Printable View
This seems to be my next step. I'll start to print the schematics of the 737 Throttle Quadrant and cut some MDF.
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babel...2fthrottle.htm
This is an excellent site (original in french at http://www.737ngproject.be/throttle.htm) where the entire process is described with over 90 pictures.
Building a 737 throttle quadrant is definitely do-able, but get ready for a long ride. Dealing with the restricted space is the most challenging part I found. I managed to motorize my throttle handles, spoiler handle & trim wheels (trim wheels motion serves no function except that I like to see them rotate) and this added to my overall 'grief' in building this sucker.
The most frustrating thing for me now is that I know I could do a much better job knowing what I know now, but there is no way on earth I would want to start again. So, if it breaks & becomes unusable, I hope there will be more commercial units available by then :-)
Here is a link to somewhat different construction pictures (some of them actually are not the final version & were modified as I progressed). It's always nice to get different ideas and I'm sure you will do things very differently as well, sometimes by design and sometimes by accident. :)
Good luck with your project,
Maurice
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...49398024hromFI
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3...n/P1020189.jpg
Like Maurice said, I'd never build another either, but there could have been some impovements made to mine as well.
If there is ever a next time I'll buy a real quadrant and modify it.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h1...2/cockpit9.jpg
Thanks for the encouragements! The pictures sure help.
I'm presently cutting the ribs (?)
I'm also uploading the drawings to our download section.
The links to the website where I found all this is http://www.737ngproject.be/throttle.htm
That is the same approach I took when building mine. Multiple bulkheads that create the basic shape of the quadrant.
His mechanicals are much more complicated than mine. My throttle levers are made from aluminum rather than wood though, and my trim wheels do not move.
Not as much room in a three engined throttle as a two when the housing size is the same. Had I built the mechanicals below the throttle housing into the stand itself, I might have been able to do that.
Good luck with your throttle and post some pictures when you can.