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Eric William's Lear45 Cockpit Build (Retired!!)

(Original thread started on 01-16-11 by Eric Williams)

Well I figured if I started a thread it would be that much more motivation to keep moving on my project to get out of the VC once and for all, so here it is. My plan is slightly more function before form. My cockpit will not be scale but should give me the controls I need to up my realism to the next level.

 

My plan is to use 2 16" wide screens for the flight displays and one 17" for the RMU's and Dave's standby's in the middle. For now the buttons will be mouse activated, or activated using my existing Saitek panels. My biggest hurdle will be getting the frame fabricated but once that is complete the rest should fall into place fairly quickly as I am not going for perfect scale- just functionality.

 

I decided to get moving on the MIP but even with all the files I have downloaded, the measurements seem to come out a bit wonky (I'm quite sure it is me). I have decided to have a friend do the wood fabrication as I have a long standing agreement with wood and wood products- we leave each other alone. I really do measure 3 times, cut once and still screw it up 66% of the time.

 

The problem I have is that my friend has no idea what a Lear cockpit looks like. The 2d drawings are great (thanks to all those who have posted) but they are geared towards us who know what we are looking for. As a potential solution I downloaded Google SketchUp ( a free CAD style program) and took a shot at making some drawings. These are the result of about 1hr this evening.

 

I think they should give my fabricator a decent idea of what I'm after. There are multiple errors in the images as I'm finding it difficult to think in 3D. I've never used CAD before so I think I did okay:

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No clue if this is even remotely close for dimensions, but should be a rough start. Input appreciated.  I would love to buy a premade MIP panel and glare shield but sadly I cannot. I went with 17" monitors as they were VERY reasonable priced on clearance from Tiger Direct. That alone will change my spacing slightly

 

I am also planning on using my Saitek Autopilot panel in the glare shield as a cheap and easy solution. It will not look good but is highly functional, and serves my purpose for now. I will re-skin the panels someday downrange and add some better looking inputs at that time. For now I need the glare shield to be quite a bit higher to accommodate the panel.

 

A side note: If anyone has one or more of the Saitek panels laying in their junk (not so much you guys as your sims are a bit nicer than Saitek equipment) but these thing are great- once you install the 3rd party software. The SPAD Drivers allow you to directly interface with FSUIPC and also allow for short and long click functionality, as well as encoder acceleration control. I don't mind them at all and they do the job once you ditch the original Saitek software. I will try to post some details later in the build when I set up the AP and Multi panels to input way more functions than they were ever intended for.

 

As for the CAD- I have never used it in any way before last night. Windows paint was as far as I have ever gotten. I have little drawing skills. I have to say the Google Sketchup program is fantastic. I think I have jumped into a whole new world! I'm already starting to "think" in 3D.

 

UPDATE:

New toys have arrived! Twin 16"Widescreen LED monitors for my Lear. These things weigh nothing! I have never owned an LED monitor before but it's quite amazing how light these things are. First impressions are that they are bright and quite clear. A nice glossy finish is a plus too. Time to take some measurements and get the big build underway.

 

Also I really need to get rid of that kids border on the wall of my spare/flight room!

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(Posted by Ron Rollo on 01-18-11)

Hey Eric, great start on your sim build! You are going to love working in CAD.  Our community website on your LED screen is a nice touch! Are you planning on taking your monitors out of their bezels? Nothing like tearing up brand new and perfectly fine equipment.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 01-19-11)

I will try to leave them in the bezels. I don't think this should be a problem, but will cause the screen to be a bit further back behind the panel. I don't mind tearing them apart, but the way the switch panel is designed on the monitors, it requires the bezel to hold the buttons in place. I could fab something up, but would rather leave them complete. Do you know if people found them being in the bezel caused troubles with the increased setback?

 

I am dropping off the plans for the entire setup to my carpenter friend this evening. He is interested in the fabrication and woodwork, so this works out well for me! Going to have to do some tinkering and tweaking to get the monitors accommodated but I think I will be sticking with the tried and tested designs found on this site 99% of the time.

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 01-19-11)

It's not a big problem but it doesn't look "right" having them set back so far, but considering that you are changing the scale a bit it may not really matter. How you want it matters most, but I will tell you that it's not usually a big deal to take them apart. Why? Well, you don't need access to the buttons. If you have the monitor turned on when you turn off the PC, the monitor will always turn on. Once color, brightness, etc. are set then you don't need to have access to the buttons and you simply tape them down to the metal frame of the monitor so they aren't hanging free. Once that's done, then you have the screen much closer to the front which makes a better viewing experience for me.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 01-20-11)

Well I got another PC linked up to my FSX machine and tried the Jet 45 demo. Worked out pretty good overall. I am having some trouble with my speed indication on the PFD jumping around like crazy though. Also the bro jumps around with it...weird.

 

One real cool thing came out of it, flying around the airport I ascended up through the clouds only to be greeted by repeated "WIDSHEAR...WINDSHEAR" alarms! I have never once hear that before, and boy was it right. That's the kind of thing that keeps me into this hobby for sure.

 

I dropped off the plans with my carpenter friend last night for the upcoming build. He didn't run away so that was a good start. Should have a sim taking shape very soon.

 

The first monitor I have tested has some strange areas of larger pixels, and is VERY sensitive to viewing angle from up and down- laterally it is very good. I will have to decide whether or not to send it back or live with it:

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(Posted by Shane Barnes on 01-20-11)

Hey Eric, do you have Real Environment X installed? I have only had the windshear warning once or twice, I think Mark has had the warning once, it's not very common. I've been trying to keep track when someone encounters the windshear warning to see what programs they have and whether the windshear warning will happen with FS only and no other installs. Also were you flying in real time weather or had you set up custom weather. I received the warning when flying in real weather and I think Mark did as well. I did not see any effect when the warning occurred, only received the warning. I was using PM sounds as well.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 01-20-11)

Hey Shane, yes I had Rex 2.0 real time weather, but I had rolled the time of day back to sometime midday (forget what time exactly) at KICT airport area to test out the Jet45 software. There was notable turbulence shortly after the warning and throughout the flight, pretty good gusts. I have flown in far worse before and never experienced it.

 

Worthy of note is that I just recently installed PMSounds, only have about 3 flights with it, perhaps that's why I had not experienced it before. It was uber-cool though!

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 01-21-11)

Here is where I was getting the info that the Acer is LED. This is taken from the description on the Wal-Mart site:

 

The Acer 15.6" Widescreen LCD combines incredible value and performance with eco-friendliness in a slim and functional design. The widescreen aspect ratio lets you view more content - digital media, office applications and more. The white LED technology minimizes environmental impact with up to 68 percent lower power consumption versus regular LCDs, greater durability and mercury-free materials. The Acer X163WL Ab's other features include VESA compatible mounting and Energy Star compliance.

 

(Posted by Mark L. on 01-21-11)

Yes, I always have PM Sounds running. Although, I get the wind shear warning out of the FSX speakers along with the system running PM Sounds so there will usually be a slight delay from one of the systems, which is funny as its a millisecond duplicated alarm which makes it more ominous! I guess I should figure out how to kill one of them from reporting it.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 01-23-11)

Took some time and finally installed Rex SP3 and Overdrive. Weather looks even better than before! Rex is probably the best addon I have ever used, for the sheer fact that most of my time is spent at altitude where ground scenery is rather ineffective.

 

I also tried adding the Bufferpools tweak with use pools=o. The frames actually went down when locked at 25, they only achieve about 15 but when set to unlimited it is around 35-40 and no more stutters. Will have to try some more flights to ensure there is no other ill effects. I have no overclock currently so not bad for the 2.66 quad.

 

Thanks to Eric T I was able to get the Jet45 demo PFD to display the proper size- thanks again! This gives me a reasonable idea of spacing for the MIP construction coming very soon. In hindsight I really should have just go the same monitors as everyone else and bought the aluminum MIP, but hindsight is always 20/20, and I already had the center one that I have no dollars in yet.

 

The next few days will hopefully get me set up with another couple PCs to run the First officer side and RMU's. I could do both sides on the one PC, but think I will set up two. This should allow for easier remote desktop software (startup,shutdown etc) and less load on each (which I don't think is an issue anyhow)

 

I also got another freebie/recycled component for all the PCs, and MGE UPS system good for 13 amps. No power glitches going to wreck a flight for this cat. I already have a small consumer level UPS on my main rig but the new one is industrial grade with full PC and remote interface technology. The best part is that another one is coming this week- cost $0.00. Perfect:

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UPDATE:

Jet45- Purchased! A few tries getting the PayPal and software to agree but I now have the full version. Looking forward to the CDU coming out. Time to fly somewhere other than KICT.

 

Thanks to Eric T for making the full size MIP available! I had my local surveyor print off the full size today so I could visualize what will be required for size changes:

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I really wish I could just buy an aluminum version from people here, but due to budget (I have to set SOME limits ) I will be using my existing used HP monitor for the center. This forces me to use a slightly wider stance. For now I will be leaving them in the bezels and widening the panel by a total of 4 inches. The plan is simply move the DU's over by 2 inches each leaving all the other scaling intact. This should allow me to purchase the fantastic bezels etc. that Vince and others or making (if they are available for sale)

 

As a result there will be a slightly larger gap between the RMUS and PFD/MFD which I don't see as a problem. I've watched all Per's video's and love his non specific Lear cockpit.

