DIY Helicopter Cockpit (UH-1)

[yoreh]

Hi,

Here is my cockpit project witch started some four years ago. since then i've been on and off on this build. it started as a small trainer (cyclic, collective, pedals) and now it's evolving to be a full cockpit with panels,buttons, dails, dashboard and so on...

in order to export the instruments i will be using the ikarus software. for the analog input (axis) i will be using a joystick board, and for all the buttons and staff i will be using Arduino and DCS-BIOS.

 

Here are some pictures of the small trainer, as you can see it's only analog axis:

 

 

 

new collective head:

 

 

new cyclic grip (B8 style...)

 

 

An old smartphone as a caution light panel:

 

 

Here are some pictures of the current situation. you can follow the the project from the begining here on HoverControl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

Yoreh

[FragBum]

V Nice. :thumbup:

 

Love the cut out in the front of the seat base. :music_whistling:

 

Clearly mine is a WIP. :D

[yoreh]

quick update - Glareshield added, and the pedals are done (no electronics yet)

 

 

 

 

 

i made some small changes to the design, like moving the instrument panel and console 10cm forward.

as for the pedals, the original space between them was 20 cm, i changed it to 14cm.

next on the list is to mount the overhead panel and then start working on the cyclic and collective.

 

cheers

Yoreh

[hansangb]

That thing must weigh a ton!

[yoreh]

i'm out of co2 for my welder so for the meanwhile i decided to create the istruments covers. i started by cutting squares of transparent PVC and some slices of PVC pipe:

 

 

 

i then guled the pipe to the square using PVC cement and primer, and drilled holes in the corners:

 

 

after the gule dried up i masked the the inner circle and the back with masking tape, then painted it mat black:

 

 

 

after the paint was dry i removed the masking on the back and drilled the holes on the instrument panel. i numbered the covers and the thier loctions because even if they are the same size, there could be small ofset of the holes..

 

 

 

 

 

i then installed the covers on the panel using 4mm alen bolts (cone head) with cuped nuts:

 

 

i coverd the bolt heads with electrical tape to make sure they will not come in contact with the LCD panel

 

 

 

inner masking removed:

 

 

Final resault:

 

 

 

Ofcourse this is only one size of covers, there are more covers to make.

 

Cheers,

Yoreh.

[BIGNEWY]

great stuff!

[yoreh]

Thanks Alot guys!

 

Quick update. work on the instrument panel continues. i added the covers for the smaller gauges, and also added some encoders on the radio compass, CDI, and the Altimeter. the yellow brackets are temperary.

 

 

Cutting the holes for the encoders:

 

 

Temperary brackets:

 

 

 

The back of the encoder is flush with the back of the panel. that's important as thw lcd panel is right behind...

 

 

The isntrument panel with the new covers and encoders installed:

 

 

 

there's still a lot of work to be done...

Cheers

Yoreh

[Deadman]

Looks great!!

[Hellcat]

Very nice!

[TonyStovepipe]

[TonyStovepipe]

Doh sry dam phone.

[Kpdretired]

Yoreh, that is INCREDIBLE!! Really Superb Work. Question your Collective, did that start out as a commercially made item? or did you DIY that yourself. I'm in the process of figuring out how to make one for myself, with as many COTS parts as possible.

[yoreh]

Dam that's sick ������

 

Can I ask what software you used to get the warning panel sent to the phone?

Thanks.

 

Sure.

first, install an app called "Spacedesk" on your phone and pc. this will define your phone screen as another pc monitor. then use Ikarus to export those warning lights to this monitor. it's simple!!

 

Here is a link to my graphics if you want to use it.

 

Yoreh, that is INCREDIBLE!! Really Superb Work. Question your Collective, did that start out as a commercially made item? or did you DIY that yourself. I'm in the process of figuring out how to make one for myself, with as many COTS parts as possible.

 

Thanks. the collective is DIY. it has started as a child scooter front end. the long tube is the one that holds the handlebar, and the short tube (my twist-grip) is the part that was connected to the scooter chassis. for the electronics, just a bunch of toggles, push-button, and a digital joystick, all packed up in an aluminum junction box. the twist-grip is connected to a potentiometer, and the collective up-down is done with a hall-effect sensor and a magnet. all the inputs (analog and digital) are currently connected to a leo-bondar joystick interface board.

