Seeking advices for a DIY 737 Yoke and Throttle

[Vnavspeed 1]

Fellow flyers !

 

I've been seriously thinking about building myself a replica of 737 yoke and a throttle quadrant. Yoke can be desktop style or with the column doesnt matter at all and also throttle quadrant not need to be motorized as it's something beyond what i can realistically accomplish. Regarding the budget for tools and gadgets, i'm pretty open with this but dont wanna spend horrible amounts on those ready-to-use ones. What im actually seeking here is a bunch of advise and a good list of materials i would need to start this off and i have a couple questions on that. I'd really appreciate if somebody already has a diagram for these things with realistic dimensions

 ( I do not have a 3d printer)

1. Can i just purchase any PCB with a couple of potentiometers for the axis and buttons or is there a particular type designed for this purpose ?

2. Which material would be the best one to build the control wheel ? ( In terms of weight, feeling and durability)

3. What kind of software would be needed to get  Windows10 to recognize my hardwares ? 

 

Thanks in advance

[Quasimodo 505]

Well I really doubt if its possible to build one that would be any good for less than you could buy a motorized one. It seem to me that less than $5000 is a good deal. I beat it would cost you far more than that to make one. And it would be about a year of spare time. A quick google search shows that you can even get a Replica 737 throttle pedestal for less than $1000. I really can see anyone being able to make one for less than that.

here are free 3d print files:

https://cockpitbuilderswebstore.com/product/motorized-737-throttle-quadrant-v2/

Edited May 26, 2020 by Quasimodo

[Chock 17,769]

An easy (ish) way to build a yoke which will be tough and a convincing shape, is to use copper tubing (most DIY/Plumbing stores will have stuff of a suitable diameter). I have done this in the past and it is fairly straightforward. In addition to the copper piping, you will need to get hold of an internal pipe bending spring (one of these) so that when you bend the pipe to the yoke shape, it will retain its tubular shape. The internal bending spring sits inside the pipe while you bend it, to prevent it from collapsing, then you slide it out when you are done. Lengths of copper pipe only cost a few quid and being a pretty soft metal, it is easy to bend, drill, sand, file etc.

Another advantage of using copper piping to create something like this, is that it is easy to braze with a torch (which you will need to do in order to create the shaft of the yoke). So you'll need one of these as well, which fixes onto a butane aerosol can. If you have never done brazing, it is not difficult (basically similar to welding, but at lower temperatures) and there are many online tutorials about it, so don't be afraid to try it. Another advantage of using copper tubing is that if you want to attach thumb buttons to your creation for the trim controls, with the tubing being hollow, it is easy to run wires down the inside of the tubing and it is easy to drill holes for switches.

To give the yoke you make out of copper tubing a suitably shaped finish and surface, I recommend screeding modeler's putty over the surface (this stuff). That kind of modeling putty can be smoothed and shaped easily, or rolled into sheets to cover large areas, and you can use water to smooth it out even further. When it is almost dry, you can replicate the slightly roughened grip surface of the real 737 yoke by impressing the surface of the almost dry putty with some sandpaper.

The central box section 'hub' area of your yoke can be fashioned from a few pieces of thick balsa wood, which is easy to cut and work, then this too can be covered over with a layer of modeling putty to give it some strength and to form the final shape and texture.

Apart from the cost of the brazing torch, some brazing rods and a can of gas to run the torch (which you may be able to borrow from a plumber or mechanic anyway), the rest of the materials and tools will only be a few quid and will give you a nice convincing result. A quick blast with some black plastic coat aerosol paint is all it then needs.

For wiring, USB connections, control boards etc, take a look here for some ideas and products to get things connected to your PC.