 

Eric- I just checked out your build thread and it looks like if I cut out the MIP as per your exact drawing I will still be able to use the Jet45 bezels until I have some hardware- that's fantastic!

 

UPDATE:

Well some fantastic news! I went with the Lear cockpit as per everyone else here. Instrument Panel- Ordered from Tom

 

MIP Backer and Console- Drawings printed full scale and handed over to my carpenter friend for construction (slow times in the winter so I'm sure he appreciates the work)

 

RMU/Standby Display- Another monitor ordered from Tigerdirect same as my other two units. Delivery is set for Monday

 

Spoke with Eric T and Tom on the phone at length and gathered some great information. Thanks guys, I appreciate it!

 

This afternoon I rebuilt another PC from junk laying around. This will become my second instruments PC running the Jet45 software. I think will try one for the Captain/FO displays and the other for RMU's... will see how the dual displays work out on one PC though.

 

Got VATSIM up and running with SB the other night- wow I had no idea what I was missing! Installed the Google Earth program with the VATSIM New Zealand kml file, allowing me to see all controllers and current flights anywhere.

 

(Posted by Kris Stow on 02-26-11)

Eric G, great choice in going with a full size MIP from Tom. You remind me of me, always wanting it now. Not a bad thing but I have found planning will make things easier for you in the long run.

 

I'm excited for you in your project and it looks like it coming along nicely! Keep up the great work bud and looking forward to see more progress.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 03-01-11)

Another piece of hardware just showed up. Seems to work great so far. Should get rid of the keyboard and mouse also kind of looks like a weird CDU of sorts:

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UPDATE:

Well thanks to everyone here... it has been born! My pedestal/console/MIP is well under way. Huge thanks to my friend Mike who completed the fabrication exactly as laid out in the plans here (only one minor deviation which you may spot, but was caused by me)

 

Thanks to Eric, Ron and Tom (not any particular order) for helping me get this "off the ground". Tom's aluminum panels are fantastic and arrived very quickly. All you Hangar 45 members make this possible!

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(Posted by Ron Rollo on 03-15-11)

Hey Eric, looking good! I see the deviation you are taking about. It looks like your going to make what I call a TQ module, only it will also include the side walls too.

 

The information that we all post on this site is merely a guide or reference to follow to help builders along, not the rule. It is always cool to see different ways to do things and the creative thinking that others do. Looking forward to seeing that beautiful MIP getting bent!

(Posted by Eric Williams on 03-15-11)

Yep that is the plan Ron. For now, I will be forced to mount my existing TQ due to the fact that some form of budget needs to be set. I figured I would do exactly as you describe and make a form of "module" that can be replaced when a scale version is available.  It should be a an easy transformation back to scale, but in the interim allow function.

 

UPDATE:

Finally getting somewhere. Aluminum bending didn't go perfect, but it will do. Due to my nearly flush mount monitors I will need to do some work with the glareshield too. Had not considered my lack of depth.

 

Havel all three MIP monitors ready to mount and two touchscreens in testing. I'll let the pictures speak for my progress:

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UPDATE:

Today was a good day. Went back to the shop to attempt fixing the over-bent panels. This time I ran the brake myself...success. Everything is where it should be.

 

Got the backer primed and decided to attempt mounting some monitors. I used industrial velcro to simply stick the I-Inc monitors in place. No problems found at all. This should be very sufficient for holding them long term. Even tested them after to ensure I didn't hurt anything in handling. Again, no issues.

 

Here are the latest pics. I really need to remove the kids border around the walls on my hobby room:

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(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 04-01-11)

Yep Eric, you're doing what I always recommend, build a little, and then do some "test" flights. You have to in order to remember what all the work and effort is for; at least via the desktop if nothing else. I'm excited to see your progress and it's good to see JET45 running too.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 04-18-11)

Decided to go with a video update. A little bit of progress, but hopefully more in the next week or so. The weather is getting better outside so I will likely hit the trails soon. Too little hours in a day.

 

Need to get some paint and some brackets dabbed before I can really set to work. Thanks again Ron for the fantastic panel set!




 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 04-19-11)

Your project is slowing catching up to mine. Everything is looking great too!  By the way, I like those AML's you have. They appear to be momentary single pole switches with solder lugs. I think those will work better than what some of us have. The only question mark is they look like they are missing the light terminal. But that can be worked around.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 04-19-11)

Yes the switches are AML21BBA2BA. They can be sourced for about 3 dollars from several sources. You are right on- they are just missing the light terminals/holder but the case actually has the light symbol and terminal holes still present. A person could insert them from the unused spares from the dual-light indicator switches such as the reversion panel (if you can remove them)

 

I do not foresee any issues with mounting an LED at all. I ordered 100 flat top 5mm ones from overseas (very cheap) a week ago. When they arrive I will make up some form of tutorial on installation into this stye of AML.

