Using our construction plans

Back in 2008/09 we helped one of our good friends build some of the parts for his Super King Air 200 simulator - a short video of which is here - and it is from these plans that our own King Air Construction Drawings originate.

Apart from the King Air C90 simulator that we built back in 2011 - which was based on these documents but with some minor alterations made to accommodate various requirements asked for by our customer - it's not very often that we actually get to use the plans ourselves.

Recently however, the opportunity to assemble both an Overhead module and a Fuel Panel module presented itself, so we took a few photos while we had the chance to do so. Hopefully seeing what these look like after they've been constructed will help any builders who are using these same plans better envisage what the end-result is likely to be.

Please bear in mind that some of the construction panels have only been temporarily screwed together for the sake of transporting the modules as entire units to our customer. Whatever could be safely glued and screwed has been, although these modules have been left unfinished as they'll be taken apart again when received and tidied up with sanding, counter-sinking of screws, painting etc.

Firstly, the King Air C90 Overhead module:

And now for the King Air Fuel module ... (we've previously supplied the Fuel Circuit Breaker Panel to our customer, so the panel you see here is simply a blank one that we've used to ensure the correct fit) ...

These modules have also been fitted with our latest backlit panels, which we'll discuss more in a future post.

Something else that we've done in relation to these plans is to design a glareshield unit that can be easily shipped. Shown in the photo below, it requires a bit of assembly work of course, but it's a good start and comes with the three separate sections and their connecting blocks, the engraved annunciators, PCBs with pre-fitted and correctly coloured LEDs, a connection PCB, and the necessary cables.

Radios

As some of the data on our webpage relating to our radios (and a lot of other things too) is a little out of date, we've written up some more current information below. This is eventually destined for the website, so please excuse the officious language!
 

Up to eight for our radios may be connected and operated using our program.

Radio Displays Configuration:

The number and types of radios to be used must be configured in the Radio Displays Configuration program.

Ticking the appropriate box will allow the main radio program to check for the existence of that particular radio on the USB system and will allow it to be used within FS9, FSX, and P3D.

The radios do not need to be connected to do the configuring.

When each radio type is ticked, a named tab appears (you can see COM1 and NAV1 in the graphic above) which allows you to set up to 10 Memory frequencies.
 

In the graphic below, you can see that it is possible to type in the frequencies you wish to set up in memory. They are not actually held in the memory of the radio, but in a computer file, which our program accesses when required.

The red boxes at the bottom show the Minimum and Maximum frequencies allowable for each particular radio type. The program will not allow you to save values outside of these limits, but it is up to the user to make sure that legitimate values are entered. For instance with COM radios, the second digit after the decimal place can only be 0, 2, 5, 7. (It will not correct them for you!)

These frequencies may be accessed by pressing down the MEM switch on the actual radio. Each press selects the frequencies sequentially, and when the correct one is found, pressing the XFR switch up will transfer the selected frequency into the Active (top) display.

The top display is the Active Frequency, and the lower display is the Standby Frequency. When selecting frequencies from memory (MEM switch) or when manually tuning frequencies using the dual concentric knobs, it is the Standby frequency display which is updated.

Similarly, with NAV radios, the second digit after the decimal place can only be 0 or 5. Any changes made to the Master Config or the memory frequencies must be saved before exiting. Press the Save button, and the red Configuration Saved message will appear. 

Now it is safe to exit the program by pressing the Exit button.

Main Radio Program:

Your flight simulator program must be running before trying to run the main radios program, and also, all of the radios must be connected to their power supplies, and must have their USB cables connected to the computer. It is necessary to wait for at least ten seconds between powering up the radios, and running the main radio program. (It can take a few seconds for Windows to recognize all of the USB devices)
 

Failure to do all of the above will result in an error message similar to this one:

The radios have an ON/Off switch in the bottom left corner, and it controls only the displays – the radios themselves keep running in the background, so they don’t forget their settings. If the switch is ON when powering up the radios, the microprocessor firmware version number is displayed for a few seconds. When the main radio program is started, the radios read the appropriate Active and Standby frequencies from the flight simulator program and display them according.

The STO and TEST buttons are dummy buttons only and do not actually operate.

