Now that I have all (well, almost all) of the components I need for the instrument panel for my CS-1 Stallion, I have started to build it. It has taken quite a while to figure out exactly where all the components should go, and I’m also not that great at building stuff, so I’ve been taking it slow.
I chose 1/2″ MDF for the panel because it seemed easiest to work with, and has a smooth finish, which I am hoping will be easy to paint when done. The plan is to paint it part black and part aluminum/grey, and add some fake rivets here and there to make it look more realistic.
Right now though, the task at hand is to lay out the panel. I’ve been sticking cardboard cutouts on to a piece of scrap plywood as a dummy panel to try out various ideas. At first, I was thinking of stacking all the Saitek panels in one column in the middle, and putting the rest on the co-pilot side, as shown below:
However, after making a cardboard cutout of that, and sitting in front of it for a few minutes pretending to push the buttons, I decided to move things around. Now, the Saitek switch panel is under the yoke, and the GPS is top center. The yoke is a little higher than the original CS-1 Stallion plans, but it’s at a comfortable height for me. The GoFlight panels, and the two Saitek Instrument Panels will be on the co-pilot side.
Of course the hard thing with this layout is the yoke shaft needs to protrude through the panel, in between the switch panel at the bottom, and the monitor at the top. The Saitek yoke does not disassemble that easily — it’s possible to remove the yoke and shaft from the base, but it’s kind of delicate, and not really suitable for rough handling on a workbench while I build around it. So, I think I will cut a slot down from the monitor cutout, save the piece of MDF that is removed, slide the yoke shaft down, fix it in place, and then put the piece of MDF back. I’m hoping that in the end, it will look just fine.
(Speaking of Saitek yokes, I found a site that describes a quick and easy way to improve the handling of the pitch and roll movements using just a screwdriver and a rubber band: http://www.sehlah.com/yoke.pdf. A few minutes well spent.).
With the new plan in mind, I started some of the cutouts. As you can see below, I’ve got the switch panel and multi-panel in place, and a cutout for the monitor. Still a lot of work to do, but at least this is a start.
flightsimathome 