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English Rebel's Lear45 Project (Retired!!)

(Original thread started on 09-14-11 by Alan Norris)

After asking numerous questions both here in the forum and of different members (thanks Ron, Eric, and Vince) I have started what will be a shortened version of the Hangar45 project (a shortened MIP not a shortened project).

 

I received drawings from Ron of the various components and the first thing to do was to modify the MIP and glare shield. I am not going the full cockpit route as I don't think my wife of 20+ years would be happy to see the front end of a Learjet sticking out of one of our spare bedrooms. Plus, once it was in there, there was no way to get it out and I don't think the next owners would want it. I was initially going to just cut off the MIP to the right of the center console but on further thought it would not look right so I decided to leave the CO PFD and just have it as a dummy with no monitor behind. This would also leave room for the environment panel below it (when anyone wants to make one).

 

Here is a photo of the modified MIP and glare shield and if anyone can see any issues with this please speak up or forever hold your peace:

Alan 61

 

As you can see I left a couple of tabs on the right side because I will be putting a backer panel there even though there is no monitor (I assume that when you are ready to finalize the assembly, you bend those tabs down and screw them to the plywood backer).

 

I have already ordered the following from Vince (I wanted to get these ordered before he moves house).

 

PFD bezel

MFD bezel

2 RMUs

EFIS

Trim panel

WX panel

 

I also have my order in to Eric for these:

Engine start panel

APU panel

Electrical panel

CW panel

 

Waiting on Ron to get his lower panels finished to where he's happy to sell them, no rush Ron.  I got the sheet of 1/2" plywood yesterday and you can see it here in my workshop. I need to get those "box" drawings printed and get to work on what I find the easy part -- woodworking. Table saw, band saw, planer, and dust collection system. Workbench and clamp rack.  You can never have enough clamps!

 

I restored a 1964 Triumph TR4 back in the eighties and sold it some time later (got more fun out of the restoration than driving it -- hope that doesn't happen with the LJ project ). After selling it I put the money into the shop -- talk about Christmas every day opening boxes that my UPS man delivered.

 

I finished up the TQ console today. I picked this first as it looked the most complicated from a shape point of view. I got one side cut out and then used it as a template to guide my router to cut the other side. Can I assume that the cut outs are the same on both sides unless you are going to use that brake "thingy" on the LHS as I see that there are two different cover plates that can be ordered.

 

Also will all the raw edges of the consoles be covered or do I need to add edging tape before painting?

 

Here is a photo of the completed TQ console":

Alan 62

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 09-15-11)

Hey Alan, your right, the TQ pedestal is complicated and if your not building a scale cockpit, this will work even better than what myself and a few others have. The reason I say this is because the TQ access doors you have chosen are over sized on both sides which will make it very easy for you to gain access inside. So when your ready to place the order with Tom for the aluminum parts, make sure to tell him that you want two large door covers. Might even want to send him a photo of what you have.

 

To clarify, in the real Lear45, the port side of the TQ is a shorter door. This allows room for the Pitch disconnect handle. The starboard side uses a thinner lower profile door to make room for the landing gear free fall handle. But honestly, if you do not plan to model these extra things, your design will allow easier access. It looks really good!

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 09-17-11)

I finished the center console today and bolted the two consoles together. We're making progress:

Alan 63

 

Oh, and I bought a quart of green paint yesterday. Could not see Apple Green on the Sherwin Williams color chart but got what they called Electric Lime. It's pretty bright so I may have to tone it down a little.

 

I also got the MIP support tower completed today. Here is a photo of it:

Alan 64

 

Ron, I did add those brackets. I guess I will have to see what I have when I get the glare shield.

 

I received the column kit today from Erin and I must say that it's a very well engineered and constructed kit -- thanks Ron. Now I have to go to the tutorial page to see how it all goes together.

 

Well I spent most of the day making the panels for the floor assembly.  Here's the basic frame:

Alan 65

 

With the floors in place:

Alan 66

 

I deviated a little from Ron's plans as I have to ensure the individual parts are able to be carried upstairs to their final location however the overall dimensions are as per the drawing. Boy that area for the seat is narrow isn't it. I guess I could have made it wider but with the car seat I have I would be sitting offset from the center line.

 

If I cannot get a pilots seat at a reasonable price I will have to try and find narrow car seats. Probably from a sports car. I know that Eric uses ones from a Porsche so will have to check those out.

 

I just noticed that the internal supports on the floor frame may foul the eventual rudder pedals that I intend to do some time down the road. I will have to check the pedals thread on the Project Tutorials forum to see what is needed for clearance.

 

I got the column assembly finished (except for two more brackets for the spring attachments). I need these because by just having one, I have to hook the spring through the hole in the bracket and it puts it in a bind.

 

I had to fiddle with the nylon spacers where the spring attaches to the fulcrums that Ron made but I got it working fine.  Here's a photo of the finished assembly:

Alan 67

 

For those of you who have assembled these how do you get the column to settle in the vertical position. I found it difficult to get the springs on both sides to have equal tension and as a result when the assembly comes back to the central position the column is not perfectly vertical.

 

One method I thought of was to set up all the springs, let it come back to a central position and then rotate the elbow so the column was vertical. Tough to do because once the PVC fittings are pushed together it's almost impossible to rotate them. Any suggestions?

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 09-28-11)

One thing to consider while you are trying to get your column to sit straight, it will change when you add a yoke to the top. Unless you have your yoke ready to install I would not worry with trying to get your columns sitting straight, you will most likely have to go back and re-adjust again with the additional weight of the yoke.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 09-30-11)

My glare shield and MIP are in the production schedule at a company near KRDU.

 

Also my Davtron chronometer and AOA gauge arrived. The Davtron even had documentation with it -- apparently it came out of a Gulfstream G1159 registration #N419MS owned by Nashville Jet Charters. Maybe that should be my jets call sign. I'm hoping it works okay as it did have an inspectors tag on it. The paperwork said "Non-Incident Related" which I assume means the plane did not crash!

 

BTW does anyone know how to feed a 5volt rice bulb with 12v? I'm think it's a resistor but don't know for sure. The bulbs in the Davtrons are micro rice size 5v 60ma. My contact at Davtron said that I can use 12v 60mA micro rice bulbs. Not sure how much trouble that is. I'll ask DonnyRay about the resistor and maybe he has a source for the rice bulbs. Yes I will have a 12v system for lighting.

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 09-30-11)

You can either get a resistor (I think a 115 OHM 1/4 WATT will work but you better ask someone like DonnyRay) or you can swap out the bulbs to 12volt bulbs. I am swapping out the bulbs on my clocks.  I know you want to be working on a 12 volt system which I think you are planning on.

(Posted by Alan Norris on 10-01-11)

I finished the RH arm rest today. Shane gave me length and I sort of fudged the tapers etc from photos of the real thing. I think it came out okay. Now I have to make the LH one and figure out how to attach it so that it will pivot and slide out of the way. I don't think I'm going to put any angle adjustment mechanism as that is too complicated for something that is rarely used:

Alan 68

 

Here are a finished pair of arm rests. You really need a band saw with a tilting table and a sanding center to make these successfully or a good arm and a sanding block:

Alan 69

 

Okay here’s an update. I revised the floor are around the column and pedal to accommodate the partial shell. This is one unit that can be lifted out to access the pedal assembly when I eventually get one from Tom:

Alan 70

 

I needed some help from Ron as I had a couple of things wrong. When this was done I turned my attention to framing the shell from the partial set of templates that Ron provided -- thanks Ron. I have to say that I've seen the photos of the shell build and I'm amazed at the accuracy of his kit and how well all the parts fit together. I cut all my parts with a jigsaw and then sanded them with my oscillating bench sander and it took me a whole day just for nine parts.  I should have got a partial kit from Ron:

Alan 71

 

I need to do some fine tuning to extend the lower windscreen rail and provide some support as I don't have a rear wall to stiffen everything up. I will probably add a diagonal brace from the floor to rib F9 which on the full shell is the rear wall but I just duplicated rib F8.

