The Eagle has landed...my real cockpit arrives!

[peterkwu]

Back in April I bought an actual nose section from a 737-300. It finally arrived last week and I'm excited as a new father. The picture tells the story. More detail on my website at www.fly737ng.com

Now the real work begins!

[ivar hestnes]

Congratulations

Very cool to see the picture on your website 

[Tom_G_2010]

If my wife ever complains about the space my 172 fuselage is taking up I'll be showing her your pic 

Seriously though, very cool!!!  Can't wait to see progress pics.

[phil744]

Now that is sooooo cool!!! 

[XOrionFE]

Wow,

Glad to see there are some people more crazy than me!    I second the idea of showing it to my wife when she thinks I am going overboard!   Nice...

Scott

[G-BVOB]

Nice one 

Welcome to a world of more useless-in-the-way bits of metal and wiring than any sane person should ever have to see 

Look forward to seeing the progress on your blog.

Jon
www.g-bvob.net

[blueskydriver]

Hey Peter,

Been there and done that, in fact the likelyhood of crawling into your sim is very high. While going to get a B727 from the same place, we had time to crawl into some of the other cockpits, pretty sure yours was one of them...

Anyway, when you decide on the cuts of the lower four feet, will you post those postions on here? As we have not cut the lower four feet off ours yet, your measurements will give us a good starting point (even though the B727 vs the B737 will be slightly different).

Thank you,

BSD

[peterkwu]

BSD,

Just noticed your post now. As you'll see from my recently updated blog, I've completed cutting the bottom section off. I didn't take measurements, but I can go back and make some if it would be helpful to you.

I started by cutting some hatches starting about two feet below the cockpit floor and having a look inside. You're generally fine cutting about one foot below the floor (UAL left me some nice stripes on the outside of the airplane to show exactly where the floor was) EXCEPT for the forward four feet or so, because the gigantic pitch trim mechanism juts down about 22 inches.

Full details on my site at http://www.fly737ng.com

For now here's a photo of the progress.

Peter

[Maurice]

Man you place a lot of faith in those straps.  I don't care how strong they are, I wouldn't dare to venture underneath. But then again, I have always been very fond of my hide 

Maurice 

[peterkwu]

Don't worry, neither of us ever went underneath of it. I would even give Andy a hard time when he even got close to it. 

[blueskydriver]

Awesome work Peter, it looks like you're moving right along nicely. You'll be really happy to fly it, and then  appreciate all the work you've done.

Speaking of work, after looking at yours, it got the creative ideas going about gutting ours (B727) done. Would you mind answering a few questions here?

1. What type of cutting saw(s) did you use, please give specific model?

2. What type of blades did you use with the size, please give model, type and blade size?

3. What was the rating of the fork lift you rented (in lbs) and how much per hour did you rent it for?

4. How many hours did it actually take to cut the bottom off?

5. How much scrap did you haul off and was it recyclable; did you get payment for the scrap or did you have to pay to get rid of it?

6. What are some issues you ran into that you feel would be hard to deal with?

7. What work-arounds did you have to perform; special tools or other items to help you get it cut off? Examples: Heat/Cutting Torch (O2/Acy), drills, chains, winches, and/or etc?

8. How many people did it take to do this; you've mentioned two, but was that enough?

9. What suggestions or lessons learned do you have for others who might want to do this?

Finally, thank you for sharing your project and look forward to seeing more picture postings...

BSD

[peterkwu]

Awesome work Peter, it looks like you're moving right along nicely. You'll be really happy to fly it, and then  appreciate all the work you've done.

Speaking of work, after looking at yours, it got the creative ideas going about gutting ours (B727) done. Would you mind answering a few questions here?

Sure, my pleasure. Nothing about it was particularly difficult, just tedious and we were careful to take our time and think about safety each step of the way. I can't emphasize enough that proper safety gear is essential for doing this kind of work, including safety glasses, gloves to get a firm grip on rotary tools and to protect your hands, and a good respirator (the more expensive one at home depot, with the replaceable disks) to protect your lungs from all the dust you will encounter. Wearing a respirator along with safety glasses almost completely covers your face, which is important when a blades shatters and pieces come flying off. I also wore jeans in spite of the heat.