 

I only purchased 25 of these AMLs until I get it worked out completely. As a side note: Canadians should not order the caps from Onlinecomponents:

25 AML51-A10W Caps at $2.19= $54.75

Shipping: $25.00

 

Package arrived with $43.00 in customs owing via UPS

Total for 25 silly caps : $122.75

 

UPDATE:

Another video update. Due to my career, life and some decent weather there are not many hours left in a day for sim building. I'm happy I made some progress today:




 

A few steps closer. This thing is starting to look like a Lear45!

 

UPDATE:

Well a bit more progress. I decided that video updates are working out fairly well, and this way I will have a detailed history for my build. Someday it may help someone else I hope. Here is the video:




 

Sorry I didn't include more credits, or got them wrong.

 

Here are some pics that I took a short time later with a bit more progress yet. I just HAD to see some panels filling the empty holes!

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Thanks again to everyone here.

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 04-27-11)

Eric, your becoming the spokes person for Hangar45! Your also the perfect example of a guy coming along and using the information we posted up at the hangar to get the new fellas up on line. It is really cool to see you come along and within a few months, you have the framework to build a full scale sim, and 100% to scale. (to the best of our ability and knowledge) Great video!

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 04-27-11)

Thanks Gents. I was thinking a lot lately about all the little problems and questions I had before I started building. I learned volumes by reading just about every post on this site. I figured the videos may help someone else in the same position as I was in initially. If I hadn't found this site, I would either have a generic boring build, or no build at all.

 

Also I watched a lot of home cockpit videos, which gave me motivation to actually begin the build in the first place. Hopefully my videos can do the same for someone else too. If nothing else, it gives credit to everyone here who led the way. Maybe get some exposure for the Hangar!

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 04-29-11)

Hey Eric, what is the brand / model number of the touchscreen you are using? Any issues when using it such as dropping your frame rate? I've been waiting for someone to do this so I could get some feedback on its performance with the FP FMC.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 07-02-11)

Shane, the touchscreens I got are 10.4" Car/home models. They work great so far, no issues at all. I'm sure there is a slight frame rate loss with the second monitor, but I haven't even noticed. I haven't exactly done much flying, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again. You can find a link to eBay HERE

 

UPDATE:

Christmas in July! I got a bunch of new goodies. This will keep me busy for some time.

 

Here's the video:




 

Sorry about the camera shake, an hour of threading LEDs through AMLs makes for shaking hands before my morning coffee!

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 07-24-11)

Hey Eric, this looks awesome. One small tip, make sure you take some 1000 grit sand paper and sand the face of the lens' that you have. Right now what you have is almost a mirror finish. Using sandpaper slightly wet is great to take off the mirror finish and give it the 'satin' look that you see on the real Chromalux 389 switch lenses. When you scuff sand them, it dulls them to the point that they will not reflect light. Look at some of the images of the AML lens and cap sets in my threads.

 

Also, make sure you're using the right screws out of the set I sent you for the panel. The 6-32's go in the 4 recessed holes and should fit nice in there with the 8-32's being used for the 4 mounting holes into the threaded inserts Ron sent.

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 07-24-11)

Hey Eric, as Eric T. pointed out a rivnut tool and rivnuts make life much simpler. You don't have to worry about the rivnut spinning in the hole. You can find a link to one like I have on eBay HERE

 

Here are a few links where you can get rivnuts. If you are looking elsewhere for these make sure the material thickness range is between .020 and .080 as the MIP thickness is around .070 You might find them cheaper at other sites but this will get you going. Also McMaster Carr ships really quick.

 

This is 6-32 size on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-32-UNC-LFK-Steel-Rivet-Nut-Rivnut-Insert-Nutsert-/370306923448?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5638033bb8

 

This is 8-32 size on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/8-32-UNC-LFK-Steel-Rivet-Nut-Rivnut-Insert-Nutsert-/370309716702?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item56382ddade

 

Here is a link to rivnuts at McMaster Carr, they are aluminum but will work the same and a little cheaper:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#rivet-nuts/=dbvatv

http://www.mcmaster.com/#rivet-nuts/=dbvbec

(Posted by Eric Williams on 07-25-11)

I want standby gauges!

Ordered 48 more AML's to round out the set, but should wait awhile to buy the caps. Darned caps are more money than the switches and I cannot find a better source. Onlinecomponents was a joke last time, so I may need someone to receive on the US side and USPS them up.

 

Got Some LED's, 20 of each 3mm Red, White, Blue, Yellow and Green for the dual light AML's.

80 and 10 Pin PCB connectors and ribbon cable (need the female to interface Vince's RMU's)

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220539297516&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_1132wt_901

 

I think I will go with these PC ribbon connectors as a test for the panels- they are cheap and easy. If they work well, the entire Lear will be plug and play with these interfaced with ribbon cable and Cat5 cable.

