Month: November 2022

MIP Support Structure Taking Shape

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Over the past few days I’ve been working on the support structure for the MIP. The pilot’s side and the middle section is mostly done at this point. The first officer side will be a bit longer because I decided to modify the design a bit. I’m planning on making it easily separable from the rest of the panels. This will make transportation easier down the road.

I also made the decision to buy the MIP itself from homecockpits.fr. Its a bit of a complex piece and they can do a better quality and likely quicker job than I could with this piece. The parts came to a total of €495.00 or $685.58 CAD. Not exactly cheap but hopefully worth the price! It is made to order and will be customized with my aircraft registration and SELCAL. C-FOLF will live! (I’m just not sure when) :p

I’m heading back to work soon, but if I have time I may start working on the pedestal. I’m excited to see that take shape. I can put my real airbus door control panel in it right away!

Layout begins!

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Like I mentioned in my last post, I acquired a 3d model and thus dimensions for my cockpit. That combined with some free time I began laying out some pieces on plywood. My plans called for 10mm MDF but that is near impossible to find in my area so I chose 11mm poplar plywood… not the cheapest option at $31.44 CAD but for the structure of the MIP it should work really nicely.

I bought three 24×48 inch sheets and have all of them nearly filled and ready to cut.

I haven’t had time to pull out the saw and cut them yet but I am super excited to do so soon!

To draw them as precisely as possible I did pick up some additional tools.. First up was a Metric 300mm T-Rule and Protractor both from Incra Tools. Neither of which are cheap but allow me to mark to a fraction of a MM or degree. To compliment these precision rulers I bought a nice 0.5mm mechanical pencil. (0.5mm is required to fit in the marking holes on the rulers)

I chose the Kuru Toga Roulette Model 0.5mm. I’ve been wanting a nice quality pencil for a while now and this seems to fit the bill. This pencil is unique in the fact that the lead rotates as you use it to keep it evenly tapered, sharp, and precise.

I hope this post didn’t seem too much like an advertisement! I have 10 pieces ready to cut and am excited to hopefully update you all on that soon. 🙂

An important moment for the A320 sim

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For the longest time, I’ve always had a bit of a worry with my A320 project. I had not made enough progress to ensure I wouldn’t give up and be left with another unfinished project that slowly fades away… something that has happened many times before.

I’m happy to say I reached a point where I think that would be difficult. I got my hands on design files for the MIP, Pedestal, and Sidestick box. Using these files I have been able to determine all the measurements for the main structure pieces!

This allows me to get past the huge initial hurdle. I’m super excited to see the upcoming progress this will be leading to. The design calls for 10mm MDF which is tricky to find in my area… so i’m hoping that 3/8″ will work without too many issues. Only time will tell.

I also received a set of replica engine start switches from a fellow simmer from China off of eBay.

Designed in aluminum with glass/acrylic inlay, they far surpass anything I could manufacture on my own. They are designed to slide onto regular toggle switches and be held by a set screw. Im super eager to eventually have them in the cockpit.