777 Project Update

[rprather]

After weeks of dismantling, fiberglassing, sanding, and painting, the center pedestal is finally taking shape! Almost all the digital components are functional including all three radio comm panels, the rudder trim indicator and the CDU. The ACPs will soon be replaced and the fire handles will be installed to finish everything off.















Here are a few pics from the 2 week conversion process, which was SIGNIFICANTLY more labor intensive than I anticipated!


Cut a piece of wood to fill the space and make the rail straight instead of "dipped"


Glued 1/8" wood strips in place to thicken the rail


Coated the whole rail in 2 layers of fiberglass then sanded after it cured


Sanding fiberglass, adding body filler and spotting putty (It was 105 degrees Farenheit when I was wearing this suit!! I was trying my best to stay in the shadow, which kept shrinking)


After final 400 grit sanding and priming, the two different brown shades were sprayed separately.

Original condition





For the whole center pedestal restoration project, click below

http://777simulator.com/dnn/ProjectBlog/tabid/201/EntryId/8/767-Center-Pedestal-Conversion.aspx

For more pictures, or for larger sizes:

http://www.777simulator.com/dnn/Pictures/tabid/54/Default.aspx

Robert Prather
The 777 Project
http://www.777simulator.com

[727737Nut]

Nice!  Hey I know a way you can make those real radios work with the sim with NO internal changes!

[rprather]

Nice!  Hey I know a way you can make those real radios work with the sim with NO internal changes!

Please, do tell!!! :-)

[727737Nut]

http://www.ballardtech.com/products.aspx/USB429/

Around 2800.00 per the quote i got.

[rprather]

I sure hope that quote is in Yen! Very cool device though! Geez, wish they had a "light" edition... lol

Robert

[Trevor Hale]

Robert,  From the deep darks of the past, I am excited to see you here.  Your project is incredible and I was sure it was dead..  Years ago, you amazed me with your sim spares and your 777 Project, it really is awesome to see you here, and still working on it.

Congrats and I hope to see you finish this.. I can't wait to see it finished.

Trev

[rprather]

Hey Trev! Long time my friend! I've just been amassing parts over the last few years, hoping for time to actually build :-) Lot's of new sim parts from developers in the community have made possible what would have been VERY difficult 5 years ago, which helps a lot.

[MLeavy737]

Looking great Robert! I need to come by and see it in person.. Neighbor

Mike L.

[727737Nut]

I sure hope that quote is in Yen! Very cool device though! Geez, wish they had a "light" edition... lol

Robert

I hear ya Robert!  Sorry but that is in good old USA dollars.   As you know, anything that is related to planes gets blown up in price.  Good to see ya still around.
Rob

[rprather]

Looking great Robert! I need to come by and see it in person.. Neighbor

Mike L.

Heck yeah! I'm really giving some thought to the base/walls since my last attempt at an overhead structure wasn't very rigid. I'll give you a buzz.

I hear ya Robert!  Sorry but that is in good old USA dollars.   As you know, anything that is related to planes gets blown up in price.  Good to see ya still around.
Rob

Geez... maybe Tyler and Bob will release a board for it :-)

Robert

[phil744]

Ahh Mr Pranther, told you its much nicer over here welcome

[jackpilot]

Hello Robert


Was amazed to see your name here this morning.
You have been an inspiration to me and many others.
Joining Trev and the whole crew to welcome you onboard!
Thank you for the pics and the report.
Jack

[kondrat]

Amazing Job!

Denis

[Kennair]

Hi Robert and welcome to the "other" side.  I reiterate Jack's comments, you have been an inspiration to me for the T7 and perhaps everyone for the early leg-work in this wild hobby.

Ken.

[rprather]

Thanks very much for all the kind words! It feels great to make some visible progress again after a few years of "collecting" :-) Looking at what you guys have done I have a HELL of a lot of catching up to do! All this talk of LASERS, CNC machines, projector edge blending, interface boards and the likes, i feel like an old steamboat captain stepping onto a luxury yacht for the first time! You guys are really challenging me to step it up. Thx to Mike for getting me back into the forums and calling me periodically to make sure I'm not slacking!

Robert Prather
http://777simulator.com

[matta757]

You work looks CRAZY awesome. Welcome aboard.

[rprather]

You work looks CRAZY awesome. Welcome aboard.

Thanks very much!

I posted a few pics of the conversion process in the original thread. Hope to have some updates to the throttle quad shortly.

Robert Prather
http://777simulator.com

[MLeavy737]

  Thx to Mike for getting me back into the forums and calling me periodically to make sure I'm not slacking!

Haa.. We live too close now, theres no hiding allowed! Lets get started on that base soon. The weather is getting nice!

Mike L

[rprather]

My throttle quadrant restoration is coming along! The built up dirt inside the unit was horrid! Everything was sanded to the green primer/bare metal then primed and repainted using 777 brown instead of 767 brown. Waiting on replacement lightplates, then I'll start wiring.









Robert Prather
http://777simulator.com

[hexpope]

Hi Robert, it's looking great. You done a great job with the painting.

[kondrat]

Hi Robert,

Looks amazing. Yours and Phil's photos of progress .....  just cannot work sometimes during the day

Any plans to make throttle motorized?

Denis

[rprather]

Hi Robert, it's looking great. You done a great job with the painting.

Much appreciated! I like the look of the latex paint, but it seems to scratch off fairly easily even after 2 coats of primer. Does anyone else use latex?

Hi Robert,

Looks amazing. Yours and Phil's photos of progress .....  just cannot work sometimes during the day

Any plans to make throttle motorized?

Denis

Thanks Denis! Definitely considering adding auto-throttle functionality at some point. Will probably do non-motorized first, just to get flying, then will retrofit the motors when I can. Now, I'm just trying to find a way to control friction, since there doesn't appear to be any friction mechanism on the handle itself.

Hell, just removing the throttle handles seems to be a bit of an ordeal! Ultimately, I wouldn't mind drawing up some completely new handles to match the 777.

Robert
http://777simulator.com

[Bob Reed]

So Robert, this is a 767 TQ? If that is the case, talk to Phil747 he has one and completely disassembled it and repainted it.

[rprather]

Thanks Bob, Phil has definitely been helping me with the quad. The way they assembled this thing boggles the mind at times. For instance, just to remove the fuel control switches, you have to remove EVERY coverplate from the throttle to get underneath the metal assembly. Not even sure how Phil got out some of the handles without resorting to a cutter!! lol

[rprather]

Since my 767 CDU stand doesn't have a lower EICAS, I had to modify it to accommodate the 777 DU frames. There were 6 screws holding it in place, but two were very difficult to turn, so I cut off the back of the screws and the center support popped off. I then notched the aluminum DU frame, and it fit in place great! I'll have to do some more cutting to get the lower EICAS control panel to fit.













The flat ribbon cable, on the standby instrument, is connected to the rotary knob and the light sensor. The glass is polarized.