 

Put some more AML's in Eric T's electrical panel- looks much better with the holes filled.  Now I just have to move the SIM away from the wall so I can get at the backside to start interfacing soon!

 

UPDATE:

Well being the "I wanna build it now" kind of person, I chose not to wait for any assembly information and build my PFD's. Have to say- They are great so far. I think the assembly went as well as it could have. A little trouble getting the button depth to work out (too high at first) but all good once a bit of sandpaper was used on the clear inserts to lower them a bit.

 

Vince- I dunno how you do it over and over. It takes a fine touch. Here are some pics:

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UPDATE:

This will be a little bit of everything update. Got the DU's assembled and decided on 10 pin ribbon connectors to attach them. The have a male attached to the DUs and a female will be attached to the card.

 

Learned that the SMD LEDs are no problem to handle...and are darn bright if you power it up with your face over them.

 

Did a trial of the dual LED AMLs- learned that the clear LEDs I got are garbage, and that I need to make the split a little deeper, but overall good times.

 

Got the RMUs and CWP mounted and now I have something looking a bit better. Also discovered that MY FDS Sys board will likely end up residing directly behind the center monitor- this will make wiring and access a breeze as I don't have a shell in the way.

 

Here's the pics:

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(Posted by Ron Rollo on 08-02-11)

Hey Eric, lots of great ideas and sharing here. I like the placement of the FDS board. Although your right, it would be impossible to get to it if you have a shell the way it is currently designed. It has me thinking if that part of the fire wall could be removed to gain access to it or if it would be better mounted on the fire wall as I have it planned. I have all of my FDS boards ordered and en route. I'll let you know what I come up with soon. Looking good!

(Posted by Eric Williams on 08-02-11)

Not sure how much access we will truly need once everything is in place and functional. I'm quite happy that I am assembling the avionics without a shell currently though. Perhaps a transfer into one will be in order.

 

Well I finished mounting more DU's, more soldering, more cursing and loved every minute of it. I'm working on ribbon connectors for the RMU's right now (just used old PC ribbons) and will have one hooked to the PoKeys board tonight.

 

I have to say this- I am truly AMAZED how parts from all over the world match up PERFECTLY with each other. I almost have my doubts a single manufacturer could accomplish this. Every single hole for the bezels was perfect with the holes in Vince's panels. Along with that- every single bezel lines up perfectly with the cutout in the MIP. I tend to appreciate these silly things!  My sim is starting to look a bit like spaghetti and I'm loving it...

 

A few photos from tonight. Had to tie down my ribbons due to wire breakage- these are purchased from any industrial supplier and will be used throughout my cockpit. They work like champs for holding wires/ribbons:

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(Posted by Ron Rollo on 08-02-11)

Hey Eric, it is no accident that everything matches up like it does. It was one of our goals to standardize the project so that our parts, no matter where they are made or who makes them will all fit together. There were some growing pains early on and there are still some things that need to be corrected here and there but for the most part, it is amazing. I had the same thoughts as you did a few years ago!

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 08-03-11)

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Keep in mind that I do not have a lot of options as I do not have an avionics bay. Under the console would be a pain, and it is too large for the glareshield. This leaves me with here or below. I may do some further testing before deciding on a permanent location.

 

My initial plan is to have only the FDS connections for the cards- no intermediate ones at all. With this location, I may be able to do that as it is right behind the majority of panels.

 

Hacked up some old PC ribbon cables for the RMUs tonight and couldn't stop until the PoKeys card was mounted. I love verify each pin location with a meter. Good times. Ignore the ugly electrical tape- only temporary until I get that whole area sorted out. I'm sure I have more connections to fix than I care to deal with:

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UPDATE:

New video. Includes a shameless plug for the Hangar now!




 

UPDATE:

My thanks goes out to all the software and hardware developers for making this possible:




 

UPDATE:

A few minutes each day set aside and getting a bit closer. Once some more interfacing is complete, it will be fly as I build:




 

UPDATE:

Very close to flyable!

Here is the newest video. I think I shall call her the first of the L45 NG:




 

UPDATE:

Another video. Loving my newest software! The iPad would be perfect for this application. Rand did some videos of his on iPad and it looks great. It actually would work better than my monitors as they are slightly narrow so it cuts off the library access when confined to one monitor:




 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 08-17-11)

I'm convinced! Great EFB package and I love seeing it used as you've shown. There is an STC out for an EFB in the LJ45. My only issue is the size of the screen and portability. Things get very tight in the cockpit and that screen obviously is too big to be pedestal mounted. Has anyone seen the EFB package that Lear offers? On the LJ85 it's mounted on the side knee panels, just like a 777. I'm thinking that the EFB offered with the LJ45 is tethered to a data port somewhere and stored in the side pockets or in a special pocket in the back of the Center Pedestal.

