LOGICNC.COM

Completed backing plate...

You and me both! I can't wait to actually have enough parts to put something together. The unfinished parts list is steadily shrinking, but some of the more complex ones are still on the list.

I hope so! There will be a very small batch which will definitely be made...whether there will be enough for everyone who wants one will most likely be dependent on a successful kickstarter campaign...at least that is the way I am planning to fund this project at a larger scale. I have some semi-finished "springs" almost ready to go - they still need to be formed and heat treated though. These are what control the friction on the levers. As you can see, they actually fit nicely with the previously finished spring guides/cylinders.

Finished cylinders/spring guides

Sorry....can't help you out yet! The throttle grip is rubber....similar to neoprene. Here's another subassembly though!

How about a subassembly? That's about all I can muster right now...

Prototype Prop. & Mixt. Lock Knob complete This isn't 100% representative of the final work, but will be used for the prototype. Original material is plastic...this one is made from steel. Also, rivets are supposed to be used for holding the crossbar onto the knob - machine screws were used here to expedite the process.

Not 100%, but I think it is prototype material.

A first try at the mixture plate....not quite there yet! At least I have a practice piece for bending/finishing.

Soon to be part of a finished mixture lever assembly...

Semi-finished pitch lever....

We are definitely on the same page here....half baked force feedback is worse than no feedback at all. Currently the plan is to include it, but if it doesn't turn out to be what I envisioned then it will be eliminated. And yes, FFB does cause the cost to skyrocket! It won't be the kind of skyrocketing that happened with the Paccus FFB joystick though....you're basically looking at the industrial/medical industry only when the joystick is priced at 2247 Euro!

When exactly will that be? Forgive me...I am very much "across the pond" from you and I'm not familiar with it! I want to make sure I try and get something in your hands well before that... A test cut for the lever knob in the picture below....the mixture lever should be red, and the M isn't centered...but this was just a proof of concept.

It has been a while since the last update. There is some progress being made...the parts bin is slowly growing. All of the standard hardware has been sourced and I have been busy on the lathe making custom washers, etc.

Nothing to show yet after the last update...I've been working on some tooling and waiting for material to arrive. Should have some more progress to show next week....I really am going to try and make a valiant effort to finish the prototype by the end of December. As far as the knobs on the mixture and pitch levers... by show of hands who wants plastic and who wants aluminum? Of course there are pros and cons to each choice. Plastic is not as durable and doesn't have that nice metal feel, but it is in fact the original material used on the actual quadrant. Aluminum on the other hand is very nice but comes at a much greater cost...in material, machining and in anodizing to the final color. The prototype will be plastic, but I'm debating the final choice and am looking for some input.

2nd try I just couldn't let it go....I really wasn't happy with how the previous mixture lever was machined. When I investigated further I found a thrust bearing had broken loose on the x axis of the mill and was causing all of the problems with circular interpolation. You can see how bad it is in the closeup of the previously machined lever and how much better it is in the most recent one. Now at least I have one practice piece when I go to do the bending!

More Parts Mixture lever ready for bending. The circular interpolation wasn't working very well when cutting this part...so the large hole is pretty rough looking. It's ok for a prototype since the first prototype will follow the old saying "hammer to fit, paint to match!"

Wow! That is some very impressive work. When I get further along with the stick design I'll definitely keep you in mind for tech support. I am a mechanical engineer as well (technically I have to say E.I.T. since I don't have P. Eng. status even though I've been working as an engineer in aerospace for the last dozen or so years). It always helps to have more than one set of engineering eyes on a problem! Yes...it will be force feedback...I won't really have many details on it until the throttle quadrant prototype is complete though. I want to finish one project before moving on to the next....well more or less...some things can be worked in parallel. Thank you for the interest. I still don't have a set cost and availability date...I am hoping to have a working prototype by December and then at least another month or two before all the bugs are worked out and the manufacturing issues/decisions worked out. My target price for the quadrant is roughly $300, but that could vary quite a bit depending on how much of the manufacturing is kept in house (goal is 100%). Everything on the throttle will be as in the game - twist grip, push to talk even break-wire on WEP and emergency full rich. I am planning to build it around the standard USB HID protocol...so that means plug and play with no special drivers. I have had several private requests to be added to the front of the line for purchasing when it is finally available for sale. I will be keeping this as a first come first serve list who will have the first option to buy when it's available. If you want on the list please let me know. There is no commitment (but please only ask to be added if you're serious) and I won't be taking any kind of deposits for reserving until it's very close to production. If you want on the list please send me a PM. Thank you everyone for the words of encouragement!

More Parts! Friction plates are complete! Well almost complete...they still need to be lapped. I may end up changing the material to teflon depending on how I like the lever movement on the prototype. BTW, cutting sheet metal on a milling machine is not much fun....I may have to put some effort into completing my cnc plasma cutter. I also acquired an old D&M5 CNC lathe which needs some TLC before being put into service making round things.

It Begins! Well, I have finally made some visual progress...it's a small step, but a step in the right direction nonetheless. 1 of 50+ prototype parts for the quadrant is complete!

Depending on what the final price is...maybe. You will definitely have the option of buying one piece (throttle or stick) at a time or both at a discounted price.

Sorry for the late reply...I was on vacation :D No visible progress yet...I'm still working on machinery/tooling right now. Just finishing up a cnc mill upgrade and building a cnc plasma cutter. Progress should pick up come Sept/Oct...it's very hard to be inside working when we only have about 8 weeks of summer to take advantage of where I live. Some good news...kickstarter will now be made available to Canada. Once I have a working prototype (hopefully around December) I'm considering launching it as a kickstarter project.

Glad to hear that...I'm not going to take anyone's money until I'm very close to a final product though! My plan was actually to finish the prototype/testing and then open up a pre-purchase option through paypal. The idea being that I'll have 45 days to deliver after the paypal payments are made. This is basically my way of doing a "kickstarter" style project when kickstarter can't be used by Canadians. By going with paypal, I'll take any risk away from would be purchasers who may be concerned with the project, since paypal requires the seller to show proof of shipment. If I can't show proof, the buyer has the right to file a dispute for refund within 45 days of payment. By the way, it would never get to that point....I would refund anyone who requested it without going through a paypal dispute process.

So after doing some more research....the stick will indeed be FFB. This does however increase the cost/development substantially. Due to the additional development work required on the stick, I will be releasing the throttle quadrant first with the stick to follow. You can buy one piece or the other.... or both at a discounted price. Anyone who buys the quadrant prior to the stick release will have the option to get the stick at the discounted combo price. I'm awaiting some equipment delivery and then will be begin prototyping the quadrant components. I'll be able to give a better quadrant pricing estimate, once the prototyping is complete. Hopefully I'll have some more news to share in the near future...

Yes...a starter supply of wire will come with it. It should basically be a "lifetime" supply, but you can always buy more. Around 300 feet of brass breakaway wire is about $15. I'll definitely get in touch with you when the hardware is near completion...I appreciate the offer for help. And of course there would be compensation...but we'll talk about that later. Yes, just like on the real thing if you break the safety wire you need to do an overhaul....so save it for real emergencies!;) I realize I'm probably going to alienate some potential buyers by not going with Warthog compatibility and still being on the fence with FFB. I am however close to being convinced that FFB should be included...especially after hegykc may be interested in helping with the implementation. I have heard the saying that if half the people love your idea and the other half hate it....you're probably going in the right direction! From the looks of the poll...it's probably pretty close! I appreciate the comments and criticism...both are helpful actually.