Aerosim Solutions B737 simulator rebuild

[Aerosim Solutions]

Hi all,
I was wondering what to call this thread as it feels like I have lost an old friend! "Death of a sim" was one title that crossed my mind. I'll try to remain focussed on the term "Rebirth" and not "the destruction of my sim"! My B737 simulator had to be dismantled last weekend, I have rented out the house it was in and the house had to be emptied. I removed each component and then with a shaky hand and a Stanley trimmer, I cut away weeks and weeks of wiring and it had been a moment I had been dreading but it is done now and again I have no simulator . It has to go into storage again until I have moved into my new home. I have planned the simulator's rebuild for a while and it will begin after my trip to the UK. Hopefully I will be able to rebuild the sim and still take customer orders but I might have to put Aerosim on hold for a few months. I have bought a home with a fantastic powered workshop that is big enough to house the sim and my Aerosim Solutions work so it will be very easy to work on, I just have to install a kitchen and sleeping quarters!!!
My sim will be reborn with a new MIP that is ready, Console, The first Aerosim B737 TQ, Overhead, 2 x FDS FMCs, FDS SYS1X interface and FDS/Sim Avionics. The brains of my sim will be all Flightdeck Solutions with the exception of the CP Flight MCP and EFIS which will remain. I will rebuild the rudders and move them and the seats outwards to allow for a full scale centre pedestal. It will be rebuilt with a much higher degree of accuracy and I will document progress in this thread....the story begins...

Cheers Gwyn

[Bob Reed]

Hi Gwyn.. I look forward to watching this come to life!

[XOrionFE]

cool Gwyn

This will be great to watch!   

Scott

[Kennair]

Hey Gwyn, I can see the sweaty palms and furrowed brow as a result.  lol.  I look forward to seeing the results.

Cheers,

Ken.

[Maurice]

I can feel your pain Gwyn. I also moved recently and had to tear down my sim 2 years or so ago and it hurt. But the hurt was nothing compared to the hurt of re-building, at least for me. In 2 years, you forget a lot of things and I am dreading having to figure out again what is not working anymore, especially software wise, and not discounting the fact that the sim now needs a new PC to deal with wraparound visuals  .

Good luck & best wishes with your move,

Maurice

[Aerosim Solutions]

Cheers guys for your wishes,
My sim is now packed up and in a storage unit, I've kept the monitors to fit to my new MIP so they will be coming out of their cases for flush mounting, I will document the process. This will be the first job after my UK trip....only 10 days to go!

Gwyn

[fsaviator]

Looking forward to watching it all unfold.

Warren

[Aerosim Solutions]

Hi all,
It has been a while since I posted on this thread mainly because I've been posting about individual components in other threads. I thought I would get back here as the new components are now starting to be installed. This weekend the I stripped the sim down to it's bare steel frame and fabricated new pieces to extend it. Originally the floor area was 1.5m square and now the new pieces added change it to full scale. My dual linked columns and fibreglass yokes have been sold to a sim centre here in Perth and I will be fitting a pair of real 737-200 yoke handles and some new aluminium columns next. The new floor is massive and it is certainly making my workshop shrink!
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My apologies to all the builders requesting parts but I have to stay focused on my own sim now until it is finished, Aerosim Solutions will return next year!!

Cheers Gwyn

[Aerosim Solutions]

More progress! It's been a busy month and I have the Boeing yokes and gearboxes installed on new aluminium columns. The pivot boxes swing on roller bearings and short stub axles. The spring centering mechanism works great and it is quite simple really, a good design to share!
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Cheers Gwyn

[Aerosim Solutions]

More pics,

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Gwyn

[Aerosim Solutions]

...and more...

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Gwyn

[Aerosim Solutions]

The flight controls are hooked up to a Leo Bodnar BU0836X card and I tested them last night with my mate Greg H, thanks for the help Greg! This is the state of the sim July 1st with all the underfloor work completed.

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Cheers Gwyn

[Joe Lavery]

Bloody hell Gwyn, I liked the first ones you made, these are awesome.
Have you started work on the wings yet?   

Cheers
Joe.

[Aerosim Solutions]

Bloody hell Gwyn, I liked the first ones you made, these are awesome.
Have you started work on the wings yet?   

Cheers
Joe.

Haha....speaking of wings, I have just received a pair of FDS glare wings which are absolutely fantastic...(Thank you Peter Cos, awesome product!) The glare wings have the clock buttons, I assume it will be ok to piggy back those buttons into your clocks Joe? I've just made a couple of new ends for my MIP that will house your clocks, I lit one up the other day they look great. All the best mate,

Gwyn

[tennyson]

I bought those , too, Gwyn.

I liked the Engravity glares, but the FDS wings had the clock buttons and better Fire and Emergency Warning buttons, so I melded the two together.....Peter Cos, put your fingers in your ears, sorry.

Did it with fibreglass, but it was such a hassle, I'd never do it again.

Keep those pics coming, Gwyn, looking great,



Frank Cooper

[Aerosim Solutions]

More progress this week with the chart holders fitted to the yokes. The rudder sets are now mounted on simple drawer runners for forward and aft movement, I was going to do a mechanical crank but I thought that making them electric like the FDS 777 sim is simpler and a pretty neat trick. The adjustment crank will look the same but it will be a switch. I made the rudder link bar to look and work like the real aircraft part and it works well. More soon...
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Cheers Gwyn

[fsaviator]

OOhhh.  Is that it?  Hand built electrically activated adjustable rudders that look like the real thing?  I thought you were going to announce something difficult today

I'll go back to to cutting myself with my screwdriver

Seriously though, that is some awesome work there Gwyn!  As always I look forward to the "new" icon on your build page.

Warren

[Aerosim Solutions]

Cheers Warren, lol screwdriver! It happens to us all mate!

I've finished the motor install on the rudder pedals and they are working well. The motors are a bit noisy so they might have to be replaced but the assembly is proven.
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Video here - http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/Westozy/media/Electricrudders_zps573bd103.mp4.html

Cheers Gwyn

[Aerosim Solutions]

This weekend I switched to the seating and I decided to make my own J rails instead of the original plan that was opening doors on the sides. The parts are too big for my small CNC machine so I called on some help from my mate Rick. The aluminium parts are being laser cut and I should have more progress pics on these this week. I think the J rails might be making the product list in 2014!
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Cheers Gwyn

[Buster99]

Hello Gwyn,

Awesome progress and thank you so much for sharing the ideas!

Best Regards,
Marc

[gufau]

Hi,

I just bought a real B737-400 yoke and I'm looking for idea to be able to adapt and make it work with FS.
Thank you for sharing on this topic.
Gwyn, I contacted you on AS

Best regards,
Guy

[Aerosim Solutions]

Hi Guy - see PM!

Cheers all

Gwyn

[Aerosim Solutions]

I'm very pleased to report that the prototype 'Aerosim Solutions' J rail system works really well. The sliding seat mounting base has a very smooth action along the tracks. Next I have to make the locking mechanism and a box section to mount my modified Nissan R33 Skyline seats.

These will be added to the Aerosim Solutions product list soon and they will certainly be a great deal cheaper than another version out there....promise!!
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More pics soon......Gwyn

[glooker]

Gwyn, these look great.  I will be interested in getting two.  Let me know when they are in production.

[archen]

That is some amazing engineering Gwyn. Thanks for sharing!! I love your mechanical solutions!

Regards,
Anders