This gallery shows my yoke, the control column, and the improved rudder mechanism.
And this setup WORKS :-) I have it hooked up to the gameport and I've done some test flights inside flightgear :-)
In this first picture the only yoke itself is shown. It is the same yoke as seen in other galleries but now with papermarche (small pieces of paper from newspapers soaked in the stuff that holds wallpaper on the wall).
some areas are darker, that's from not yet dry papermarche. Since it takes some hours to dry, it allows you to reshape and change and mess with it until you get it "just" right :)
from the side you can see the wiring of the trim-rockers, PTT and the AP disconntect button inside the metal frame that I bent and soldered from a strip of car sheet-metal.
the back side. on the very right side of the picture you can see the PTT button.
this is the empty side (for the captains yoke). I didn't have enough metal left, so this one is just U-shaped. The inside was made using a small box of cardboard which I filled up with papermarche. To equalize the weight of the switches,wires and stuff on the left side, I stuck some heavy screws and nuts in the papermarche inside the little box. :-)
again the front. I used the plastic tube where photography film-rolls are usually stored in and it cut-down. This is what you see in the center of the yoke where the axis comes through. It helps to keep that area free from papermarche and will later hide the threaded rod and the nuts.
AP disconnect button
trim rocker switches and PTT button.
PTT button (black)
back side of rhs of yoke... still being modelled
front closeup
Overall shot of the control column/rudder board with the yoke mounted.
yoke coming along nicely, I think :)
rudder pedal mechanism. Improved from version in previous gallery.
different angle
control column/elevator potentiometer linkage
closup of the linkage (pot is on other side of the mouting bracket) with 2 yellow gear wheels
back side of linkage with pot visible
and closer
rudder mech from side.
the improved version uses a real square tube aluminum profile.
from the front: the L-profile alu links are now held in place with those white rubber bands (see other pics for closeup)
temporarily mounted a piece of metal for the pedal
here you can see how the L-profiles are held in place: a screw that goes into the hole on the pedal arm, held by a rubber band.
this allows some angular movement. Therefore I could not have used a nut.
and closer.
how the rudder is linked to a pot.
the small gear sits on the pot, the big one is the axis of the rudder crossbar.
here from the side
closer, with the pot and the wires visible.
closeup from behind
from the top with the big gear visible under the crossbar.
looking into the hole: two screws, one for the axis, the other for holding the gear so it will move with the crossbar.
overall view from the front
closer
full throw right
full throw right as seen from the side
there is some angular movement which the rubber band works wonderfully with. this is still with full throw right.
again
again from top
full throw left
full throw right sideview
full throw left with the crossbar and the links going to the rudder arms visible in closeup.
and from the top with full throw left
