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#4235517 - 03/01/16 08:23 PM Re: Looking for cockpit ideas [Re: - Ice]  
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 748
AndyB Offline
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AndyB  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 748
Ayrshire, Scotland
Hi Ice,

I came up with a somewhat unusual entry/exit strategy for my pit.

The top 2/3 of the right side hinges up at the top and is held up by small gas struts (gets held closed by the lock).

The bottom 1/3 is hinged down at the bottom and has a step built in (again held closed by latches at the sides when up).

The right hand console is hinged at the back with a piano hinge and folds up and back to allow full access to the cockpit.

When the console comes back down, the front inside edge fits over a tapered piece fitted to the floor which locks it securely. I don't get any play on the joystick at all.

As far as I'm aware, Grizzly and myself are the only ones building Comanche pits so I felt the need to uphold the UK side of that partnership.

Grizzly - Glad to see you posting again buddy!!

Cheers,

Andy

PS there are pics of the above in operation on my site.

Last edited by AndyB; 03/01/16 08:24 PM.

Andy's simpit: http://www.simpit.me.uk
Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#4235865 - 03/02/16 09:46 PM Re: Looking for cockpit ideas [Re: AndyB]  
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 557
GrizzlyT Offline
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GrizzlyT  Offline
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 557
Sterling Heights, Michigan
Thanks for the kind words everybody. thumbsup

And for what it's worth.... even when I lurk, or haven't checked the forums in awhile, I am always happy to respond to PMs and help anybody out, however I can.

To me, that's one of the best things about this forum. There are very few trolls, not many pissing contests, and everybody is genuinely passionate about this hobby and eager to share.

It's good to be back!


Grizzly's Comanche Simulator
"Fear is the mind killer. - Frank Herbert"
#4236004 - 03/03/16 01:22 PM Re: Looking for cockpit ideas [Re: - Ice]  
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,849
Falstar Offline
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Falstar  Offline
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,849
Edina, MN 55439
Good to see both of you posting. Reminds me of Frugalsworld.

#4236474 - 03/04/16 03:55 PM Re: Looking for cockpit ideas [Re: - Ice]  
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 172
DudleyAz Offline
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DudleyAz  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 172
Phoenix, AZ
Ice,
I finally was able to get some pics taken for you. Here is a close up of the latch (called a chain bolt at my local hardware store). It also shows the caster wheel I have mounted under the console to support the weight.



This is the handle I fashioned. It is a pipe hanger assembly I also picked up at the local hardware store. I just drill two holes in the bolt and insert pins to keep one side of the sliding plate fixed to make a handle out of it. Then it's mounted to some angle strut with the latch cable pulled through and attached. Works great!



Here is a shot of the latch in it's packaging at the store. I want to say they are about $5.00 US each.




Here are the shots of the seating in the max-fore/aft positions.

This is the seat all the way forward to where the stick just clears the bezel on the touch screen. The pedals are also all the way out. My wife is 5'2", and this is actually to short for her.



This is with the seat and pedals at max aft. This is way to far apart for me, and I'm 6'4". When I fly, I am somewhere in between max and min.



You can see I had some damage to the seat base. It's cosmetic only, and to be honest, I had forgotten all about it until I looked at this older pics. I need to get out the paint this weekend and do some maintenance on the poor girl!

I don't have any shots of the actual seat slide, as I recently pulled it out to try a different idea.. which isn't working, and now I can't find the slides anywhere. I cleaned out the garage about a month ago, so of course I put them somewhere to ensure I wouldn't lose them... sigh... duh

But, the pics above were shot when the slide was in place, and here is a link to the slide from where I bought it.

Summit Racing Seat Slider



Hope this helps!
Dud


They say "If you didn't fail, how would you learn?"... I learn a LOT!
http://cnadeau.webs.com/index.htm
#4256783 - 05/06/16 12:36 AM Re: Looking for cockpit ideas [Re: - Ice]  
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 16,082
- Ice Offline
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- Ice  Offline
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 16,082
Philippines / North East UK
Agh!! What happened? Dudley, you photos have been lost in the interwebz!

Pit has been progressing slowly so far, but with the weather good and some time off work, I'm able to work on it more and more. I've decided to go with a sliding seat option for this time and will integrate a locking mechanism similar to Dud's, I think.





I realized this evening that the front castors are different from the rear ones. Going back tomorrow to see if I can have the rear ones changed. Basically, I planned to put a platform under the seat to make the under-the-seat floor level with the cockpit floor. The rear castors keep snagging on the under-the-seat floor whereas the front ones have more clearance.





