I just finished my first project. Many thanks to Bill and Mark for developing the software and maintaining this site and thanks to Mark for patiently helping me through some technical issues.

For my first map I went with 36” x 24” which covers my home area of Philadelphia plus New York City and most of the Baltimore/DC area. I purchased sectional charts which unfortunately for my area meant buying the Washington, New York and Detroit charts. I cut out the sections that I wanted for my map and used my wife’s good sewing iron to iron the wrinkles where the sectionals were folded. This worked well and the wrinkles aren’t noticeable on the finished product. I used spray adhesive to attach the charts to a piece of 1/8 inch plywood and then used construction adhesive to glue the plywood to a piece of 1 inch thick insulation foam. The nice thing about the foam is that it holds the LED’s tightly in place without glue. I drilled 5/16 holes through the map/plywood/foam stackup from the front (map side) using a brad point drill. I found that by first turning the drill in reverse it would cut cleanly through the sectional without tearing. I then would put the drill in forward and drill through the plywood and foam. After drilling I used a round file to clean up the hole in the plywood.

Once all the holes were drilled I inserted the LEDs. 5/16 is the right size for the tip but it’s a little small for the LED body which actually works well because the LED ends up being a press it in the foam so it is well secured.

I used hot glue to secure the unused LEDs and loose wires to the back of the foam.

I purchased a deep (2 ½ inch) frame from pictureframes.com. They’re not cheap but they’re very well made and just the right finishing touch for a professional look.

I love how the map looks in my office. I’m making a second one, this one a 16 x 20 inch, for a friend and I’m planning to make another large one for my hangar once raspberry pies are more available. I have a feeling I be making more for friends once they see the one I’m planning for the hangar.

Thanks again for making this so easy to do.

Lee