Unusual Approach to cockpit building.

[jackpilot]

Unusual Approach to cockpit building.



I had the opportunity to meet Axel (N737AG), member here, at the latest FDS Simfest and talk about his fairly original concept . The above picture will probably disturb some of us, because Axel  only kept the Bottom part of that 737 nose and let the top GO....TO THE CRUSHER.
His idea, well documented on his site, was to extract only the base plateform with  all moving parts and linkages of the real bird, to be interfaced later, after a complete restore.
As he said: "  from the cockpit floor down ,including TQ, seats, yokes and pedals it is a real 737,  from the cockpit floor up it is all new FDS  parts."




The big plus, versus a complete Nose, is that all this gear is easily accessible to work on. Setting the plateform vertically allowed him a far better access compared with crawling under, or recreating from above all the linkages with ordinary non aerospace material. All the supports, attachments, reinforcements are already in place. Basically it is just a matter of "unbolting, cleaning, and reinstalling all that neat gear".





According to Axel, "all these moving parts are amazingly well designed and built,  from start, and it is extremely comfortable to work with. Realistic feel garanteed!




"The rest of the cockpit , MIP, Overhead, Liners, Shell..etc  and all the electronics are available brand new,and fit perfectly together as they originate from the same supplier.
No headaches, filing , cutting, adapting, reaching out, over and under".
As mentionned earlier, this is an clean and unconventional approach but when you think of it, it makes sense!
Please check his site and numerous pictures . Well done Axel!!

www.famgrau.com/N737AG/welcome.html

[Maurice]

That is indeed an unusual way to use a real 737 nose or rather part of a nose. But it certainly makes a lot of sense if you can figure out how to do it (looks immensely complex) and you have the resources to do it. Kudos to Axel for pulling it off and having the only specimen on this planet. This is looking like a magnificent project in the making.

Maurice

[Boeing Skunk Works]

While I applaud his creativity, I think I would have saved the top half and reinstalled it when the bottom assembly and wiring had been completed.

If he bought the whole thing, why spend money on extras that were included to begin with? If all of these suppliers parts are so accurate to scale, there shouldn't be one problem dropping a peice of their equipment into a Boeing panel or box.

Now, he has to build or buy aftermarket structure, interior lining, MIP, overhead, control stand, etc.

I guess I fail to see the logic.

[jackpilot]

Hi Mike
That was my initial reaction too, but:
http://www.cockpitbuilders.com/community/index.php?topic=926.msg7162#msg7162

(scroll down the post to 727737nut comment)

Plus the fact that early 737 MIP , lower DU space, some liners and other details do not fit the NG.
Axel solution is certainly not the cheapest though.
Hope we will get progress reports!
Cheers
JP

[N737AG]

Gentleman :

i started building cockpits over 12 years ago. From the start of Flighdecksolutions I have been buying panels from Peter.

Before starting with the real nose, I already had the complete MIP, the OH, a -200 TQ, and FDS's shell and liners. But I was still flying with my CH yoke and pedals.

One day I bought the real yokes and columns from a 737. Soon after I got me the pedals and the idea  of using real parts started taking shape. To me the most important thing was to get the measurements right to install all these components (I was thinking of a wooden platform). But you all know the problems of getting real measurements. Well, one day I got the chance of getting measurements at a boneyard not too far away fom my home. My initial thought was to take the entire nose - unfortunately it would not fit through my garage door.

But then I thought : if I already have all these wounderful panels and shell, what do I need the entire nose for ? After all, what I need is to accomodate the real parts and their linking mechanisms. And that is how I came to the decision of taking only the lower parts like you see from Jack's post.

It has the incredible advantages of :
- being light and easy to handle
- positioned vertically makes for a very confortable assembly - no contorsionisms
- assembly on top is also very easy and comfortable
- the MIP, CDU bay etc fit in perfectly (yes, the CDU bay needs some adaptation because it is wider than the one from the -300
- FDS's shell and liners fit perfectly on top

And the cost of the platform was absolutely ridiculous - less than 1k

Why did I not keep the top ? Here are some reasons :
- I really did not need it
- I could not fit it in my garage
- I was not willing to rent a storage facility for it

Besides, once it separated from the bottom, the structure became so weak, that on the second lift with the crane it bent and completely collapsed.

So, as you can see, even though the approach is unusual, there was the thought behind it and it perfectly fit my needs.


Axel

[ETomlin]

Axel, I completely understand your direction here. Excellent thinking and I think that if you were going to use real parts you got the vast majority of all the parts that are hard to set up correctly. Nice project.

[ivar hestnes]

Axels approach makes perfect sense to me.
All the complicated mechanical parts in one item, easy transportable, and easy to work on. And I bet two men can carry it.


But I would kept the top anyway. It would make a cool boat!!   

[N737AG]

A long overdue update. Sorry about that - a lot of time has gone into the research of flight controls.

This is how my platform is looking today (see picture) :
- all flight controls and their linkages are installed
- columns and yokes are installed and linked
- pulley cables installed
- all the centering units (from a real 737) have been installed on a separate platform (pics coming soon)
- aileron trim motor installed and working

Remaining work still to be accomplished :
- install motor on the stab trim quadrant
- install linear actuator on the speed brake quadrant
- install linear actuators for force mechanisms on the elevator and rudder quadrants
- install linear actuator for the rudder trim
- install servos for autopilot input on the aileron, rudder and elevator quadrants.
- install a couple of remaining pots and switches

I hope to have the platform done with all flight controls fully operational by the end of the summer


Axel

[Trevor Hale]

Holy CRAP! I think I just peed myself.  After seeing what is beneath my Beech99 Floor, I can appreciate what kind of torture Axel has spent on this.  I have enough trouble adapting what I have in the Beech and can appreciate the ability to stand it up on end to work on this.  Amazing work, and the detail you have is second to none.   

Kudos to you Axel.

Trev

[Jon Boe]

That "platform" looks cleaner than it probably ever was on the Boeing floor during initial assembly.  Amazing.

Cheers,

Jon

[Maurice]

Kudos for going where very few dare to tread. On the insanity scale, you're right up there with the best of them  . Ditto with the satisfaction scale if you pull it off and it does look like you will. Beautiful work!

Maurice

[Nat Crea]

Work of Art...truly Axel.
Almost brought a tear to my eye 
I hope you get it flying soon...I know how it feels building so long (hey Mau )

Congrats,

Nat

PS. I spy a little gauge on the floor...

[jackpilot]

Impressed.....
you will find it so easy to add new stuff on top (mean clean/new stuff)

Might be a catch though....Now I can see you lurking in the boneyards to get the "authentic " interior of one of the first retired NGs....!

[N737AG]

Thanks gentleman.

Trevor, I guess I owe you diapers. Can we settle on beer (which will make you pee even more) ?

Jon, cleaning that thing was close to a nightmare. Pressure washing, then removing everything that is removable. Trash whatever you can. Then strip previous paint and repaint. All the quadrants were completely disassembled, cleaned, lubricated where required and re-assembled. Anyone who has ever worked with real plane parts knows about the dirt in them.

Maurice, very very honored to be up there in the insanity scale

Nat, please don't cry. There are no gauges, just a couple of original lamps, position sensors and the stick shakers

Jack, unfortunately no planes being cut at the local boneyard. Shell and interiors, MIP and OH are FDS. TQ and seats are from the original plane. Pedestal is also from the original plane, but the radios are FDS.

Axel

[Trevor Hale]

Trevor, I guess I owe you diapers. Can we settle on beer (which will make you pee even more) ?

I guess so..  You might be able to twist my arm and force me to have Beer, but just ONE..............hundred