P-51D cockpit build

[Raceguy]

Hello everyone

I just wanted to share some work in progress. My new monitors arrived yesterday! Here is a pic of one. Doesn’t it look great?




Wait, here is a better picture.








Sorry about that…………………

Here you can see one compared to my 24” desk monitor.



These are 7 inch LCD HDMI monitors that will go in the floor of my pit, I hope. Where in the floor you say? Well below the shower drains of course. My wife just rolled her eyes when I told her I needed two shower drains for my pit.

These screens will display the two wing tank fuel gauges. The floor of the pit is ¾ inch MDF with oak plywood on top. I plan to remove the plywood and cut a rectangular hole in the MDF to mount the screens. I will then cut a round hole in the plywood to mount the bezels, replace the plywood and drop in the bezels.

This is how I made the bezels.

Take care
Ed

Drain grill



In my Dremel stand



Finished

[Raceguy]

I was just playing around the Air Manager software which places gauges on another screen. I have run the software before to do a basic setup on the 27 inch LCD that will display the MIP gauges and it works great! Thanks shadyowl2!

I wanted to test the small screen and it too works great. Now I have to make holders for the two screens and circuit boards, cut holes in the floor and get them installed.

Take care
Ed

[Killratio]

Looks good Ed, they are nice screens (I've used them for MFD's on my F-16) A touch of matt black paint on the frame where it shows through the circle and they will be a perfect fit.

Back in the days before I got the lathe and milling machine, I used to spend a lot of time looking at EVERYTHING I came across in terms of "where would THAT be useful" .. eg, my plumbing fitting + hacked Flight Illusions Whiskey compass, P8 Compass for the Spit.



BTW, your woodwork is fantastic.. well done!




Darryl

[Raceguy]

Thank you Darryl! I am amazed by the skills you have applied to make your pits come to life. I don't have the tools/skills to make some of the parts so I go searching for everyday parts to modify and re-purpose. Like my wife says "You may not be handsome but you are handy."

I appreciate your comments but I really appreciate the idea of painting the frame flat black. I was planning to add a thin, flat piece of plastic to fill the ring and hide the frame but your idea will save me time.

If something can be fixed in a simple manner I will find a way to make it complicated.

Tale care
Ed

[Killratio]

Re : easy to complicated....

As we say here Ed....." You're not Robinson Crusoe there!!"

[Lewis - A2A]

LOOKING GOOD!

As Killratio says, a touch of black paint on the frame of the screen and your golden

thanks,
Lewis

[Raceguy]

Hello everyone.

Thanks Lewis. Paint not on the frame yet but it is on the to do list.

I think I have this sim building thing figured out. When you start to get near the end of the project you see something new and say “Hey, I could add that to my pit.” Then you take the pit apart and figure out how to add the new part or feature. Oh well, as my wife keeps saying, at least I’m staying busy and out of her hair.

I played around a little more with the two 7 inch LCD displays I ordered for the floor fuel gauges and feel fairly comfortable with how they function. Thankfully they are easy to set up with Air Manager and Windows. So now it was time to install them in the floor.

I got the last 2 LCD units Desktop Aviator had for these fuel gauges. I wanted to make sure they work the way I want for my sim and they do. So, I contacted DTA and asked them to order another one for me and it should be here in 2-3 weeks. More about where that will go later.


Take care
Ed

Here you can see where I have identified the floor supports with masking tape and placed a drawing of the display and circuit board for measurement.



With the location determined I cut out the recessed areas with my router.



Then I dropped a unit in to make sure I had left enough room for the wires.



I had also marked the locations in the oak flooring and cut the round holes for the bezels. I trimmed them to the correct depth and HEY, they fit!!





Today I painted the bezels and added screws to simulate the real units. The real gauges and bezels are below floor level but I chose NOT to complicate my life any more than I already have.

I also started working on the defroster and hot air controls.

[Tug002]

Looking good

Keep smiling
Tug

[Raceguy]

Thanks Tug!

Ed

[Piper_EEWL]

Yep looking real good as usual

[Raceguy]

Thanks Piper!

Ed

[Raceguy]

Hello everyone.

Well, the third 7 inch LCD screen hasn’t arrived yet but after confirming that it will be the exact size as the first two I decided to make its frame/holder. Since I have “confirmed things” in the past, and they were a different size upon arrival, I have a “plan B”. If the new one comes in a different size I can always use it for one of the floor fuel gauges eliminating more hair being pulled out.

I have decided not to use the real O2 flow indicator and pressure gauge that I had purchased. I had come up with a way to make the flow indicator work but not the pressure gauge. So I decided to go with another small screen to display the functioning gauges using L:Vars and Air Manager Gauges.

Details and pics below. Thanks for looking.

