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How To...Build "MAC" For Your SideWinder Joystick By Erich H. Leonhard Introduction One moment your F22 Raptor's screaming in hot pursuit of the two second blip you caught on your radar screen, next you're cruising sedately at 350 knots, FL380, in your spanking new Airbus A3XX, and before you can say 'Whoa, there Silver!', you're doing a hairy hover taxi in the Bell 206, hoping desperately you can slow down before you hit the gas pump at the end of Runway 36 at Meigs! These are the virtual transitions most flightsimmers find themselves making every day! I'm open to correction! Oh, one other thing happens...something we'd all rather not talk about. Yeah, you screwed up! Thank goodness there's no inbuilt, ongoing, unerasable black box, which, at the next prang, displays your gory crash history right from #1 to date, in blazing red (with audio!) from the moment you first installed any flight simulator! Under the head 'Total Aircraft Destroyed' you note space for a 3 digit number, with your CPU ready to scream, 'I just can't take it anymore!'. Under 'Crashed Aircraft Breakup' (someone has a grim sense of humor here!) you note, your Bell 206 smash record way ahead of the rest of the field...you're nearing 3 figures already! In my best nightmare, I see a hangar full of mangled 206's as background, and a photo of me sitting on the ground wearing a dazed look and a main rotor wrapped around my neck! Serves you and me right for trying to fly a helicopter without a proper collective pitch control! So, what's my point? Who the heck is MAC? What's the common factor in all of the above situations?...You're right if you said your 'excuse-for-a-cockpit' never changed! Ninety percent of all simmers would have had their right hands stuck out at an odd angle, elbows suspended in space, thumbs dislocated from operating throttle wheels and, on some joysticks, trimwheels. The patient, (i.e. you) otherwise a competent and experienced real world pilot even, 'exhibits symptoms of extreme distress due to successive flight emergencies to which he is unable to suitably react. He has an advanced case of ESSTDS: "Elbows Suspended in Space and Thumb Dislocated Syndrome"! MAC is an acronym for "Multi-Aircraft 'Cockpit'". Read all about it below! MAC Many budding simmers, who really understand the hobby to be more than just the 'game' it's made out to be, something serious yet entertaining, and all-absorbing, must be discouraged to the point of abandoning it, unable to stomach destroying even a single aircraft, never mind if it's virtual today--it could be real tomorrow! (Many of us may not even know the fault is not wholly all ours). I know the feeling. I can't eat, or sleep peacefully, when I've totaled an aircraft. I keep agonising over every little detail, again and again. While aimost everyone says 'it's just a game', I can't agree. I fret and take the whole thing very personally. However, I didn't give up, because whatever happened, in most cases, I assessed to be only partly my fault and partly due to the presence of shadowy 'X' Factors lurking in the system, some of which were within my control. For serious simmers who 'spend' (and everyone's not going to agree with that last word!) long hours in their cockpits, voluntarily subjecting themselves to all the rigors of horrible weather, crazy instruments, engine failures and other unspeakable horrors, the least they need is a comfortable 'cockpit', with ergonomically designed and positioned joystick, throttle, and collective pitch lever. (A collective is, by no means, a luxury; it's a vital necessity!) These are the controls most in use on any manual flight on any kind of aircraft. And we have a lot going for us with joysticks like SideWinders, CH stuff, Logitech's line, and a host of others. As a bonus we are also able to bring gear, flaps, airbrake etc., up to sixteen functions of your choice, if you're using a SideWinder FF Pro, within a stretch of a couple of inches. Far less effort than afforded you even on a real aircraft. We're way ahead on this one on our sims! In real life, with the 'single pilot' concept rapidly gaining ground, cockpits are being constantly upgraded/redesigned for 'low pilot fatigue'. Just take a peek at a 747 cockpit of, say, the early '80's, and then look into the cockpit of an Airbus A320! Everything 'appears' missing in the latter, including the venerable yoke! Oodles of space...what a make-over! (Not a fair comparison; I love my older 747 with its stacks of analog gauges! Just wanted to make a point.) Flightsimmers have a unique problem. How to have the cockpit of the future which belongs, at once, to the high speed fighter of 2010, the sedate modern airliner up to the superjumbo A380, and the pernickety 'wheee..fut..fut..fut' chopper as well...it must be built over a weekend preferably...by us...and doesn't cost a million in any