cjellwood
09-29-2011, 07:29 PM
Greetings all !
There does not seem to be much abooot the R22 helicopter happening in this forum so I hope there will be some interest in this thread as I post some bits and bobs regarding my efforts to build a replica R22 cockpit.
My previous project was building a Cessna 172 sim which has slowed in its development due to this side line job. Luckily most of the parts and general tech from the Cessna are useable in the R22 so this should be a quick and clean thread unlike the Cessna thread :)
As usual i am bulk purchasing/fabricating all parts made for this baby so if you fancy building with me then gimme a shout.
The toughest part so far was to create the glareshield/central console cover. It took nearly 3 months modelling it and getting the face plate to fit correctly. If ever there was a shite job dealing with complex geometry and production tolerance variations :-x
The concept
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_1.jpg
The mould
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_2.jpg
First off and trimmed
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_3.jpg
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_3_2.jpg
First experimental faceplate and beading trial
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_4.jpg
Things were going fairly well at this point until a very scary issue cropped up regarding the gauge fitment. During the glareshield casing development it had not occured to anyone including myself that there may be an issue fitting the gauges due to their rear end size. After fitting a few FlightIlluson gauges it did seems there was an issue with the side gauge casings hitting the glareshield casing walls. This was eventually remedied by abandoning the original R22 faceplate spec and moving the gauge holes slightly together while at the same time increasing the area around the edges of the face plate slightly.
A quick trip to my local anodisers in Basildon and it is begining to look half sensible
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_5.jpg
The faceplate is only balancing in the console at this point. Mounting blocks are being collected tomorrow so will update on that when they arrive. While waiting for those I head to the laser cutter for a spot of etching.
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_6.jpg
Etching anodised aluminium is a very simple method to create panel graphics/text. Flatbed printing is the preferred method if the surface is flat but i dont have one or know anyone that does. I am talking about the industrial type, not the usual flatbed printers.
Here is the laser performing a quick test etch on a faceplate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEOjM-B87-c
In the next update I will show how the faceplate has been conneted to the casing and maybe some genuine R22 warning lights will arrive soon to be fitted. Oh and maybe fitting the gauges for a quick photo opportunity
Edit: I kinda forgot to mention that the casing was formed with ABS by vacuum forming
Chris
There does not seem to be much abooot the R22 helicopter happening in this forum so I hope there will be some interest in this thread as I post some bits and bobs regarding my efforts to build a replica R22 cockpit.
My previous project was building a Cessna 172 sim which has slowed in its development due to this side line job. Luckily most of the parts and general tech from the Cessna are useable in the R22 so this should be a quick and clean thread unlike the Cessna thread :)
As usual i am bulk purchasing/fabricating all parts made for this baby so if you fancy building with me then gimme a shout.
The toughest part so far was to create the glareshield/central console cover. It took nearly 3 months modelling it and getting the face plate to fit correctly. If ever there was a shite job dealing with complex geometry and production tolerance variations :-x
The concept
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_1.jpg
The mould
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_2.jpg
First off and trimmed
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_3.jpg
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_3_2.jpg
First experimental faceplate and beading trial
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_4.jpg
Things were going fairly well at this point until a very scary issue cropped up regarding the gauge fitment. During the glareshield casing development it had not occured to anyone including myself that there may be an issue fitting the gauges due to their rear end size. After fitting a few FlightIlluson gauges it did seems there was an issue with the side gauge casings hitting the glareshield casing walls. This was eventually remedied by abandoning the original R22 faceplate spec and moving the gauge holes slightly together while at the same time increasing the area around the edges of the face plate slightly.
A quick trip to my local anodisers in Basildon and it is begining to look half sensible
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_5.jpg
The faceplate is only balancing in the console at this point. Mounting blocks are being collected tomorrow so will update on that when they arrive. While waiting for those I head to the laser cutter for a spot of etching.
http://www.simbits.com/img/r22_6.jpg
Etching anodised aluminium is a very simple method to create panel graphics/text. Flatbed printing is the preferred method if the surface is flat but i dont have one or know anyone that does. I am talking about the industrial type, not the usual flatbed printers.
Here is the laser performing a quick test etch on a faceplate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEOjM-B87-c
In the next update I will show how the faceplate has been conneted to the casing and maybe some genuine R22 warning lights will arrive soon to be fitted. Oh and maybe fitting the gauges for a quick photo opportunity
Edit: I kinda forgot to mention that the casing was formed with ABS by vacuum forming
Chris