Take care
Ed

I started by making a holder for the LCD using ¼ inch MDF. Since the LCD is 1/8 inch thick I made a frame using 1/8 inch balsa wood. Strength will not be an issue since all of the parts will be screwed together.





I decided to use the plate I had made for the real O2 gauges but I had to make a larger face plate due to the LCD dimensions. I added 1/8 inch square styrene to form new bezels and a thin strip ¼ inch wide to fill the gap to the LCD screen.



Here you can see the LCD behind the front plate.



I added ¾ inch MDF to the back of the screen holder screwing it in place from the screen side. Next came ¾ inch blocks of wood screwed to the MDF to made sides for the back brace.



I cut a hole in ¼ inch MDF for the LCD ribbon cable and screwed the back in place. I normally glue projects together but if changes need to be made screws are more forgiving. (Don’t ask me how I know)



One situation has bothered me since I installed the MIP LCD in its frame and that is access to its power buttons. With false O2 gauges I could have reached up under the gauge frame to hit the button but the real gauges stuck out too far blocking them. Using an LCD for the O2 gauges causes the same problem plus it is taller. And, a new issue popped up with the viewing angle of the LCD. From straight ahead the picture is clear but from an angle the screen is not readable.

As a work around I installed a PanaVise mount that I had previously used to hold a MFD controller in my old simpit. By using the articulating mount I can tilt the LCD to see the screen and by placing the LCD a little farther back I will have access to the MIP LCD buttons.

Here you can see the ball part of the mount secured to the back plate. I added the LCD button strip below the frame and connected the screen ribbon cable.



Sorry about the blurry pic but you can see the new gauges in place.



And from the back you can see the support. I had to make a new connector rod for the PanaVise as the original was too short for this project.



And finally the gauges running in Air Manager.

[Lewis - A2A]

OHHHH FANCY Very nice indeed

[Raceguy]

Thanks Lewis!

[Raceguy]

I hope everyone is doing well.

It’s hard to believe that I have not updated the simpit build since September 25th! I did take some time away for house and family projects but I have restarted as you will see below.

Take care
Ed

The goal of this pit is to use all functions available in the Mustang cockpit that FSX and A2A supports so I made a control lock device. The real lock is at the base of the control stick. Since that area is not available in my pit I chose to mount the device on the front of the seat base.




Here you can see a simple toggle switch mounted in a box. The switch is activated by sliding the knob from side to side.



Mounted



I also have worked on the modified Saitek Switch Panel. All that is left is to add the labels.




I have been dreading the wiring part of the project but it is now underway. My pit is being built in my garage workshop but will be used in my home office. (My wife may or may not have mentioned that it could stay in the garage.) The pit is 38 inches wide and has to fit through a door only 29 ½ wide so concessions were made to get it in the house. I intend to complete 95% of the pit in the garage then take it apart for the move.

The pit consists of the following components.
Floor on wheels
Seat
Front cowling area
Windshield and shroud
Left side, right side and back

I have installed all of the panels in the pit sections and the wiring is almost complete. All of the connections will be made with separate wiring harnesses in two parts. Part A of the harness is in the main pit and part B is in the cowling section that will hold all of the USB panels. I used DB25 cables because they have 25 wires and with the Male/Female connections they give me a quick connect setup. Once the components are installed I will connect the DB M/F fittings and be ready to start programming control settings. Sorry, this has been a long explanation so I hope the following pictures will help.

Here you can see a finished harness. The DB25 cable has been cut and you can see how it will reconnect using the M/F in the pit. I decided I did not want to solder the 2 or 3 pin mini fittings that came with the USB boards so I installed fittings intended for RC devices. I did solder them to the wires but at least it was not as small an area as the mini fittings. I then coated the soldered areas with liquid electrical tape. Each main cable, there are 12, and each individual wire is labeled for installation. I had to use a spreadsheet to keep track of the cables, wires and boards for their final connection.



The “male” RC fittings did align with the pins on the USB boards but due to their thickness they could not be used. You can see one at the top left of the following pic. So I inserted an awl into the silver area and released the individual wires. I then slid shrink tape over the bare metal and applied heat.



The 25 wires cut and labeled



Again, avoiding solder, I used crimp on fittings. Some areas where the connectors went to the switches were too tight for standard fittings. I found 3/32 fittings that fit the switches then trimmed them to fit the area.



The 3/32 fittings worked here without trimming but I did cut slots in the mounting panel.



A close-up of side B of one harness



This gives you an idea of the wires going into the pit and this is not all of them!



The Saitek Panel will be mounted to the MIP so no quick connect was needed for the 25 wires.



This is the back of the right side of the pit. After I took this pic I added another 25 wires for the radio and electrical cables for the environmental switches that control the fans and lights.