With some inventiveness, you can probably have the entire thing done for less than the cost of a joystick, so long as you are fairly handy at crafts and D.I.Y.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Chock

[Vnavspeed 1]

Thank you very much i really appreciate your time and efforts. I'll definitely let you guys know of results. ( God knows when 😄 )

[Lord Farringdon 477]

On 5/26/2020 at 9:51 PM, Chock said:

An easy (ish) way to build a yoke which will be tough and a convincing shape, is to use copper tubing (most DIY/Plumbing stores will have stuff of a suitable diameter). I have done this in the past and it is fairly straightforward. In addition to the copper piping, you will need to get hold of an internal pipe bending spring (one of these) so that when you bend the pipe to the yoke shape, it will retain its tubular shape. The internal bending spring sits inside the pipe while you bend it, to prevent it from collapsing, then you slide it out when you are done. Lengths of copper pipe only cost a few quid and being a pretty soft metal, it is easy to bend, drill, sand, file etc.

Another advantage of using copper piping to create something like this, is that it is easy to braze with a torch (which you will need to do in order to create the shaft of the yoke). So you'll need one of these as well, which fixes onto a butane aerosol can. If you have never done brazing, it is not difficult (basically similar to welding, but at lower temperatures) and there are many online tutorials about it, so don't be afraid to try it. Another advantage of using copper tubing is that if you want to attach thumb buttons to your creation for the trim controls, with the tubing being hollow, it is easy to run wires down the inside of the tubing and it is easy to drill holes for switches.

To give the yoke you make out of copper tubing a suitably shaped finish and surface, I recommend screeding modeler's putty over the surface (this stuff). That kind of modeling putty can be smoothed and shaped easily, or rolled into sheets to cover large areas, and you can use water to smooth it out even further. When it is almost dry, you can replicate the slightly roughened grip surface of the real 737 yoke by impressing the surface of the almost dry putty with some sandpaper.

The central box section 'hub' area of your yoke can be fashioned from a few pieces of thick balsa wood, which is easy to cut and work, then this too can be covered over with a layer of modeling putty to give it some strength and to form the final shape and texture.

Apart from the cost of the brazing torch, some brazing rods and a can of gas to run the torch (which you may be able to borrow from a plumber or mechanic anyway), the rest of the materials and tools will only be a few quid and will give you a nice convincing result. A quick blast with some black plastic coat aerosol paint is all it then needs.

For wiring, USB connections, control boards etc, take a look here for some ideas and products to get things connected to your PC.

With some inventiveness, you can probably have the entire thing done for less than the cost of a joystick, so long as you are fairly handy at crafts and D.I.Y.

Jeez, you're everywhere Chock! Came here looking for some advice on home cockpit building because I knew I wouldn't find it on the front forum where everyone's a virtual pilot or a reviewer. I actually need a real engineer!! LOL!  I'm not sure of your background but it seems you are a writer, an author, a You Tuber, a pilot, (gliders and power ?) an airline despatcher (of some experience I gather), who may from time to time even deign to assist others with baggage handling when not engaged in more responsible dispatching tasks like pushing back an airliner loaded with warm furry bodies! Oh, and I forgot the most important part... you are a real engineer!!    

Actually you may not be monitoring this thread anymore since it is rather old and I am rather hijacking it, (mea culpa)but I need some step through advice as to how I get from the Sim to the hardware. I love this method of creating a yoke, it has so many practicalities especially with cabling, although I am concerned about my artistic capability with regard to the modelers putty. I fear a Gumby outcome in more ways than one!! 

I understand how outputs and inputs can be passed to the simulator although I'm not quit sure what software does that ..at a guess?...FCUIPC?... Even if this is the answer I suspect there is a lot more to it. Physically, I know how I can create panels with a 3D printer and switches and stepper motors and some programming required (which I don't know yet but I can easily learn. I have some IT programming experience). But I am missing something that joins these together. In a real basic sense, what is the chain that can get an 'On' switch selection to send an input to the simulator. And*, if the simulator sends an increase in altitude how does that translate to a stepper motor on the physical altimeter? What joins these? 

I'm not looking for detailed specific answers to the examples above, just a mental schematic of the system that allows these or any data transfers to happen. Or where to go to find this? 