Rotating the two tuning knobs will allow the Standby frequency (lower display) to be set as required. This frequency is sent to the flight simulator program only when the XFR switch is press upwards.

The smaller knob adjusts the decimal part of the frequency, and the larger knob adjusts the whole numbers part of the frequency.

The actions of the two knobs is slightly different for the ADF radios and for the Transponder, where the smaller knob adjusts the rightmost two digits, and the larger knob adjusts the left-hand three for the ADF, and the left-hand two for the Transponder.

Not all versions of the radios are backlit, but if ordered with backlighting, it can be controlled separately by the user from a separate power source, or it can be connected to the power supply in the radio, which allows it to be turned on and off by the radio’s On/Off switch.
 

Several slightly different versions of our Collins radios are available, and they can be supplied with either Red or White displays. We can also personalise the faceplate with engraving as necessary. 

Some older versions are shown below:

The next phase of the RNS530 ...

Based on the Garmin GNS530 unit, we finally have some photos of our RNS530 as supplied with the fitted LCD screen and a PCB with all of the necessary connections for operation, although on this model there is no USB Controller board fitted. The customer for whom the two units photographed below were manufactured is using their own interface system to communicate with it. This model has headers for ribbon cables on the rear to allow users to connect all buttons and encoders to whichever controller they wish.

Running during its initial power-up test, the graphics on the screen aren't quite positioned properly, but it gives a fairly good idea of what it's supposed to look like. It's just possible to make out the backlit buttons too, seen here under normal room lighting. You can see that it's running the Reality XP GNS software, which needs to be purchased separately of course.

And now in the dark.

It's always difficult to photograph illuminated items like this and end up with a result that accurately reflects what you're actually seeing in front of you. This is pretty close as far as the backlit buttons go, although the effect on the screen graphics has been somewhat less than desirable.

Below you can see the first two units side by side - front and back - and it probably looks as though there's not very much room for the panel to fit into a cutout. That's because, well, there's not really. We're looking at perhaps extending the dimensions of the front panel by a millimetre here and there to make things not quite as snug ...

  [ Don't look too hard for the errant thumbprint! ]

And finally, below is a photograph to prove that the first unit 

wasn't simply a one-off and can indeed be replicated!

 

Also, for details regarding the 'Bezel Only' version of these units, more information can be found at a previous post, here.

Our RNS430 and RNS530 Units

... or rather, our take on the Garmin GNS430 and GNS530 respectively.

We've had quite a few requests for these units over the years and after making our version of the Aspen EFD1000 we thought that we'd try to apply the same sort of process to these Garmin units.

There are actually three versions of the RNS430 and RNS530, as we've found that each simulator is being made or (more likely) has already been constructed in a certain way and any additional navigation units need to be able to fit around and/or into these constraints.

The types are basically (a) the Bezel Only, which can be used in front of an already installed MIP LCD screen, (b) the Bezel Only plus a fitted LCD screen - but with no interface board, or (c) the Bezel with a fitted LCD screen and its integrated interface board.

The versions that we're showing below are the Bezel Only units, as they just happen to be the ones that we got the first orders for; although, paradoxically, they're also the most difficult to make.

The dimensions of our units as compared with the official Garmin panels are below:

Ruscool RNS530: 162mm(w) x 120.4mm(h) / 6.38" x 4.74"

Garmin GNS530: 159mm(w) x 117mm(h) / 6.25" x 4.60"

Ruscool RNS430: 162mm(w) x 83mm(h) / 6.38" x 3.27"

Garmin GNS430: 159mm(w) x 67mm(h) / 6.25" x 2.65"

And now, on to the photos ...  the RNS430 first

 The three screws that you can see here are the means by which 

the unit is mounted onto the main instrument panel.

And below, again as the Bezel Only version, is the RNS530

Avionics Display for a Bell 412 Simulator

This was part of an interesting project that we were contacted about a while ago and which involves using second-hand iPad display screens behind some bezels that we designed and are in the process of supplying (two have been delivered and two are on the way).

Thankfully the company we're working with were happy to send one of the actual iPad screens all the way down here to New Zealand for us to take accurate measurements of and with which  to work our original prototyping around. The end result was actually a press-fit of the screen into the rear of the bezel, although of course there are also screws holding it in place, with four convenient little corner tabs already being a part of the screens' outer construction.