currency, any denomination! Tall order? Not at all! Sure, you won't end up with a 6-axis, full motion, totally enclosed cockpit, but for what we are going to invest we are going to get what we really need most...ergonomic controllability and comfort! Whatever we do we are never going to remove all the ghosts, but if we at least eliminate those within our control and reduce the effect of others, life becomes that much less tense! This is what the "Multi-Aircraft 'Cockpit'", or 'MAC' is all about! Sneak Preview OK! First, let's take a sneak preview at the result of all the effort we're going to put into this project. If you follow the step-by-step instructions, then the final scene you're going to be greeted with follows: Step into your brand new made-over Multi-Aircraft 'Cockpit' and take a seat! Aah, what comfort! Super back and spinal support...just what the doctor ordered! Hey, what's that pleasant pressure in the small of your back? Flick a switch and there's a pleasant brrr...We're in Cessna-land! Arms on armrests and your right hand fingers instinctively curl around the joystick, forearm comfortably supported on the 6" wide rest. Look, the stick appears to be standing smartly all by itself. Take a closer look and you'll see it's mounted rock solidly on an extension plate you have devised and fitted in front of the right side armrest. What's your left hand doing? Instinctively again the fingers are gripping a beautifully molded throttle lever neatly fixed to an extension of the left armrest. The very feel of that lever promises power, the power to unleash over a quarter of a million pounds of raw screaming takeoff thrust from those four mighty turbofan engines! Move that integrated throttle (it controls all 4 engines--yet another first!)...butter-smooth with over 60 degrees full travel from stop-to-stop! Weren't we saying something about collective pitch control? Just slide your left arm down, almost straight, and there it is! A long lever giving you micro-fine power control. Grip that lever and you know you've got that Bell 206 or Osprey on a tight leash! You are beginning to think again of consistent feather-light touchdowns on a handkerchief you gave up on so long ago, or hovering, really hovering! Things you only dreamed about so far...hey, hey, time to wake up! Note for purists: A real helicopter, has its collective very similar in arrangement and movement to a car handbrake. I made it that way first. Construction was awfully complicated with reversing levers, pivot points, etc. I used that for 6 months and it was fine. When I needed to transfer this information to you, I hit on this alternative solution which in no way compromises function, but simplifies construction, and adds to the aesthetics. Let me tell you what I started out with, with a not-so-brief description of each of the items, and then how I put everything together to give me a pilot-comfort level of several hours as against the fatigue that seemed to set in with about half an hour of manual flight time when everything was willy-nilly! My Multi-Aircraft Cockpit evolved in three distinct phases...all the wrong things in the wrong places! All the right things in the wrong places...and now, relative Utopia...all the right things in the right places! Hopefully, with these notes, some of you'll be able to bypass s my more painful phases. Seat: This is the single most important component in the whole setup, being the foundation. I started, in the early 80's, with an ancient four-legged chair...not a rocking chair but, as a special bonus for me, it rocked! It had an intricately woven cane bottom. An hour in this chair left the distinct impression you had parked on a hot stove. (If wearing corrugations on your 'you-know-where' was in fashion at the time I'd have won hands down!) Anyway, this had to be ejected, minus me, to be replaced by a succession of rejects and hand-me downs, then finally, a smart office chair--tubular steel frame, lovely beige leatherette, well padded...not too hard, not too soft...with two soft-padded arms exactly at elbow level, and a tall broad back you could sigh and lean comfortably back against (no fear of whiplash from those heavy landings!) The generous lady donor brought me back to earth heavily enough when she revealed that the back alone decided her, since it acted as an effective screen for all that 'junk' in front cluttering up her sitting room! Junk!...junk!?! Well I have to admit that the sitting room reverted to some semblance of its former glory with the addition of that chair and the rest that followed. Buy the very best seat you can afford! (Everyone's not as lucky as me, surrounded as I am by affluent ladies on the defensive about their sitting rooms!) You're going to spend a lot of time in it, (whether simming or composing your 'I Built MAC...My Way!' karaoke masterpiece) so both comfort and functionality are essential. It must have