P-51D cockpit build

Arguably the finest fighter aircraft of World War II.
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Raceguy
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P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Hello everyone

I have both the CIV and MIL A2A birds including Accu-Feel and Accu-Sim and am amazed at the realism brought to FSX. I've been a Mustang fan all of my life and now that I have retired I want to build a simpit of the P-51D. Can someone offer cockpit dimensions or suggestions as to where they can be found?

Thank you

Ed

AKA Raceguy or in combat flight sims as "The Target" :lol:
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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Hello again everyone.

I am restarting this thread from last summer. Last year I had a serious health issue and we decided I could mend in a warmer climate, so I retired and we moved from Ohio to Florida. It was 67F and sunny here today and 19F in Ohio. I think we chose well.

I did acquire a DVD set of Mustang plans and have been going over them for my cockpit build. I am comfortable with wood, not metal, so I will stay with what I think I know. I started making sawdust this weekend and wanted to post an update. As I move through this build I would appreciate any help the folks of this forum can offer.

Take care
Ed

Here is what a real Mustang frame looks like.
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And here is my interpretation. I just did a rough fitting this afternoon to see how thing were looking. The ribs are not in their correct locations yet.
From the front

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Front angled view

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Right side

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Last edited by Raceguy on 11 Apr 2016, 16:08, edited 1 time in total.
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maxonly
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by maxonly »

Looking good! :o Great work
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Lewis - A2A
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Lewis - A2A »

Looking good!

You might want to look here at this other project.
http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtop ... 93&t=33899

I met geedee at Leiston a year or so ago when he was displaying his cockpit at the memorial day. Look forward to seeing how your own cockpit project evolves

cheers,
Lewis
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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Thanks guys

I had followed Geedee's great build and was motivated to start mine. I don't have access to the real items like he did so I have to build all of my components. I just hope in the end mine resembles a P-51 and not a Ford Mustang. I'm using the base from my previous sim build which for the last 10 years could have been a Ford. Pics below.

Take care
Ed

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Last edited by Raceguy on 11 Apr 2016, 16:10, edited 1 time in total.
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Lewis - A2A
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Lewis - A2A »

Nice nascar build!

If you can bang that together then the Mustang build is bound to be a cracker 8)

thanks,
Lewis
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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Hello everyone

I have assembled the frame sides so it was time for a quick look using my old racing pit. I have shortened the base as you can see from the overhang of decking at the rear which has not yet been cut to fit. The cutout in the rear section holds a fan which I found necessary while racing as the enclosure would get warm with no air flow. The black poster board simulates my 32 inch screen. A 27 inch monitor will be built in for the main instrument panel with cutouts to display the gauges. I still need to find a new place to mount my "beverage" holder. :mrgreen:

Thanks for looking
Ed

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Last edited by Raceguy on 11 Apr 2016, 16:15, edited 1 time in total.
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Lewis - A2A
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Lewis - A2A »

Lovely work so far, this is going to be a great build to watch come alive. Regarding the fan, maybe mount it somewhere hidden forward to blow at you to simulate some air movement in the aircraft?

cheers,
Lewis
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trucker17
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by trucker17 »

A friend made a cockpit for the B17. He used the real locations for the vents and placed a fan in front of the system. He ran tubing to the vents to simulate the way the pilots had to cool the planes interior.
He went to the wrecking yard and bought the vent fronts, and used them.
As for the fan, he used an oscillating fan with a custom made cover on the front of it, to direct the airflow into the tubing.....
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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Hi guys

Thanks for the ideas. I found out with my old sim that air blowing in my face would dry my eyes so I kept the fans low.

Here is a pic of the old racing/flight controls. BTW, that desktop picture is my wife standing next to a Mustang at The Gathering of Mustangs and Legends in 2007. THAT was one heck of an airshow! You can see 2 of the fans low up front to move air in from that area. Also, I had a "relief tube" in my racing sim. We would race for 4-5 hours at a time and it came in handy. No, not that kind of relief tube, but there were times that pit stops became real pit stops! The silver duct is dryer vent tubing with a PC fan at the front of the pit. I could pull the duct out of the slot and direct it on my hands. Hmm, on second thought, my flying can create sweaty hands too!

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Here is a pic of the back on the old pit showing the fan to pull air out. Yes, I like M&M's and would usually have a bowl next to me while racing. You have to keep your energy up in a long race.

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Take care
Ed
Last edited by Raceguy on 11 Apr 2016, 16:53, edited 1 time in total.
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Lewis - A2A
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Lewis - A2A »

Thats a pretty nifty setup. Maybe you could have the fans down at the legs over the pedals in the pit, to avoid the issue with the eyes?

thanks,
Lewis
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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Hi Lewis

Thanks for the comment. I really enjoyed building and racing/flying with that pit. Really enjoying this build too.

Regarding the fan direction, that's the plan so far. It's winter here in Florida now and it still got to the upper 60's. However, the summers are very hot and humid, as we found out when we moved last year. My room is on the South side of the house so any air movement to get the A/C in here will be appreciated this summer.

Thanks
Ed
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geedee
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by geedee »

Looks like you're off to a great start Ed, she's looking good!

I've had no end of computer issues and a few domestic things to sort out so haven't updated my build thread for....quite a long time :-(

If you get stuck on something, drop me a message and I'll see what I can do to help out.

Here's a few pics of how my Babe looks at the moment...she's moved on quite a bit since my last update :-)

Lewis...if you're reading this, I'm hoping to bring back to Leiston this year as I understand the crew are having another Memorial day event. See ya there for catch up and a few tinnies ?

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Cheers

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Gary

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Lewis - A2A
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Lewis - A2A »

Looking great! Let me know about Leiston, I've now got too tiny people which tends to complicate things. Will all depend on how the date falls, as I might be stateside. Btw I am under the impression that your name was mentioned by one of the CAF guys who visited our booth at Oshkosh last year as the awesome guy with the p-52 cockpit lol. Small world!

Cheers,
Lewis


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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Hi Gary

Thanks for the kind words and offer to help. You may be hearing from me. Your build is fantastic! I don't have the skills to work with metal so wood and plastic will have to do for my build.

I'm just about ready to start on the switches and controls. At last count I found 105 active switches used by A2A and I am trying to replicate every one. :shock: I plan to order the switches tomorrow. The stick and throttle will be done last as I try to figure out how to make them.

Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated!

Take care
Ed
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