Newbie building flight deck

Hi,

I am almost completely new to simming. I did play around with FS 3.1 way back and I even bought a 'proper' joystick with throttle handle - nothing fancy just a MS Sidewinder. Never followed any lessons or bothered to look at procedures that should be followed, I was just passing some time plowing through the runway and all the fields around it :eek: I quickly discovered that a PC keyboard and a mouse are not the right tools to control an aeroplane and the stuff got thrown in a corner.

But now I am infected again (thanks Hessel!). I like to make stuff and decided to start flying again, combined with instrument building. Not a complete cockpit, there is no room (yet...) for one, but just some instrument panels, yoke, throttle and what else comes on my way. I still have my Sidewinder (I hope - need to check that last few moving boxes in the attic) so I can start building while playing/learning.
I like a challenge so I am limiting myself by not allowing any factory stuff or kits and the instruments should have the proper look&feel - all instrument will be completely made by me but I do allow others to help me out where I am stuck.

Just to show the first thing I started working on today: the standby attitude indicator of a Boeing 757/767:

http://flightsim.myvoice.nl/wp-conte...009/11/SAI.png
Still only a design but in a few days the servos will arrive and I can then verify the size of the servos and start building.
Since I am a complete newby in the field of panel building I have no idea how to get the proper dimensions for the instruments. I used some known measurements, combined this with bevel design and sizes I found on the internet and decided to go for a 3.975 x 3.975" instrument.

Is this the way to go? Just guess what the actual size should be?
I am not too concerned about the exact shape of the cutout of the front panel or the exact markings on the indicator - I found that these do vary throughout the years - but if I mess up the dimensions I need to do a complete rebuild - something I don't fancy.

Regards,

Rob

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rob65

Never followed any lessons or bothered to look at procedures that should be followed

---

Been there...

Quote:

---

I was just passing some time plowing through the runway and all the fields around it

---

Done that...

Quote:

---

the stuff got thrown in a corner.

---

and that!

And now I'm starting all over again. Just stay away from the corner!

Anyhow, welcome to MyCockpit.

Sean

Rob welcome aboard, glad to have you join our madness :) :) :)

It is amazing the passion some of us have in this wonderful hobby it's contagious, and the fellow builders are fantastic.

Looks like you're well on your way to a good design. One thing I recommend is providing additional support of the roll shaft. If you rely only on the roll servo for support, the roll servo will have a significant perpendicular load on the shaft. It will wear out faster, and may not provide a sufficiently rigid support for the pitch yoke and mechanism.

It's good to see another person dive into instrument construction; a topic near and dear to my heart.

Mike

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mike.Powell

Looks like you're well on your way to a good design. One thing I recommend is providing additional support of the roll shaft. If you rely only on the roll servo for support, the roll servo will have a significant perpendicular load on the shaft.

---

Thanks, of course drawing is one thing - making the whole thing work is another ...
And yes - not shown in the model are two 608 bearings to hold the roll mechanism in place. I only added the important bits and decided to let the design rest until the critical components arrived.
Today the servos arrived; standard size (35 Ncm for the roll) and micro (12 Ncm) for the pitch. So now it is time to change and complete the design - I do need to change the design a bit to facilitate mounting screws.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mike.Powell

It's good to see another person dive into instrument construction; a topic near and dear to my heart.

---

The book on instruments, untouched by my hands - but not for long ;)
But first I need to start drawing again, need to produce some new pics to show 8)

Cheers,

Rob

I am not sure this is allowed to be in the newbie corner anymore ...

http://flightsim.myvoice.nl/wp-conte...009/11/sai.png

I've updated the design with the new servo dimensions - No ... I almost did a complete redraw to allow mounting of the module in the panel. Just visible behind the yoke are the two bearings to allow the roll rotation.

I've even created a small video showing the movement of the different servos on youtube: click here for youtube video.

Regards,

Rob (the builder)

could be quickewr and cheaper to buy the little devil online?

awesome design work but!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by David Withers

could be quickewr and cheaper to buy the little devil online?

awesome design work but!

---

Quicker? - Yes

Cheaper? - No.
The 'expensive' parts are the servos (5 EUR each - I need 2 or 3), the components for the OC USB servo card (7 EUR) and maybe two colors (humbrol) paint (6 EUR) that I do not have. All the aluminium and plexiglass is from a lot bought at a local store for a few EUR.
Ehhh ... OK, just ruined 4 2mm end mills just on the yoke. That's another 40+ EUR :(

Awesome design!

Thanks!
The whole idea is to have fun building instruments and make them work.
In the end I might even enjoy flying the plane :razz:

Cheers,

Rob

Sometimes we see here comments like "AMAZING" and "AWESOME" ,
if there is made a picture of a screw....



BUT, this is ***really*** amazing and awesome !



Congratulations Rob, with this "great cockpit-building infection".

Hessel (infected cockpit-building victim too....:-)

Hi Rob,

It looks so easy like you draw this instrument. I'm pretty sure you're going to build this in no time. Love to see it working for real.


Regards Wendy