armrests screwed onto solid or tubular steel side supports, as these are the key to the fitment of your joystick and throttle/collective combination (as also to prevent you dropping off, in case you drop off!) If its height is adjustable, it's well-sprung, has castors and swivels to boot, so much the better. There's one vital measurement you must make. The inside width, armrest to armrest, should be not less than 24". Three inches of this will be lost, because if you are using Microsoft's SideWinder Force Feedback Pro Joystick, this much of it will protrude into the seat area. In case you have a really broad beam, then add at least another 3" (maybe even more for the massive SWFF Ver. 2). This will help prevent you wrecking your control system, or yourself, every time you enter or leave the cockpit, or having to contort yourself horribly while getting in and out! Color and other accoutrements are absolutely up to you. There's nothing wrong with second-hand or war-surplus even, if it meets your requirement and doesn't result in stormy weather! (Hey, consult Her Ladyship!) Another 'must' is that the padded arms must be secured to the main frame by machine screws preferably. This is the most usual method for securing the arms. Just be careful you don't get the odd one with a different type of fixing! Oh, I must tell you at this point that if you're still at keyboard-control level, parked on a funny stool, and desperately wiggling an apology for a joystick, please break your neck getting the right stuff to start with. If you start with the right kind of seat, you do not have to start drilling holes all over the place...only if absolutely essential. We will adapt all the extra parts we make to fit and blend (beautifully, I hope) with the existing structure as far as possible! Obviously, if Murphy's Law caught you square on the jaw, and you're stuck with the one and only chair built to some foggy specs in 1929, you'll have to use your native ingenuity to adapt, adopt or improvise! We'll fly under that bridge when we come to it. I'll tell you what I did, then you've got the controls. Give your innate creative urges full rein. Keep your objectives clear, line up with that runway in your mind, and hang in there. You may surprise yourself...and everyone else! Once Her Ladyship saw the way things were going, she recruited Herself as Chief Interior Decorator. You getting it?! Now she's partly responsible for 'all that junk' Herself! Joystick: If you don't have a joystick at all, I strongly recommend you purchase a SideWinder 3D Pro (no, we're not going backwards!) if you're on a modest budget. I had this first and loved it! I now have the SideWinder Force Feedback Pro V1 and this is only passable if it's modified (see my How To... on this Joystick). You might have a look at the SWFF V2, but I strongly recommend you first track down a flightsimmer, preferably, who has one and ask nicely what he feels about it, can you see it, and from there it's a hop, step, and into the jump-seat, if not into the cockpit itself! If you haven't bought yet, then buy careful! One of the main plus points of the SideWinders is that they all use 'optical position sensing' instead of the usual potentiometers (pots) which are notoriously unreliable. Pot-type sticks are OK for the puerile, mindless, run-of-the-mill bang-bang games, but no way acceptable for serious precision flying. (Why are my ears are burning...must be incurring a lot of "Wrath!"). I have had the 3D Pro and have the SWFF Pro so these notes will focus on these two. However, the same basic ideas apply, whatever you have! A note to simmers with other joysticks: you would have a great advantage if your stick is compatible with rudder pedals. Microsoft has mentioned that the SWFF Pro cannot be used with rudder pedals. If you haven't bought a stick yet, you may give this point some careful thought! Practically all of the information here can still be useful. I suggest that the pedals be mounted on an extension of your seat, making MAC even more complete! Throttle/ Collective: This will have to be built by us from scratch, assuming you don't have a fancy (expensive) commercial throttle unit already. (To my knowledge there's no one offering a collective pitch control). I'll assume, for this exercise, you don't have a separate throttle and provide you all the building instructions and tips. The Bowden (motorcycle type) cable linkage we're going to use assumes that you are going to use either the 3D Pro or the SWFF Pro. Adapting for other joystick throttles may require a bit of extra strain on the grey cells, but shouldn't be impossible, barring a worst case of Murphy's Design! You will appreciate that, much as I would like to, it is not possible to provide drawing-level dimensions as it all depends exactly on armrest position and the exact location of the various fixing points on your chair. Fortunately, this whole