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 10-06-11)

Your project is moving along nicely. As for taking a whole day to cut out and fine tune nine parts, that's about right. Actually, that is really good! I tell people all the time that building the shell from the plans is a tough job and is going to take some time. Your the first to actually cut some parts from the Project45 paper plans. (At least the first to share a photo) This makes you a Hangar45 pioneer!

 

If you don't use the rear wall you will surely need to brace it up from the outside. I thought about drawing up some new frame pieces that are shaped the same on the inside but on the outside, instead of curving back in, design them so that they go straight down to the floor. This would give each frame rib a foot to stand on. Obviously the shape of the shell on the outside would and could not be important to you.  In any case, I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 10-28-11)

I didn't think ahead when I cut the lower windscreen frame -- later realizing that it stopped at rib F7. Now I have to add on a section to take it to F9. I added a brace at F9 and it makes the side a whole lot sturdier.

 

For some reason the RHS of the photo got cut off but that gusset is only 16" wide -- I may have to angle the top as it may be a tripping hazard.

 

I did notice that the top of the ribs are a little wider than the lower windscreen rail. I had to look at your build book Ron to see if I was to line up the outside edge or the inside edge. Do I need to trim off the excess on the inside to make it flush?

 

Also you will notice that I used 5/8" plywood to reduce the weight and to reduce the chance of splitting. I will need to do something with the top surface of the lower windscreen rail. How did you guys finish yours? I know that Shane has panels from a real Lear -- I wonder how that area is finished?

 

UPDATE:

I received my MIP, glare shield and TQ cover plates today. I will have to deburr the backs to get rid of the rough edge left by the water jet cutting. I guess 150 grit will do it. Here is a photo:

Alan 72

 

There is a little OOPS with the cut out for the AOA gauge. Don't know what happened -- maybe the water jet machine finished early. I asked the company how to fix it and they are going to send me a template so I can rout out the rest of the hole. They did suggest sending it back for them to fix but as it arrived without damage.

 

Also I must have sent the wrong TQ cover plate drawing as these are too small (I think they're for the TQ with gear drop and disconnect). Ah well they were not expensive. I could either have them remade of close up the holes on the TQ:

Alan 73

 

I have a carbide router bit (the kind used to trim laminates) that I will use with the template that the water jet company is going to mail to me. It should be okay even if it dulls the bit (I've accidentally cut into my aluminum cross cut fence on my table saw before and it didn't hurt the carbide tipped saw blade).

 

That small gusset I added at F8 has been replace with one that goes all the way up to the lower windscreen rail and it stiffens the whole structure nicely. I also added the stringers on the outside. I didn't let them in as I'm not skinning the outside thus saving a lot of work. They also stiffened up all the frames:

Alan 74

 

I got a "care package" from Ron today with the standby altimeter and air speed gauge bezels, reversion panel, and other assorted hardware. The reversion panel is like a Swiss watch. It's obvious a lot of thought went into its design. Well done Ron.

 

Additionally, I received a package from Vince today. Very nice PFD and MFD bezels and one RMU. Thanks Vince. In the photo is Ron's reversion panel. Thanks Ron. Boy do I have a lot of wiring to do:

Alan 75

 

I did a trial fit on the PFD and MFD bezels from Vince and discovered an issue. If you look at this photo you will see that the nylon bolts and the metal nuts stand proud of the back of the panels. As there were no holes in the MIP the panels don't fit flush. I used a paper template to mark the location of the four holes per panel and transferred them to the MIP and drilled 9/32 clearance holes to allow the panel to fit flush with the MIP:

 

UPDATE:

I spent the better part of a day cutting out the seat parts from 3/4" plywood (my final build will have 3/8" thick aluminum for the frames cut on a water jet). I had already drawn these in AutoCAD and just transferred the dimensions to plywood. I wanted to see how the parallelogram frame connections worked and if I will use a pneumatic cylinder from an office chair or a low cost 12vDC screw motor (I found these on the Firgelli website).

 

Seems to work okay except the left side seems to drop a 1/2" lower than the RHS when lowering the seat. I think it's the flex in the plywood and should be okay in aluminum and I will also connect the two links on the RHS to the LHS with 1" diameter aluminum rods attached with machine screws:

Alan 76

 

Alan 77

 

One thing that is stumping me is that I believe the seat rails are 12" on center (my bottom frames are 12" apart). Yet the seat squab is supposed to be 17" wide at the front tapering to the rear (which is the same as the plywood base I cut). All well and good until you look at the illustration from the pilots handbook and it seems as if the width of the frame on the underside of the seat squab is about the same width as the frame at the floor track. Something doesn't seem right somehow which is why I asked who owned the seats in the photos in Ron's thread over in Tutorials as I thought if they were Lear seats I could figure out the configuration. If you look at this illustration you will see what I'm referring to. The seat squab does overhang the base under it but not by 2-1/2"

 

The other issue is that to get the rails in the cockpit at 12" on center they will be offset from the center of the yoke column by about 4". To compensate it would seem that the seat would have to be offset from the base and the illustration doesn't show this. Maybe I'm putting too much emphasis on the illustration and maybe it isn't identical to the actual seat but is just that -- an illustration.  If anyone has actually seen and sat in real Lear seats maybe they could comment on these anomalies.

 

I just watched the movies that Shane sent me — great thanks a lot Shane. I think the issue of the seat moving forward as it's lowered is a direct result of the length of those pivot arms. The ones on Shanes 737 seats are a lot shorter than I have. His seat does move forward a little bit as it's lowered because of the arms length. I will have to rework mine to shorten them up although it will mean it doesn't look like the one in the illustration. Again, I think I was misled by the illustration.

 

Ron, I agree, we need to build what is practical and what will fit but in doing so deviate as little as possible from the real deal. I will definitely be centering my seat on the column.

 

Eric, if you look at Shane's video you will see that the arms are the links between the seat pan and the seat track base. They are constructed of aluminum sheet riveted together to form hollow frames to save weight. In looking at photos of the real Lear45 seat the parts appear to be aluminum flat stock about 3/4" thick but I could be mistaken -- look at this photo which I believe is from a Lear (and you can see that the link arms are quite long) and I modeled my prototype after this photo and the illustration in the manual.

 

 

Here are some more photos. The first shows the seat in the cockpit and centered on the yoke column (the piece of wood across the center represents the bottom of the MIP and I wanted to see if my knees cleared -- which they do:

Alan 78

 

This is a problem area as the seat overlaps the center console which would prevent it from lowering any further. The seat is 17" across the front -- same as was measured on a real Lear. This is probably why the seat was shown offset to the left in the photo that was posted by Eric.  This one shows the seat raised up 1-1/2" to clear the shell ribs:

Alan 79

 

Additionally, I just made another major purchase -- and no it's not Marks TQ as that is a week or so away. I just placed an order with OnLineComponents for all of my AMLs (latching and momentary), the toggles that were listed as available or on back order (11TL1-1, 11TL1-2D, and 11TL1-7). Total $1,117.21 The other toggles are out of stock and they do not list when they will be in stock.

