By Fritz Weinrebe on 30 September 2008

I actually developed some of the individual gauges for the Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) some time ago. They were then placed together on a new User Control to form the EICAS gauge.



The above EICAS Gauge is still a work in progress. About 40% complete.

By Fritz Weinrebe on 30 September 2008

The Oxygen Panel is the second panel to be cut and engraved.  Here is a picture of the panel.



At the moment I am going to get all the panels engraved for the Right Pedestal, so that I can start with the electronics corresponding to the completed panels.  I'm also going to complete the Standby Radios, which is also located on the Right Pedestal.

By Fritz Weinrebe on 24 September 2008

Progress on building the sim is a bit slow lately.  This is because of a 7 month old baby in the house and a 2 year old.  At the moment I'm building a playhouse for them.  This shows you that the woodworking skills gained from building a sim can be applied elsewhere.

By Fritz Weinrebe on 09 September 2008

The first panel was engraved and cut using a CO2 CNC laser engraver.  Below is a photo of the Smoke Generator Control panel which will be placed on the Left Pedestal.



A lot of preparation went into the panel before it could be cut.

Here are the steps I followed:

1.  A sheet of white 3mm Perspex was sanded with 1200 grain sandpaper to give the paint a better grip on the Perspex.
2.  I then spray painted the sanded side with a quick drying Grey Primer.  When the primer is completely dry, you may sand it some more to gi ... Read More »