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DIY Helicopter Cockpit (UH-1)


yoreh

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Thank you BIGNEWY!

 

work continues on the cyclic stick. i started to build the magnetic trim system. my insperation came from molevitch Mi-24 cyclic build, so many thanks to you molevitch for your amazing project.

 

As seen before, my gimbal mechanizm sits below the floor plate, and quite high for itself. if i had to connect the linkage for the trim system on the same plane, the angle of the linkage would be too steep and may cause porblems to stick movement. so i cut another plate to serve as a higher platform for all the trim mechanizm.

 

IMG_20180209_104814.jpg

 

i then installed some 10cm M6 bolts on the floor plate, and placed 7cm PVC spacers on them:

 

 

IMG_20180209_104754.jpg

 

IMG_20180209_104958.jpg

 

i then placed the new plate on the spacers and secured with spring washers and nuts

 

IMG_20180209_105334.jpg

 

IMG_20180209_105342.jpg

 

for connection to the gimbal, i attached (welded), two unistrat pipe clapms to each square tube of the gimbal (X axis, Y axis). in the folowing image, you can also notice the short linkage attched to the X axis. i used the unistrat clamp because it fitted the size, saving me the trouble of making a special part.

 

IMG_20180209_105513.jpg

 

IMG_20180209_105458.jpg

 

Ok, so magnetic trim is achived by locking the stick in a specific point (new center).the locking is done with the aid of electro magnetic door locks. when the cyclic is locked (trimmed), movment on both axis is possible against springs, located inside a component called " a force gardient" the force gardients brings the stick to the center when no hand movement applied. when trim is disabled, the cyclic moves freely with alomst no resistence and no centering, except for the small centering ability of the rubber grummet.

 

for the force gardients i used a motorcycle steering dumper (from AliExpress):

 

IMG_20180209_142046.jpg

 

i took it apart, draind the oil out.

 

IMG_20180206_132320.jpg

 

i obtaind some springs from a local mechanic shop. they gave it to me free of charge:

 

IMG_20180206_110600.jpg

 

i placed two springs, one on each side of the center rod:

 

IMG_20180206_132344.jpg

 

i re installed the rod inside the case, and closed it up. now, this dumper is spring loaded, when i squiz it to one side it will self center.

 

IMG_20180206_132404.jpg

 

next, i need to connect the force gardient to the metal bar that came with the magnetic lock. this was pretty strait forward. the bar have a 8 mm hole so i secured the gardient clamp to it with an M8 bolt

 

IMG_20180209_142009.jpg

 

IMG_20180209_142025.jpg

 

Next part of the system is a rail, witch is needed to achive the movment of the metal bar againts the =magnetic lock. i used simple drawer rails:

 

IMG_20180209_141937.jpg

 

 

The Y axis gardient/magnetic lock/rail set is going to be instlled parallel to the axis movement, quite simple. for the X axis it's a different story. it's gonna be perpendicular to the axis, so some sort of 90 degress movement conversion is needed. i made a "L" shaped bar with three holes. i belive it's called a "bell-crank". the center rotation hole is 12mm, the linkage connection holes are 8mm. i then welded a 12mm rod in place, and some M8 bolts:

 

IMG_20180209_135610.jpg

 

i located the right spot to istalled the crank and placed some pillow bearings for it (one above the plate, one below).

 

IMG_20180209_135645.jpg

 

 

IMG_20180209_135640.jpg

 

I bolted the Y axis rail to the elevated plate, right behind the gimbal. welded the metal bar to the rail, so it sits verticaly on top of it. then connected the force gardient beween the metal bar and the Y axis of the gimbal. i also connected the short linkage from the X axis to the bell crank. in the backround of the picture we can see the electro magnetic lock unit.

 

 

IMG_20180209_135851.jpg

 

 

IMG_20180209_135857.jpg

 

on the next update i'll install the rail/gardient/lock for the X axis, then it would be possible to make a quick test to the system.

 

 

 

Cheers,

Yoreh

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You sir are a fine engineer, that is some lovely work.

 

You are not in Australia by any chance looking for an adopted son/brother?

Thanks body, i'm not from Australia, but if you wanna relocate to Israel you're more than welcome ☺

 

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk

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Hi all, here's an update for the cyclic force trim system.

