Another B737NG, this one from Northern Virginia

[peterkwu]

Hello all,

I've been working on a Boeing 737NG full size, fixed base, dual control cockpit since 2008. It's been assembled and disassembled twice, and now sits in pieces as I await the arrival of my newest component: a real 737-300 nose section purchased from Desert Air Spares.

I've been a poster on one other major cockpit building site, so some of you may know me from there.

I've just launched a new website about my project at:

http://www.fly737ng.com

I also fly real airplanes, mostly small piston stuff, to go places and not for a living. I have an ATP certificate, as well as CFII/MEI.

Thanks for making this a great community. I'm looking forward to learning and contributing.

Peter

[jackpilot]

Welcome Aboard Peter.
Your experience as a builder and a pilot will be an asset for all of us.
Jack

[jskibo]

Welcome aboard Peter..... 

Nice to have more 737's   ....and another pilot (a few ratings beyond me....grrrr)

Got pics?

[blueskydriver]

What was your cost for the cockpit from DA?

[peterkwu]

Not sure if I should be embarrassed about this or not, but it was $8000 USD. It seems that just two years ago, $15000 was thought to be a pretty good deal for one of these. After watching several eBay auctions go by with $8000 starting bids and $10000 buy-it-now prices, I sent them an email offering them $5000, and a polite request to make a counter-offer if that was not accepted. After receiving no response from this message, I decided to just bite the bullet and pay the price when the auction came up again.

I later had some regrets as they then proceeded to list two cockpits for $5500 each or take both for $10000 (eBay item 220801254185, it's ended so you will have to log in order to see it). Granted, I think the one I bought is in a little better shape, and it was actually very important to me to have an intact back wall and cockpit door. My cockpit section is uncut which is desirable to me because I want to do the cutting myself so that it is done right. I already have a substantial investment in gear from Northern Flight Sim including a floor and dual linked controls, and my plan is to use the 'shell' from the floor level up, including the aft bulkhead/door/lav and galley. I will have a lot of parts left over that have value, including a -300 MIP, glareshield, three space radio box, etc. David Allen is trying to convince me to use the controls and TQ, but I'm pretty happy with what I have from NFS, so will probably sell those things as well. So my out of pocket cost in the end will be a lot lower than the $10k I spent initially (it cost about $2000 to get it here from Arkansas).

So I think you could probably get these cockpit sections a lot cheaper as more of them head to the crusher. It's clear that DAS is merely a broker for the transaction and you can probably just deal directly with the boneyard and avoid the middleman.

Peter

[jackpilot]

Great project Peter, and do not feel embarrassed, one way or the other we all spent far too much on some,... but by what standards?
Our cockpits end up costing 1000 times less than the real stuff, and the hydro bill is a breeze vs a load of Jet A !!
So where is the problem?   

[Bob Reed]

Not sure if I should be embarrassed about this or not, but it was $8000 USD. It seems that just two years ago, $15000 was thought to be a pretty good deal for one of these. After watching several eBay auctions go by with $8000 starting bids and $10000 buy-it-now prices, I sent them an email offering them $5000, and a polite request to make a counter-offer if that was not accepted. After receiving no response from this message, I decided to just bite the bullet and pay the price when the auction came up again.

I later had some regrets as they then proceeded to list two cockpits for $5500 each or take both for $10000 (eBay item 220801254185, it's ended so you will have to log in order to see it). Granted, I think the one I bought is in a little better shape, and it was actually very important to me to have an intact back wall and cockpit door. My cockpit section is uncut which is desirable to me because I want to do the cutting myself so that it is done right. I already have a substantial investment in gear from Northern Flight Sim including a floor and dual linked controls, and my plan is to use the 'shell' from the floor level up, including the aft bulkhead/door/lav and galley. I will have a lot of parts left over that have value, including a -300 MIP, glareshield, three space radio box, etc. David Allen is trying to convince me to use the controls and TQ, but I'm pretty happy with what I have from NFS, so will probably sell those things as well. So my out of pocket cost in the end will be a lot lower than the $10k I spent initially (it cost about $2000 to get it here from Arkansas).

So I think you could probably get these cockpit sections a lot cheaper as more of them head to the crusher. It's clear that DAS is merely a broker for the transaction and you can probably just deal directly with the boneyard and avoid the middleman.

Peter

I think once you get it home, you will find it much easer to use the parts already in the cockpit (ie the real parts) then it will be to cut up the cockpit and try to fit it to your after market parts. I think the parts you have from NFS will bring you a nice buck as it is quality stuff and that would save you a TON of work!
Just my .02.....

[blueskydriver]

Would agree with Bob 100percent on this. Yes, your NFS stuff is workng for now, but you will want the real items sooner or later. We have gone the route you did...using real shell with FDS gear and a platform with yokes and pedals linked that was part of an old NWA trainer. The whole project is piecemail, but we have a real parts, as well as a real throttle assy working with this.

However, we also have a B727 exactly like your 737 cockpit and we got it from the same place you did minus middleman, and we did get it much cheaper. Right now it's still covered up with tarps and parked on the driveway. It has been there for 18 months waiting for building to be built. No big deal though as it could sit there 18 years for the price we got it for!

Anyway, whatever way you proceed, we're happy you're here to talk about it.

BSD Team