Building a full-sized cockpit

[salaxi54]

Some more progress today. Spent most of the day applying putty, sanding, and painting surfaces. (have i mentioned enough that i HATE sanding?)

Got me these parts from a hardware store, 2 for a Euro.. Here's the before and after:

Nothing much, just rounding the edges. These are supposedly retainers for holding the chute belts in place.

 

[salaxi54]

I know it's been a while, but ever since my last post, i have moved to the new house. Inbetween, there's been some progress, which i simply delayed upping. Here's what gives to date.

The above pictures show the progress on the left and right sides of the cockpit.

This is the backplate...

This is a PVC tube cut to serve as an ejection rocket motor part:

Next pics show the whole assembly set at the new apartment:

These panels have been roughly cut to shape, but there's lots of trimming to be done.

Next up was a means to climb in. So, i built a temporary ladder for the time being:

Now, this is the right side chutebox:

Yes, it's all handwritten... icard

Here's what the chutebox looks like temporarilly placed in position:

You can also see the bronze-painted PVC tube replicating the rocket motor.

And that's just about it for the moment. Stay tuned!

 

[Templar]

Vassilis, I really admire your courage. It's been nearly 3 years since you started all over this, and you are still surprising us.

 

[johnim]

plus 1 to that a very nice detailed log too

 

[salaxi54]

A minor update after a while.. I started making the ejection handle. Initially built from MDF, but as it will reside at a stressfull area, i thought it would be a bit fragile. Anyway, here's a few pics:

Rounding it up was the hardest part:

Next up, is making a mold. I'll be making a resin copy of the handle, so it will logically last longer. Here's the mold's box:

With plenty of room for casting the handle:

I've spent a small fortune on chemicals (RTV silicone, release fluid, resin and pigment), and cross fingers for the result.

The hole at the bottom is the passage for pouring resin. Can't exactly describe the process right now, but you'll be seeing it when time comes. I got me some yellow pigment, so the resin will come out of the mold directly with the appropriate color. If i feel satisfied with the results, i might just experiment with casting some Amiga stuff later on!

 

[salaxi54]

Hey there fellow Amibayers, not much on the cockpit front these days, due to real life... but real life can have its cool moments too!
Thus, there was an airshow nearby, which i couldn't attend. However, the engine sound coming from outside my window sounded familiar.
Grabbed the camera, and managed to shoot a few pics.

Right there, front view from my balcony, an F-16.

Yup, they came real close.

Ditto.

Flare-shooting time! Nope, not Christmas yet lol

No, that's not a normal cloud centered there, it's the smoke from the flares.

I know that's not much, but i got a little excited and wanted to share this..

 

[Jepplen]

I have an idea for the simulated G's.

Using some kind of balloon under the seat cushion, connected to a pump or something, so when you pull the stick back it will deflate the balloon pushing down into your seat, and when you push the stick forward the balloon will inflate pushing you upwards making you "lighter".

I think that would give you some serious G feelings.

Only problem is to find a nice and quiet electrical air-pump of some sort.

 

[salaxi54]

@Jepplen: thanks for the suggestion, but i'm not going to make a G-suit. I know it's been done by hobbiers, and i've actually seen an italian making his own suit with air-packs that inflate and deflate, but i find that a bit overkill.
Some stuff on the cockpit have progressed a bit, but i'm really not in the mood lately, as real life has slapped me hard.
Some days ago my mother passed away after a 4-year battle with cancer. I find it needless to go into further details..
I know i'm more absent than i'd like to be, but it's way over me.

 

[scrappysphinx]

Sorry to hear about your mother salaxi, hope things get better for you soon

This is a great project and it'll still be there when life turns around for the better and will be a pleasure to see it all finished.

 

[johnim]

sorry to hear about you mom mate take care

 

[Snoozy]

Aww sorry to hear that Salaxi, hope that your broken heart can improve over time

Maybe this long term project can take your mind away from the upset some what

 

[salaxi54]

There has actually been some progress on this since my last post, but things are in pause again, certainly due to real life!
Anyway, here's what went on with the ejection handle mold:

These are the two halves of the silicone-based mold of the handle. This is not your ordinary silicone, but some expensive sh**e i had to purchase.

They were made by prototyping the handle negatives using clay:

That's the mould box filled with the silicone.

A close-up pic of some details.

I'll be upping some more pics soon so you can see the resulting handle.

 

[salaxi54]

Here's what the result was.

It is far from perfect, but i believe i can improve it. The blank part at the central column is probably due to concentrated air in the mold. While i was inserting resin in liquid form, the mold went "burping" and spat out some material.. other than that, some sanding will make the edges smooth. Of course i used pigment for the yellow looks. Stay tuned!

 

[salaxi54]

Long time without an update, while actually i had things done! Anyway, here goes:

These are reflective stickers i got so i can experiment with the HUD. I placed a pico video projector within the HUD unit, and it will project images on this surface. Here's some tests:

This shows the reflective sticker temporarily placed on the glass surface.

First shot out of focus.

And here's a clearer output. Now, you can see the light from the projector reflecting on the glass, but trust me, it all depends on the angle of view. By the way, remember the sticker is still a loose item, and not permanently adhered to the glass.

You can see that the projector needs some rotating, but i just "shmacked it" in there, only testing it.

And here's the philosophy behind my experiment:

Stay tuned, as i have done a few more things...

 

[Bryce]

Why do you need the reflective sticker? The glass should be enough.

Bryce.

 

[salaxi54]

Due to ghosting of images!

 

[Bryce]

Ok. If you are getting bad ghosting you should try using thinner glass and try varying angle of the glass and projector. Adding a highly reflective (but see-through) surface to the inner surface can also help.

Bryce.

 

[salaxi54]

That would change the whole construction of the HUD assembly, plus the projector is already a tight fit...

 

[Bastich]

I've not looked at this project for a while but as usual I come back to it and am amazed at all your hard / quality work. It really does look great

 

[salaxi54]

Thanks for your kind words! These days i'm focusing on the landing gear mechanism. Started shaping the LG lever out of wood:

As you see, this involves drilling, filing, sanding etc. Many hours to shape a simple lever...

- - - Updated - - -

And so, there once was a pen:

This plastic piece was added for strength when pressing the gear release switch. Then, there was some sealing, putty, and sanding...

After lots more putty and sanding, i had the lever coated with paint, and started shaping the 'lollipop' edge using red plexiglass sandwich:

This will be illuminated from a couple of LEDs located within the lever.