Yesterday i had smoe free time and was able to finish the system installation. first, i installed the rail and force gardient for the X axis. then i installed the two electromagnetic locks:

 

IMG_20180216_104925.jpg

 

IMG_20180216_104932.jpg

 

I then made a temporary connection of the magnets to the PSU, in order to shoot a short video of the system in action while still on the workbench. in the video, you can see the stick movement before force-trim is appliied. then i connect the PSU to the power and from this point you can see the stick movement with force-trim applied.

 

 

Now comes the time to install the cyclic on the simulator frame. for that i made a metal frame out of a 20mm square tubing. i welded it in place (between the chair and pedals). in the photo you can see the cyclic on the frame (with clamps), just before drilling the holes for the bolts.

 

IMG_20180216_104133.jpg

 

i drilled and secured it with nine M6 bolts. i used so many bolts because i have noticed that when force trim is applied, the spring resistance on the stick causes some deformation of the stick base plate.

 

After the stick was secured, i installed the grip on top of it. the wires run through the stick tube all the way down and through the gimbal mechanizm. i connected the push button to the system, using a relay. A relay is needed because the push button is Normlly-opened (no contact when not pushed). so the push button energize a relay, the magnets are connected to a normally-closed contact of the relay. the end result is when the button is pushed, the relay is energized, the magnet are de-energized and the stick is free to move to a new center. when the button is releasesd, the relay is de-energized, the magnets are energized, and the stick is trimed to it's new relative center.

 

 

Whlie testing the stick movement, two problem were discoverd:

 

1. when stick not trimmed - there's a grinding filling on the Y axis.

2. when stick is trimmed - a small freeplay of the stick shaft on the Y axis.

 

the first problem was solved by increasing the gap between the magnet and metal bar of the Y axis.

 

the second problem came from a deformation of the stick shaft right at it's connection point to the gimbal. the M6 bolt used to connect them, when tied, deformed the shaft into a eliptical shape, thus allowing it to free move on the socket. i solved the problem by adding a small set screw on the stick shaft, perpendicular to the M6 bolt. (just a small no-head allen screw).

 

After i was saticfied with the stick action, i took everythig apart, cleaned, welded, grined and painted all the parrts.

 

IMG_20180216_152345.jpg

 

IMG_20180216_152354.jpg

 

The next stage is connecting the motion sensors, the main board and an electrical box.

 

Cheers,

Yoreh

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Amazing work Yoreh! Same system as mine, but far better execution!!! I wish I had the facilities you have.... :(
Thank you sir!! Actually your system was the isperation for mine ☺ (take a look at post #26...). I really anches to try it already

 

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bufff, I´m speechless and envious, I can tell you.

I have a question, because I¨m thinking on trying to install a similar system but I fly also aircraft. Does the dampers have range enough to cover all joystick movement? What I have in mind is that, if so, blocking the sliders in the center produces a kind of standar spring-centered joystick, isn´t it? Well, with the advantage of having springs for every axis.

Sorry for my english, I don´t know if I´m explaining myself....

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bufff, I´m speechless and envious, I can tell you.

I have a question, because I¨m thinking on trying to install a similar system but I fly also aircraft. Does the dampers have range enough to cover all joystick movement? What I have in mind is that, if so, blocking the sliders in the center produces a kind of standar spring-centered joystick, isn´t it? Well, with the advantage of having springs for every axis.

Sorry for my english, I don´t know if I´m explaining myself....

Hi marques, thank you. I belive the dumpers cover all the range but i will have to make sure. Right now the system is taken apart for painting and electicall wiring. As soon as it on again I'll give it a try...

 

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Alright, so after the paint had dried, i started the re-assembly, and now was the time to mount the motion sensors and some wiring.

 

The Y axis sensor is installed directly on it's rotating shaft. i welded an M5 bolt to the end of the shaft, and replaced the two M8 bolts that hold the braeing with longer M8 threaded rod. i made a plate for the sensor and istalled it on those rods with nuts on both sides. to connect the M5 bolt to the sensor i made aluminum couplers on the mini lathe.