 

Cheers,

Yoreh.

[yoreh]

Here's a quick update.

 

I have installed a floor plate for the pedals area.

 

 

and added a damper to get more "hydraulic" motion than mechanic.

 

 

then i noticed that even on the lowest setpoint of the damper, i still get lot of resistance from the pedals. something is wrong. the problem was the threaded rod that holds the "T" bar in place. this bar is pressed between two nuts and washers and created lots of resistance. So i decided to change the rod to a round one with bearings.

 

i took it all apart and welded the rod to the "T" bar. at this point i also welded the M8 bolts to the bar.

 

 

i then put everything back to place with the help of some surface base bearings (three of them).

 

 

 

Now, the pedals runs smoothly as they supposed to. the feel is very hydraulic and precice.

with that out of the way, i started on my cyclic rod.

 

i don't have a tube bender in my shop so the best solution for me is to use scrap tubing that al is already bent. here is my donor -

 

 

i salvaged the parts i need and welded them together -

 

 

 

at the top i welded an 1/2" threaded coupler . this will receice the grip in the future

 

 

 

the rod is significantly long right now. it will be shotened down to size eventually.

And finaly i started working on my gimbal for the cyclic. it is a very simple design consist of two square tubing (outer=70mm, inner=30mm), some bearings and 12mm round rod. here it is so far -

 

 

 

my idea is to mount it beneath the floor level and create a force trim magnetic system for it.

 

Cheers,

Yoreh

[neoradix]

magniv!

[yoreh]

magniv!

 

Toda!!

[yoreh]

Some work on the cyclic gimbal. Yesterday i managed to make some parts for the rest of the gimbal mechanism.

 

 

here you can see a base plate (steel), upper plate (thin aluminum), some bearings, the bearings brackets (steel), some 12mm rod, and the already made gimbal part.

 

 

i drilled the base plate in the center (63mm), and drilled and tapped the maouting holes.

 

 

then tack-welded the brackets to place

 

 

complete gimbal from below

 

 

 

and from above.

 

still to do - connect the rotary motion sensors to the x/y axes.

- Design and build a magnetic force trim system.

 

Cheers,

Yoreh

[BlacleyCole]

I was going to build a simpit until I got my rift now just need the three controllers rt hand, lt hand and feet then everything else is virtual

[Cibit]

Any chance you can make me one too? ;) That is incredible I salute your skills :thumbup:

[Bullant]

Fantastic work, love it!

 

There's a typo on your war(m)ing placard though.

[yoreh]

Thank you so much guys!!

 

Fantastic work, love it!

 

There's a typo on your war(m)ing placard though.

 

Yeah i know, but i figured i need a space for the Radar Altimeter so i'm gonna place it on this placard anyway...

[FragBum]

Damn it now I need to move forward with my V-Sim pit build,... And yes your build looks awesome. :)

[Bullant]

Yeah i know, but i figured i need a space for the Radar Altimeter so i'm gonna place it on this placard anyway...

 

I just figured it was a test to make sure people were paying attention ;)

[yoreh]

more work on the cyclic

 

Hi all,

I did't like the cyclic shaft i made early on , so i had to make a new one. this time paying more attention to reference photos.

 

Connecting the shaft to the gimbal.

On my first attempt to do so, i came up with a "U" shaped bracket. it was welded to toe top of the center rod in the gimbal. i then drilled a 6mm hole through the shaft and bracket and fastened it with a bolt and nut.

 

 

 

The problem with this setup was the "U" bracket grinding against the hole in the mounting plate, cousing the stick shaft to move in a very "un-flowing" manner.

 

For the second attempt i took a piece of pipe, witch outer diameter is slightly bigger than the shaft inner diameter

 

 

i then turned it on my mini lathe, to fit inside the shaft

 

 

i welded it to the top of the gimball center rod and drilled the hole for the bolt

 

 

here is the gimbal with the stick shaft connected

 

 

here you can see the new shaft i made with the hole in the floor plate (the other "U" bracket was grindind against this hole)

 

 

here's the stick mounted in place. there is another aluminum plate at the top to hold the rubber grummet in place

 

 

 

 

stick movement demo -

 

 

 

Cheers,

Yoreh

[BIGNEWY]

looking very nice, keep it up!