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 11-08-11)

Hey Alan, check Arrow Electronics. I think that is where I found quite a few of the toggles and they had a cheaper price. Also try Octopart, it is a search engine that you can type in the part that you want and it will search multiple suppliers and list prices.

 

(Posted by Mark L. 11-08-11)

I ordered my switches (not the AML'S) from Online Components just last month and no issues with back orders. Arrow and other suppliers (don't remember which ones) were out of stock:

Manufacturer Part Number Quantity Availability Price Ext.Price

Honeywell 1TL1-7E 1 1 Ships ASAP $26.630 $26.63

Honeywell 1TL1-1M 1 1 Ships ASAP $29.900 $29.90

Honeywell 1TL1-1A 1 1 Ships ASAP $27.310 $27.31

Honeywell 1TL1-1 6 6 Ships ASAP $10.260 $61.56

Honeywell 1TL1-7 4 4 Ships ASAP $10.860 $43.44

Honeywell 1TL1-2D 1 1 Ships ASAP $28.930 $28.93

 

The list and IPB was updated over a month ago that's shown in the Resources section. I just checked, do you have a copy of the IPB PDF file that you downloaded? It's probably the old version. Download it again, you should see the new numbers. Doesn't hurt to have a list with every switch used in the cockpit though. At the time the focus was just on the lower MIP panel.

(Posted by Alan Norris on 11-16-11)

Got my panels bent today. Great local company and I worked with Charlie the operator. I was expecting a hand brake but they had a CNC machine. They used top tooling with a "V" shape and the correct radius. The bottom tool was a "V" shape so the two matched together when the top was pushed down. After a couple of tests with scrap aluminum they went to work. I could not get a 1/4" radius on the glare shield due to the close proximity of the cut outs for the panels. Looks good though. Now onto finishing the monitor support backer. BTW this has to be the thickness of two pieces of 3/4" MDF right, to make sure that the MIP sits in the correct relationship to the TQ console? Too thick and it's too far aft, too thin and it's too far forward. As my monitors are quite thick and I elected to mount them to 1/4" plywood through the four tapped holes where they would normally mount to a wall bracket. I then reinforced that with strips of 3/4" plywood all round. This means that the overall thickness from the front of the monitor to the back of the support is 1-3/4". I will need to cut back some of the sides of the MIP support tower to accommodate the extra thickness.

 

I spent most of today getting to another milestone in this build. Got the two monitors, MIP and glare shield in place. When I first put the monitors on the MIP I thought I had a problem but a quick email to Ron and I was assured that by painting a black border around the MFD and PFD plexiglass windows the aluminum edges of the monitors would be covered. I know -- I know, I should just trust that what was done by the pioneers of this project would work:

Alan 80

 

Here's a shot of the rear -- not pretty but it does the job. 1/2" copper pipe makes a great stay:

Alan 81

 

Can someone take a look at this close up of the relationship between the MIP and TQ console. Because of the thickness of my monitors and the way I mounted them (with the four holes on the back that would normally be used to mount them to a wall bracket) my whole assembly was 2-1/8" thick. I called Ron and he said that the way he did his, it ended up just over 1" thick so I had to remove 1-1/8" from the face of the MIP support tower so the MIP was at the correct location.

 

I use Duron acrylic latex that I got color matched from one of Ron's panels. I think I'll go ahead and paint it as I don't want to keep taking the MFD, PFD, and RMU bezels in and out. BTW I know that there will be plastic screws holding Vince's bezels on from the back, and the flat ribbon cables that are attached to them as well as attachment screws for the CWP and Ron's standby gauge bezels. At the moment my MIP is flat against my monitor frames. What do you use to space it away to give room for the screws etc.

 

I started to populate the cockpit with what panels and gauges I have. Here's Ron's Reversion panel installed. I think the color match on my sheet metal is pretty good. The slight variation is due to the very slight gloss on the panels and I used a flat paint -- should I have used satin finish? I'm waiting on Ron to return the caps that he is cutting so I can start to modify the AML for dual LEDs. BTW what are the three holes at the top of the glare shield used for?

Alan 82

 

Here's the M877 Davtron and future AOA gauge installed. I used the small screws that attached the clips on the 9 pin socket to attach the chronometer to the MIP. Anyone know what size they are as my screw gauge only goes down to #4? I also need to level up my MIP to better line up with the monitors. It still flexes a little -- I may have to bracket it to the side rib to keep it level:

Alan 83

 

As you can see I had to shave a little off the shell rib to give enough clearance. Don't know if the side panels go past the MIP of stop at it.  Can't wait to get panels from Vince and Eric's as wells as Mark's TQ. Should have Ron's "phone" pocket panel and blanking panels for the center console next week.

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 11-25-11)

Your Davtron looks like it is a very nice fit considering we did not intend for the M877 model to fit into the MIP like that. Vert cool!  Those three holes in the glare shield near the REV panel are holes to attach the glare cover.  They will be dummy screws because we will not need them to hold the glare shield cover in place.

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 11-26-11)

I paint the "outside" of all of my caps as it is easier. A coat or two of black should take care of any light bleed if you use the shrink wrap method around the top of your LED like Ron demonstrated in his tutorial of the double LED caps.

 

As for the GPWS fail switch cap I would just paint the cap black and if you don't like it sticking out as far push the switch in if it is an alternate action/latching switch. If it is a momentary it won't be as noticeable with the cap painted black.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 12-01-11)

Well one more milestone, I built my first dual LED AML. Ron was right, like trying to squeeze 10 lbs. in a 1 lb. pot. Next up, wire some LEDs to Ron's little LED holders:

Alan 84

 

Red is quite bright, yellow is okay. I guess it's the color. In the end I removed the bulb holder from the back as it was too tight to get the leads through the hole I drilled. I cut off parts of the holder and stuck it back in once the leads where out of the back. After getting the LEDs where I wanted, I put some GOOP in the back to hold the wires in place. I had to keep smacking my hand as I was about the hook up the 12v power leads to test the LEDs without a resistor in place! I still need to scuff the face of the lenses with some 1000 grit to knock off the shine.

 

UPDATE:

Look what the nice man in the brown truck brought today!  Thanks MarkL. Great piece of engineering:

Alan 85

 

Additionally, I received another delivery yesterday, this time from the postal carrier. It's like Christmas every week! Eric sent me the Electrical panel, the CWP, and the APU panel. Great work -- he even sent painted screws and pigtails to attach the back lighting, nice touch Eric.

 

Here's a shot of the MIP with what panels I have installed (except the CWP as I have to be careful bending all those wires at right angles to clear the monitor. BTW which is the best route for those wires -- down between the two RMUs? Also, I cannot use Rivnuts here, will have to tap the MIP for very short screws:

Alan 86

 

Yet another delivery!

Alan 87

 

Looks to be in pretty good condition. Missing the top hat switch and a push button on the RHS. Does anyone make the front decal plate? Also I think I read on Ron's website that he was going to paint his Lear yokes with a textured flat black paint. Mine is a gloss black, is that because it's from a L35?

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 12-13-11)

Only the LJ40/45, 60, and the new 85 have the textured feel as far as I know.  I would not worry about the decal plate. See if you can find one of the chart holders to cover this area. It serves two purposes. First, it hides the difference in the shape of the L35 yoke vs. the 45, and second you will have a chart holder that lights up and gives that finished appearance to the area. I have only seen a couple of photos of L45's without the chart holder and I think they are actually mock up cockpits used for trade shows etc.