1. What type of cutting saw(s) did you use, please give specific model?

I used two different ones. The larger one was a rental from SunBelt Rentals, a Husqvarna K3000 14 inch electric cutoff saw with a blade marked for metal. I think these were 1/8 inch thick. I used this for cutting through thick spars and in areas were precision was not very important. Rents for about $100/week. Cost about $700 new. Blades are about $20 each and only used one.

The second tool was a DeWalt 28110 4 1/2 inch electric angle grinder, about $59 at Home Depot. I removed the handle to allow better access to tight spaces, of which there are many in this project. I used the thinnest wheels marked for metal, about $2 each, going through about 4 of them during the project. If I had this to do over again I would probably pay a little more and get the RIDGID R1005 4-1/2 in. Angle Grinder, which allows you to change the guard angle (again, important in tight spaces) without tools, and has a lower profile neck to better fit into tight spaces. The small grinding tool is particularly useful for cutting through cable bundles, of which there are many.

Other than that, I just needed a good set of hand tools, including a 1/4 drive ratchet set (the small size is advantageous when working in tight spaces), diagonal angle cutters, screwdrivers, a set of the long bolt cutters, and a good hammer.

Finally, we had an 11 foot Cotterman ladder, which was really useful when working on the upper portions of the cockpit when it was nose up.

2. What type of blades did you use with the size, please give model, type and blade size?

See answer to #1, I just looked for something at the store marked for metal. Choose the thinnest ones they have, because a thinner blades means faster, more precise cuts with less heat generated. The only downside is the thinner blades shatter more easily, which is all the more reason to wear protective gear.

3. What was the rating of the fork lift you rented (in lbs) and how much per hour did you rent it for?

What you want is a telescopic fork lift, also called a telehandler, fitted with a lift hook. Mine was rated for 5000 lb. It was about $300/day. They taught me how to use it in about 5 minutes, and off I went. It required a little practice, but I was using it in no time.

4. How many hours did it actually take to cut the bottom off?

I think about 30 man-hours, but I didn't really keep track.

5. How much scrap did you haul off and was it recyclable; did you get payment for the scrap or did you have to pay to get rid of it?

I took about 620 pounds of scrap aluminum to the local scrap metal dealer and got about 35 cents per pound. I still probably have about another hundred pounds of metal to remove. I also have at least one hundred pounds of insulated copper wire. That will be worth about $1 per pound. Doesn't come close to covering the acquisition cost but helps to defray it a bit.

6. What are some issues you ran into that you feel would be hard to deal with?

Getting access to the spars from which the nose gear well hangs just took a while. It wasn't hard, just tedious.

7. What work-arounds did you have to perform; special tools or other items to help you get it cut off? Examples: Heat/Cutting Torch (O2/Acy), drills, chains, winches, and/or etc?

We decided not to use a plasma cutter because SunBelt only had one in our entire region and was reluctant to rent it to us because of our lack of experience with it. It just seemed like more trouble than it was worth. From what I understand this is the best way to make a nice straight line when cutting, but this wasn't that important during this phase of the project.

8. How many people did it take to do this; you've mentioned two, but was that enough?

Up to three at a time, but I did most of the work myself. One of our group is an A&P mechanic and the other two are studying to become A&P mechanics, so we are accustomed to working on airplanes.

9. What suggestions or lessons learned do you have for others who might want to do this?

Take your time, wear your safety gear at all times, and quit and come back another day if you find yourself getting tired and making mistakes. The grinding tools are perfectly safe if used correctly and treated with respect.

Finally, thank you for sharing your project and look forward to seeing more picture postings...

BSD

Thanks for your interest! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Peter

[Jetcos]

Lots of fun working on real noses, 3 B737's done and a B767.

[ian@737ng.co.uk]

Now that is sooooo cool!!! 

no phil it is not cool!   it's BIG 

[NeoMorph]

Kudos to anyone who gets a real cockpit.

When I glanced at that first picture I thought you had bought a used space capsule.

But man, I am totally green with envy. Unfortunately I don't have the space or the cash to do it or I would. Hell, if I ever won a lottery I would buy a house with a BIG barn just to house a flight simulator cockpit.