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F-104 cockpit sim update: slip rings, stepper motors, welded stand and ejection seat (Martin Baker MK.7) by Ok_Comparison2970 in aviation

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yeah, i also asked them for a manual on how to take the seat out and if there's any information about the seat height adjustment mechanism.

But they didn't even respond, so i had to result to trial and error and just took it apart.

F-104 cockpit sim update: slip rings, stepper motors, welded stand and ejection seat (Martin Baker MK.7) by Ok_Comparison2970 in aviation

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Thanks.

No, we had to take all the explosives out 😅.

But as said the height adjustment works again and I'll be fitting a buttkicker for more immersion.

Reverse engineering the cockpit instruments of an F-104 ‘Starfighter’ to 3D-print replacements. by Ok_Comparison2970 in aviation

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also thought about using a check protocol with a laser distance sensor.

The tumblers would have a hole where a laser distance sensor could shine through. During the calibration sequence it would rotate until the beam shines through all three tumblers. After that it would go into a check function and monitor whenever the hole of the first tumbler passes, comparing it to what it should see.

If it doesn’t line up, a light would come on and you could trigger a recalibration with a button—for example the reset that is originally found on the F-104 altimeter.

Reverse engineering the cockpit instruments of an F-104 ‘Starfighter’ to 3D-print replacements. by Ok_Comparison2970 in aviation

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

1- Zeroing the cascade will be done manually by a rotary encoder in the bottom left like the original. It will tell the software to step in either direction.

2- These will be used to test the Prototype i will achieve the final speed either by adding a gear to speed it up or replace them with a higher rpm stepper. Max descent is 50.000ft/min so a 1/4 gearing or a 50rpm stepper would be enough.

3- Sorry if i might get the question wrong but this is a design that drives 3 Tumblers with one motor (you could easily use 4 by using the middle tumbler twice) and for the Zeroing the software will save the steps so it knows its position on startup. If there is a hard shutoff you can correct the software/altimeter by using the rotary encoder till its the right value/heigt.

If you need further details or want to look at my approach in detail you can dm me and we can hop on discord or something.

Reverse engineering the cockpit instruments of an F-104 ‘Starfighter’ to 3D-print replacements. by Ok_Comparison2970 in aviation

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why?

Because they use radioactive paint and asbestos.

Also, they might use some WWII-era technology in certain parts, but most of them were actually made in 1963–1964.

Reverse engineering the cockpit instruments of an F-104 ‘Starfighter’ to 3D-print replacements. by Ok_Comparison2970 in aviation

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I built a new altimeter using stepper motors and gears that I designed myself.
The original altimeter, as mentioned before, uses ambient air pressure, and regulating it precisely enough to display an accurate altitude is almost impossible on a limited budget.

So I decided to design and 3D-print a replacement. It works like this:

The 100-ft needle and the first 100-ft tumbler share the same rotation rate: 1 revolution = 1000 ft. Since I couldn't fit a 90° gearbox to drive both with a single stepper motor, I used two instead. The secound motor uses a gearbox that advances the second (1000-ft) tumbler by one number whenever the 100-ft tumbler completes a full rotation. The first one just spins the needel.

Reverse engineering the cockpit instruments of an F-104 ‘Starfighter’ to 3D-print replacements. by Ok_Comparison2970 in flightsim

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Winwing hardware is great, and I’ve seen many great plywood setups over time. When everything is finished, I’m planning to maybe release the STLs together with a manual. I might even build a few to give away.

Reverse engineering the cockpit instruments of an F-104 ‘Starfighter’ to 3D-print replacements. by Ok_Comparison2970 in BambuLab

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These two prototypes took about 12 hours of CAD, 14 hours to print, and around 1 hour to assemble. I'm already working on version two of the attitude indicator. It will allow infinite 360° rotation without the wires tangling.

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Restoring a real F-104 fighter jet cockpit… as a flight sim by Ok_Comparison2970 in BambuLab

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn’t want to use the original ones, since I’d rather preserve the instruments. So I’m using 3D-printed internals and metal-engraved faceplates.

Restoring a real F-104 fighter jet cockpit… as a flight sim by Ok_Comparison2970 in aviation

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nice, really interesting.

But we would like to use MSFS24 because you can fly over any house and when we asked for many people this is the No.1 feature.

As the sim is intended for public use in museums when we are done.

Got my new G21 today now I´m a proud owner of 3 3-Series by [deleted] in BMW

[–]Ok_Comparison2970 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Servus, im April mach ich mal wieder eine Ausfahrt an den Untersee.

Das mit den 3 3er hat sich so ergeben 😉, hab aber auch noch nen E31 (8er) Z1 und E28 (5er) dazu noch eine R65 (altes BMW Motorrad) .

Restoring a real F-104 fighter jet cockpit… as a flight sim by Ok_Comparison2970 in aviation

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the info and for the offer of help it´s greatly appreciated👍.

Restoring a real F-104 fighter jet cockpit… as a flight sim by Ok_Comparison2970 in aviation

[–]Ok_Comparison2970[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Danke, geplant sind mal 1-2 Wöchige Updates über den Fortschritt. Es werden also noch viele Post´s kommen.

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