As you can see, some of the tolerances between the PCBs and the outer edges of the bezels are fairly tight due to our measurements being as faithful to the original avionics unit as we could possibly get them, although because these units are being fitted into instrument panels that are being laser-cut after the arrival of the bezels themselves, it means that accurate measurements can be taken from the actual pieces themselves, in situ as it were.

 

The company that's going to be using these units are actually doing all of the interfacing themselves, so the circuit boards merely provide a means of communicating with the switches.

And finally ... 

 The ghost in the machine!

Some work on the ATR Simulator ...

It's been a while since any work has really been done on my own ATR simulator, although over the Christmas holiday break this year (wow, that was a while back now!) I managed to get a few things done. Most of the work was behind-the-scenes sort of stuff, with some programming work being carried out that allows yet more overhead buttons and annunciators to be properly interfaced, although a visible portion of the progress (and the one most obvious to visitors) is the newly made Central MIP, which overlays the PC monitor.

Below are a few quick photos, the first image being the Central MIP prior to painting and the fitting of the gauge bezels and other panels et cetera ...

 

 

 

And below is the original photograph of an actual ATR72 cockpit that I was lucky enough to go and visit a few years back, and which the design of the above panel(s) was based on. There are discrepancies with various measurements here and there due to space constraints and the like, although hopefully the overall essence of the panel has been maintained. 

There's not really too much to show with regards to the additional interfacing that was accomplished on the overhead as the majority of it related to implementing some of the new abilities on our Input and Output cards, although I did have the overhead section down from above the simulator for the first time in a long while and so took a coupe of shots of it.

And I'm guessing that'll be about it unless we can find time for some Christmas holidays again this year ... !

Fibreglass King Air Yokeheads

Below are a few of shots of the King Air B200 yokeheads that we recently supplied to a local customer. The moulds themselves were taken from a real yokehead, and as is painfully obvious in these photos, they are clearly shown here in their raw form. We sell them in this rough state because we've found that a lot of builders would prefer to spend the time wiring the yokeheads themselves in order to save the money that's involved with us offering a complete, fully-wired set of parts (funds that can no doubt be spent elsewhere!) ...

An example of the detail achieved during production.

As we've already completed a set of these during the construction of the C90 simulator, below are also some photographs and explanations of our techniques and reasons, which might help anybody who's chosen to use a similar method. This is by no means the only way of dong things, of course!

First, the pieces themselves. As you can see, there are eight separate pieces that make up a pair: 2 x front sections, 2 x back sections, 2 x upper yokehead mounting, 2 x lower yokehead mounting. All of these individual parts are hollow, meaning that the larger main sections especially are still a little fragile at this stage. This can be remedied by filling certain sections of the yokeheads with a filling material later.

These yokehead mountings may also be filled, a rocker switch for the trim fitted, and two switches (for the AP Disconnect and the Push to Talk ) can then also be installed and wired.

The above photograph - from our previous King Air C90 build - shows where we've applied the filling compound. This is done in order to strengthen the entire head and also enables various holes to be readily drilled and tapped as necessary. 

Having arrived in the same condition as the first few photos, the entire unit has now been sanded to within an inch of its life, wired, and fitted together. You might also notice the aluminium plate that's now fitted inside the base of the unit; this provides greater stability and allows for the yokehead to be fitted very securely to the stem of the yoke.

The view from the back: prior to the wires being connected from the top section to the base, after which the entire unit is connected.

And the (almost) finished product - prior to fitting the timer in the pilot's side, the aluminium plate in the first officer's, and fitting the final mountings etc. ...

A customised panel

Below are a few quick shots that show the left-hand sub-panel from a much larger custom job that we're currently working on for one of our customers. 

As we're doing the majority of the interfacing here in our workshop prior to shipping the whole constructed unit to him, we've integrated a custom backlighting panel which also doubles as a backing plate for all of the hardware. Doing this means that the whole panel now becomes an entirely separate module that can be easily removed as one piece, allowing us to do the wiring and testing away from the main instrument panel itself if need be.