 

Here is a photo in reference to mounting the chartholder on the top of the yoke from the top view. In the photo you can see two holes that are used for mounting to the yoke. I drilled and tapped two holes into the yoke and this worked great to mount the holder:

Shane 115

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 12-14-11)

I received my CWP from Eric a week back (nice piece of hardware Eric). I hadn't done anything with it until today. It took a while and a struggle but I eventually got all of the wires neatly routed side by side in the center of the CWP and taped them in place on the back. I can now mount it to the MIP and route the wires down between the two RMUs on the MIP and tape them in place. I have about 1-3/4" of space to work in between the RMU so I got the wires taped together 1-1/2" wide:

Alan 49

 

I have ordered an FDS-SYS4X board so when it comes I can light the CWP up like a Christmas tree!

 

I separated them out side by side and then taped the back of the CWP to keep them in place. See photo -- notice that I routed them toward the center so they would be the correct width when the exit the bottom:

Alan 50

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 12-14-11)

That looks great Alan. I've never tried it like that...mine's routed several directions. This is nice. That fits between the RMUs?  Just remember to observe the 8 white to 1 ground rule, else it won't work. Did you double the wires on top of each other or is that stacked next to each other? Glad you liked the tape. I figured sending you some would be helpful.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 01-06-12)

Ron's HSI gauge bezel arrived today. What an ingenious piece of work Ron, kudos to you! As I had the MIP out I decided to install Eric's CWP as well. Here's a shot of the front of the HSI gauge bezel -- I had to open up some of the MIP mounting holes to align with the gauges. Complements the other standby gauge bezels nicely. The CWP is just visible below:

Alan 88

The HSI has some delicate parts. The paint job on the dial is first class. The photos don't do it justice.

 

And here is a shot of the back of the CWP showing how I routed the wiring. As you can see there is just enough room between the RMUs:

Alan 51

 

When you route your wires for the CWP it's easier tape them to the back one set at a time. Mark the back of the CWP with pencil lines that are approximately 1-3/4" apart centered on the CWP. I then took the ones from the the center three (one black and two whites) and taped them to the back routing them as close to the center of the CWP as possible. Then do the RHS followed by the LHS (clip the opposite sides wires out of the way as you work on one side). When you do one side just make sure the black wire at the outside is within your pencil marks on the back of the CWP. After the wires are taped to the back lay tape sticky side up behind the wires and carefully stick them down starting in the center. After the wires coming off the CWP are stuck down put another piece of tape over the top. Continue down the wires until you are down to the center panel cutout in the MIP (approximately 6").

 

Additionally, I spent the whole of today soldering and crimping. Here is the electrical panel fully wired with Molex connectors attached. I had to make sure I kept track of what group of eight wires went with which FDS ground:

Alan 89

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 04-30-12)

Here are some photos of the panels I have installed all lit up. I am using a small circuit board from FDS to feed the 12VDC to all my panels. It's a really neat way of having a single 12VDC feed and ground (eventually via a dimmer switch on the crew lighting panel) to feed multiple panels. Here's the FDS board:

Alan 90

 

Here are the various panels lit up (in the first photo you can just see Ron's HSI lit up:

Alan 91

 

Alan 92

 

Alan 93

 

Here is Eric's CWP installed (with Ron's standby gauge bezels above). I lit up all of the warnings and they look great -- much more legible (and realistic) than using the monitor:

Alan 94

 

UPDATE:

I managed to get my 120VAC Hobbs meter working today. I hooked up the meter to a 120VAC power supply via a solid state relay and then applied 12VDC power to operate the relay:

Alan 95

 

I can now trigger the relay with 12VDC via one of the NO contacts on my FDS SYS-R1X relay board. Getting a 12VDC Hobbs meter may have been cheaper but I had the relay laying around so decided to test it.

 

NOTE: If I had paid closer attention at what I was purchasing I would have realized that it was 120VAC not 12VDC and would have avoided having to do this. Although this will work, I am a little leery at having 120 volt current in the panels. I will have to find a way to shield those bare terminals.

 

Will this Hobbs meter be okay to use -- says 6 - 80 VDC? [url]http://sensing.honeywell.com/index.php?ci_id=3108&la_id=1&pr_id=55306[/url] They are on eBay for around $30. I'm thinking of ditching my 120VAC unit because I don't like the idea of 120volts in the consoles as the connections are not insulated.

 

UPDATE:

I wasn't happy with the configuration of things on the firewall. Over time I needed to add things (I put it down to not knowing what would eventually be required). Also the wiring wasn't as neat as I wanted -- it looked as if someone threw a bowl of spaghetti at the firewall! So I pulled everything off and laid them out on my work bench and rearranged them until I was happy. I then cut a piece of 3/4" MDF that I had laying around that had a nice finished surface. This is the result. The cutout at the center bottom is to allow wires to pass through a matching cutout in the firewall:

Alan 96

 

The main FDS SYS boards are along the center with the FDS relay board top left, six of Ron's grounding boards top right, and two FDS backlighting distribution boards bottom right -- one for the center console panels and one for the MIP and Glare Shield panels. All of the boards have nylon spacers to allow them to stand off the backer board. There is a 12VDC distribution terminal strip with fuse holders at the bottom left.

 

I needed a way to neaten up the wiring so purchased a few panel board stand offs from my local electronics distributor shown here (they are the perfect width to straddle the FDS SYS board). There is a large hole in the firewall where all the wires pass through to feed the left hand side if the MIP and the glare shield and the assembled equipment board will be positioned just to the left of it -- allowing the wires to exit that last stand off and go through the hole:

Alan 97

 

The two FDS boards give me up to 128 LED outputs and 192 switch inputs. This would mean I need 40 grounding terminals and Ron's boards have 36. However I don't anticipate using all of the LED and switch terminals on the FDS boards (unless someone can confirm that is not the case). It will go on the forward side of the firewall (where all my wires terminate).

 

I attached the back board to my firewall and hooked all the connector back up. It looks okay -- if I had started out with this I would have run my wires differently. As it is I have LED and SWITCH wires running to the right and left from the same FDS board connector. It would be neater if they all went the same way but I'm not about to start rewiring just for the sake of neatness. Here's a photo with the wiring back in. [img]http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo146/ENGLISHREBEL/LEARJET%2045/IMG_1194.jpg[/img]

 

Future wiring will be neater. I aspire to have a simulator as neat as Ron's. Whenever I look at the photos of his build there are no extra holes where he had to move stuff and everything looks pristine. Maybe he is good at Photoshop.

 

UPDATE:

Well I just ordered components from NewEgg.com for a new computer. It was originally going to be the dedicated JET45 PC but with the advent of new graphics cards (with a higher bandwidth PCI Express 3.0), faster CPUs and after talking to Eric, I decided to make this my new PC for FSX and then use my existing PC for JET45 (probably overkill for that use but -- hey I'm not going to junk it). Here's what I ordered -- I already have a full size case and 80GB SATA hard drive (that will go in the JET45 PC):

 

EVGA GeForce GTX680 SC SIGNATURE 2048 MB GDDR5 (ordered from Amazon as I had a gift card from selling them my first generation iPad and iPhone 3GS)

ASUS P8Z77 Deluxe LGA 1155 motherboard

Intel i7-3770 Ivy Bridge CPU 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo Boost)

Corsair TX750 V2 750 watt power supply

(2) Kingston 4GB DDR3 RAM

Thermaltake WATER 2.0 Pro closed loop CPU water cooling system

ASUS DVD drive

WIN7 Home Premium 65bit OS

 

Should be a killer rig. I'm just going to pull the two hard drives from my existing PC and plug them into the new machine. Probably have to re-register WIN7 as it will detect hardware changes (at least that was the case with XP and Vista -- not sure about 7).