Thanks Chock, if you can help. 

 

Cheers

Terry

* I feel intimidated because an author and writer like yourself probably hates the use of 'And' to start a sentence. I probably could have resolved it by not writing 'And'. Instead, I should have started a new sentence rather than writing all this dribble,  passed off as an excuse for not thinking clearly. But, I blame it on the gins tonight which have greatly conspired against clear thinking!! 

 

 

 

  

 

 

     

  

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by Lord Farringdon

[Chock 17,769]

21 hours ago, Lord Farringdon said:

I feel intimidated because an author and writer like yourself probably hates the use of 'And' to start a sentence. I probably could have resolved it by not writing 'And'. Instead, I should have started a new sentence rather than writing all this dribble,  passed off as an excuse for not thinking clearly. But, I blame it on the gins tonight which have greatly conspired against clear thinking!! 

It's a common fallacy, believed by very many people, that it's grammatically incorrect to start a sentence with a conjunction, such as 'And'. Lots of people were taught this at school, and subsequently went away thinking there is, or was, some grammar rule which makes it incorrect, but there is no such rule, either informal or formal and there never has been. The reason people were taught this however, is because teachers wanted to stop young students from writing the way they typically talked, where people often do pause, then continue with 'and...' or 'but...', so teachers wanted their students to write a bit more formally and so they impressed this as a 'rule'.

There are seven conjunctions in the English language (and, but, or, nor, for, so and yet), but the ones we as kids at school were taught to avoid starting a sentence with, were typically 'and', 'so' and 'but'. This means we ended up starting sentences with words such as 'however' and 'furthermore', 'thus', stuff like that. This does sound more formal, but it also comes across as really up its own @rse too, and you don't want that.

The quote I like best about not using poncey long words in an attempt to try to sound intelligent, is from Mark Twain (aka Samuel Langhorne Clemens), where in referring to the fact that he used to get paid by the word for what he wrote, he said: 'I never write metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get the same money for cop.'

If writing like that is good enough for the father of American literature, then it's good enough for me. Having said that, one should always endeavour to write in the language which best communicates well with the intended audience. With that in mind, it is sometimes wise to not start a sentence with a conjunction; not because it is incorrect, but simply because your audience may believe it is incorrect. Typically that would be if you were writing something which older, people who you could be fairly certain were taught that incorrect 'rule', might still erroneously believe is incorrect, when in fact it is not.

One way around all this is to use a semi-colon instead of a full stop. Lots of people misunderstand colons and semi-colons, but the easy way to think of them is: If a comma and a full stop are like old car brakes, then semi-colons and colons are like the modern ABS brakes of punctuation, i.e. they do the same thing and are used in exactly the same way, but they have a bit more stopping power. So, you can use a semi-colon, then continue with a conjunction as though you had used a comma, and even the most ardent grammar n@zi could not complain about that being 'incorrect'.

With regard to the practicalities of getting the hardware to talk to the software, you really can do no better than to explore Leo Bodnar's website. Not only is there a wealth of hardware and DIY bits and pieces to be found there, but there are also many FAQs and links to things people have built which will demystify it all and give you plenty of ideas, for example with rotary encoders and momentary switches to emulate avionics dials, button keyboard presses etc.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Chock

[Lord Farringdon 477]

Thanks for the English lesson Chock. Much appreciated. I am a 66 year old so I would indeed be one of those people who tut tut at starting a sentence with 'And'.  But (oh my god...), it's just so darned useful when running ideas together that normally would not be connected.

I liked your analogy of the ABS equipped semi-colon and colon. The colon I'm pretty happy with. In contrast I fear I have butchered the semi-colon more often than not.  So with your advice, I will try it with more earnest in future and see if I can keep those grammar and punctuation nasties at bay 🙂.

Thanks for the website link. I was just reading about button boxes and wondered where I could get them. Now I know, problem solved !! 

Take care Chock.

Cheers

 

Terry