New 737-300 project

I just want to quickly introduce myself and my newborn project. Although I wasn’t really looking for it and am totally unprepared – I came across an ad on this site last month for a B737-300 cockpit at a very attractive price. Since then one thing led to another and to another and so on – the short story is that the cockpit is now under tarps in my yard.

My intention is obviously to make it into a simulator, but there’s a whole body of knowledge I need to absorb first, and there are many components to acquire / build. I intend to at least try to keep it as a –300, which I know puts me at a disadvantage at the outset, since most all 737 cockpit peripherals I’ve seen are for NGs. The biggest dilemma may be to figure out what to do about the two most important things on the panel – the PFD and ND – or substitute steam-type ADIs and HSIs, which would be correct for some of the early –300s. In the end, the decision will probably come down to figuring out which is possible to do, if either one.

The second dilemma is the overhead. The overhead panel itself is in the cockpit, but all the system modules are gone, leaving me with the lighting switches, wipers, emergency light arm switch, engine and APU start switches, etc. Don’t know if it’ll be best to abandon what I already have and buy a complete simulator overhead or add the various real sub panels to the real overhead. One thing I need to find out pretty quick is whether simulator items like overheads and throttle quadrants fit in the real airplane. Although I’m delighted to be starting with the real thing, I can easily see how it could be a liability in terms of fit, and could end up dictating some of the decisions about what will go into it.

These are just a couple of the things I’ve begun to ponder. But even these thoughts are premature. The most immediate concern is building a suitable garage/shop/hangar for it. That’s top priority; I need for it to be indoors as soon as it can be done.

For the moment, I’m having a blast discovering all the various bits that came with it, how they work, and how some of them fit together. I’ve always been a big admirer of these amazing flying machines, but I’m already gaining a whole new respect for the design and build of these wonders, and I’m also getting a better understanding of why they cost all those tens of millions of dollars.

The seller took a lot of stuff out (which I have), and at times I’ve joked that what I bought is a cockpit kit minus the directions! I hope y’all will be patient with this newbie when I come back looking for lots of help and advice. A good friend has made the comment that I’m like the dog that finally caught the car – and now I have to figure out what to do with it!

…Dave

Dave Jones
Fort McCoy, Florida USA

Thanks for sharing your experience Dave. I look forward to seeing pics of your progress. :) :) :)

Wish you best of luck and look forward to seeing your project in person...... ;)

Matt Olieman

You will see it, Matt! Don't get too excited though -- it's a bit of a mess now and needs a lot of work.

Thanks again for all your support!

...Dave

Sounds like a brilliant project. Good luck and keep up updated! all the best

Thanks for that, Geremy. Sure will keep the board apprised as things begin to progress. Might be a little while though -- as I said I can't do much till I have a place to get it indoors. That'll surely cost more than the cockpit itself, but I knew that going in.

...Dave