exercise has needed no more than ideas and common sense and use of some elementary tools and simple materials, so this is all to the good! Only you can provide the main ingredients...the passion and motivation to make an excellent job of it! So, have we compromised anything on 'MAC' our multi-aircraft 'cockpit' bearing in mind our unique requirements? Let the raging controversy go on as to the efficacy of the solid, dependable yoke over that upstart of a 'SideStick'? We'll opt for the sidestick because we cannot imagine the F22 Raptor, or a helicopter, with a yoke, but we can easily envisage a sidestick in any Airbus...and who knows (extrapolated thinking!) maybe a sidestick for the real 747 with the glass cockpit someday! As far as the combined throttle and collective lever is concerned, forget convention, we're pioneers here, so don't worry! You're gonna love it! (Why the earburn again? Maybe some yoker's not very happy! Sorry, just couldn't resist that one!) Another bonus, though we didn't do anything to achieve it...we have that magic 'fly-by-wire' (FBW) system for all our aircraft! All the construction work can be done by the average enthusiast with tools available in the average garage. To go to work we first need to get together some simple tools and equipment. Let's list them: Tools: Ordinary pliers with sharp side-cutters, 6" round nose pliers, screwdriver 6", small hammer, center punch, bench vise, spanners (to suit the type(s) of screws used for securing armrests, etc.), 12" hacksaw, very sharp pair of scissors, pair of dividers, 6" scale with mm markings also, set-square, color marker pens or glass marking pencil, hand brace and power drill, assorted drill bits, tinner's snips, rat-tail file, 6" flat file, 4" flat file. Materials: Mild steel sheet 2mm thick (or 3mm thick aluminum), 18"x9", mild steel flat strip 15mm wide by 6mm thick, approximately 6' length (for optional bracing; see text) or just an 8" length if you're not bracing, 4"x1" MS piece, about 1mm thick, Velcro strip 2"-3" wide, two foot length, clutch cable for a scooter or motorcycle** (see note below), one pair of motorcycle or bicycle hand-grips** (see note below), made of molded soft flexible polythene (preferably black), nice chunky looking ones preferably, deeply knuckled, 1 square foot of 1" thick foam (sponge), thick black cloth (for covering the new padding on your modified armrests), one tube (100 gm.) rubber cement (same as used for cycle tube patches), half sheet of 400 grit emery paper, tinplate scraps, etc., screws, 3mmx15mm, 5 nos, 5mmx20mm, 1 no, nuts, 3mm, 5nos, 5mm, 3 nos, flat washers, 3mm, 6 nos, 5mm, 3 nos, spring washers, 3mm, 5nos, 5mm, 1 no. Cable: The cable travels from the throttle on the stick, loops round the back of the seat and ends at the left armrest to link up with your new throttle/collective. The outside diameter (o.d.) should be about 4 or 5 mm. Both inner cable and its 'outer' part must be very flexible. Don't worry too much about it, just stick to the sizes I've given. The inner cable should be between 1.5 and 2 mm in diameter. Very important! Get the longest cable available. Ask for a Vespa Scooter clutch cable. Its the longest I've seen and should fit around the largest chair with a foot to spare. Avoid bicycle brake cables. They're too skinny! Throttle/Collective Grips: Choice of these is to your taste. No harm in giving these controls a solid, chunky look (and feel!). But I recommend black color for compatibility with the joystick. They must be molded from soft, flexible polythene, preferably deeply knuckled. (Note: Your quantity requirements will vary. For good economy, first assess your exact needs plus a small overage, then go charter the chopper to fly out and buy!)/p> Important! The actual construction work starts here. I strongly suggest you read through the following text in its entirety so that you get a complete picture of all that is involved. As you read the instructions make constant reference to the pictures relevant to the area being referred to, so I won't keep nagging you to refer to the pictures! In fact, many of you will be able to do the whole job with the pictures only, but I had to think of everyone, so i won't apologise for all the detail. Adapting The Seat GENERAL: a) Locate its securing points and remove the RH side arm rest. NOTE: You will need the services of a sheet metal workshop for neatly shearing your 2mm steel (or 3mm Al.) sheet, so list out the bits and pieces you will need and make one trip to the sheet metal shop. There's a reason I'd like you to do this! PREPARING AND FITTING JOYSTICK BASEPLATE a) Cut a strip 6" wide X 18" long. b) Draw the center line of the width. c) On the c/l mark the sheet at 6" and 7" along the length from one end. Use a set-square to draw perpendicular lines to the c/l. d) Make two 60 degree bends (one left and one right) at the marks to form a downstep on the