MIP: First order and disappointment... a story of Poldragonet MCP

There is a sad story behind my first MCP plug'n play Collins-like layout panel ordered at Poldragonet  (symulatory.com), real picture below. Unfortunately, the panel was broken at start e.g. encoders were not soldered properly to PCB, switches lock down when pressed, selected digits had different brightness and as far as I remember VSPEED display didn't work at all. It looked like third quality product... Shit happens, it's just an...

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GALLERY: Weekend in the Netherlands / FSweekend 2012

2-5 November 2012 Well, that was very funny and long weekend in Amsterdam. Actually, it was as it should be in Amsterdam, so nothing to complain at. But, the main purpose was to attend the biggest flight simulation event in Europe FSweekend and visit Aviodrom at Lelystad Airport. Apart to commercial part and aviodrome there was an opportunity for cockpit builders to show their babies ;-) I can't imagine transporting my cockpit...

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GENERAL: Seats

I tried to repeat a few times here that my project is not necessarily real copy of Boeing 737NG cockpit. This is a hobby and having fun from constructing or virtual flying is much more important than sticking to measurements in millimeters. So, my seats were taken from regular passenger car. It was Chevrolet PT Cruiser and I find them excellent even if platform had to be created. Note that the best choice are those from a car with driving wheel...

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GENERAL: Materials \ Painting

...for metal or wood Majority of the cockpit in Boeing 737 is painted on iron gray, RAL 7011. You can easily order it somewhere on Internet, however "Colours: Dark Gray Mat" from Castorama is also good. It's cheap and perfectly matches the other elements painted on RAL 7011. I suggest to take a can of 2.5 liter. ...for metal\plexi surface You may also need spray for painting small plexi elements or metal parts e.g. screws. Leroy Merlin or Castorama...

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MIP: Stand and base for all panels

A fantastic web page run by Rudy from Belgium http://www.737ngproject.be containing all you may need to get started. CorelDraw is now available to download and use for 30 days free of charge, so click here to download drawings in .cdr format. My project is only partially based on Rudy's idea. Selected dimensions differ as I  use my own MIP layout adjusted to three 4:3 LCD 19", the cost was only 45 EUR for all three. Note that 16:9...

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MIP: Layout and dimensions

Measurements  You can't continue building your cockpit without having Markus' measurements. Visit his site to get it downloaded, click here. Layouts by Juan Cordon (click on the picture to enlarge) Real interior of 737NG, photo by Agnor B (click on the picture to enlarge) ...

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GENERAL: Two seat platform

I believe that the below pictures are worth more than 1000 words. Let me apologize for missing translation, so feel free to contact me via email if you need an explanation. The only two comment are that I suggest 15-18mm MDF board on the top (approximatley 3m2) and you will also need around 27 meters of metal profile 20x20.   Don't forget to adjust bar positions accordingly to the mounting place of your yoke and seats. My platform has...

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