I just bought a REAL cockpit - did I buy well

[notgotaclue]

Hi,
I have been thinking about building my home cockpit for a while now and have gone through various designs and builds, not being truly happy with the results SO I saw this cockpit on Ebay for £950 and decided to buy it. It was up for £700 so I made him an offer of £800 which he accepted, I then gave him £150 to deliver it. What fun we had getting it off the trailer and into my garage.
Did I get a good deal? I think I did as it still has many of the original feautures including the rudder pedals and throttles.
I dont know what plane it is so if anyone can shed any light that would be great.
Now the fun begins......

[notgotaclue]

I just found out it is a Hawker Siddeley 125-700 Executive Jet.
Now Mrs Notgotaclue will want me to take her to the South Of France in it. :p

[No Longer Active]

Hi,

At the bottom of the ebay listing it had some questions, and it reveals which plane it is.

I indeed posted the link to this ebay listing on mycockpit too.

Its a Hawker Siddley (BAe) 125-700 exceutive jet.

[notgotaclue]

I noticed after I asked......:oops:
Did I get a good deal?

[No Longer Active]

Did I get a good deal?

Only you can ask yourself that, depends on what your going to do with, i.e. rebuild it back to its former glory or just gut it out and turn it into a generic jet. Personally, its prob worth its value in scrap so i guess its a win win situation! Any shell is expensive but you got a jet for under a grand so i think you done well!

Good luck and lets see how it turns out!

[Shawn]

That's a fantastic shell, I think you got a **** of a deal but my wife thinks you got taken to the bank :)

[mach7]

I think you have made a very good deal when you consider you would spend three times as much trying to build a simpit to that dimension and construction.

[Ronson2k9]

Looks fricken nice to me. With exec jet. The possibilities are pretty limitless.

- Emergency medical transport (patients, transplant organs)
- Overnight cargo
- Executives.
- Rich and Famous

Not really a personal flyer unless you are one of the above. But there are a ton of R&F that fly their own jet. So one could be you :)

When I think of a cockpit I imagine the job of the aircraft and when building it's good to maximize the possibilities to there fullest as you have a large piece of hardware it's important to get the most use out of it. For instance in my skywagon I can run floats, amphibs, skis, wheels, tundra tires, or I can switch to it's large sister the 206 and go turbo (higher ceiling and speed) with the same gear assortment. So there is no end to the fun. It's important to have a way to extend the use if it's a cockpit. I feel anyway.

Best of luck on your build. First I'm thinking though a bit of house keeping is in order. Take a ton of photos of everything. Document it all. Then when you take it apart label your photos (part number on the tag) then when you rebuild you know where everything goes. E-jet manuals aren't that easy to find but perhaps..

Oops just found one.. Hawker 800 POH (http://www.smartcockpit.com/plane/raytheon/HAWKER-800/) (online but you can download all the parts in PDF too)

Just for fun

At Airliners.net
Raytheon Hawker 800 (BAE) HS-125-700 (DATA) (http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/stats.main?id=331)

Hawker 800 Images (http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?aircraft_genericsearch=%3D%22raytheon+hawker+800%2F1000%22&airlinesearch=&countrysearch=&specialsearch=&daterange=&keywords=800&range=&sort_order=photo_id+desc&page_limit=15&thumbnails=)

At Wikipedia
Hawker 800 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_800)
- That does have a bit of fleet info

Complete production listing (http://www.rzjets.net/aircraft/?typeid=168) (every Hawker 800) that are still flying

Looks like a lot of work but it will be spectacular when your done..

Cheers
Ron

PS: I just had a thought as it's a actual aircraft fuse/cockpit you have it would be cool if you could track down the actual plane it's from..

[notgotaclue]

Thanks for all the replies, especially Ronson for the links.
I too think it will be fabulous when I finish it (in about 5 years :p )
I find myself wandering down to the garage for no particular reason except to stare at it like a schoolboy at Christmas. Then sit on the non-excistent seats, pull on whats left of the yoke and push the rudders pedals (which work brilliantly ). The immersion factor is total at the moment - I shudder to think of what it will be like when I finish.
I am going to spend a few months stripping it back to the shell before deciding on the set up. I think it is crying out to be done well and not just bung a piece of MDF as a MIP on it with a generic layout.
I have told the wife it will cost £5,000 to complete and she has said that I can spend that, she has no idea that £5,000 is only the first years spend. ;)

[chelseaboy]

my wife saw & said no way, but me thinks i will start looking for a dc3;)
well impressed. well done.

[notgotaclue]

I have managed to track down the plane it comes from.
It was involved in a crash in Finland and I have enclosed the link in case anyone is interested.
http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=OH-JET
Must admit it made it "super cool" when I was stripping it out and found the planes id on a piece of maintenance paperwork.
Allan.

[Geremy Britton]

Really fantastic that you managed to uncover the hidden history, it will certainly provide an excellent conversation when people visit to fly the sim!
Good luck and keep us updated with anymore news you find.