 

(Posted by Vince C. on 06-24-12)

My only suggestion is to get -K serie intel processor. In this case the i7-3770K, since it has the unlocked multiplier. You'll be able to easily raise the clock to 5Mhz without troubles. If price is a matter even the i7-2600K will be faster then the i7-3770 after some overclocking.

 

NOTE: Obviously since you already ordered the parts I just hope you chose the -K one. But this is a good notice for other people that want to build a good FSX rig too.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 07-02-12)

I got my stick shaker today and it works fine. Only issue is that the cover for the bob weight is missing:

Alan 98

 

Additionally, I have competed assembling the new computer and the previous one is used as the JET45 and FDS IT programs. Today I hooked up the FDS card to the computer and then did an LED test. They all lit up fine (after a little phone tech support from Eric). This is Eric's Electrical panel, it's a little dark as I could not use the flash. Every switch was lit!

Alan 99

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 07-03-12)

Alan! What a great milestone! Great job there. Just as a FYI, the EMER section of the EMER BATT switch is the same color as the lower half on the real aircraft, but it really doesn't matter to the sim. Adds some color, which is not bad BTW!

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 07-10-12)

Well, I finally got JET45 and Dave Ault's standby gauge displays on the right screen and location. Here's a shot of the RMUs, standby gauges, and DU3:

Alan 100

 

I can get the position right but not the correct size. If you look at this shot of DU3 the text does not line up with the buttons on the bezel. If I size it so they line up then it's too tall.  I switched video inputs and located DU1 and DU2. Here's a shot of them:

Alan 101

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 07-11-12)

Hey Alan, I can help you with this. I spent a large number of hours playing with this unsuccessfully before Jason and I worked through this for a few days back in the spring. The answer wasn't straightforward, or super easy but the results were perfect. There is a thread in the Jet45 area, but it was closed so I'll add the results here for you. These are what worked for my setup:

 

- Make your desktop background plain black

- The Programs need to be switched back to frameless (do this by editing the config file after you get the sizing- the F key doesn't seem to work for me)

- Jason made me a semi functional build which allowed the resizing- you may not need this for your setup so try the original files first. If you need this build Jason or I could provide- it needs to be switched back to the full build after resizing though as some functions do not work in this temp file.

-Yours may be a little different for size as I did not put it any border within the bezels- I knew Jet45 background/black desktop would take care of that, and it has.

 

The rest of the information is spread through this video. It took many hours of fiddling, but I think the video explains it best. Once I got the values and inputted them manually into the configs- all was well:




 

NOTE: Make sure to set your frame and location before you turn your "Frame" off. Otherwise you will not be able to grab your frame to set it's size and location.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 07-23-12)

So resize, locate, do a CTL/ALT/DEL to close the windows, edit .ini file, and then double click EXE files to re-open.  Here's a full frontal shot:

Alan 102

 

Eric W., thanks for that video. I need to go back and use your X/Y size of 648x905 and see what that does. Looking at your video the buttons on the bezel line up perfectly with the functions on the display which is what I'm struggling with.

 

UPDATE:

I have finally got the displays working okay. This one's for you Ron. Not too sure what the deal is with the IAS gauge maybe I don't quite have them sized properly at the moment:

Alan 103

 

I decided that I didn't want to fly a convertible LEAR45 so I decided to close it in. As I don't have a full FO side my shell is asymmetrical. This is a short video I shot to show my progress to date. Today I went to Jo-Ann fabric store (recommended by Ron) and picked up some dove gray and black leather cloth. I covered the back walls as well as the small upper panels I made and the lower windscreen rails with the gray and the forward avionics bay with the black. I think it looks good even though it's not [i]pure[/i] Lear45. I think I have an advantage as I am not concerned with making sure everything I do is as close to a real Lear45 as possible -- I just create what I think looks okay and my main objective is to fly as soon as possible (I've sold most of my GoFlight modules).

The upper inside of the cockpit is covered in auto headliner material. Although it's not accurate, it servers my purpose. I have already created poster board templates for the port and starboard windscreens and a local plastics company is cutting them out of Lexan.

 

UPDATE:

I picked up my Lexan windscreens today and got the port side install. Here is a shot showing it on the cockpit. I just finished painting the black border. I'll get the starboard side done tomorrow. I like the way that Lexan drills -- unlike Plexiglas it doesn't melt:

Alan 104

 

When I told the person at the plastics company that I was going to bend it, she recommended Lexan as it much tougher than Plexiglas. She did say that although it was clearer than Plexiglas it was not a whole lot more scratch resistant. As soon as I get them painted and fitted they are going to be stored for a while.

 

Here are some shots of the completed windscreens installed. On this one you can see the structure that supports the center windscreen post and the upper rail. The towels are temporary and block light coming through the headliner material.  I'll have to find a more permanent solution:

Alan 105

 

Alan 106

 

Inside the cockpit it really gives one a sense of being in a Lear. I'm glad I decided to close it in and with a curved projector screen it will be even more immersive. I will post photos of the completed windscreen tomorrow.

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 07-26-12)

Very nice Alan. I made both of my windscreens with Plexiglas and it works, but not as good as the Lexan does. They both will bind the same buy the Lexan resist scratches better, but a little more expensive, but not as much as a real L45 windscreen. After I get project 99% complete, (in the year 2020), I am going to replace the Plexiglas with Lexan.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 07-30-12)

The Aero Salvage Company delivered my seat today (what great service as I told them I'd pick it up -- they are 120 miles away). I am well pleased as the seat and covers are in great shape (covers might need shampooing but they do not have any tears etc.) and the arm rests are in excellent shape.  Here's a shot of the front with seat belts, back and seat cushions removed:

Alan 107

 

Back with life vest pocket and the rear cover removed:

Alan 108

 

Measurement across front rail attachments (as these are high off the floor the port side one will clear the shell frame). The distance from the center of the cushion cut out to the outside of the starboard rail attachment is 8". In my cockpit the distance from the center of the column to the face of the center console is 8.5". At the the rear I think that shell frame # 7 will require a notch cut out to clear the port rail:

Alan 109

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 07-30-12)

Looking at the photos that you posted above I think they are very close if not the same seat. The only difference is the bottom portion relating to the attachment points to the rails. I had to remove the same knob on both seats (sides facing the center pedestal) by removing the roll pin first then if I recall correctly the knob screwed off. I didn't cut the shaft off as I did not reinstall the knob, it is just a shaft sticking out with a nut on it. You cannot see it once the seat is mounted. This way if I wanted to return the seat to original I can in case I want to sell the seat later.

 

Also, you most likely won't get the seat cutout centered on the column due to the seat design and space constraints but that is no big deal. Mine sits a little off to one side, if I remember correctly it sits closer to the sidewall. You don't notice once everything is installed and it does not interfere with any operation of the control column. Thought I would mention that so you wouldn't rack your brain trying to figure out how it is centered. Looking back at some of the photos Scott W. got for us I noted that the control column is not centered in the real Lear it is also offset toward the sidewall.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 07-31-12)

Thanks for that information. I thought I read that you have the 737 seats and if they are similar to my MD80/DC9 seat it would lead me to believe that IPECO have a "standard" seat that is modified to suit each installation. In talking to the guy from the salvage company he said that as soon as he puts 737 seats and the like on eBay they are gone pretty quick. I think this is the reason that 737 seats are so expensive -- lots of 737 builders out there.

