That's like asking what's the best whiskey or who's the prettiest woman.
Biggest rule is DON'T OVER DO IT! Keep it simple and small. And the ONLY panel equipment that absolutely must be installed are the items called out on the TCDS. These are oil pressure, oil temp, tach, altimeter, airspeed, and 'magnetic heading instrument'. These items need to be certified primary instruments, so no experimental stuff for them. All other panel items are your choice.
My recommendations: CGR-30P for engine instruments. This will give you all of your engine instruments in one 3 1/8" hole. Winters altimeter and airspeed indicators as these units (see Wing & Wheels website) have light weight plastic cases, are available in 2 1/4" faces, and are used in certified gliders so meet the TCDS requirements. Winters also has a model with a 510º movement which gives wide spacing at the low speed markings.
A few other things to consider: Use a key switch with 'start' position instead of toggles and/or push buttons, as you can get all functions in a single mounting hole in the panel. Keep your switches and breakers in a single row along the lower edge of the panel. Use switch breakers for items such as lights to combine the switch and breaker functions into a single hole. Use the small faced avionics such as Becker or Trig as they mount like a small instrument into a hole in the panel. Remember that Cub panels were never designed for tray radios. I always recommend a stand alone intercom to go along with the radio.
As for the layout, the best I have used was designed by a HIGH time pilot up here. In your mind, imagine you're maneuvering in a Cub. Your left hand is on the throttle and your right hand is on the stick. If you place the PTT button on the stick, you can talk on the radio without moving your hands. If you slide your left hand off the throttle and straight forward, you should be able to punch the mixture knob to the full rich position. About 8" up the panel, place the carb heat knob. This arrangement allows you to control engine power with a minimum of hand movement. Another trick, from MCS Mike, is to place the key switch just above the primer. This allows you to push the primer while cranking the engine. And if you place the key/primer on the right side of the panel it frees up your left hand to control the mixture and throttle. Helps out on a hard starting engine or on cold days.
And don't forget at least some type of panel lighting. Check out the little LED units made by Whelen that mount on the left or right overhead panels and shine down on the instrument panel. One model has both red and white light in the same unit. Nice to fly with the red light but load/unload with the white light.
Get all of the info that you can and plan out your panel. Then re arrange it until you're happy that it will work well for you. Only then, start to cut metal.
Web