short end of the plate. (Its called 'joggling' in sheet metal parlance.). (Note: The short end is an extension forward on which the joystick is mounted. The downstep brings it to the correct height for both SideWinders.) e) Finish by snipping off small triangles, (of approx 6mm sides) at the 4 corners, then filing off all sharp edges. f) Temporarily place the joystick on its baseplate extension with its back edge touching the bend and find the fore and aft position that will bring the stick comfortably in your hand, with your forearm naturally placed. g) Transfer the armrest securing hole positions, to the plate c/l, and drill clearance size holes in the plate on the c/l. (Optional: You may like to brace the 'outrigger' part of the plate, say if you're using the massive SWFF Ver. 2. You're on your own here! No harm in bracing it anyway, specially if you have the stick shaker on!) h) Now you can fit back the RH armrest, with the baseplate sandwiched between it and the armrest frame. i) Place the stick on the plate with its centerline displaced about 1 1/2" to the right of the baseplate centerline and forward or back to line up with the bend. This is the best way to determine the most ergonomical location and was perfect for me. Once perfectly positioned use a marker pen to mark the front and side edges of the baseplate on the joystick bottom. j) Get the Velcro, rubber cement and a good sharp pair of scissors together. The joystick is 'secured' to the base plate by at least 15 sq. in. of the Velcro for a really good grip, as well as reasonable ease of removal. I found I could cover the required area with two large pieces and several smaller ones spaced to be able to cover the maximum base area (especially important with a force feedback stick!) k) Keep the Velcro within the marked area only. First, cut out the 'islands' with both male and female halves of the Velcro together. If you're doing it right you should end up with some fairly weird shapes. Use a marker pen to mark their positions on the joystick base. l) Read the instructions for correct use of your brand of rubber cement. Apply on the surface facing the joystick and on the joystick island also, wait the recommended time, then accurately press together. Pay particular attention to all edges and corners. Repeat for all the 'islands'. Attention! Repeat after me: 'I will not use cyanoacrylate here...I will not use cyanoac! m) Now apply cement on the whole baseplate portion where the joystick will sit, and also on all of the islands under the stick. Don't wait too long. Place the stick in position and shift it around to accurately position, before pressing firmly in place, and suffering like this for at least 10 to 15 minutes! Sorry! Don't use any kind of mechanical clamp! Just suffer! Meditate on the joy of being ready to do FS2002 the justice it perhaps deserves! CAUTION: Don't remove the joystick whatever you do for at least 6 hours. In any case there's really no need to. If and when you need to, remember to grip the base only, and lift up one side to break the Velcro grip! PREPARING AND FITTING THROTTLE/COLLECTIVE & MOUNTING BRACKET a) Position your left forearm comfortably on the armrest and estimate where the throttle should be on the fore and aft axis, remembering it has a travel of 6" stop-to-stop! Determine the distance between your imaginary throttle and the forward securing screw of your armrest. Call it DimA! b) Also determine how much to the left of the armrest c/l the throttle must be displaced for a comfortable grip. Call it DimB. Make a note of these two dimensions. c) From your 15mm x 6mm thick strip, cut a length DimB+2 1/2" long. Mark at 1 1/4" from one end and make a sharp 90 degree bend. Clean up all sharp edges. d) Remove the LH armrest. Position the long arm of your 'L' bracket, with the bend downwards, under the first armrest securing screw hole, allowing it to protrude by DimB. Mark the securing hole position. Got it? e) Drill a screw clearance hole at the mark in the center of the width. Don't fix just yet. f) From the remaining 2mm MS sheet, cut a strip 1 1/4" X DimB+1" long. This forms the throttle/collective lever mounting plate. Snip off the corners, remove all sharp edges then round off, to circular, the corners. Mark the lengthwise c/l on both sides. g) With the short leg of the 'L' facing downwards and on your left, the mounting plate you've just cut must be fixed at its near end to the short leg of the bracket. (The throttle/collective will be secured to the far end of this) Drill 2x3.5mm holes appropriately for securing these two parts together. Also mark and drill a 5mm hole 20mm from the far end of the plate along the c/l. h) Now to the throttle/collective lever. Cut a strip from your remainder sheet 18" long. What about the width? To determine the width, get one of your grips and squash it flat. Measure the width of the slit (inside to inside) created, then