Still Looking for A320 Throttle Drawings

[Buddym]

I see that there are quite a few folks with pretty snazzy throttle systems, does anyone have drawings of the parts used to build them?
Thanks

[Trevor Hale]

Hi Buddy, Most of us who build the throttles do such from pictures like that on Airliners.net

Others, get their own pictures from the aircraft. this hobby is very intense and you will need some patience.

Somone is bound to see your post in the other thread... Hang in there someone will be able to help, it just takes a little time.

Trev

[Trevor Hale]

Have a look in the gallery..

http://www.mycockpit.org/photopost/s...php?photo=3482

[Buddym]

Well, I didn't have any luck getting any drawings of the A320 throttle levers and such, so I looked at all of the available photos and made some that seem close. The prototypes I made seem small to me, can anyone confirm this for me, and if so how much am I off? I have attached a photo of what I made and would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks,
BuddyM
Tampa, FL

[Michael Carter]

It looks very close to me.

As I've found out, many cockpit parts look larger than life in photos, but are not as big as they seem when you have them in your hands.

[Buddym]

I tried to get close, but it seems like in the photos of the units being buily by our talented Aussie they looked a little larger.I wonder if anyone has the parts in hand to actually measure them? Once I verify the dimensions and polish my dxf files I will post them here. My homemade cnc machine did a fair job on these, I might just use them instead of making new ones from plastic. I should be able to cut thrust reverse levers and assemble the whole thing tomorrow for a test fit. I will post more pics as they progress. If anyone is interested in my meager work, please let me know.

Thanks,
Buddy

[Michael Carter]

If you want to hear about some meager work, I cut my throttle lever shafts with a jigsaw with the 1/8" aluminum stock clamped to the workbench top.

I used more than a few blades cutting six identical pieces that are nearly 15" long, and nearly wore out a double cut bastard file. I paid the utility bill for Dremel Tool Company that month too with all of the sanding drums I bought.

Anyone with a CNC machine should be able to turn out work that Boeing or Airbus would be proud of.

[Buddym]

When I first started considering building a cockpit sim 2 years ago I knew I couldn't justify the price of some of the commercial components. The throttle assembly alone was more than I thought I could spen on the entire sim!!! (how silly of me!)

I thought that I could make some of the parts, like the throttle quad, and save enuff to pay for the CNC machine. At the time I had FDS panels with 19" CRT monitors behind them. A few weeks of running them showed clearly that my wallet could not stand the air conditioning and electric bill they contributed to! Here in Tampa ig gets really hot without all of that eq, and I had to shelve the whole project until LCDs hit $100 each. Three weeks ago they did, and I bought 8 of them. That meant it was time to get going again. I sure wish I had used that time a little more wisely and studied cad/cam a little more. I could have been researching the dimensions of the throttle too.... anyway..

I built the CNC machine from plans I bought on ebay for $25. It works pretty well, even in my novice hands. The machine is probably way more capable than its builder! I know my work will not be as good as most others I see, but I hope to a good job none the less. It sounds like you put a lot of sweat and hard work into your sim, what would you say has been the most difficult part of building it has been? Also I wanted to ask what your favorite part of simming is?

Thanks,
Buddy

[Michael Carter]

The most difficult part has been convincing myself that I could do it and not give up when things got tough or came to a standstill or money was tight on occasion.

At the time, everything seemed difficult. From reverse engineering a Sperry SP-50 autopilot, to building the throttle assembly, to worrying about anything I built or modified was actually going to interface to the sim. Don't even get me started on building a crew seat. I don't think I'll ever do that again.

My favorite part is the flying and the places I get to go without ever leaving my basement. A lot of those places I've really been to, but it's been a long time but the memories survive. The navigation and approaches and departures are my favorite physical tasks.

The beauty of the 727 is that it navigates exactly the same way with exactly the same instruments I used to get my instrument ticket.

[Buddym]

Well, here are a few more photos of the thrust lever prototypes for the A320 throttle assembly. I am using Westozy's photos as a guide, seems like maybe these are about right. As you can see I am toying with the idea of doubling the thickness of the upper most portion of the lever assembly that supports the lever grips. It feels good with the single thickness, but it seems beefier with the double thickness. I would like to hear any comments, the new milling bits will be here soon, so unless anyone points out any major issues, I will use my current cad and cut files on the abs plastic for the ones I will use in the sim.

Thanks,

Buddy