Saitek Rudder Pedals modification

[Biggles2010]

I've had some Saitek rudder pedals for years. They work quite well, apart from the fact that they are designed for use under a desk. Consequently the foot plates are too flat for use in a home cockpit. The originals are about 37 degrees from the horizontal, whereas they need to be about 65 to 70 degrees.

I made some very simple mods to mine,involving only basic woodwork and a small alteration to the plastic moulding. Bear in mind that this will invalidate any warranty if your pedals are relatively new.

The process is obvious from the attached photos. The wedge shaped section is cut to a 30 degree angle.

The old footplates come off by sliding off the top pieces while depressing the spring loaded buttons. The lower pieces are each held on by 6 screws.

Compare with the photos and cut off the lower ends of the plastic housings. This is necessary to allow the heel bar to be at suitable height.

The rest is woodwork. The new footplates are mdf with moulding glued to the edges, then sprayed silver grey colour.

In use I find the braking action much improved by the more upright pedals, and the appearance is more realistic.

John

[Geremy Britton]

John, I like your imagination. Not seen this done before and you've created yourself some realistic pedals from a small but effective modification.

[No Longer Active]

Reminds me of the 'Goldmember' Saitek 737 Pedal Hack a while ago. What he done was VERY impressive. You are on par with his version, maybe you can grab some ideas from him too.....

http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/showthread.php?t=24246

Great work and hack.

Alex

[Biggles2010]

Geremy and Alex,
Thanks for the positive responses.


I had somehow missed the posting by Goldmember. The metal plates certainly add to the realism of his modification.
The combat pedals also have the advantage of the adjustable metal footpads, but are of course more expensive.

John

[Westozy]

I made some custom brackets to mount the Saitek pedals om my single seat sim to improve the angle but my brackets tilt the whole assembly. I much prefer the solution that you have come up with so I might have to revisit the single seater again. Well done, that is a great modification idea and thanks for sharing John!!