minus 3mm. That's the width of the strip. (My strip is 35mm wide). i) Snip off 10x10x10mm triangles at the 4 corners. File smooth all edges, and round off the 4 snipped corners. (This is essential for you to be able to slip the grips on easily with just a touch of grease, later.) j) Mark the long c/l on the strip. k) Mark the strip 7" from one end and cut squarely into 2 pieces. Snip off 5x5x5mm of all 4 corners. Flatten the strips, if necessary. m) First we'll finish the throttle strip (short one). From the just-cut short edge of the strip, make a punch mark 3mm along the c/l. Measure exactly 40mm from here and make another punch mark. (Please be very accurate here). n) Measure the diameter of your inner cable, and drill the same-sized hole at the first punch mark. Drill a 5mm hole at the other punch mark. (This hole must fit the cable very accurately else there will be a lot of lost motion and loss of fine adjustment, especially important in helicopter flying). o) Now to work on the collective strip. Make punch mark 25mm along the c/l of the longer strip from the just-cut end. Also draw two lines, using set-square, 15 and 45mm from the punch mark. Drill a 5mm hole at the punch mark. (The two lines will later be used for joggling the collective outwards). p) Use a 5mm bolt and nut with spring washer and temporarily secure the 2 strips together--tight, but moveable with force. Set an angle of roughly 120 degrees between them. (Collective strip must be on the outside). Drill a 3.5mm hole as far away as possible from the 2mm cable hole through both plates. A 3mm bolt nut and spring washer fully tightened here, will hold the relationship between the throttle and collective levers, but you can also change it later if you require. Slip on both grips--knuckles, if any, should face forward! q) Snip off all protrusions while in position from the collective strip and cut away extra material from the throttle strip to give it a smart look. File to finish off neatly. If you've got the orientation right remove the two securings. Joggle the collective strip outwards by about 20mm (so that it clears the cable later). Fix back the 3mm bolt, nut and spring washer to hold the two levers together. r) Getting it all together! Fit the 5mm bolt, head toward you, through the 5mm hole in the mounting plate. Secure tight on the other side with a nut only--no washers. (This forms the throttle/collective pivot point). s) Slip on one flat washer, then the combined levers onto the 5mm bolt, 120 degrees angle facing you, then slip on one spring washer, another flat washer and a single nut. Lightly tighten the nut, while moving the throttle and collective levers separately, to find the point which gives the control the right tension or feel. This is also a good time to check that the positions of both are OK. The pictures will show you that I joggled the throttle lever also outwards for my personal comfort. You can do the same at this time if you feel the need. t) When the tension feels right, slip on a second nut to lock against the first, and tighten with TWO spanners. After tightening, recheck the tension is still OK. Really lookin' good now! We've just got the drive cable left to fit, and its a cinch! DRIVIN' MISS DAISY! The cable takes a long, lazy loop around the back of the chair (I'm so sorry--seat!). Sharp bends are taboo. Somewhere at the back of each armrest, find some place to cleat the cable, necessary so it doesn't sag toward the floor. Lucky me, I found two convenient screws securing the back of each armrest and wired it there. a) You need a very sharp pair of side cutting pliers to cleanly cut through the inner cable in one snap! You can try yours by lopping off the end fittings first (we don't need these). Ensure after cutting that the end is neatly twisted back if it has unravelled. Pull out the cable inner wire from the outer and wipe clean. b) You have some extra length to play with, so practice a couple of SHARP right angle bends on the inner wire about one half inch from the wire end. Again, if the wire tends to unravel, carefully wind it back. Don't kink the wire, whatever you do. c) Determine the length of outer cable you need. (Another pair of hands at this stage is invaluable.) One end comes 2mm short of the edge of the throttle wheel, moves outwards at 45 degrees for about 4", then curves back and around the seat. Simultaneously, the other end just touches the throttle strip near the 1.5 or 2mm hole you made earlier, with the throttle about 30 degrees forward. Keep a loose loop round the back, and add a couple of inches for safety, then cut off the extra length of outer cable. For neatness, remove the ferrule from the cut piece and fix it to the cut end of the long cable. If it's a bit longer it's perfectly OK, but if you cut too short, you'll have to replace the cable, so be careful! d) We now need to the make two outer cable