[Ronson2k9]

Pretty wild paint scheme too. Looks like a winner 'sort of' I hope everyone got out safe. Looks like a landing you could walk away from. This is the accident report (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:dxopZw6eIiAJ:www.onnettomuustutkinta.fi/Satellite?blobtable%3DMungoBlobs%26blobcol%3Durldata%26SSURIapptype%3DBlobServer%26SSURIcontainer%3DDefault%26SSURIsession%3Dfalse%26blobkey%3Did%26blobheadervalue1%3Dinline;%2520filename%3DB4_1999Leng.pdf%26SSURIsscontext%3DSatellite%2520Server%26blobwhere%3D1212930483416%26blobheadername1%3DContent-Disposition%26ssbinary%3Dtrue%26blobheader%3Dapplication/pdf+BAR+HS125+257136&hl=en&gl=ca)

She was owned by British Airways first it seems (1985)
This is photographic history (http://www.abpic.co.uk/search.php?q=257136&u=cn&sort=latest)of the aircraft

My favorite paint scheme of the lot. Looks fricken sexy to me.
http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/9/0/0/1161009.jpg

A little information is a dangerous thing.. hehe.. All this was from the Serial Number of the plane.

Cheers
Ron

[notgotaclue]

Ronson, You are an absolute darling.. (in a male bonding sort of way).
I have printed off the accident report and it is fascinating to think that I now have that plane sat in my garage. I havent been this excited about a project since the last project I got excited about.
My wife thinks I am mental. I told her I found the actual plane and tried to show her, but she was busy playing online bingo and posting remarks that she thinks I am having a breakdown on Facebook.
She wants to know why I dont get drunk and have an affair like normal blokes instead of buying "bleedin' planes".... you just cant win. ;)

[Ronson2k9]

:oops: Ah Shucks..

Just a simple search really. Just went by serial number of the aircraft. Myself I'm pretty curious about the previous owners. Someone would need to have the great moo ma to have a fine piece of hardware like that. It started and stayed pretty much in the EU it seems, well Europe at the time. Getting it's start as perhaps an executive jet for those in at British Airways. It was a kind of a plane jane paint job if you'll pardon the pun (not a traditional BA paint scheme) when it was under the ownership of British Airways. Then in perhaps a cost cutting measure they sold it to a private owner. I'm going to try to track that down for you. The private owners are the ones that seem the most interesting.

It's living history now that it has a life after death if you will. The company that owned it before you has kept most of the avionics and landing gear and engines as they are also trying to sell those as well. So it's in pieces. The Avionics package was sent off to be re-certified prior to sale.

Hawker Online (http://www.hawkeronline.com/news_and_events.asp) Scroll to the July 2011 entry.

There is just a ton info out there. I'm trying to find as much as I can for you.

Cheers...
Ron

[EnglishRebel]

I flew in an HS 125 back in 1976. I was working in Warswaw (Poland) on a project and our company chairman came out to visit and took us all out to dinner. I was due to fly home to England the next day so when he said he had two spare seats on the company jet I jumped at the chance. We bypassed all the normal gates at the airport and were whisked on board.
Our chairman, Sir Barry Heath, was a former RAF WW2 Spitfire pilot and he was quite a character. He brought two cases of champagne on board and announced that if customs asked each one of use was to claim that two bottles (the limit without paying duty) were ours.
Great little airplane, very smooth and fast. Ah fond memories.
Alan

[notgotaclue]

Hi.
I have spent a week or so gutting the plane.
It now looks like this.
I want to try and squeeze a 737 MIP into the shell as the parts are readily available, but think it may be a push. I will do some templates and see whether it is doable. It may look odd with the throttle in place, but then again, it is my plane and I can do what I want with it. ;)
Allan
P.s. Notice the towel wrapped around the centre. The amount of times I banged my head on that is unfunny so I had to do something before I got brain damage. I tired for hours to remove it but they certainly made it to last..

[No Longer Active]

Looking good!

Have you got to that stage yet when you are thinking ' just what have I bought?'.....

All the best....

Alex

[notgotaclue]

Looking good!

Have you got to that stage yet when you are thinking ' just what have I bought?'.....

All the best....

Alex

I got to that stage on day 1. ;)
I am finding the process quite relaxing and I don't care what anyone says, a man needs a garage, a ridiculous project and plenty of power tools to play with. I have had neighbours come up to me and ask if I have a plane in my garage, you can see it in the eyes when I say yes - WEIRDO.... :lol:
Allan

[No Longer Active]

Hi.

I have some 737 mip panels you can have, they are around 95% to scale and are in moderate condition, all you need to do is mount them to a backer of some sort, yours if you want them, just pay postage! I have some GLB panels as well if you want to buy them for a small extra fee!

Just a thought!

Cheers.

Alex

[notgotaclue]

Hi.

I have some 737 mip panels you can have, they are around 95% to scale and are in moderate condition, all you need to do is mount them to a backer of some sort, yours if you want them, just pay postage! I have some GLB panels as well if you want to buy them for a small extra fee!

Just a thought!

Cheers.

Alex

Hi Alex,
I sent you a PM regarding the panels. Thanks for the offer.
What GLB panels do you have as I will gladly take them off your hands for a "small fee". ;)
Allan.

[notgotaclue]

A few more progress photos.
I have removed the throttle ready to give it a good overhaul. I will attach the saitek throttle I already have to it somehow. I don't think it will be too difficult.
I was surpised how easily it came out, just 4 bolts, I was expecting to spend all afternoon shouting and swearing but 30 minutes later it was on my bench.
I have also got a good buy off Ebay for a load of 737 stuff, which I will make fit with the use of an angle grinder.
So it is all coming together nicely. The only problem is I put the plane in the garage the wrong way round. The nose is facing the door, when I want it to face the wall for when I sort out the visuals. DOH!!!

[notgotaclue]

Another few photos showing my progress.
I am VERY pleased and it is turning out much better than I expected considering I am cramming a 737 into a business jet shell.
Allan.

[Ronson2k9]

Looking quite cool. Great work.