 

Y axis sensor installed:

 

IMG_20180223_111004.jpg

 

i had to cut from the upper plate in order to make room for this installation

the same method was used for the X axis sensor. the only difference is this sensor is mounted on the bell crank shaft (that is because i had limited space on the gimbal mechanism).

in order to connect all wiring of the cyclic, a junction box was needed. i chose to install it on the floor plate of the cyclic, at the rear part. this is from below:

 

IMG_20180223_094157.jpg

 

i then routed all the wires into this box (grip, magnets, sensors)

 

IMG_20180223_105327.jpg

 

i then closed everything up. at this point the cyclic is mechanicly ready. what's left to be done is to hook up all the wires in the JB to one multi-wire cable (db-25), witch will connect to the main board of the sim.

 

IMG_20180223_110947.jpg

 

IMG_20180223_110954.jpg

 

IMG_20180223_102411.jpg

 

JB location:

 

IMG_20180223_145956.jpg

 

After the wiring is over maybe i will finaly clear my head for the next project (collective system).

 

Cheers,

Yoreh

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you PilotMi8!

 

As a final stage of the cyclic, i took a 25X0.5 cable and soldered a DB25 connector at it's end -

 

IMG_20180302_130156.jpg

 

IMG_20180302_135005.jpg

 

the other end was connected to the junction wbox with terminals -

 

IMG_20180302_142622.jpg

 

Hooking up the pedals rotary sensor.

 

i used the same sensor as the cyclic. i took an aluminum rod and drilled a 6mm hole for the sensor shaft, and tapped an M5 hole for the set scerw -

 

IMG_20180309_092822.jpg

 

sensor on the rod -

 

IMG_20180309_092946.jpg

 

i installed an angle bracket for the sensor at the right location -

 

IMG_20180309_103257.jpg

 

i then cut the rod to lentgh, and drilled a second 6mm hole at the other end. with the aid of an M6 linkage and an M6 long bolt, i hooked up the sensor to the pedals "T" bar section -

 

IMG_20180309_111127.jpg

 

i don't like this setup 100% but it works so i have no intentions to delay on that.

 

i did some more work on my instrument panel. the encoder brackets were replaced with smaller ones. i did not like the aliexpress encoder heads so i decided to make some myself. i started wi 12mmX20mm aluninum rod. in the picture the rods after knurling process, and the original heads from aliexpress -

 

IMG_20180309_150512.jpg

 

i drilled a hole in the center for the encoder shaft, and tapped two M5 set screws. this is how it looks like -

 

IMG_20180309_150448.jpg

 

IMG_20180309_150435.jpg

 

i added a frame for the Attitude indicator. on the frame i mounted two encoders for the pitch / roll adjustment -

 

IMG_20180309_150428.jpg

 

that's all for now. i'm starting to stress with the amount of work yet to be done :cry:

 

cheers,

Yoreh

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Nice setup and you probably have less in it than I do my incomplete puma in the fact I still have to come up with a seat setup. Btw I’m sure you said some where but what app are you using on the old smartphone I’ve an old iPad I might try out if the app is iOS compatible.

 

Edited:

I forgot I had order a folding hunting blind chair while I was gone to be delivered to my base camp location. I set it up today not only does the seat and back look correct for a Huey iirc it positions me perfectly for my pedals it feels natural whereas the folding chair was using positioned me wrong and it was uncomfortable. I’ve got a jetseat coming that and the rift and puma gives me perfect emersion into the sim.


Edited by BlacleyCole

BlackeyCole 20years usaf

XP-11. Dcs 2.5OB

Acer predator laptop/ i7 7720, 2.4ghz, 32 gb ddr4 ram, 500gb ssd,1tb hdd,nvidia 1080 8gb vram

 

 

New FlightSim Blog at https://blackeysblog.wordpress.com. Go visit it and leave me feedback and or comments so I can make it better. A new post every Friday.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi, yesterday i managed to hook up the instrument panel to my laptop and test how it looks. There is still some fine tuning to be done but for now i'm pretty happy with the results. I added some blue lenses for the compass and marker beacon, and moved the three main warning lights down the panel in order to use the software (Ikarus) warning lights. Also added a bazel for the radar altimeter.

Cheers

Yoreh.4ac43290f177808419eda2a0c9074fb4.jpgb97fbea51824486d866569385853778f.jpg0bc3f86b08030184de3ab40888524a9f.jpg43297a07f8b4a2b2d7c4b7364dcc873a.jpg

 

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk

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  • 3 months later...

