Mike Powell

If I were to redo the glued together aluminum MIP frame I would probably use an adhesive other than epoxy. "Extreme 310" looks very, very good. See: http://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/aircraft-design-aerodynamics-new-technology/5293-conclusions-aluminum-adhesive-bonding-tests.html and:

Guardian Electric has a few dimensioned drawings on their site. http://www.guardian-electric.com/index.html IIRC they used to have the full line catalog on line with nice dimensioned drawings. The site's been redone and the dimensions are apparently limited to the occasional detail drawing on individual product pages. The same thing happened with the Otto Engineering site. Possibly the old site contents might be found using the Internet Archive.

I believe the RWR (IP-1310/ALR) bezel is 3" square as per MS33556.

I believe Korry- Esterline bought the rights several years ago to make many of the knobs used in commercial and military aircraft, possibly including the knobs you're looking for. Korry does have the dimensions of the knobs in their online catalog. So... IF they have the knob you're looking for, AND IF you know the diameter, you should be able to find the other dimensions on through this site: http://www.esterline.com/controlandcommunication/Korry/CockpitControls/Knobs.aspx

Nicely done!

After reading your comment about using graphics software I had to take another look at your pictures. I hadn't realized they weren't real. Excellent work!

I'm nearly done building a "Momus CNC" which uses a laminate trimmer for the spindle. It's a bit larger than a Dremel though not much. I bought the plans for $20 from this site: http://momuscnc.com/ I chose it because it's a very well thought out design capable of cutting light metal as well as plastic, and because it was something I could build without having an outrageous assortment of tools. (I do have a $100 bench top drill press though.) Even if this is not something you're interested in, I recommend considering buying the plans. They are extremely well done and the introductory material covers a number of points to be considered if you're planning on designing your own or evaluating the designs of others. There are a number of detail pix taken as I made the parts for the CNC here: http://mikesflightdeck.com/oldnews/oldnews_2013.html and here: http://mikesflightdeck.com/oldnews/oldnews_2012.html (WOW! I did not realize I had let this project drag on for so long! I really gotta finish this puppy...)

Viper Panels may still be in business. http://www.viperpanels.com/ Mostly F-16 items, but has done custom work in the past.

Looks very good.

Here are two additional sources for inexpensive toggle switch guards: http://www.mpja.com/Safety-Cover-for-Full-Size-Toggle-Red/productinfo/16100%20SW/ http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/category/730/switches-toggle/1.html

It might be a bit of a challenge to keep the projection volume clear so you don't have shadows from wires (or your legs). But other than that I think it's a great idea.

Two years ago the news was that Jake Melampy (Reid Air Publications) had made good progress toward a second edition of The Modern Hog Guide, A book that many people considered the best A-10 reference. Sadly, that doesn't seem to have happened. http://www.jakemelampy.net/books.html http://www.reidairpublishing.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Reid-Air-Publications/177633712268219

You're BOTH in school AND you have four kids??!! WOW! I went back part time while working, but had only two kids and a full time wife making it all work. Even so, made me crazy... My hat's off to both of you.

Also, if you haven't seen this thread on real panels: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=112210 It's definitely worth the time reading.

People typically make panels from materials they are comfortable working with. Since you have access to a wide variety of tools you may benefit from reading through some of the military specifications which the original manufacturers referenced. Many of these Mil Spec docs are available on line for free. For example: MIL-C-6781B Control Panel: Aircraft Equipment, Rack or Panel Mounted MIL-C-81774A Panel Design MS-25212 Control Panel, Console Type, Aircraft Equipment, Basic Dimensions MS-25213 Control Panel, Aircraft Equipment, Typical Installation MIL-P-7788F Panels, Information, Integrally Lighted MIL-M-18012B Markings for Aircrew Displays In answer to your questions, It's really up to you. However.... 1 - Flight rated panels have an aluminum plate under the plastic light plate. 2 - Flight rated light plates are to the best of my knowledge clear; however white light diffusing has been successfully used 3 - Use a paint designed to stick to the plastic you decide to use. Flight rated panels have a few coats of white to support internal reflections. This is covered by the color coat. There may be a clear matte coat over that. 4 - IIRC the metal layer is 0.063" and the light plate is typically 0.230". Check the Mil Spec docs. Dims are in there somewhere.