 

Again, great video and software. Hopefully we can get you sorted in the display issue soon too.

 

(Posted by Rand Mathews on 08-18-11)

Hey guys, here's the link to the iPad 2 video:




 

I made a mount for the iPad and will post a better video soon. You have to run an app called Air Display for this to work on the iPad.

(Posted by Eric Williams on 09-08-11)

Well the SIM is alive and well after a busy few weeks. Got a few minor things done but not much hardware. Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes. Here's the video:




 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 09-12-11)

Eric, I just read through your whole post from start to finish and I must say that I am very impressed with your abilities and how much you have achieved in such as short period of time. I have a couple of questions though. What is the purpose of that large board that sits behind your central console? Is that to interface all of the analog and digital inputs and outputs? I ask this because I see that you mentioned pokey boards which I thought were used for that purpose. Thanks and congratulations!

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 09-12-11)

Hey Alan. Yes it came together very quickly thanks to everyone here. Those panels you have ordered will get you on your way for sure! You will love everyone's/panels etc. Vince's stuff is nothing short of amazing. The buttons are perfect.

 

Behind the MIP is where the FDS Sys board is living currently. It is the largest available and it still won't do everything. The PoKeys board is currently used for the RMUs only- and it is full with just them (one exception is that it will run my gear indicators as well) but full after that.

 

Another PoKeys (or equivalent) is required for the rest of the encoders- but the FDS boards can handle the digital inputs and outputs. I have an Ethernet version that I am about to test.

 

I will be hopefully flying while I build very soon, so mine is a departure from scale for now. Thanks for the kind words, and best of luck on your build. You are definitely in the right place. Anything is possible here!

 

UPDATE:

Working on Some EFIS panels!




 

UPDATE:

Finally got one EFIS together and am pleased with Vince's product. It took a bit of time, but everything does.  I included the rundown on my AML of choice. tried to capture the illumination but (as usual) my video does not do them justice:




 

(Posted by Mark Speechley on 10-30-11)

Eric, love all your videos. As a builder it just gets everything into more perspective for me. I am stuck at the AML purchase due to the lack of supply and the cost, especially here in Australia. You have given me another option to consider. Did I hear you right that you will just stick with the momentary type and forgo the on off variety as well? Keep the videos going please!

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 10-30-11)

Hey Mark. Yep these will populate my whole Lear. I can simulate the "latching" through the software. I don't see any need to pay the extra money.

 

Also as a handy side effect- if you are like me and switch situations, shut down the SIM etc- you never need to go over the whole flight deck checking switches- they will always be in their proper state.

 

I just checked my original supplier for these- they hiked the price to $25 each! Well am I ever glad I bout them when I did. Not sure what you will find for a source currently.

 

UPDATE:

New toys...Yup too many things but it's getting fun now!




 

Mark- I haven't checked the specs yet as I have to install an OS but I suspect you are right. It was used for CAD in manufacturing facility for heavy equipment. I imagine it was top of the line when they bought it a few years back.

 

Finally had to tackle my gear indicators:




 

NOTE: It is not the video, I have the wrong color in my gear indicators. I went by Randy's thread in the tutorials and never gave it a second thought. I am not gonna go change them back now. I suppose I should have looked at this again, but I started making the first dual back in July and never gave it a second thought as the LEDs were already on the bench.

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 11-01-11)

Hey Eric, research and development. That is what I call it when I have to go back and make adjustments to my project! I have made quite a few of those adjustments over the last two years!

 

(Posted by Rand Mathews on 11-02-11)

Huh....what....who? What did I do? I see my name mentioned and I deny everything! I do recall a conversation about them being white, but that didn't seem right to me at the time, so I left them yellow. I honestly forgot all about it and haven't thought about it since then, but they are white according to the manual. So Eric whenever you cross the border then I'll buy you a pint.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 11-03-11)

Thanks fellas. On the topic of the white- my whole flightdeck will be a cool white for the switches. My 5 mm flat tops are a very close match to these 3mm white ones in the dual AMLs. I'm okay with the deviation, and to be honest, I kinda prefer the cool/bluish to a "incandescent tone" It commands my attention a bit more I suppose. No idea why, but I really like this white. I'm just odd.

 

In the meantime, here are some wiring and connectors:




 

UPDATE:

Well got my Landing gear indicators wired to the POKEYS and through Marks software. Work good so far! Also tested the DBS TCAS software today. I needed something to give the aural alerts and I really wanted to have resolution advisory (RA). So far, it delivers both perfectly. You just have to open the gauge before it becomes active so far in my testing. Once it is active- you can close it and all is well.

 

Also- I wired my gear indicators with the 10 conductor ribbon and connectors I showed earlier. The female end was a SNAP! Super easy. I soldered the wires to the male end, but I will see if I can find an easier way yet. So far, so good:




 

UPDATE:

Got the FDS board FINALLY mounted. Got my very first AMLs/LEDs interfaced. On to bigger and better things:




 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 11-06-11)

Hey Eric, does it feel like you are getting somewhere now? One question, the SYS board that you have mounted in the MIP tower, is that the largest SYS board? I was still in the "thinking" stage of where I am going to mount the board and the large board is the one I plan to use. I like where you have it mounted and if it is the large board then I know it will fit. Glad that your connectors worked out your project is coming along nicely.

 

(Posted by Mark Speechley on 11-06-11)

Eric, loved the video you have just completed. Can't help but repeating myself that your video helps me to nut out everything in my brain about how the meccano set fits together and interfaces. Keep up the great work.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 11-07-11)

Hey Shane. Yep it's nice to be at this point, but sacrifices in other areas were made so my build isn't nearly as finished as others here. I have taken the "bounce around" approach so I can test fit, wiring, mounting etc all at once. Overall I'm quite happy I went this route as I have discovered several things that would be hard to remedy later on if I had continued on one "path".

 

Yes, the FDS board is the biggest one currently offered. It does fit well in the area I chose and the standoffs seem to mount it nicely. The area will be pretty full of wiring, but that works out nice for my particular setup. I would like to keep it as contained as possible. It does cover the wiring holes in the sides though. I should have waited to cut these, but no big deal.

 

Mark S., thanks for your comments. I'm glad the videos help in some way. I find them easier to cover a lot of content vs typing it out. Seeing a pit from various angles always helped me get a sense of dimension vs text too. I always enjoy seeing other peoples build videos so I hoped someone else would find them of interest. It gives me a neat way to go back in time to look at my own progress too!

 

UPDATE:

Reversion panels are functional! First interfacing through the FDS board is now complete. Still have some tidying to do, but overall a success. Things are getting easier:




 

EFIS panels...................... Check

Reversion panels............... Check

More dual LED AMLs........ Check

FDS Board working well..... Check

Happy builder.................... Check

 




 

I finally got to take a bit of a flight last night and it was fantastic. Flew around Ontario a bit playing with the NAV systems diving at traffic to play with the TCAS etc. The coolest part was when I broke out of the clouds near my home airport, the sim showed a huge moon and stars... when I walked outside my house I noticed the clouds and night scene were an exact match. It had been overcast all day, so it surprised me that REX hit it right on. I love that program.

 

UPDATE:

Crazy weather near Jamaica tonight! EFB worked great through the trip. Just landed while the video was uploading. TOD was perfect and flagged me with adjusted descent rates throughout- love it.

 

Went a bit different on the MIP lighting, I like the red as it does not mess with one's night vision. The light bracket was actually a piece of aluminum stair protector and looked nice with it's smooth curve. Just painted and riveted into place. Pretty happy with things so far.

 

Had to finally mount the glareshield as I knocked it down during interfacing, no damage, but decided it was time to mount:




 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 11-14-11)

Hey Eric G, Looking good! What do you have your DU's and RMUs wired into? The FDS board? I know you probably said prior but have not had the chance to go back and look.

(Posted by Eric Williams on 11-14-11)

The RMU's are through the POKEYS with Mark's software- made it super easy (I even used the gear indicators through this as well)

 

The DUs are all through the FDS board currently. Still have to interface the encoders but I have an Ethernet PoKeys board that I will try for them all.  It's a lot easier now that I have a quicker method of making harnesses for the FDS.

 

UPDATE:

Well haven't done an update in a long time so here we are. Had a nice Jamaican vacation, started a new job position, played in some other hobbies and now it's time to play with the sim again!

 

I noticed I didn't share the last video in November so here it is:




 

Tonight I decided to hook up the yoke, pedals and throttle. Then I got messing around with the throttle and spoilers; which then took me to rejected take-offs. Here's the video:




 

Not a lot of informational value, but cool to play with!

 

UPDATE:

Figured I should get working on the sim again so made myself some throttle levers for the Lear. Not nearly as good as anyone here, but will make my Saitek fit the part a bit better for now. Cost is almost nil so why not:




 

(Posted by David Gutierrez on 11-29-12)

As I told on YouTube before, Nicely done, a fantastic tool, I'm sure you will end with so much custom made parts and that is an important thing for cockpit builders. In the end you will save a lot of money and hopefully be able to make some though.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 11-29-12)

Thanks Gents. 3D printing really does open up a whole new world! Printing some reverser handles now. They just don't look right without them. I'll probably upload the cad files once I finish up in case anyone wants them for their desktop system (they only fit the Saitek though).

 

UPDATE:

Spent the last couple weeks building and flying, but throughout I've been gathering video footage for a complete start to finish flight video. I've never done one like this before but looking forward to finishing it.