clamps. Somewhere you have a small piece of 1mm thick MS sheet. Cut 2 strips lengthwise, each about 10mm wide by 100mm (4" long). e) Use round-nose pliers and make two neat loops at one end of each of the strips of internal diameter (i.d.) equal to the o.d. of the outer cable (use the waste piece of cable outer as a 'gauge'). It must be a tight fit, but slidable with force. This ensures that once fitted we can make fine adjustments and these will thereafter stay in place! f) The joystick-side clamp must hold the cable 2 1/2" above the baseplate, so make a 90 degree bend this amount below the loop. If it's too high, and the cable tends to jump out, you can joggle to shorten. g) Drill a 3mm hole through both the bracket and the exposed part of the baseplate, and secure so that the cable will make a roughly 45 degree angle to the fore-and-aft axis of the joystick. h) The throttle-side clamp is secured by the same two screws and nuts holding the throttle mounting plate to its bracket. The loop must protrude downwards and about 8mm outward. Joggling is required to hold the cable level with the 1.5mm or 2mm cable hole we drilled earlier in the throttle strip--throttle must be in mid-position. (This clamp position is a little different in the picture. No matter!). i) You can now bolt all 3 components together. Snip off any extra clamp strip length after fitment. j) Put a couple of drops of light oil down one end of the outer, and hold vertical to allow oil to run down the length. Wipe end and help oil down. k) Push both cable ends into their respective clamps. On the joystick-side, the cable should be pushed in until 2mm away from the edge of the throttle wheel, and on the throttle side, as close to the 2mm cable hole as possible with the throttle moved forward about 30 degrees. l) Now let's work on the inner wire. If you don't still have one there, after all your practice, you'll have to make a 90 degree bend exactly 1/2" long, on one end only, neatly twisting back, if there has been any unravelling of strands. m) Clean the cable by pulling through a dry cloth, then lightly coat with a few drops of oil (avoid grease). Thread the wire through the outer from the throttle end, then thread the bent end into the 2mm hole in the throttle lever. n) Test for free movement by exercising the throttle about 30 degrees on either side of the vertical mid-position. It must feel butter-smooth within this range, so don't go too far beyond. NOTE: The following test is very important. You need 46mm to 48mm of inner wire travel to move the throttle wheel from idle to full throttle, and the next point helps you determine this. o) With the throttle 30 degrees back from vertical (i.e. idle position), make a marker pen mark, (yes, you'll have to clean off the oil!) on the inner cable where it coincides with the edge of the outer. Now move the throttle 30 degrees forward from the vertical position (i.e. full throttle). The mark must travel at least 46mm forward of the outer cable end. Got it! Actually, we're just double checking! You don't have throttle stops just yet, but we'll look like assess later, if at full throttle, N1 struggles up to 70% max! p) If all is well, make a sharp clean 90 degree bend exactly at the mark. Leave 12mm after the bend, and snip off the excess length. You must be fed up with my saying this--carefully wind back if the strands have tended to unravel. q) Remove the screw and nut securing the joystick end cable clamp, and tuck the cable with its clamp away temporarily. DRILLING THROTTLE WHEEL (Refers to SWFF Pro ver. 1 only. Your stick will require a different approach. I have to state the obvious!) Note: You can't go backwards here if you screw up! Why do you think I made an aluminium throttle wheel in the first place? I wasn't sure the whole thing would work with everything positioned as it was! Now that I know it all works, you don't need to make another wheel! But you do need to drill just the one hole needed very very carfully! Read on... a) Take a good look at the throttle wheel. Move it to its limits. There is a large embossed index line on the wheel which travels to both extremes--is always visible, never gets lost! Found it? Good! Now use a small file, and file away about 4mm length of the index mark embossed part leaving just the ghost of a line. This gives us a broader surface on which to drill. b) To connect the inner wire to the throttle, we need to drill a hole exactly the same diameter as the inner wire in the wheel edge, USING THE HAND BRACE ONLY and the correct size bit. First, use the dividers, and with the lightest pressure make a mark in the middle of the ghost index line 3mm inwards from the edge of the wheel. I'd use a heated piece of 1mm wire to make a deeper indentation so the drill doesn't slip. While drilling make sure the brace is held 90 degrees to the baseplate, (and NOT 90 degrees to the surface of the wheel). Hold