P-51D cockpit build

That looks so good !!!!

Congrads

Thanks Warhog and Predator!

I have not shown the build details but I can tell you I used the best aviation products offered by Lowe's, Home Depot and Hobby Lobby. All of the components are either wood, plastic, metal or a combination of these. The complete build is on the A2A forum under P-51 Mustang / P-51D cockpit build. If anyone has any questions just let me know.

My wife told me if I wanted to retire early I needed to find something to keep me busy (I heard out of her hair) and I thought this 6 month build would be just the thing. Well, 27 months later, it is almost complete and therapy has been discussed a few times!

Take care

Ed

Thanks Craig, I wish I could but the room is just not large enough. The 46" screen will be at the limits between the wall and my desk.

Take care

Ed

Hello everyone

Since PB killed my pics I have switched to Imgur and I'll add a few here later.

Here is a quick pic I just took while flying around the Tampa Bay area with our wonderful afternoon summer storms. This is still in FSX as I have not installed DCS on my new PC yet.

My camera was just behind the top of the seat so it gives you an idea what I see while flying.

Take care

Ed

Hi DE

Thank you for your interest in my project! Since PB killed the availability of my pictures I have considered re-posting them using another hosting service but was not sure of the interest.

My previous experience was woodworking and some plastic model building, nothing with metal, so my project caused me to learn how to shape metal in a very basic way. If I can do it, anyone can!

I have learned a lot from other posters here and if my project can encourage someone else to take the plunge I will be glad to help. I have some down time coming up in a few weeks and will add some pictures.

Thank you again

Ed

I second DigitalEngine's request. I started down this path a quite a few months back and have since purchased Stang's P-51 drawings and am ready to start building the tub soon. Im especially interested in your throttle construction. As soon as I save a few more pennies I hope to have a set of P-51 rudder pedals and currently in the hunt for a real stick or a one from an AT-6. A real throttle seems to out of the question since the few Ive found searching the net are rather costly. It cant be a pit without a few real parts!

Hello everyone

I had intended to update my lost pics but have since found a fix for the Photobucket issue. I hope this helps.

Since Photobucket started charging for hosting we have experienced a LOT of lost photos in forums everywhere. While on another hobby forum someone suggested a solution using extensions for Firefox and Chrome that allow the original photos to again be viewed. I use Firefox and added the extension and can now see the "lost" photos!

Direct links to get extensions for Firefox and Chrome browsers to delete the PB ransom demand and restore the original image:

Firefox extension https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... edded-fix/

Chrome extension https://chrome.google.com/webstore/deta ... jjgj?hl=en

This is a painless exercise, it simply adds an extension to the browser and doesn't alter anything in your account or computer registry.

Worked like a charm for me, can see all the pics now. Thanks for the info Raceguy!

Since there is a post specifically about a P-51 throttle I'll post all of the build pics from my throttle project. If there are questions, please ask.

Ed

The shafts for the throttle, prop and mixture were aluminum stock bent to shape.

These are the 2 locking devices I made from raw materials. You will see the 3rd one on the completed unit at the end. It was a plastic knob that I filed and sanded to shape.

And here is the sandwich with all of the parts temporarily held in place with a wing nut.

The following pics will show the sandwich piece by piece. The first pic is the mounting base with a spacer then the throttle lever and another spacer.

Here I have added the prop lever and another spacer.

This is the mixture lever with a bracket and slot to attach the rod going to the rotary switch.

And, another spacer.

Test fit with prop and mixture knobs attached,face plate and all 3 locking devices

.

Throttle grip with PPT button.

Here is the setup with the throttle and prop lever each connected to a slider pot with a steel rod. A steel rod runs from the mixture to a rotary switch which clicks through the 3 mix positions.

Closeup of the 2 pots and rotary.

Here is the WEP bracket made from aluminum angle.

WEP with wire in place. The green lever switch is activated when the lever breaks through the wire for WEP.

The red device is a cabinet door catch that gives me resistance and a click when I push through for WEP.

And, the completed throttle.

That is some beautiful work your have done there. That is true pit building quality right there Sir :thumbup:

Thanks for sharing your incredible works :thumbup:

Cheers

Hans

This is a work of art, I am in awe!

Absolutely amazing!!!

What kind of rotary did you use for the mixture? Have you had any issues with the sliding pots? I was considering using Hall sensor pots for the prop and throttle levers.

Thank you all for your kind comments.

Bazooka, I used a standard 12 position rotary for the mixture. Playing with the anchor point locations on the mixture lever and arm on the rotary allowed me to have the points of the rotary match the lever position on the quadrant. The sliding pots are working great.

So far I am only running the A2A Mustang, T-6 and C172 in FSX. When A2A upgrades the Mustang to 64bit for P3D I will make the move too.

Also, I have had DCS for several years but have not yet installed it in my new flight PC. That will be the next challenge as I get familiar with the setup for DCS and program all of the controls.

Thanks again everyone.

Take care

Ed

By "playing with the anchor point positions on the mixer lever and arm" I take it you are referring to the vertical slots I saw cut in the center of the arms? Looks like you used standard R/C type hookups for all the pushrods too.

Yep, exactly!

I was considering using Hall sensor pots for the prop and throttle levers.

A good candidate:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/tt-electronics-bi/6127V1A180L.5FS/987-1392-ND/2620661

Just pick an model with lower "electric angle" (available in 30, 60, 90...360º) - the linked is 180º (A180L in the code).

I would think a 90 would work as the throw on the throttle and mixture arms is 80-85 deg total fore and aft.

Other detail, get the model with 1/8" OD shaft, this make easy use R/C steering arm (e.g. from DU-BRO) for connections.

Hi Ed

Thought I'd find you on here with your awesome build. I'm gutting mine in Aug this year to do a full rebuilt over the winter ready for next seasons shows / events.

Do you have any vid's of your system working on anger ?

Cheers

Gary

Hello,

Some very nice work, keep it up. :)

Im not sure hes still selling them but here...

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4380412/p-51d-cockpit-plans-here#Post4380412

Hi Gary

Thanks Gary! Glad to hear you are still working on your excellent P-51pit! That was truly the inspiration for my build.

I have never made any vids of the pit in use but may in the future. I just need to figure out how to make one since I don't have a camera other than my iPhone.

JG14_Smil and avidflyer

Thank you for your kind words!

avidflyer, I made the windshield frame using NAA blueprints that I purchased. They were not perfectly clear so I had to do some "guestimating". Spitty mentions Stangs fantastic prints but I don't think he still has them for sale.

I glued two 1/2" pieces of MDF together to get a 1" core. I printed the plans I had at 100% then laid them on the MDF and cut to match. Then I added aluminum angle on both sides, notching it like Gary did for his frame to make the aluminum bend. This gives me a very rigid frame. When the other sections are added and anchored behind the MIP this is strong enough to use as a hand hold for pit entry and exit.

Here are some pics that I hope explain what I built.

Take care

Ed