Another option for the fuel panel pull switches is a replacement automotive pull switch like this: http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/8321460/00968/

If you decide to go with a standard servo and gears, ServoCity is a source of gears which fit on the servo spline. http://www.servocity.com/html/servo_mount_gears.html If you decide to go the stepping motor direction, you can still find a sample chapter from the out-of-print book Building Simulated Aircraft Instrumentation online at: http://www.mikesflightdeck.com/downloads/BSAI%20Sample%20Chapter.pdf This will give you an idea of one approach. For small, single pointer gauges consider using stepping motors designed for automotive instrument gauges. They're cheaply available through multiple vendors on Ebay, for example search ebay for item 310445275703 or use the search terms "stepper motor gauge". I prototyped a gauge using one a few years back, see the 15 Sept 2011 entry on this page: http://www.mikesflightdeck.com/oldnews/oldnews_2011.html

Light plates have been in use for decades, and have been manufactured in various manners. At least some contemporary units are laser engraved. Older units clearly were not as they predate lasers. I have an old, tube type general aviation Collins VHF COMM having a non-integral light plate. That is, the lamps are not buried in the plastic. They pass through holes in the light plate and screw into sockets in the support panel behind the light plate. This light plate is made of clear plastic which has a layer of white paint covered by a layer of black paint. The markings are engraved through both layers of paint. The markings have been individually painted with white paint which is clearly seen using a 20X magnifier. A few years ago I ran across a "how we do it" video on a manufacturer's website. (Naturally I cannot find the site now.) As best as I can remember, the sequence was: CNC plastic stock for panel outline and cutouts, paint booth for several coats of white followed by several color coats, marking engraving (can't recall if a mechanical or laser engraver was used), markings were filled with paint using an applicator having what looked like a blunt hypodermic needle, finally back to the paint booth for clear matte overcoat. The process of filling the markings with paint was done under an inspection microscope, probably something on the order of 5~10X though that's a wild ass guess on my part. I seem to recall the person doing the work using a cloth and a small squeegee to remove paint that went on unwanted places. I would not be surprised to find that all current light plates are manufactured using laser engraving. The older techniques are just too labor intensive. Still, they worked in the past and there's no reason they won't for us. I think your panels look excellent. I look forward to seeing your future efforts.

I hesitate to say junk them. I am by no means certain that my interpretation of the pictures is correct. I imagine that the original electronics was quite clunky and expensive. I wonder, however, what might be done with contemporary motor control electronics. I don't have anything particular in mind. I'm just reminded of the difference between the old style CNC motor drivers and what the CNC hobby community has developed. The analogy is stretched, but I think the potential is there. I think a key is finding more information about what you've got. Without knowing the voltage and current requirements of the torque motor, it's hard to estimate what's needed. I wonder if a competitor to the company that made your gear would have any information about it.

Quite possibly your control loaders are multi-phase AC torque motors with synchro-like sensors used for shaft position/speed/acceleration sensing. The Sensotec units are the load cells used to measure delivered force to the pedal or stick. An AC torque motor creates a rotating magnetic field that attempts to drag the rotor along with it. This operates much like an ordinary AC induction motor, but is designed to operate in essentially a stalled condition. An ordinary induction motor will draw too much current and overheat if stalled. The torque motor needs to be multi phase to produce a smooth torque. Because the goal is to produce different amount of control load depending on aircraft dynamics, control position, weather, damage, etc. with good fidelity, there's a complex control structure built around the motor. The outer control loop uses feedback from the sensotec load cell to set the proper motor currents, however, it doesn't stop there. The motor rotor has inertia which must be taken into account. To accommodate the dynamics of the motor into the system and maintain overall control loading fidelity, the rotor speed and acceleration become important factors in the control algorithm. The synchro-like sensor provides that information. Why synchro-like sensors? Because they are accurate and reliable. It's not at all clear how the control algorithm was implemented. It may have been analog, digital, or a mixture of the two.

The pursuit of realism is a goal in itself, important to some and not to others. I think you've got a really good set up. It puts the important stuff where you need it and lets you get into the game.

There are some military trainers that work in a similar fashion. I no longer have the link, unfortunately. The units were trailer mounted and had several stations, allowing multiple simulated A/C (helicopters, IIRC) to participate in mixed training sessions.

I've seen moderately good performance from epoxy when bonding aluminum (see http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=79768) However, I'm quite sure those bonds would not hold up to the abuse shown in that video. I was not aware of the Extreme 310 product. Thanks, Deadman!

Resources for those interested in small LCD displays: http://andybrown.me.uk/wk/ http://www.adafruit.com/category/63

The revision is here: http://www.mikesflightdeck.com/mfdb/brfs/brfs_support.html Scroll down to "Digital-to-Synchro Project Revision". The project description including firmware and schematic is in the book Building Recreational Flight Simulators available here: http://www.mikesflightdeck.com/mfdb/brfs/brfs.html