 

Here are some shots of the seat in the shell. This one shows the notch cut in the shell frame. It's going to take some creative work to make a side trim panel to fit in there:

Alan 110

 

This shows the clearance for the fore and aft lock lever:

Alan 111

 

This shows how the center cut out in the seat lines up pretty well with the column. I could push the seat a little to port -- maybe an inch so I can get my hand around the fore and aft lock lever a little easier. I have the seat all the way forward with the front rail attachments at the start of the sloped floor. I don't see any way to get it more forward as the rails cannot extend beyond the end of the flat floor section. Not having any pedals in it's difficult for me to judge how far forward it should be:

Alan 112

 

Additionally, I started work on the floor rail and seat attachments today. This is what was on my seat. It has a hole for the locking pin and, although it's difficult to see, the block is machined so that the seat moves at an angle as it moves back:

Alan 113

 

We don't have room for that so I set about making a new attachment. I made a new bracket from aluminum angle for the rail attachment based on the drawing that IPECO sent me:

Alan 114

 

The location pin is visible at the bottom and there are two aluminum angles that will lock into the floor rail to prevent the seat from pulling up (under intense G forces no doubt when the pilot hits a low pressure pocket) What's not installed yet is the roller. I ordered two roller bearings from Grainger as regular rollers from the hardware store of the size I need are only rated at 30 lbs. The bearings are .75" OD x .375" wide with a .375" diameter hole. It will be mounted between the two angles that engage with the floor rail with a 3/8" bolt and spacers (in that space with the yellow paint showing in the background). The bearing will roll on the square tube. Here is the profile of the floor rail. It's made from two 1/2" x 1/2" angle riveted to a 1/2" square tube:

Alan 115

 

This shows the seat bracket engaged with the floor rail. I will drill holes in the square tubing at 1" intervals for the pin to engage and prevent fore and aft movement. I didn't know for sure what the fore and aft movement is but guessed at 8". I will see when I get it on the shell. The raised floor will be cut to allow the rail to be mounted flush:

Alan 116

 

I have to fabricate the other side and this will complete the back mounts. I could repeat this for the front mounts but have a better solution in mind...

 

I just ordered a couple of vee-groove bearing wheels and track shown here. [url]http://www.pbclinear.com/V-Guide-Rail-for-Linear-Roller-Bearings[/url] These will keep the seat on track so to speak. No need to keep the seat from upwards motion as I will never experience negative Gs!

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 08-02-12)

Hey Alan, in my seat rails, there are 10 holes for forward/aft adjustment. They are 1 inch between centers. This should equal out to 9 inches of forward and aft travel of the seat.

(Posted by Alan Norris on 08-17-12)

I finally got round to making a housing for the vertical card compass I got off eBay for $40. Was not air worthy -- hence the low price. However it does move, so at some time in the future if anyone figures out how to motorize it, I can retrofit it:

Alan 117

 

The housing is made from 1/4" plywood shaped to conform to my center windscreen frame and then wrapped in headliner material to match the rest. The cover plate is Plexiglass painted black as this was the only way to hide the raw edge of the headliner material. I changed the 28V backlighting to two of my white LEDs.

 

Next I went to the local junk yard (or recycling center as they are now called) and picked up a grab handle. The color in the photo is a little dark as it goes nicely with the color of the headliner:

Alan 118

 

It screws into the 2x4 rail that supports the roof and is quite solid. Should help this old frame getting in and out of the seat.

 

I also worked on the tri-ball seat leveler guide. Simple really, just some 3/16" diameter dowel and 5/8" diameter wooden beads from the local craft store. The cross is made by drilling into the ends of the two dowels and super gluing coat hanger wire into the the ends and then through the center piece of the cross:

Alan 119

 

I also ordered a calibration card and holder for the vertical card compass from Aircraft Spruce (thanks for the link Shane).

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 08-17-12)

If you spot another compass, pass the word along. I need one eventually.  I am sure we can find a way to move it. But if not, there is plan "B". We could buy and then refit the face to one of these Simkits:

http://simkits.com/product.php?prodid=1009

 

The only problem is that this is a $450 investment on top of the cost of the real part. So it can be done but at what cost.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 08-30-12)

Today I picked up the glare shield cover from the company that bent it to my profile. First of all let me say that if you are going to make this [b]don't use aluminum[/b]. Because it's a compound curve it is not just a matter of running it through a set of slip rolls. The guy who did it for me spent six hours on an English wheel to get the profile correct and I still had to make some adjustments. I think the way to go is either fiberglass or plastic:

Alan 120

 

Here it is fitted to the glare shield:

Alan 121

 

I had already made an angle that is used to attach it to the glare shield and riveted it to the cover:

Alan 122

 

I now have to find and some material to provide a nice rounded edge and then some resilient foam to cover the top and then cover it with black leather cloth.

 

I finished trimming out my glare shield cover today after going to Jo-an's to pick up some 1/2" foam for the padding and the order for some edge trim had come in to the local Grainger store so I picked that up on the way home. When gluing on the foam I kept it about an inch back from the edges to try and replicate what the real part looks like.

 

This is the edging I used. It has an aluminum core and can bend to a fairly tight radius and is covered in a grained plastic. The Grainger part number is 10C947 and it comes in 25 foot rolls. If you are going to use this edging make sure you get the one for the correct thickness of material you are attaching it to. In my case it is for 3/32" as that is the thickness of the aluminum -- but I didn't allow for two thicknesses of leather cloth so I should have used edging for 1/8" thickness:

Alan 123

 

Here is the finished cover in the shell with the two additional covers installed (thanks for the photos of your cover Shane so I could closely replicate the real Lear45). I don't think I'm going to make the adjustable covers, although I may wait to see what Shane's reproductions look like:

Alan 124

 

UPDATE:

Today I decided to disassemble the DC Load gauge I got off eBay, remove the face plate and needle, and install those from the AOA gauge. I got the back lighting to work off my 5VDC supply but the needle and flag are inoperative. I'm not too worried about that as no one is probably going to get the needle and flag to work without major effort. I know someone is working on getting the DC Load gauge needle to function and I proved that you can install the AOA gauge face plate but installing the needle is a different problem as their attachments are totally different.

 

Here's a shot of the gauge installed and back lit. Is that flag supposed to expose the OFF text in normal mode as I may have it backwards?

Alan 125

 

Because I cannot use 12VDC for the back lighting (which would run through the dimmer on the LH Crew Lighting panel), I had to run 5VDC from the new terminal strip shown here through a relay on the FDS Relay board. I will have to find a way to turn that relay on whenever the 12VDC lighting dimmer is turned on. The AOA gauge backlighting will not be dimmable unless someone can come up with a solution:

Alan 126

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 09-14-12)

Take a look at the Davtron Clock Discussion thread HERE

 

I used a resistor to drop down the 12 volt power to 5 volts. You may be able to do the same thing with the AOA gauges.

