Heinkel He 111 simpit

[hegykc]

Hi everyone!

I'm making a He 111 simpit. The plan is to make every lever, handle and button modeled in CLOD, except for the ones on gauges and the gauges themselves.

I'll be making the steering column and the rudder pedals too.

Almost all of the control panel parts will be made by laser cutting sheets of mdf (wood), to keep the cost to a minimum.
After proof of concept I'll be making some parts out of metal for durability.

I have all the switches, potentiometers, rotary encoders, hall sensors, buttons and the Leo Bodnar's BU0836X controller ready. Just need to finish the CAD drawings for the laser cutter and I'll be ready for the build.

But I have a hard time finding reference pictures, especially the lettering on the controls. If anyone could help me with those I'd be very grateful.
And I cannot seem to locate the autopilot modes switch in the cockpit.

Also, I would like to make a model of the bomb sight controls. So in order to speed things up, if anyone could tell me the model used in He 111, and point me to some reference pictures that would be great.

I also plan on making this kind of simpit for every airplane in CLOD.
Wanted to do a spitfire or the 109 but that's been already done so I'm going with something more unusual first...

Here are some early pictures of the modules for the left control panel and one of a stick and pedals I'm making for a friend:

[SirAthlon]

unbelievable, I am waiting for the construction progress :grin:

[ATAG_Doc]

Think of what you'd charge for a set please.

[Flanker35M]

S!

Very nice! And good luck with the project. Please keep posting updates here :D

[bolox]

wow, one hell of a project:grin:

not got very much 111 reference, but if you haven't found
http://www.cockpitinstrumente.de/index.htm
it's worth a look- there's a few bits of bombsight stuff in there

RE bombsight, we appear to have a Lofte 7
http://www.cockpitinstrumente.de/instrumente/katalog/revi/Lotfernrohr%207C.htm

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4077832

good luck with the build

[hegykc]

Some progress on the design for the steering column.

the grips will be cut from thinner and softer sheets of wood, to a basic shape, and than sanded down. Much cheaper than casting or 3d printing.
I've left holes on each grip for additional buttons if needed.

The bar that connects them to the center is some type of plastic gas tubing that's soft enough to bend. Underneath it, more sheets of wood.

Inside are two gas springs dampening the movement for aileron axis.
This should provide the most realistic feel. Once moved, the wheel won't just roll back instantly like in a spring setup.
Plus, they can range anywhere from 30-150+N of force, I've always hated that plastic feel that a joystick gives.

[Katana1000S]

This looks like an awesome project, perhaps the ultimate simpit, will be watching your progress with interest mate.

But I have a hard time finding reference pictures, especially the lettering on the controls. If anyone could help me with those I'd be very grateful.

I might be able to help here, I'm a member of a large scale plane model website and own the Revell HE-111 in 1/32 scale that in its self might help you as its so big and detailed inside and out, but the next part is better, one of the members of the site lives or works inside an aviation museum that has a HE 111 and he often takes close up internal and external pictures for the modellers for super detail ... he created a thread on this that is currently 8 pages long with lots of detail pics of the the real thing ...

http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=33650&st=0

Anyone that is remotely interested in this aircraft should check that link out too, some brilliant pictures old and new.

[VO101_MMaister]

Hi hegykc,

I am also in the middle of a flight control (bf109/fw190) design. I have a few comments about your concept if you don`t mind.

The gas springs are not really suitable for this kind of an installation. Their characteristic is very flat, which means that the min and max. spring force is almost identical. Well, you plan to use a pair working against each other to center. They will not center. The stick will stay more or less where you left it.

Also you need to consider that the gas springs are not designed for this kind of an abuse. The manufacturers usually suggest 5 cycles per minute of usage and the spring lifetime is only a 20-30.000 cycles. Well it is only a good 20-30 hours of intensive flying.

I suggest to use metal springs + high quality hydraulic damping.

Best regards and good luck!
MM

[hegykc]

@VO101_MMaister:
My initial idea was to use springs and an oil dampener but I couldn't find one locally. I guess it's back to the springs than, although I would really like to use some kind of dampening. I might just make my own oil shock absorbers because the more I think about it, the more you sound right about these gas springs.

Actually that was one of my biggest questions, how do the controls feel and react in flight.Because I think I read somewhere that a 109 stick stayed in the position where you left it. I've never been around aircraft before but my logic seems to suggest that the pressure on the control surfaces would bring it back to neutral, no?
Edit: Oh you're the KG13A guy :) I've spent my share of time drooling over your project :) I'll be trying to make the KG13 with a method I'm using here, thin sheets of wood laser cut, glued, and sanded down to shape. Not 100% authentic, but should cost under 20$, on a 100 piece production run, you can divide that by 5...


@Katana1000S:
Thanks so much! That's what I was looking for, I mean I'm designing this to be cnc cut and engraved, so why not make it as authentic as possible. I'll post there and maybe try to get some pictures of the controls and switches... thanks again!

[VO101_MMaister]

@hegykc

Well I have never sat in a Bf109, but I fly small, prop aircraft. The controls will never stay where you left them in flight, the aerodinamical forces will recenter it.

It also took me a while to find proper dampers. I ended up with this company:

http://www.acecontrols.co.uk/

They are pricy when you buy a few pieces only, but they seem to offer a wide range of quality dampers.

cheers
MM

[ATAG_MajorBorris]

:cool:

Very nice!

[justme262]

I like the cut of your jib!
Can't wait to see how it turns outs

[hegykc]

Designing a mechanism that'll use the full range of the spring force.
For example, I have a 40N - 100N spring, and I want to use all of that range.
So this translates a 45 degree turn or 1 inch of movement on the wheel, into 4 inches of movement on the spring to get the full range of force .

So that I have about 4 kilograms (9 pounds) of force required to move the stick at the center, and about 10 kilograms (22 pounds) to move it all the way, increasing linearly.
All the moving parts are connected with ball bearings so the movement should be real smooth.

Anyone knows what would be real life values for forces on the stick of these medium bombers in level flight?
I read somewhere about 109's forces at 400 mph, 6 kilograms or 13 pounds.
I just went from there.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/270/1413241.gif (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/441/1413241.gif/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[VO101_MMaister]

It is a good looking concept. 6 kgs can be a good value for the elevator but I think its too much for the aileron movement. (at cruising speed at least)

As a thumb rule, aircraft designers use the following force pattern:

Aileron: 1x N
Elevator: 2X N
Rudder: 4x N

Where x is the current indicated control force

What CAD software do you use?

[5./JG27.Farber]

I also plan on making this kind of simpit for every airplane in CLOD.


:shock: