Nearly done...

[geneb]

This is a project I've had in the works for a while and it's just about ready to go.

http://www.geneb.org/pitkit/cockpit_closed.png
http://www.geneb.org/pitkit/cockpit_open.png

This is the prototype of a plan set I'm going to make available for people to build their own flight simulator cockpits. The pictures show it with the optional windscreen and canopy installed.

All the parts with the exception of the pine framing and the skin were cut on my 'bot.


Thanks for looking!

[kivimagi]

Although not your intention, my kids would love that next to their swingset.

Cool stuff Gene.

[tkovacs]

Woa! Never know what to expect here! Looks like a fun project...

[mikeacg]

As a wannabe pilot, I would love to have one of those in my den!

Thanks for sharing!

Mike

[geneb]

The cockpit was designed to be as easy as possible for the inexperienced person to build.

Here are a few more pics.
http://www.geneb.org/pitkit/misc/instrument_panel_installed-1.png

http://www.geneb.org/pitkit/misc/instrument_panel_installed-3.png

http://www.geneb.org/pitkit/misc/instrument_panel_installed-4.png

The view behind the panel.
http://www.geneb.org/pitkit/misc/instrument_panel_installed-5.png


g.

[chiloquinruss]

The best part of doing it on the bot is all dem' screw holes I betcha'!
Russ

[geneb]

Actually Russ, the screw holes are all post-production.


All the screws in the canopy and windscreen were laid out by hand after the parts were cut.

The skin on the right side is a mixture of flat & pan head aircraft rivets and #8 5/8" wood screws.

The rivets were installed by drilling the holes a bit undersized and then tapping them in with a plastic mallet after applying some glue to them.

The #8 screws and the countersunk rivets were a (seemingly) never ending process of drill, countersink, set.
There are about 350 fasteners on the right side.

A 100 degree countersink in a micro-stop works really well in wood. I just wish I could find an 82 degree cutter for it.

All the holes were laid out with a standard rivet fan like this one: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/rivspacer.php

You see all these fancy countersinks for wood that allows you to adjust the drill pilot hole depth, but nothing to control the countersink depth! I'm tempted to put a properly sized stop collar on the body of the countersink to see how that works.

The left side is done all with glue & 18ga brads.

At some point in the future I'll probably add the flat head rivets in to improve the look.

If I build a second one, I may try pre-drilling all the pilot holes in the skin using my air-drill head on the 'bot. That will get a bit tricky though as the hole positions will change slightly as the skin curves along the rib structure. It's not insurmountable though.

g.