 

Which brings me to the resistor for your back lighting if you need one. If your in my shoes and you have 5 volt bulbs and using a 12 volt power supply system, you will want to use a 50 Ohm 10 Watt resistor. 10 Watts sounds like a lot but trust me, it isn't. I first started off using a 25 Ohm 5 Watt resistor and found that it ran so hot that I could not even hold it.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 10-10-12)

I received a nice package from the post man containing Eric's Gear/Hydraulics; LH Crew Lighting; System Test; and Engine Start panels. I love the way Eric packages his panels, they come with the backlighting connector and pig tail and even painted screws to mount all of the panels -- nice touch Eric:

Alan 127

 

UPDATE:

Here are some photos of the LH Crew Lighting and the Engine Start panels as well as the blank for the Audio panel opening. I know that the two push buttons are supposed to be white but I ordered red by mistake and I'm not that fussy about having the exact Lear look:

Alan 128

 

Alan 129

 

Dimmers work perfectly. I still need to hook the two panels up to the FDS board and then it's on to the biggy -- the Gear/Hydraulics (although the Engine Start has a bunch of wiring). I didn't know that those guarded AMLs may not accept dual LEDs with the short caps that they need. I guess I need to replace them with a single LED if the caps will not fit over them -- probably a red LED for the top six and a white LED in the two START AMLs.

 

It's interesting to see the difference between Eric and Ron's backlighting and those from Vince. Vince's seem not to be as bright but it may well be the color -- slight yellow as opposed to bright white.

 

BTW Shane I ended up just soldering the common and ground wires to single wires back to the FDS board pigtail. I won't need to pull them apart as I have Molex connectors between the connection and the switches.

 

UPDATE:

Well, I FINALLY got the seat installed and it works fine. I tried various methods of providing fore and aft movement but finally settled on a carriage and track system. This provides the smoothest movement. Here's a shot of the system, the track is bolted to the center pedestal. The carriage has three ball bearing rollers and it is bolted to the side panel of the seat:

Alan 130

 

Here is a shot of the rear with the seat all the way forward. You can see that I had to make an extension to the center console to bolt the track to so the seat can move all the way back against the rear wall (it makes a nice step to aid in getting in and out). The Teflon strips on the floor are drilled at 1" centers to accept the pin to lock the seat in place. I need to get some 1/2"X1/2" angle to finish off the corners and prevent the carpet from being kicked off:

Alan 131

 

At the front because my seal came out of a DC9/MD80 I had to build a plinth to provide an area for two Teflon strips that allow the bolts that are attached to the seat's front mounts to slide easily. I need to get some acorn nuts to use in place of the bolt head as they will offer less resistance:

Alan 132

 

Here is a shot of the seat cushion and its relationship to the center console -- pretty tight. I have just enough room to operate the pin release handle to allow the seat to move:

Alan 133

 

Overall I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I wish I had gone the route that I finally followed as it would have saved wasted time, money, and effort. I guess that is the price of R&D. In retrospect, even if I had access to the proper "V" rail track and claw brackets it would not have worked as the DC9 seats are designed to move fore and aft at an angle (presumable to allow access in the seats rear most position). The tightness of the Lear cabin would not have allowed that.

 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 10-23-12)

This looks really good Alan. I like the way you made the step too. This is another good example of why I sometimes wish I was not trying to stay so pure to the real thing.

 

Instead of an acorn nut, look into using furniture slides for tables and chairs. Most of them are attached to the bottom of the leg with a nail. But if I am not mistaken, I have seen some that use a bolt. You might find something that will work in the area and or retro fit something to work using one of these furniture slides.

(Posted by Alan Norris on 11-01-12)

Well, I got all my new panels wired up and installed. Just waiting for the PAX/Oxygen panel and Audio panel to complete the MIP and console (well still need HF and SELCAL panel to fill those holes):

Alan 134

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 11-01-12)

Hey Alan, that looks great, except your Electrical Panel's back lighting which is in all likely hood an oversight on my part as I doubt that is a camera issue. I can fix that for you if you can send me the light plate back. I will return it to you at no cost.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 11-30-12)

I worked on the pilot side upper panel today. It was a toss up between 0.08" Lexan and 1/16" aluminum. As the panel has quite a bend at the front I decided to go with Lexan. I got a local shop to cut it out from a pattern I gave them. I then installed it in the shell and when I had it where it looked good I used my heat gun to soften the Lexan so it would maintain its shape. After that I covered if with leather cloth. Here's a shot of the finished panel. The cut out for the CB panel is 1/4" larger all round to accept Eric's panel. In the shell I installed a plywood backer panel that the CB panel will mount to:

Alan 135

 

This photo shows the extent of the compound bend at the front. I just have to be careful when installing this panel so as not to tear the leather cloth on the sharp edge of the MIP:

Alan 136

 

Now I can move on to the last panel -- the pilots lower side panel with the book pockets etc. Mine will be a little different to the drawing I made from Shane's measurements of the real panel as I have the seat track to contend with. Now I have the upper panel in place I can make a pattern for the lower panel. It should be easier as it does not have the severe bend like the upper panel does.

 

I also installed my map light. You can see the backer panel in the cut out for the CB panel. When that arrives from Eric all I have to do is drill a hole for the backlighting wires and mount it. I did thicken up the edges of the cut out on the back side of the cover so the total thickness is 5/16" which means that the CB panel will sit a little proud of the side panel:

Alan 137

 

The panel doesn't match exactly the profile of the MIP so I may have to put some foam on the back of the MIP to block the small gap. I also had to tuck the panel under the glare shield cover. On the FO side the panel goes over the top. Not a big deal really.

 

I paid about $120 for my map light. It was supposed to be brand new (which it believe it is) but I have some corrosion issues so it was probably very old stock. I have to disassemble the rheostat to clean the contact surfaces but need a very small Allen wrench to remove the knob (same size as Ron used on his standby altimeter bezel knob if anyone knows the size).

 

UPDATE:

Got an early Christmas present from Randy today, pedals! Nice job Randy! Bloody heavy!

Alan 47

 

Here's the Leo Bodnar board. Not sure what that little push button that is wired to the board does:

Alan 48

 

Here's a short video showing the motion of the pedals:

https://youtu.be/0Kfl22LQmJU

 

Without a doubt, these pedals more closely resemble the real Lear45 pedal motion. Although the brake springs may need to be a little stronger but time will tell.

 

(Posted by Randy Buchanan on 12-13-12)

Hey Guys, thank you for all your kind words. My hope is the pedals will live up to everyone's expectations. And yes I spent allot of time putting this idea into it's present form. Each of you know what building is all about so this is really preaching to the choir. I thought it was really cool that Alan is the first one to have this set. He only needs one. To tell the truth I am both honored and scared. Alan's build is so good that it is a standard to shoot for and at the same time if it works for him it will work for everybody. I certainly appreciate all of the hard work each of you have done on your builds and with this small contribution it will be one less thing to wonder about how am I going to do that? It feels good. And I wish each of you a joyous holiday season as we all fly into next year.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 12-13-12)

The cover arrived from Randy this morning and I spent the better part of the day installing it. I found out two things:

1. I needed to put a 1" thick piece of wood under the base plate so that the cover sits on the raised floor and allows the pedals to swing clear in the slots of the cover. Not sure if my floor measurements were off or what.

2. It's absolutely impossible to install the cover when the pedals are in the shell as there is no room to maneuver it in place. I had to put the 1" thick spacer in first (with four bolts installed from the backside), then slide the pedals under the MIP. I then had to finagle the cover over the pedals and finally get the base plate over the bolts and fasten it down.

3. It will be a doddle when the shell is apart and upstairs as I can install them first and then add the MIP/glare shield assembly.

