Ready for installation on the flight deck

[Michael Carter]

Sewed up the back this morning and Velcro'ed it to the seat back.

I guess I'll give it a try this afternoon. I haven't made the bags for the seat back yet, but I'll get around to it eventually.

Sure glad thats finished. I'm not sure I'd want to build another one.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/boeing722/mycrewseat59.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/boeing722/mycrewseat60.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/boeing722/mycrewseat62.jpg

[Trevor Hale]

Excellent Mike,

I am sure your pleased.. Good thing you don't have a duel seat Sim ROFL! YET. Maybe you should make another... Just in case while you remember how :)

[Michael Carter]

Good thing 'cause I can't imagine building two of these.:D

[Geremy Britton]

Looks great, all the work has finally paid off.:D Thanks for keeping us aware of your progress it's nice to see how things progress from plans to the final piece!

Look forward to seeing your future constructions! ;)

[Tomlin]

Michael,

This seat looks very good. Excellent work my friend, I cant get over how well it turned out. Good thing I switched from a Boeing to a Lear, cause now I dont have to hold myself to the new standard that you have definately set for self-built seats.

Wonderful! What's the certificate? :-)

[Michael Carter]

Thanks! The certificate is the FAA certification for fire retardancy. The other tags are Spectra Products and a Servicable tag from another piece of equipment.

[JBaymore]

With the tags hanging on it , it looks like either a new seat you just bought from Boeing, or a seat that is about to be shipped out to install as a replacement in an aircraft.

Nice work!

best,

........................john

[Michael Carter]

Thanks! I'm trying it out now. Been sitting for three hours and so far it's proven to be very comfortable. No back problems or circulation problems in the legs.

I'm certainly glad I added the lumbar support to the seat back cushion.

[Michael Carter]

I just finished a couple of flights. The first from Glasgow to London for a T&G, and then over to London City for a full stop. I changed airports to München and flew to Innsbruck for a T&G, and then to Wien for a full stop.

The seat is solid and very comfortable. Kinda neat being strapped in for a change. And you're really strapped in. I've never worn a five-point harness before, but you sure don't move around much.

Now I'm positive my overhead needs to be moved back about four inches and down at the top about three.

[mauriceb]

Thanks! The certificate is the FAA certification for fire retardancy. .

Good thing too. These in-flight fires at FL300 (or in the basement) can be deadly :p

By the way, if you had put up your seat for sale on e-bay & I had seen it, I would have believed it was a real aircraft seat. That is some amazing workmanship indeed.

Maurice

[mpl330]

Fantastic work - very impressive, my office chair will have to go!!!

[Michael Carter]

Thanks guys.

I got one bag finished and while sewing the othe one up I broke the sewing machine needle on a pin.

I changed the needle, but I still can't get the machine to work correctly. I'm not really sure what happened, but the needle won't loop the bobbin thread any more to complete a stitch.

I'm wondering if the needle timing was thrown off after hitting that pin. It's going in for servicing in a day or two and maybe they can fix it. It's a pretty old Singer and it needs a check-up anyway.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/boeing722/727flightdeck4.jpg

[Trevor Hale]

Wow Looks great Mike. What are you going to work on once the seat is done?

[Michael Carter]

Flying a bit hopefully.

I'm probably going to bite the bullet and start buying instruments for the panel. Maybe not until after Christmas though. I have two family birthdays coming up and then Christmas, so not a lot of funds will be available in the coming few months.

I still have my Approach Progress Display to hook up. It's been wired for a month but the chair sort of got in the way.

[Tomlin]

I just had a funny thought. Now, dont get me wrong, I love Boeings more than any other aircraft, but did Boeing anticipate a fire at any time when they built the 727? :0) Those fire handles are awefully big and right in your face! VERY easy to get to, those things.

Never really realized how far off the glareshield it was till looking at your latest seat pic.

[Michael Carter]

Yeah, the glareshield on the 727 is pretty much in your face. The far left edge is probabyly 18-20" from your head in the flying position.

When a fire handle is pulled, it arms the bottle discharge circuit and engine selector valve. It closes the following: fuel shutoff valve, engine bleed air (eng.#1 & #3), bleed air valves, (eng. #2), wing anti-ice shutoff (eng.#1 & #3), cowl anti-ice (eng.#2), hydraulic supply shutoff (eng.#1 & #2), disarms the associated "A" hydraulic pump low pressure light and trips the generator field relay after a 5 -10 second delay to allow the valves to close.

