cockpit evolution

[Paul 5r4]

Hi all, Hope everyone had a good Christmas. Thought I'd post a couple pictures of my cockpit... er... the evolution on the cockpit. The cockpit was pretty much done then I decided I wanted an arm rest. This is what I came up with. Super simple and cheap. You'll see I also moved the elevator trim knob to just under the armrest. The reason I moved it was because if I was in the seat with shoulder harnesses on, I really could not reach the knob without loosing the shoulder straps. Now, the only thing in the cockpit I can't reach without loosening the straps is the fuel tank selector. The armrest is perfect as it places my hand right at the throttle. Very comfy. Reaching the trim knob, (and the aileron trim), is just a matter of coming at it from the passenger side of the armrest. Both are easily reached without loosening any shoulder straps.

The first cockpit:

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armrest

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armrest is fastened to flap cover

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and covered with the trim knob moved to new home

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completed

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[panhandler1956]

Nice

Looks very nice Paul - clean!
Good work!

 

[LynolA]

Only one screw on the aft support? Seems shear strength may be too small for possible vertical load that may occur on arm rest.

 

[Jerry Cochran]

Panel work?

I'd be a bit concerned about the ability to easily remove the armrest when (not if) you need to crawl upside down under the panel...


.

 

[Mel]

I don't understand how you intend to reach the trim knob. Especially with two in the airplane.

 

[Paul 5r4]

trim control is....

about the level of the top of your leg when sitting in the seat and it's the same with the psgr. So, it's easy to reach around the armrest to work the trim. Remember, I could not reach it at all before without loosening up shoulder strap and leaning forward so to me anything was an improvement. Also, the two screws on the aft side do not take any load at all. They just prevent any forward/aft movement... no loads there. Any possible load would be down, like if you put pressure with your elbow to adjust yourself in the seat and you can see there is a vertical brace right at the point the elbow will hit the armrest. The armrest can be removed in about 5 minutes. Only have to remove the cable from the trim knob, then take out 5 screws and it's out.

 

[Sam Buchanan]

about the level of the top of your leg when sitting in the seat and it's the same with the psgr. So, it's easy to reach around the armrest to work the trim. Remember, I could not reach it at all before without loosening up shoulder strap and leaning forward so to me anything was an improvement. Also, the two screws on the aft side do not take any load at all. They just prevent any forward/aft movement... no loads there. Any possible load would be down, like if you put pressure with your elbow to adjust yourself in the seat and you can see there is a vertical brace right at the point the elbow will hit the armrest. The armrest can be removed in about 5 minutes. Only have to remove the cable from the trim knob, then take out 5 screws and it's out.

The armrest is going to take a lot of punishment from passengers using it to hoist themselves out of the plane. Make sure it can tolerate considerable side-to-side loading. The idea is good but it looks a bit flimsy to me.

I prefer to have the trim knob close to the throttle, you will be using it often when trimming for airspeed changes.

Very nice panel!

 

[Jim F]

armrest

I did something similar, only made it a map box with a hinged lid. My wife likes it for her visor and Mach 1 headset. It also easily comes out for under-the-panel work...
Jim F