 

I am getting the shell finished and some functionality operational for our annual Christmas open house this Saturday evening as quite a few people have asked how it is coming along:

Alan 138

 

(Posted by Shane Barnes on 12-14-12)

Alan I think that installing the rudder covers is an issue no matter what design. I cannot remove mine unless I remove the MIP and MIP pedestal and they have the slot all the way to the back. Between the MIP being in the way and if you have the control columns installed well they kinda get in the way as well. Assembly of the Lear, especially if using the shell is like a jigsaw puzzle . . many things will go only one way and in a sequence.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 07-31-13)

Well I promised you guys a video of my 99% complete shell so here it is. I am well please with the result even though it's not 100% correct. As I said before, this gave me the latitude to be creative to make things that would fit my custom shell. After Christmas is over it will be broken down and moved upstairs to it's final location. Then the fun begins programing all the functionality.

https://youtu.be/FiW3jIXT02A

 

I may add some more storage to that lower pilot side panel -- maybe an elasticated pocket.

 

UPDATE:

Well, I spent most of today getting my LEDs and switches identified by the IT Interface software from FDS. I thought it was going to be difficult but it was just tedious. After jiggling a couple of the FDS connectors on the interface cards I got all of my LEDs to light up. I then tried the method that Eric demonstrated at our recent fly in to ID the LEDs by letting the system scan each one in turn and then hitting the return key when the one that you wanted lit up but I was not quick enough and it was too repetitive as you had to scan through ones you had already ID'd over and over. So I just picked each LED in the software in turn and forced it on. I could then scan all of the switches to see which one was lit and added the correct identity in the software. That took a while but I finally got every LED tagged.

 

Next on to the switches and that wasn't too bad. I got every switch to show up in the FDS software with the exception of the primary trim switch position on Vince's panel and the Hydraulic Auxiliary AML on the System Test panel. Not sure how much I will use the trim switch and I will have to hunt down the gremlin in the Aux Hyd AML. I have been having some issues with the wiring connectors on the FDS pigtails that came with their ABL boards (the backlighting distribution boards). The wires on these as well as on the SYS board pigtails are pushed into metal forks in the connector and the metal fork is supposed to penetrate the insulation and make contact with the connector. I guess they assemble them on a machine and some have been giving me a fit. Not sure if I got a bad batch or what.

 

UPDATE:

I just snagged this CVR Mic off eBay. Needs painting but will look fine when done:

Alan 139

 

Additionally, I made this short video showing my reprogramming of the Electrical panel AML lights so they operate in line with what the training manual says. This only works if you apply the offset for engine #1 AML lights and start that engine first (which you should do anyway). If you do it for both engines then the shutdown sequence does not work as it should. I basically used offset 3ABC (Engine Generator #2 Active) to turn off the EMERG, R NON-ESS, R MAIN, RGEN lights and turn on the bus tie light. For engine #1 I used offset 3B7C to turn off the L NON-ESS, L MAIN, and LGEN lights. On shutdown the sequences are reversed. You can see that if I used the engine #1 offset to turn off the EMER light and turn on the bus tie it would work as required if you started either engine #1 or engine #2 first, but when you shutdown one engine then the bus tie would remain open because the other engine is keeping it that way and it needs to close. Hope that makes sense:




 

(Posted by Ron Rollo on 08-01-13)

Nice looking project Alan. One thing I was wondering about, when both engines are running, shouldn't the BUS TIE go out automatically? I'm not looking at my manuals so I can't say for sure. But from memory, the BUS TIE works automatically if one electrical system is shut down so that it supplies power to both sides and goes out if power is being generated from both sides. It can of course be selected manually too. Again, I'm not 100% sure without looking. Great video too!

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 08-01-13)

I just checked the manual and you are correct. The bus tie only closes if one generator is not providing power. I'll have to check to see if I can program that. The only issue is once a light is turned on, I don't think it's possible to send an offset to turn it off as the first offset is still keeping it on. Let me check.  Thanks for pointing that out.

 

Just checked and it's not possible to turn the bus tie off when both engines are running as it's been turned on by the offset for engine #2 generator. In this case it's the limitation of InterfaceIT. If it was possible to have offset A canceled by offset B then it would work.

 

I tried all the options such as on/on, off/off, on/off, off/on. The only one I didn't try was on or off for a range as I was not sure how to program that or in fact what it does.

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 08-01-13)

Yes, the Bus Tie should open once both generators are online but this is a system that is not modeled yet. I've created it in hardware logic, as shown on my own video before, but as Alan said sometimes it works right and others it doesn't. Skip to 3:20 to see the applicable portion of the video:




 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 08-01-13)

What logic turns the bus tie light off? It's obviously not the engine generator status offset because as I mentioned above once it's on you cannot turn it off. Did you use some internal variable?

 

(Posted by Eric Tomlin on 08-01-13)

If I recall correctly I created a BUS TIE logic but I do think that it had something to do with a GEN state. This is another perfectly good example of how conditional logic would be great on the SYS card.

 

The basic logic is essentially this:

If L GEN = 1 and R GEN= 0, then BUS TIE= 1, else

If R GEN= 1 and L GEN =0, then BUS TIE= 1, else

If R GEN and L GEN = 1, then BUS TIE= 0

 

(Posted by Eric Williams on 08-01-13)

Use the XML for the CWP Gen Fail . I know it was on my list of things to fix on my rig, but it has been so long.

 

(Posted by Alan Norris on 08-11-14)

I have finally switched over to Prepar3D. Peter Cos at FDS uses Prepar3D exclusively for their commercial flight decks and it says a lot.

 

Additionally, I got Prepar3D up and running, installed v 4.91 of FSUIPC, ran the ORBX software to link my scenery files, and everything works. Had to copy the Modules folder over from FSX as well as the Lear 45 sim object folder but that was easy. So far I really like it. Have not flown yet so will have to see what the scenery is like but it's supposed to be much better than FSX. No issues with my switches and LEDs not doing what they're supposed to. I think I'll be staying with this and look forward to future upgrades. I would advise anyone to try it!

 

I did some work with the APU switches. By using the start function for Engine #3, I managed to get the START light on the APU AML to come on when it was pressed and go off after 8 seconds (similar to the offsets for Engine 1 and 2 start switches) The AVAIL light on the Electrical panel comes on when the START switch times out. It goes off when I set the APU MSTR switch to OFF. What I cannot do is get the APU RUN light to come on after the START light goes out. I guess I'll have to wait for an InterfaceIT update or find out what the Internal Variable options such as LESS THAN or EQUAL TO do.

 

I did a short video showing how I got the APU to operate correctly (by some smoke and mirror programming). The start switch sends an offset to start the APU but I don't think that FSX does a good job of modeling the APU. In fact if I go into the APU panel in FSX and turn it on, there is no indication that APU power is available on the EICAS:

https://youtu.be/dYZE01q-JlQ

 

UPDATE:

I received a SELCAL from Ron the other day so decided to install it this morning -- very nice job Ron (not sure if Eric made the backer panel -- if so nice job Eric). It's only eye candy but the caps light up with a light test and it's backlit. I have to drill for Dzus fasteners and cut a filler piece to finish it off.

 

Here is a shot of the FGC panel:

Alan 140

 

CAUTION: I finally got the FGC working after a second repair of the FDS board (it was a 12v feed getting pushed back through the switch module that caused the module to fail). It was a bare leg of an LED in the FGC that was contacting the copper clad that is the neutral for all the switches.

 

Best advise is to make sure you pay close attention to the FGC tutorial if you get one of these in kit form. You can find the tutorial HERE

 

Just finished up the installation of the Airshow and SELCAL panels. I hooked two LEDs to a single output of the FDS card and they work fine so I only needed three outputs -- two for the four LEDS for the FLTDCK display and one for the single LED for the asterisk display. The green backlighting on the Airshow panel looks cool:

Alan 141

All I need now is the CB panel and an Audio panel and I'm done!

 

NOTE: This build has been retired and sold off!