You should see all of the contacts on just one switch, and they are around 10" long.

The one thing it doesn't do is discharge the bottle. There is a pushbutton under each handle for that.

On the Systron-Donner system installed on some 727's, the fire handles are located at the top of the overhead.

On my sim, the earlier Kiddie system is modeled.

[Kennair]

That is a fine piece of work Mike.

I guess you won't consider going into production with it then? Considering the price of these things from pro sim companies you could make a tidy sum.

Ken.

[Gsey]

Sounds like the timing could be out as you suspect. Theres a few things you can check as well.

1. Make sure that the needle is not in backwards. Sounds stupid but makes a difference.
2. Check that the needle your using is the right one for this material your using. Too fine a needle wont pick up the bobbin for this material.

3. Remove and replace the bobbin making sure that there is no small scraps caught in there.

4. Not sure what type of machine your using but you may be able to get the timing back in place yourself. you should check your manual or look online for one.

Welcome to the frustrations of sewing.

Gary

[AndyT]

Gary,

Do you darn socks as well? :p

[Gsey]

Nope....swiss cheese here

[Michael Carter]

Sounds like the timing could be out as you suspect. Theres a few things you can check as well.

1. Make sure that the needle is not in backwards. Sounds stupid but makes a difference.
2. Check that the needle your using is the right one for this material your using. Too fine a needle wont pick up the bobbin for this material.

3. Remove and replace the bobbin making sure that there is no small scraps caught in there.

4. Not sure what type of machine your using but you may be able to get the timing back in place yourself. you should check your manual or look online for one.

Welcome to the frustrations of sewing.

Gary


Thanks for the tips. I'm going to check the needle in the morning. I didn't know it could be installed backwards.

Guy's, I'm debating whether or not to get in to the seat-building business. I need to do a little research and toss some figures around.

I sure wouldn't mind working from home and having my own business. I may have finally found something I can build that people would buy.

[Geremy Britton]

i would buy any flight sim stuff from you given the right price you have done a very good job of many fs parts :D

good luck with the simbiz

[Michael Carter]

Thanks for the vote of confidence! ;)

[Westozy]

Be careful mate, I have been swamped after the same idea, there's probably 6 months work on the books to do before I get back to my own sim again, I miss it! Go for it, you have the skills...

Gwyn

[npbosch]

Mike,

Very well done and a lot of inspiration for me (seats are my next project).

Question about the armrest. Can you lift it to get into your chair? Pivoting around a nut/bolt will be easy , but how do you keep the armlift from falling down?

If you found a solution , do you have a picture? e the seat

PS do you have a picture from the seatrail? Is it easy to move the seat from front to back?

Thanks for any info about this.

Regards

Norbert

[Michael Carter]

There is a grade-8 bolt screwed into the side of the chair from the inside used as a stop for the arms. This stop also keeps the arms from swinging up past the vertical. It must be positioned correctly to do both jobs.

After the bolt was installed, heat shrink tubing was applied and shrunk around he exposed stud.

The arms use a 1/2" plain bolt with the hex head countersunk (using a hex cut hole) and then JB Welded flush with the outside edge.

The bolt is double nutted and washered from the inside and then red Loc-Tite was used on the threads. Seeing how there's no getting back inside of this chair, I had to make sure those nuts wouldn't back off over time. I let the Loc-Tite dry overnight before moving the arms.

The arms are washered-out from the side of the chair about 1/4"-5/16" using an alternating sandwich of metal and nylon washers of the same diameter.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/boeing722/mycrewseat65.jpg

The arms are ripped 2x4's cut to dimension. The armrest pads are 1/4" MFD with 1/4" closed-cell foam covered with a medium weight vinyl. The pads are attached to the arms through countersunk holes through the bottom of the arms and then a plastic cap was inserted into the hole. Depth of these holes is critical to keep the screw from coming through the armrest pad or feeling it while you are resting your arm on it.

The back end of the arm is laminated with 1/8" MFD and serves to bulk up the rear of the arm, provide a stop for the cushion pad, and to cover the bolt head that supports the arm.

The seat is not adjustable. It was built for my required eyepoint height over the glareshield and seat tilt was measured at about 15 degrees back, give or take.

Rails will be added to the floor in the future. I've figured out a way to get in and out of the left side without to many contorsions. In fact, I've gotten quite used to it.

Thanks for looking.