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POST UPDATED 12/5/11 - SHOWS PROGRESS THROUGH COLUMN 2
I'd like to welcome you to my second and latest Project - The Boeing 767 Overhead Panel Project!
Like the 747 Pedestal Project (which I'm also making, see the top of the General Forum for more details), I will be self-constructing a Fully-Sized Boeing 767 Overhead Panel for use with the Level-D 767 in FSX.
I will be building the overhead panel over a long period of time, and all updates to the project will be posted as a reply to THIS thread in a "blog-style" update post.
I will be making all the parts myself. Hydraulic Switches, IRS Panel, Air Con Packs... All home made, with no pre-built items!
I will be utilising Opencockpits line of products, in terms of their interfacing boards. The Opencockpits Master Card will interface switches, encoders, LED Outputs, push-buttons, etc. The Overhead also uses one USBLCD Card (IRS LCD DIsplay column 1), and a display card, which powers the digital fuel displays and HF radio displays.
The software receiving program (ie the program that receives the signals given by my switches and converts them for use with FSX) will be Registered FSUIPC. This is because FSUIPC is flexible, cheap and reliable, I hope to use it alot more often in the future. Furthermore, the Opencockpits program "SIOC" will be used in conjunction with the freeware program (developed by Nico Kaan) "Lekseecon", finally hardware interfaced using Opencockpits vast range of Flight Simulator interfacing Cards.
This project originally started out as a Boeing 757 Overhead project, but I switched to a 767 for two reasons:
- There is much better software support and ease of software use with the LDS767
- The 767 Overhead is very similar to the 757 Overhead, so no major changes really
- I love the 767 just as much as the 757
How much does it all cost? Well, thanks to a suggestion from our very own Brian ("Needles"), I have produced a rough PDF Pricing Sheet. See here: [NOTE, this is JUST for Column 1, I've yet to add Column 2, which is the current column in progress].
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The Overhead Panel will be split into 6 parts, constructed in numerical order, as per the following diagram:
You will notice in the above diagram that the "Equipment Cooling" buttons and switches are kind of "sandwhiches" between two segments. This is infact a disagreement of both mine and Boeing's design features; and thus I will probably have to add these sections last. Failing that, I may add them in the hope that I don't run into problems later on.
This project aims to be a 100% faithful, functional representation of the 767 Overhead.
The list below shows which features have and which features haven't been implemented into the ovherhead panel. RED means it hasn't been implemented, ORANGE means it is undergoing construction and GREEN means it is all clear, everything is working and installed. It has been organised into the columns that you will have noticed in the diagram ABOVE this text:
Column 1: - Completed as of 8/10/2010
- Rotary DEMAND Knobs
- ELEC ENG CONT Switches
- Yaw Damper Switches
- IRS Panel (KeyPad, Sys select, etc)
- Hydraulic Switches
- Annunciators for IRS, DEMAND, etc
- IRS LCD Display
Column 2:
- APU Panel
- EVAC Panel (with fully functioning horn)
- Utility bus and generator control switches
- Standby power and battery switches
- Overhead annunciator lights (Top, X20)
- High-Frequency Radio Controls (HF)
- CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder) Panel
Column 3:
- Digital Fuel Indicator Display
- Fuel Pump Switches
- Engine Start control panel
- Ram air turbine switch
- Passenger Oxygen and Emergency Lighting Control Switches
Column 4:
- Cabin pressurization controls
- Passenger sings and crew call buttons
- Cabin altitude adjustment
- Window Heat switches
Column 5:
- Bleed Air Controls
- Air Conditioning Pack Controls
Segment 6:
- Timer Knob
- Cockpit voice recorder controls
- Wiper & Anti-Rain Controls
- Anti-Icing Controls
- Equipment Cooling
I have had many questions regarding "How much?", "How long?", etc. So, I have decided to help everyone out by adding a Cockpit Resource Centre. You will find the exact same Resource list in the 747 Pedestal Project too.
Cockpit Resource Centre
I hope you find these links and other resources of great use.
Jerome Meriweather's website
I cannot emphasise how useful this website is. Not only does it have extraordinarily detailed drawings, pictures, dimensions and information regarding the Boeing 767 and 747, Airbus A320 and A340, and the F-16, but it is also very easy to navigate and acess information when you are in a hurry.
Invaluable.
http://www.meriweather.com/flightdeck.html
Nico Kaan's website
Nico Kaan is a Boeing 767 cockpit builder from the Netherlands. Not only has he nearly finished build his cockpit, he has also written a very, very useful freeware program that connects to SIOC called "Lekseecon". Without this program, a good 80% of my cockpit would do nothing.
His site also has a very long and detailed list of SIOC examples and scripts. You can also find pictures and other stuff here.
http://www.lekseecon.nl/
MyCockpit.org
Ever wondered the answer to that impossible question? Want to see what other people are doing with their flight-simulator setup? Look no further than MyCockpit.org.
This non-profit website contains an expansive forum, daily updated information on new hard-and-soft-ware releases, a "Classifieds" section in which you are sure to grab a bargain on Aviation parts, and also an enourmous gallery and download section with all sorts for you to take a peek at.
www.mycockpit.org
Opencockpits
Opencockpits are a Spanish hardware vendor that have designed their own cockpit control system, adequately named "IOCards". I almost exclusively use this system within my own cockpit. They are also the develoeprs of SIOC, the scripting language from which IOCards works.
Opencockpits also sell a vast range of PnP (Plug&Play Units) Units. These range from Radios to Transponders, to Throttle Units and CDUs. Opencockpits also allow visitors to acess their freeware interactive cockpit guide, which provides tips and advice on how to build a cockpit.
www.opencockpits.com
That's about it really! If you have any questions/comments/suggestions please feel free to share them. I would also like to thank Joe for making this a sticky in the general forum.
I hope you enjoy the project!
Regards,
Jack