 

Learned a few things- a complete video with half-decent shots of most of the avionics takes about 10 flights to catch it all:) I tried to capture most things in real-time while showing off the functionality possible in our builds. My build is obviously lacking in some areas, but for the most part- I can fly it now.

 

There are some discrepancies/changes in weather etc but overall I'm happy with it. A few things need to change with the switch logic, but it will do for now.

 

Probably want to watch this in HD:

https://youtu.be/UW0bqL24Z0k?list=UUTo55-kBvyy5Y1X_DTgrTOQ

 

UPDATE:

Here's the inspiration Video (one of them):




 

Glad most enjoyed it as it makes all the work well worth it. Can't wait for you guys to start kicking them out.

 

UPDATE:

Well I seldom post updates here- mostly due the fact there hasn't been many but for the most part I just post the videos on YouTube.

 

Last night I got the SIM fired up and did a few mods and basic updates. tonight I updated a bunch of stuff:

FSUIPC

RAAS Pro

Link2FS

REX Essentials

 

FYI to anyone updating REX- You need to hit backup BEFORE you do an update on any PC or all your configurations of textures, weather ETC cannot be retrieved as they are simply gone. Each time I update REX I make the same darn mistake. The program is totally worth it- but it takes a while to rebuild all the settings the way I had them. Which actually tends not to matter because they added a bunch of new high resolution ones I want to try.

 

FYI to those who use REX- If you run on a remote PC or don't launch FSX from REX (using normal windows control) your FSXconfig.ini file will be overwritten if you make ANY change to the FSX display settings. At least I actually remembered that this time.

 

Took a few flights and was surprised at the frame rates being just fine in heavy traffic at 4096 for the textures. Nice.  Now I just need to find out why REX is so (forum silly edited cuss word here) slow to download the weather in the first place- it takes forever. But, the new update inserts it into FSX in less than a second. However they managed to preload it is amazing:




 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 01-15-14)

Great videos Eric! I have got to find time to address the taxi lights myself. Yours look great and like you said, they may not be perfect but they are way better than nothing. I like the split second delay between the two as well.

 

I was looking at your outside visuals. My set up was doing what I saw yours doing. The edges whipping around among other things. Greg Branch came down several months ago and was hell bent on getting my visual system working as good as possible. What he found was a tool called Window Maker. It is free to use and incredible what it does.

 

Check it out here:

http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/showthread.php?t=23199

 

In your case because your using three LCD screens you could stretch things out to 180 degrees, but should probably stick to 120 degrees, or add two more LCD screens. In any case, this program custom builds your view to the specs that you desire. In my sim, I use three projectors and have plugged in 200 degrees and it looks incredible.

 

Take a look at it and see if it is something that you can use. As far as technical questions, you would have to get with Greg. Looking really good! Love the pressure panel as well.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 01-19-14)

Thanks for the tips Ron. I had a couple issues with this flight for the visuals. I didn't set the zoom to the normal amount and I was also capturing the audio recording via a headset on the FSX PC to use within the YouTube video. The audio encoder seems to cause the i7 to glitch a bit when I forget to lower the sampling to a reasonable number. When I was done I found the audio file was absolutely massive!

 

UPDATE:

I just ordered some LEDs tonight to change my glare shield lighting back to white instead of red (finally). I actually enjoy it a lot better- but I can't take a single good video of it with my cams due to it messing up the white balance and exposure so bad.  Maybe next I can finally get around to assembling the FGC.

 

Anyhow here's the two newest vids I made a few months ago. Just some goofing around mainly but good fun:




 

I'm sure you saw some of the logic flaws I still need to fix. I took the easy road on a few items just to get them changing state. One ow two items are being a pain with internal logic, but not a big deal.

 

I'm actually going to try a completely different approach and attempt to use some offsets that are not normally active in the Lear instead of internal logic. This might make it easier to have co-dependent systems for a few things:




 

Check out my "Ruh-Roh" in the second video when the TCAS starts barking on takeoff. I'm sure ATC would have been having a fit.

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 01-17-15)

Well I haven't done much with the SIM in a long time so decided last week to get it fired up again. Due to some changes in my network a pile of stuff no longer worked like my REX weather Avoidance/Injection, my ethernet POKEYS, my Aivlasoft EFB etc. I spent 2 nights and sorted all that out and took a couple flights. I had forgotten how enjoyable our SIMs truly are.

 

I decided to Join the Adafruit Show and Tell show on Wed night and it went pretty good. I think LadyAda and Phil were suitably impressed! Pretty awesome considering they are truly icons of the "Maker" world. Here's the Live Show:




 

Here is some comments during their next show "Ask an Engineer"




 

And here is my update video for the current status. It's not nearly as nice as other builds here but I enjoy it!




Cheers

 

NOTE: This build thread has been retired!!