Gotta start somewhere!

Started building the two control sticks, flap handle and rudder pedals today with some 7/8 .049 I had laying around while I wait for materials to complete the assemblies. i also managed to rough out the flap track out of some 6061-T3 .125 I also had.

I started by making a jig for the control sticks, cutting and fitting the tubes and welding in place. i will be using Ray Allen G205 Stick Grips. i trile fitted one that i already have.

for the flap track, I photocoppied the drawing, cut it out roughly and using spray adhesive glued it to some masking tape I had applied to the 6061-T3 0.125. i started by rough cutting the shape out then drilling the notches with a 1/4 drill bit. From there i slowly crept up on the line to finish the shape. just some filling and to drill the pilot holes to final size to finish it off. The flap handle got started by cutting a length of tube and creating a slot in it, a fair bit to still go here.

The rudder pedals are linked together with an outer (7/8 .049) tube and a smaller inner tube. the outer gets the left pedals attached to it on the green lines ive marked. It also gets seperated on the blue tape to expose the right pedal there. there is a link tube welded outside in the shap of a "V". to ensure alignment while welding ive pre cut the gap 90% of the way to make it an easy cut once welded.