737NG Shell

[Trevor Hale]

Some people have all the skill eh Gwyn. LOL

You have the engineering talent. For me to get all the angles the same, It would take me 4.5 weeks not 4.5 hours. Ask someone who built my flap and spoiler leavers

[Westozy]

I've been thinking about doing a steel frame kit which has the yokes and rudders fitted and attached to potentiometers, just add your own hardware - MIPs, O/Hs, consoles and seats etc. I have a pro welder interested in helping me with the design. Imagine your simulator base and roof structure arriving in a box ready to bolt together like a kid's swing set. That's what simland needs!

Gwyn

[Trevor Hale]

Now your talking... Hook me up LOL

[JBaymore]

Trevor
The next door welding shop did an aluminum frame for my overheads for $CA120!! not exactly expensive.

WOW! My local welding shop I use for my business. A simple project would cost me more than that. I'd estimate that an aluminum frame for a whole cockpit from them would cost me about $5000 - $7000 to weld up.

You should go into the business of assembling cockpit frames for simpits!

best,

...................john

[Michael Carter]

I have to agree. Several years ago I had a 4" steel pipe coupler welded to a 1/4" steel 15"x15" plate for my refractor mount.

$135 for about a 30 minute job. I can imagine what this same company would charge to weld up a cockpit frame.

Shops make a lot of money around these parts.

[Jackpilot]

Hey Guys you live in the wrong place....c'mon here.
No jokes, I live in the country, five miles from a very small village and people around are just plain farmers with limited means which I guess caps the "market prices".

I agree that aluminum is expensive ... I go to a window frame manufacturer and get scrap pieces for peanuts. Most of the time I find what I need.
But for a shell, steel pipe is fine, weight is NOT a factor.

http://www.northernflightsim.com/ does a very good job at that, price is reasonable but shipping is an issue.

[JBaymore]

Jackpilot,

That's what it USED to be like here in the part of southern NH that I live in. You are right........ when there is still a good agricultural base in the area, finding reasonable work for stuff like welding, carpentry, plumbing, electricians, and such is still possible.

30 years here and it is rapidly turning into suburbia. Prices for everything going thru the roof. Completely changing the character of the area.... and the reasons my wife and I moved here in the first place. Glad I own 3 acres...... still a BIT of buffer from what is happening around me.

But being a woodfiring potter, I suspect that sometime in the not too distant future I'm going to have problems with my kiln . Sort of like my neighbor's chickens (-see below).

Right down the street from my place (River Bend Pottery) was a little old guy who made maple suryp (wood fired at first) and did some small scale farming. You could always get him to mow your field or till your garden either for a trade of goods or for a reasonable fee. Slowly the wood fire evaporators changed over to oil fired. Some of the people nearby subdivided land, and what was other farmland turned into houses on about 2 acre lots. Then new people with the houses complained about his "free range" chickens roaming.

Eventually the town re-zoned the area into 1/2 acre zoning lots! The developers won. He HATED the changes happening, and fought such development all the time.

Making a long story short...... about two years ago he died. Then his OWN family then took the former strawberry and potatoe field parcel across the street from my place and subdivided it into 3 house lots (they wanted 4 but the town held the line on some wetlands).

He must be spinning in his grave.

Anyway....... count your blessings. Sad to watch, really.

best,

......................john

[ak49er]

Ivar, have you posted the plans you mentioned before? I really like your design and would like to emulate it.

[Jackpilot]

Jackpilot,

That's what it USED to be like here in the part of southern NH that I live in.
best,

......................john

Understand what you mean..I lived and worked in Montreal for 20 years, sold the skyrocketing taxes suburban house and bought a 150 acres farm cash with the money.
Only problem: keeping a lady here, already lost two gone back to citylife.

But lets get back to real biz!!!!!

Having the darn shell built up!!!!

All the best John.

[ivar hestnes]

Ivar, have you posted the plans you mentioned before? I really like your design and would like to emulate it.

I have not made any plans for the shell. Built almost without any drawings. But I am thinking of making some plans. Will absolutely upload then. But thats several weeks of work to get it right so it is not an priorited task for me yet.

Summer here now

But are working a little bit in the basement anyway

Have covered roof and base with one layer plywood. One more layer to go.