Robinson R22 Helicopter Simulator Production

[cjellwood]

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

The concept


The mould


First off and trimmed



First experimental faceplate and beading trial


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


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.



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


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

[Matt Olieman]

Excellent!!!!! WOW!!!

Matt Olieman

[Anderson/SBSP]

Amazing job!!!

[Crescent]

Looks amazing. I instruct on the R22/R44's so if you have any questions, please pm me.

[dodiano]

Wow!! That is so nice! Thanks for sharing!

[cjellwood]

Latest pics...

The gauges require a particular screw (4.2 x 10) which I dont have so fitting them has been delayed







Chris

[Anderson/SBSP]

A piece of art!!! Wow!!!

[Jordan Farmer]

It looks damn beautiful, if i had the dollar i would build this alongside you, would love a little helo sim, so much fun to be had in a helo!

[riche543]

WOW ,WOW, I want one of those lasers!! How quick did that engrave, SICK!!

[cjellwood]

Phew! The gauges along the top corners fit ok, no touching the case behind the panel but half a mm gap happening there! It would not work with simbits gauges due to their gauges having large protrusions at the rear.





How frustrating that I have now run out of money to buy the remaining gauges But I do already have the NAV gauges for the next part so might as well crack on with that while the piggy bank is recovering

Chris