Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: jarbo on July 04, 2002, 06:13:05 PM
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Just finished my cockpit for Aces High the day before 1.10 came out. Couldn't have been better timing :). I began my project at the same time Sabre did his (we cut both cockpits out of plywood in my garage at the same time). I am really happy with the final product. Keeping with the intent of the original design, there is not one screw or nail in the cockpit. It is very sturdy and held together with slot/tab(s) and wooden dowel/hole(s). It can be disassembled very quickly and easily for transport, if needed. The only exception to this is the rotating platform the monitor/speakers sit on. This allows the monitor to be rotated to the desk without having a big mess of cords getting hung up.
Just wanted to share my creation w/ my fellow addicts.
Jarbo
Ops Officer
The Buccaneers
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And heres the pic
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Nice work!
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Thats a great looking setup. It that a custom seat? And do you have any printable plans?
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Yes, plans please. I will build one of those puppies ASAP.
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...and I don't mean the dog, either... ;)
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damn that is nice work. sabre's looked alright but you definately have the caddy model there.
-beer holder: looks like that can hold the 32 oz mugs too...neccesity is the mother of invention :)
-caller id: i have to flip mine up just in arm's length reach. you just have to glance over before ignoring a call.
-beer fridge: i have to walk like 5 steps to the main coolant unit. Does your dog fetch?
-surround speakers: i dont use speakers, but that looks sweet.
only one thing... where is the relief tube?
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My joystick cost me 8 dollars and I die just as easily with it as I would with that thing :)
Time for a new stick though, this one didn't respond well to being dropped on my basement floor (concrete)....maybe I'll go with the 10 dollar deluxe version and get FOUR buttons :D
J_A_B
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Jake can't fetch beers......yet
Here is the URL for the Basic cockpit plans:
http://www.62ndfightingfalcons.asn.au/62ndff/projects/projects.htm
As for the armrests and speaker mounts, I used scrap and just improvised. Once you build the basic setup, its really easy to visualize the rest. The centermounted stick was actually my 2nd attempt. The difficulty with building it was making it rigid, but not in the way when climbing into the cockpit. I built the beer holder using the biggest mug i had in the house as a template.
I will draft up something to show you how I did the center mounted stick and beer holder. I'll also try to throw some instructions on how to sew the seat cusion. BTW: I did the seat cusion myself as well, and I never sewed anything before. My good ol' mom taught me how do do it, and I did it in two days.
Jarbo
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Nice job!
eskimo
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Before you do any custom mods for the seat, i recommend you finish the seat first. This includes cushion and all. Then sit in it and begin measuring each "add on" from the finished product. Slight errors in cutting didn't effect the seat, but they would contribute to modifications not fitting snugly. With that said, heres a visual of how you build the center stickbase:
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Use the inside measurements of you completed seat to determine width if the pieces. Use the height of the seat to determine the height of the backplate and the center 4x4. Cut the 4x4 to 3/4" shy of the height you want the joystick base to rest. Cut out the 3 pieces and assemble the whole stickbase. Use a 1" dowel pushed through the backplate into the 4x4 hole to prevent the 4x4 from moving at the top. Once you have assembled the completed stick base, measure where you want the tabs to be cut in the sides of you cockpit seat and cut them.
Next cut out a square of 3/4" plywood to match the bottom of you joystick. Cut 2 more pieces about 2" wider x 2" longer than the 4x4 crossection. Trace the 4x4 on the backside of the 2 cutouts and make a 4x4 hole. Align, stack and glue them together, then glue them to bottom of the piece that matches the joystick bottom. This assemble rests on the top of the 4x4 and can easily be removed, if needed, to get in and out of the cockpit. Attack your joystick to the joystick base with velcro, or screws if the bottom of joystick is slotted.
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Suggested improvement for next version
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I'll take your suggestion under advisement bourbon
Jarbo
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here's one of our very own... FINNMAW!
Now this is a real MAW cockpit hehe
Our insignia is hanging to the top left and to the right... :rolleyes:
well it's good for a laugh huh. Whata character he is
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I've been posting these links to the author of the plans when these threads started popping up. He's doing some market research on selling pre-cut cockpits both painted and unpainted versions. The plans will still be available for download free but I guess the pre-cut versions will be convenient for those without the tools or wood working skills.
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I thought I saw a WWII cocpit in here somewhere, a Spit or 109. Anyone see links for that???
Or maybe that was on SimHQ...
Thanks.
Jeff
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Ok... so when's the canopy gonna get installed?
Tumor
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Never on the canopy. I'd just bang my head :).
Jarbo
P.S. The seat cusion was made out of 4" thick foam. I highly recommend this amount. If anyone needs a description of how to make seat cusions w/ a sewing machine, just reply here and ill explain how i did mine in detail.
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That's Jarbo, for ya. Always trying to one-up his old buddy Sabre.;) Nice job, Jarbo. Mine's still a work in progress. The cup holder, phone, etc are in the works. In all fairness, Jarbo's got one less dog, three less kids, and much less yardwork to do than me:p. Not to worry, tho. Mine'll be in tip-top form for the Con. Nice diagram on the center-mount stick, too. I still prefer mine on the side, but that's a nice set up.
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Hey zx you forgot to mention the picture of fins girlfiend on the wall.
bbbbaaaaahhhhh bbbbaaahhhhh:D :p :eek:
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Heres mine just finished.
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You guys crack me up....
I could never have one of those as there would be no room for my girlfriend to sit on my lap.
...-Gixer
The Horse Soldiers
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Great stuff,I am very impresed, espichally at how well finished they are.
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Ugh Leinies and Laphroiag. Notice two bottles of Bordeaux are clearly visible in the shot. If he's got them hidden that far back it's probably because it's Medoc or something.
mmm.. Laphroiag. A disagreeable scotsman found out I had a fifth of that, and paid me a visit. Poured him a glass, and he swore:
"Ach, that tastes like jet fuel pulled out of a Lockerbie Peat Bog."
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Every now and then I see surplus/junked ejection seats on eBay. If I can find one, and a way to link the ejection hands to a script that hits ENTER 3 times, I've got myself a cockpit :)
Problem with such a nice cockpit...the cats will claim it ;)