steady, use a minimum of pressure and drill slowly with a back and forth motion rather than full rotations. Hole depth will be about 3mm. c) Slip the bent end of the wire into the hole, then exercise the throttle. Note that the throttle wheel travels from idle to fully open. Don't force the throttle lever beyond the wheel limits. There should be no tendency for the cable ends to jump out of the holes, if you've done things right. NOTE FOR SW 3D PRO USERS: You don't have the hairy job of drilling into the plastic of the throttle lever here. With scrap 1mm thick MS (or thick tinplate) make a "T" piece with the top leg 15mm long x 8mm wide, and the middle leg 15mm long x 5mm wide. Bend the top legs to the same shape as the top of the throttle handle on the stick. Drill two holes same as inner wire diameter 6mm and 10 mm below the "T" legs junction. Stick this add-on to the lever. That's it! FIXING THROTTLE STOP: This is a single screw, which when correctly positioned on the throttle mounting plate, serves both as an idle and full throttle limiter. Ideally the stop acts a fraction of a millimeter before the throttle wheel reaches either of its limits. a) Move the throttle lever back until the wheel is at full idle. Use the dividers to draw a line on the throttle mounting plate from the back edge of the throttle strip to intersect the c/l you had earlier drawn. Hold dividers square to plate. Now move lever forward until wheel is at full throttle and draw another line to intersect the first two. (All three lines should coincide, but there'll probably be a small error. Don't worry about it! Later, we'll shift the screw around a bit to find the exact point.) b) Drill a 4mm hole at the intersection point. (Better to make a light punch mark while giving a heavy back support, or start with a smaller size drill.) c) Fit the 3mm x 15mm long screw, head towards seat side, with a washer at the head, slip on another washer the other side, then a spring washer and finally run on the nut and tighten. d) Recheck the extreme positions, making adjustments on the stop, and sliding the outer in its clamp to locate a position where the throttle stop coincides with idle and full throttle as observed on the wheel. You may need to use a rat-tail file to enlarge the stop hole a small amount to get the desired result. e) Finally, exercise the throttle, checking it hits the stops, exactly as the throttle reaches its limits. CONGRATULATIONS! Your hard work is over! All that's left is the padding work on the right armrest and covering the left armrest with the same material to match. FINISHING THE ARMRESTS a) Cut two sponge strips 4" x 12" and stick them the baseplate on either side of the original armrest with a couple of dabs of rubber cement (just to hold in place). The sponge will protrude a couple of inches over the edge--just leave it! I didn't and now the edge of the baseplate digs painfully into my ribs to remind me sometimes. b) The black material you bought needs to be converted to a hemmed wraparound cover, neatly folding and giving shape to the whole mass, and held together at the bottom by Velcro strips running the length of the cover. I both stuck and stitched mine using our rubber cement. Make sure the cover's long enough to protrude beyond the back edge of the backplate by about 1". c) The left arm rest is easy. More or less the same activity. CLEATING: Four wires run from the seat and these were neatly cleated together along with one of Rover's old chains wired to the seat frame and the computer table, about 2" shorter so that if the seat is pulled away from the table, tension will be on the chain first. Must've saved at least a dozen incidents so far. FINAL FINISH: When you're satisfied that everything works well you can paint in situ, but if you love it and want to do a really smashing job, you can dismantle the throttle/collective side complete, and have the parts powder-coated. And remember what Henry Ford said about color! OPTIONALS: My VibraPad is really a therapeutic gadget, but doubles reasonably! I have a PopUp Mouse Pad (with sidewalls!) hinged, to the right and slightly behind the stick. This is great because I never have to lean forward to operate the keyboard at all, and I'm able to maintain a constant 2' distance from my 19" monitor. (This assembly removed while photographing). CONCLUSION: That's it! Just get that chopper going and practice with the new stuff! I usually set the realism in FS2000 to midposition, all force feedbacks ON, and sensitivities at default, but with elevator sensitivity only increased by about 20%. Since I use Abacus' AF99 modified with Steve Baugh's helicopter parameters, I changed the main rotor thrust point to give positive forward flight on the Bell, hands off, more or less! Have fun, feed me back, and tell me what's written on that gas pump at the end of runway 36 at Meigs! Erich H. Leonhard ehleonhard@yahoo.com