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  1. #1
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    737 Shell - Once Again

    I'm go to try and build a shell like the FDS 737 shell - but i dont have any dimensions. Does anybody or can anybody provide the panel dimensions??

    I would buy the FDS shell but i'm currently $1999CDN to short. and thats not including postage.

    I've drawn a picture of the shell with the panels labelled. if anybody can provide the measurements could you please either draw them on or write them down eg.

    panel A - 100 x 100 x 100 x 100
    panel B - 100 x 100 x 100 etc.



    Thanks
    David

  2. #2
    If you have a look in the download section you should find some shell dimmensions there. There was a thread recently that was asking for glareshield dimmensions which had a link to a very good site with 737 measurements, so using the search function should yield good results too.

    Its in no-ones best interest to give you the dimmensions of the FDS shell so I think you will have to look at the other options.

    Gary

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    i'm nearly there with my own designl but i just keep finding it hard with the windows. Was worth a shot.

    Heres where i'm upto:


  4. #4
    500+ This must be a daytime job Jackpilot's Avatar
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    Having the dimensions is one thing
    Turning all these panels into a sturdy structure able to withstand the weight of components without wobbling is another matter.
    And more important, beyond the apparent simplicity of the design, I suspect that there was a lot a research in CAD or else to make it work. All panels are dependant on each other and a few millimeter off on anyone will mean that all adjacent panels have to be reshaped; and finding the faulty panel (panels) may prove next to impossible.
    At the end of the line, after many versions, you might end up at or beyond the same amount of money.
    Just my 2 cents.
    Jackpilot
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  5. #5
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    Hello,

    I've been meaning to reply to you for awhile. I saw the pictures of the shell you started awhile back and it looked like you were off to a good start. Regarding the FDS shell, I think that even if you were able to obtain the measurements it wouldn't help you that much in building a shell of your own. There is a point in building the shell where more measurements won't be of any help. I think this is because there is a lot of information not available in 2 dimensional drawings that you must figure out through trial and error. Available drawings can only get you so far, unless you make your own 3D drawings.

    I went through this process and figured out that either I would have to get really good at AutoCAD or dive in and sort things out. I ended up using a CAD program to get as close as I could in 2D and trial and error to figure out the rest. I started building the windshield and glarshield and got them to be the right height and in proportion. I made a lot of kindling wood before I got it right. It was faster than learning 3D CAD and it's going a lot easier now that I've gone that far.

    All I can say is keep trying, unless you are really hating it. As for the FDS shell, from what I've seen from similar products, I think it is a good option and competitively priced. If I had the budget, I would consider one, but then I would deprive myself of the enjoyment of building it myself.

    Anyway, good luck and if you have any speicific questions about how I got through it, I will do my best to answer them.

  6. #6
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    i have run the tape over two fds shells. obviously they have folded edges/flanges so that they can be flat packed and shipped.

    i will be butt welding/stitching my sections together but the edges have to be perfect or tig/mig welding is hard....ie absolutley zero gaps.

    getting the measurements is the easy bit. making the measuements you have into workable plan is another thing.....because the shells are made the way they are its very hard to transfer accurate dimensions into what you want due to the folds and they can be a bit "wonky" from the shop.

    all my dimensions are based on lengths. no angles have been taken.

    on the upside....you can make the front and rear bulkheads and the bigger sections and then site fit the rest. that is what i will be doing. it will be spot on.

    the secret is.....the guys that buy shells cant use tapes.thats why they dont help the rest of us out. if you have the money to buy a shell you generally have the hands of an accountant. and accountants are tight asses.

    stick with me kids.

  7. #7
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    Probably also an intellectual property issue. FDS would probably be unhappy about their design floating around on the web. The ingenuity of their design is that it can be flat packed and shipped and put together with very llittle chance of someone screwing it up. They used to have a wooden version. I liked that one better, but the new design is probably much easier to put together.

    The basic measurements for doing an angular shell like that are everywhere on the net. A little extrapolation and "site fitting" would give you the rest. Besides linear measurements there are lots and lots of angles. As you said, the measurements are the easy part. Actually building it is another thing.

  8. #8
    2000+ Poster - Never Leaves the Sim Michael Carter's Avatar
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    As they say, "It looks good on paper"

    But, a lot of hand fitting may be required. With so many angles the measurements and cuts have to be most precise. If you're off by as little as 2mm in one dimension it screws up two or three more panel fits.

    Mine is only a half shell, but there was no way I was going to draw that up and work from plans. I would have spent as much time trying to draw it out and working from plans only to discover things wouldn't go together quite as nice as they did on paper and have to hand fit parts anyway.
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  9. #9
    "Probably also an intellectual property issue. FDS would probably be unhappy about their design floating around on the web"

    That was exactly my point. Why risk pissing off one of the biggest and best flightsim manufactures when it could turn around and bite you in the butt!

    Gary

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gsey View Post
    "Probably also an intellectual property issue. FDS would probably be unhappy about their design floating around on the web"

    That was exactly my point. Why risk pissing off one of the biggest and best flightsim manufactures when it could turn around and bite you in the butt!

    Gary
    Your kidding right Gary?

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