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Ultimate Homebrewed Cockpit - Pt. 4, The Face-lift Begins
by Gene BucklePrevious Installments:
- Part 1 - The Ultimate Homebrewed Cockpit
- Part 2 - Prequel or "Why am I doing this?"
- Part 3 - Cockpit Delivery - Hell on Earth
Part Four - The Face-lift Begins!
Welcome one and all to part four of the F-15 cockpit journal! In this part, I'll be going over some of the progress that's been made as well as whatever else I think up along the way. :)
This is a close-up shot of the canopy control. When pulled fully aft, it raises the canopy and when pushed fully foreward, it closes the canopy. I'm hoping to be able to rig this with microswitches to allow automatic control of the new canopy mechanism that the side video displays will mount on. I'm going to use a set of lead screws connected to reversable DC motors to slide the canopy enclosure in place. I'll also be connecting up the emergency canopy ejection system. The drive motors for the canopy will be set in place with a set of retractable pins.
By connecting the emergency canopy handle to the locking pins, I'll be able to grab a set of interior handles and slide the canopy back after the canopy release is pulled. This is important because if for some reason I get an electrical fire inside the cockpit, I'm going to need to get out *fast*. I can't stress enough having safety features like this. Accidents happen and with homebuilt cockpits you're dealing with a very small enclosed space. If for some reason there is an electrical short, that small space will fill up with choking black smoke VERY quickly. It would also be a very good idea to install a carbon monoxide detector inside the shell. The chances of needing it are quite small, but in comparison to the value of your life, it's a pretty good deal.
I should also mention that at least three fire extinguishers will be present either in the cockpit or easily accessable from the outside. Again, safety first! The yellow handle in the left side of this picture is the Emergency Vent handle. This is used if there is smoke in the cockpit. To use it, you turn the handle counter clockwise 45 degrees - this dumps the cabin pressure. You then pull it out to open the ram air feed into the cockpit. This will be wired up to the central control computer, but it won't be operative. I figure the last thing I need is a huge inrush of fresh air in the midst of an electrical fire.
This is that evil landing gear door I talked about in Part Three. I haven't had a chance to go at it again because I've been working on other things. I think I'll continue to let it think it won. *Evil Grin*
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