A rough ergonomics test.





The setup in the "open" position.





The setup in the "at work" position. biggrin





Starting to take up shape.







I'm now thinking about what color to paint it. I have a bucket of black paint and I think the under-seat contraption would be painted black just so that it blends in a bit more. Heck, I'm thinking of keeping it simple and painting the whole setup black. I tried to paint my previous pit some sort of gray like military aircraft but it didn't look very well. I think if I'm going with a gray color, it'll be dark-gray so at the very least, the black can be a good undercoat. Thoughts?


- Ice
#4260761 - 05/16/16 04:19 PM Re: Looking for cockpit ideas [Re: - Ice]  
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 16,082
- Ice Offline
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- Ice  Offline
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 16,082
Philippines / North East UK
I settled for a dark gray paint designed for floors. That should last a while! biggrin

I'm trying to look for a remote release cable latch but I can't find any outside of the McMaster Carr website... at $88/£61, I may skip this and go with a simple bolt mechanism for now.


- Ice
#4260770 - 05/16/16 04:49 PM Re: Looking for cockpit ideas [Re: - Ice]  
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,562
Cold_Gambler Offline
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Cold_Gambler  Offline
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,562
Looking good so far, Ice.
Your custom triple-screen desk looks slick smile


looks very modernishy-phoney-windows eighty-tabletty like

Asus P8P67 Pro Rev. 3.0 // i5 2500k @4.3 GHz with Noctua NH-D14 // nvidia gtx 780 // 8 GB DDR3 1600 //Win7 home 64 bit //450 GB VelociRaptor //Recon3D Champion
#4260798 - 05/16/16 06:17 PM Re: Looking for cockpit ideas [Re: - Ice]  
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 9,619
CyBerkut Offline
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CyBerkut  Offline
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Florida
Originally Posted By: - Ice
I settled for a dark gray paint designed for floors. That should last a while! biggrin

I'm trying to look for a remote release cable latch but I can't find any outside of the McMaster Carr website... at $88/£61, I may skip this and go with a simple bolt mechanism for now.


I just did a Google search on "Release cable latch" and then looked at the images. There seemed to be quite a few different ones out there. I suggest doing that, and then following the source links for the images that most closely match what you're looking for.

I saw stuff for garage doors, and automotive needs (hood latches, etc.).

#4260864 - 05/16/16 09:11 PM Re: Looking for cockpit ideas [Re: CyBerkut]  
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 16,082
- Ice Offline
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- Ice  Offline
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 16,082
Philippines / North East UK
Originally Posted By: Cold_Gambler
Looking good so far, Ice.
Your custom triple-screen desk looks slick smile

Thanks! That's actually the old desk, just there for testing/fitting. New desk is the same but on 12mm MDF instead of 18mm. Much happier with the painting results so far as well.

The touchscreen is the 24" one, I'm thinking of adding a 5th screen, the old 22", to the left of the center touchscreen. I can put the LG panel and stuff there to de-clutter the center touchscreen a bit... only need to figure out how to make a mount for it.


Originally Posted By: CyBerkut
I just did a Google search on "Release cable latch" and then looked at the images. There seemed to be quite a few different ones out there. I suggest doing that, and then following the source links for the images that most closely match what you're looking for.

I saw stuff for garage doors, and automotive needs (hood latches, etc.).


Thanks! Most results seem to be for car doors/hoods and the only one I think I can use is the one for a garage door frown I'm thinking of a system similar to what Dudley has on his seat as pictured above, but would have to work with what I have available.


- Ice
#4260946 - 05/17/16 01:58 AM Re: Looking for cockpit ideas [Re: - Ice]  
Joined: Jul 2009
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CyBerkut Offline
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CyBerkut  Offline
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Florida
Originally Posted By: - Ice

Originally Posted By: CyBerkut
I just did a Google search on "Release cable latch" and then looked at the images. There seemed to be quite a few different ones out there. I suggest doing that, and then following the source links for the images that most closely match what you're looking for.

I saw stuff for garage doors, and automotive needs (hood latches, etc.).


Thanks! Most results seem to be for car doors/hoods and the only one I think I can use is the one for a garage door frown I'm thinking of a system similar to what Dudley has on his seat as pictured above, but would have to work with what I have available.


OK. Do the Google image search on "Chain Bolt" instead.

EDIT: Here's one example after following a picture source:
http://www.amazon.com/Hillman-Group-852225-Chain-Bolt/dp/B00GI1F1V8

Last edited by CyBerkut; 05/17/16 02:01 AM. Reason: added information
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