geneb

Very nice work. g.

MOAR COWBELL! :D g.

I know from my 3D printer experience that there's some issue with Linux & MacOS hosts not liking the 250,000 rate. g.

A baud rate of 250000 will give you a zero percent error rate on ATMega328 based Arduinos. Here's a great site for finding the optimal rate for the MCU you're working with: http://wormfood.net/avrbaudcalc.php g.

Ian, the Centipede boards I have only allow two to stack - it's nice to see he's changed that. I use a custom designed board that allows me to drive 16 high-draw outputs each. I use a TIP125 as the driver. I needed something that could power a pile of incandescent lamps. :) g.

I would recommend using a Centipede Shield from Macetech: http://macetech.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=23 This is what I'm using to drive the master caution panel in the F-15. The Centipede will give you up to 128 general purpose I/O pins that use the I2C interface. That should give you piles of switch inputs that you don't have to diode isolate. g.

The textures by themselves could be useful for the F-15C in FlightGear - once suitably cut apart. :) g.

While doing some research for a project, I found a good answer for this in one of my books. Messerschmitt Me 109 Pt3 by Robert Michulec (AJ Press) (if you like the 109, you need all three of these! They're FANTASTIC books!) At the bottom of page 84: "Additional Equipment - this included the signal discharger, its ammunition, first aid kit (rifle, food rations, water, skis). Some versions were tropicalised, this including, first of all, special filters to protect the aeroplane systems from dust. Later on, with the cockpit being built up, some of the equipment was transferred to the pilot: signal pistol and the ammunition (attached around legs, below knees), life vest, map holder (on the thigh, in the flying suit)...." Emphasis mine. I think that pretty effectively answers the question as to whether or not the signal gun was stowed when not in use. :D g.

c@sper, would you mind if these textures were used with the F-15C in FlightGear as well? Tnx! g.

I went the minimal route - I used 1 x 1/2" L brackets in the spots where the greeblies increased the thickness of the material so the stock screws wouldn't pass through. In other spots I used very thin L braces and used #6 3/8" screws for those. There's a 15" LCD behind the Cougar MFDs being held in place with some custom brackets I printed. At some point I'll attack the seat back with a spray gun and get the interior painted. g.

Finished & test-flown today: Note that the four mounting holes for the stick are rotated and they shouldn't be. Builders will need to fix this. g.

You're welcome! g.

Mark, check out http://forum.seemecnc.com. You might also want to look into the #reprap IRC channel on freenode. The grip model wasn't done by me, I just printed it. :) g.

Rocket? Seriously? The Rostock MAX features injection molded plastic parts whereas few (if any others) do. Delta configuration printers are faster than their cartesian brethren. There's also a huge user community behind the Rostock MAX. Check out the forums. g.

For free design software, try DesignSpark Mechanical. It's a tweaked version of SpaceClaim that only outputs STL files - which is fine because that's what the "slicers" take as input. I would avoid Google Sketchup - it's nice for some things, but it's like using a crayon for mechanical design. :) Don't let the software intimidate you - there's a huge community of DIY 3D printer builders that love to help new victims. :D g.

Check out http://www.seemecnc.com - I've got the Rostock MAX v2 (and v1s) and they're a fantastic printer. I love 'em so much I ended up writing their documentation. :D They're great for printing simulator parts. Here's some photos of a Spitfire Mk V grip I printed back in March of '13. http://www.simpits.org/geneb/?p=336 g.

You could easily make a plus-shaped gate that the switch shaft passed through. This would mechanically constrain it along two axes. Alps makes a four way version of that switch that has a rotary encoder built into it - you get a four way "stick", a rotary and a push button in one device. I found it once and I haven't been able to find it again. :) (It's the perfect choice for the cursor controller in the Garmin G1000.) g.

The grip on the X-55 does come off. It uses 5(6?) "pogo" pins to make the connection to the base. g.

Looks great! I only wish I'd painted the interior surfaces of the ejection seat parts before I started my assembly. Getting paint in there is going to be a pain. :( g.

\o/ g.

FYI, for anyone that's curious, the paint code is FS 36231. g.

I've asked a friend for the FS paint codes used on the interior of the A-10C tub. I'm going to prime it using paint I've had tinted Zinc Chromate Green. It turned out really nice when I used it on the 109 cockpit. I need to spend some time getting a proper paint booth set up first though. g.

...continued! Next, you'll want to set up the left & right panel "leaves" as shown in order to clamp the instrument panel to them. Once you've got the panel aligned & clamped in place, move it to your work bench so you can glue & pin the panel to the leaves. Flip the panel face down and trace the outside edge of each panel leaf and the rectangular cutout above it. Do this on both sides. The pencil marks will act as both an alignment guide and a "border" that will show you where you want (and don't want!) glue applied. When you're done, the panel should look like this: Now you can get the two 18mm parts that make up the "brow" built. For mine, I glued and pinned the parts together. I used pins on the back side so there won't be any pin divots to fill in later. Attach the brow to the top edge of the instrument panel by using glue & apply fasteners from behind. (you get a nicer look that way). Slide the forward section back so that the notches in the vertical monitor support engage the two vertical cockpit tub sides. TADA! Paint to taste, make jet noises as required. g.

Ok, here's the last installment... First, let's get the seat pan knocked out. It's a really simple assembly. Sorry for the blurry pic. Cell phones can only do so much. :) I traced a center line about 8mm in from the edge and drilled & counter sunk four pilot holes for #8, 1-1/2" screws. I then applied glue to the seat side and attached it. Do the other side and you're done with the seat! Now, grab one of the large side parts and the seat support "greebles". Coat that sucker with glue and tack it down: Flip the side over and install the seat bar support: Install the outer greeblie and the support on the other tub side - MAKE SURE THAT YOU'VE GOT THE SIDE MIRRORED! If you don't, you'll have two lefts or two rights and you'll be pretty cross when it comes time to assemble the cockpit tub. :) Each tub side has three greebles attached to the outside surface. The next series of photos show how they're installed. The left tub side is shown in the photos. Aft end. Center greeble. You can get the same glue bottle I'm using there from Rockler online. It's VERY nice for applying even coats of glue to a large surface area. Center greeble installed. Fwd greeble Repeat that process for the right side. The stick base... The stick base goes together pretty fast. The original CAD drawings called out for a slot in the part shown installed below. There's supposed to be a triangular shaped support part that fits in that space, but because of that slot, there was no practical way to install it. If you're making your own Wharthog, delete that slot. Because the support part wasn't usable, I used four #6 screws and glue to solidly mount the little plate that supports the stick base plate. Note that you'll need to drill out the four holes to 5mm if you haven't already. You'll need 4 M4x16 screws to attach the Warthog stick to the base plate. Now start the process of getting things assembled. I did a test assembly of the aft section on my work table because it was easier to photograph. The vertical side shown in the photo above doesn't like to rest in place. I strongly suggest you look into the use of threaded inserts if you're not going to permanently assemble the left & right tub sides. I used a 3/4" Maple dowel for the seat back support. I _think_ it's about 21" That finishes the cockpit tub assembly! Now let's move on to the forward section.... (in the next message. Why? Because the forum is mis-configured and only allows 20 images per post. *facepalm*) g.

*looks up, whistles innocently* :D g.