Update - Collective stick

 

Here's a small update. I started working on my collective stick last friday. the switchbox is designed and 3D printed by Juergen Behrens from "microheli.de". i'd like to thank Juergen for his perfect designs and prints.

here is the printed switchbox with all it's parts:

 

IMG_20180803_095407.jpg

 

IMG_20180803_095553.jpg

 

IMG_20180803_095452.jpg

 

IMG_20180803_095547.jpg

 

the shaft is a piece of a stainless steel tube.

 

IMG_20180803_095624.jpg

 

i started by fitting the box on the shaft and marked the set screw location. i then drilled and taped it to M4. i used a cone head alen screw to secure the box to the shaft.

 

IMG_20180803_095813.jpg

 

IMG_20180803_100739.jpg

 

i then fitted the friction nut, throttle and the rear bracket, marked the set screw location, drilled and taped to M4.

 

IMG_20180803_112234.jpg

 

IMG_20180803_112843.jpg

 

the throttle handle has a hole on it, witch i want to use to "transfer" the rotational movement to a rod witch will be fitted inside the shaft.

in order to do that, a pin will have to pass through the throttle, through the shaft itself and connect to the centeral rod. i needed to cut a groove in the shaft for this pin to run in... so, i marked the hole location in a closed throttle position, and in the fully open position. i removed the throttle and marked the grove between the hole marks. i used a hand saw to cut the groove.

 

 

IMG_20180803_121647.jpg

 

IMG_20180803_121830.jpg

 

this somehow weaken the shaft, but no worries, the shaft will be "held" by the throttle from the outside, and the adapter of the central rod from the inside.

 

the centeral rod will be routed along the shaft to the shaft base. there i will fit a pot for throttle position, along with a solonoid setup to control the idle stop/release positions.

 

cheers,

Yoreh

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  • 1 month later...
Looking great

Thank you Sir.

 

 

Some progress on the collective throttle mechanism.

 

IMG_20180906_121633.jpg

 

in the photo you can see an M8 threaded rod that will serve as the collective central rod. the white printed cylinder is the adapter that will hold the threaded rod and connect to the throttle grip.

 

IMG_20180906_121736.jpg

 

IMG_20180906_121914.jpg

 

IMG_20180906_122030.jpg

 

the M5 bolt head is removed, i cut a small notch instead so i can use a flat head screwdriver to fit it in place. this bolt is fitted through the throttle grip, through the groove in the collective shaft, into a ready made hole on the center of the white adapter. now, when twisting the grip, the adapter rotate, along with the threaded rod. this, in turn will rotate a pot at the back of the shaft. another printed cylinder is fitted at the end of the shaft to keep the M8 rod centered.

 

IMG_20180906_142018.jpg

 

next stage is to design the pot housing, along with the idle stop/release mechanism.

 

cheers,

Yoreh

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  • 3 weeks later...

Huey dash board

 

Hi

Biutiful job on you cock pit

Can I ask how you made the curved dashboard I am building a Huey cockpit as well a have made the instrument panel but I would REALLY like to know how you made the curved dash HOOD

please let me know if you get the time:thumbup::pilotfly:

Thanks

Tony

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Hi

Biutiful job on you cock pit

Can I ask how you made the curved dashboard I am building a Huey cockpit as well a have made the instrument panel but I would REALLY like to know how you made the curved dash HOOD

please let me know if you get the time:thumbup::pilotfly:

Thanks

Tony

 

Hi,

the Glareshield is just a piece of flexible PVC sheet witch i cut to shape and painted black. i then drilled holes evey 10cm or so along it's edge and screwed it to the edge of the instrument panel (witch is 17mm MDF board). it is that simple.

 

hope that helps,

Cheers

Yoreh

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Hi,

the Glareshield is just a piece of flexible PVC sheet witch i cut to shape and painted black. i then drilled holes evey 10cm or so along it's edge and screwed it to the edge of the instrument panel (witch is 17mm MDF board). it is that simple.

 

hope that helps,

Cheers

Yoreh

hi thanks for getting back to me

how thick is the pvc sheet you used

tony

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