Bwaze Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 (edited) I have been planning on making ACES II (A-10 or F-15 version, for center mounted stick) for quite some time now. I have Stangs and Flims plans for a MDF / wood build, but all woodworking shops here are really charging too much even for simple routing of wood, with material prices I could be at or over Stangs discount price for kit... I have access to cheap CNC sheet metal punch and bending facility. And I'm now conteplating a metal build. Has anyone here done it? Most of the metal builds out there are commercial, so no plans, I'd have to do them myself. But I'm not aiming for any accuracy, wood builds are also quite simplified. I' m also not building a cockpit, just the seat with HOTAS stands. I have seen several commercial offers of metal seats, of course they are very expensive. The inspiration that I could make one myself was this Aliexpress metal ACESS II replica seat which also shows various stages of assembly: 1: 1. For the US ace II ejection seats F16 and F22 A10, simulate the flight DCS flight cockpit Has anyone tried it? Edited January 4, 2022 by Bwaze Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitty Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Looks like some components have been CNC machined so pretty expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwaze Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 Yes, the seat and back are obviously pressed sheet metal, and so are "bumps" on the lowet seat area. So the very high price of all metal seat is of course understandable. I was going to cheat, of course. I can 3D print the bumps, and contoured back and seatpan are a problem even when doing the seat in wood - I could form them from extruded polystyrene (XPS) - it's a bit harder form of styrofoam. And cover it with worbla - termoplastic sheat you form with a heat gun, cosplayers use it for making armours. It will be sturdy enough for seating, maybe not sturdy enough for cockpit use where people step on seat with boots? Also, even relatively thin Aliexpress ACES II weighs 50 kg in it's bare state - that's almost as much as original that must withstand 12g+ forces... I imagine they are making it from steel sheet, it looks thinner than aluminium on original, but still very heavy when they add all the profiles and parts that make the inner structure... Making monocoque structure from thin sheet is not very easy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agrasyuk Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Metal seat is definitely possible. If I had a need for one (as in a "had a gun against my head to make one") I probably would be able to design and manufacture something that resembles the actual thing. But I don't think you can expect any kind of savings doing that. That would be "I want an ultra nice thing and my wallet doesn't care how much it going to cost" category of a project . good luck! Anton. My pit build thread . Simple and cheap UFC project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwaze Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 Nah, it would be done on the machines at my job, and I'll be doing the design, drawing, punching on CNC punch, bending, riveting in my spare time... And I bet I can find some mild steel pieces lying around, we work with stainless steel, making kitchen equipment, cabinets, bar counters... So it's mostly going to take my time, not money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitty Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Thin aluminium would be the way to go if its done with the right grade.Use 3003 series for moulding and forming and 5005 for flat pieces.Ive been a sheetmetal worker all my life.Once its all rivetted together you will surprised how strong it will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikolas_A Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 I'm thinking an English wheel would be able to form the curves on the seat back but I haven't used one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitty Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 3 hours ago, Nikolas_A said: I'm thinking an English wheel would be able to form the curves on the seat back but I haven't used one. It takes 5 min to learn how to use one but rest of your life to master it...Id make up a timber buck of one and Flow form the aluminium into it.The seat base is usually fibreglass. Flow forming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwaze Posted January 8, 2022 Author Share Posted January 8, 2022 I've seen people on Viperpits struggle with aluminium seat backs, building strong timber presses, trying couple of times before they get it (kind of) right... It might be worth it if you intend to do several of them, for friends or for sale, but for one off? Also, ACES II pads are only 3.5 cm thick - and I intend to incorporate Jetseat motors into them, I think it will be much more comfortable if seat and back aren't completely rigid. seatbackpart2.webp P9074094.webp PA054101.webp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitty Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 MDF or chipboard are good for one offs but Id use a hardwood for repeated tooling.There is a wood hardener I use on plywood for hammerforms on repeatable jobs.Ive seen guys use concrete or Kirksite for heavier tooling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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