees.

Don't forget about interference from the Tach having a couple of spinning magnets inside it and the compass sitting right in the potential magnetic field on an in panel mounted compass. My Pacer had one of the old really big in panel compasses and I wanted to keep it in use badly, and I tried everything I could think of but had to bite the bullet and put the Whiskey compass in on the top of the panel so I could swing and adjust for no error.

[Steve Pierce]

Best place I have found for a compass to work on a Short Wing is top of the glareshield, left of the V brace.

[Subsonic]

Best place I have found for a compass to work on a Short Wing is top of the glareshield, left of the V brace.

I have to assume that's where mine was stock. Right directly in my line of sight. I replaced the whiskey with a SIRS, only because it has a narrower cross section and obscures my line of sight a bit less. I'm now considering the effort required to lower my panel to that of a Pacer. Maybe that's another thread...For now, I'm going to use a booster pad in the seat to raise my view.