Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Rang Royal Mail first today... Not massively useful, they just passed the buck onto customs. I rang customs & excise and they were surprisingly helpful, stating that I DO have a case and that I should submit a claim form along with all relevant evidence. £77 VAT I stand to receive if I win this case. Only bad side is 6 weeks waiting time to process. Wish me luck! Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 A stroke of luck! It turns out that we should be able to have all of the damaged repaired in the UK, with the turnaround being only a few weeks. Please stay tuned! Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Fantastic news Jack. Well done on pursuing your case. I'll be watching for any updates. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 Great news, sounds like they are used to this type of situation. Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted September 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 We will be journeying up to Preston tomorrow to have the Quadrant repaired... And I'll be driving! Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted September 20, 2013 Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 You could have landed at Warton and caught a bus Jack Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted September 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 I know Brian, that was my first choice except we just don't have the money to do 2 flights in one weekend (flying down to Duxford tomorrow you see). Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted October 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Time for some good news! A fully successful repair has been carried out on said damaged item, and a full write up of all events and a mini-review of said item can be expected. All that's left to do now is collect said item! All shall be revealed... Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Good to hear Jack, can't wait to see what it looks like. Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted November 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 Saturday 2nd November New Features: - Boeing 767 Throttle Quadrant - Boeing 767 CDU/FMC In Development: - Recutting and resizing the Pedestal Description: Well, this is a weird one. I've actually had everything that I need for this update for months now. However, don't tell me I'm lazy; the reason for this late post is far from being my fault. Anyway, I am finally very pleased to get this update out there; it's a massive one! Firstly, the Boeing 767 Throttle Quadrant. Some of you may remember that the Pedestal project hit somewhat of a hiatus a year or two back. The reason for this break in progress was because we (secretly!) ordered a custom built, fully sized Boeing 767 throttle quadrant, complete with backlighting, annunciators, a functioning lock and lift spoiler and flap system... The full works. The only downside to this was that it was an enormous financial investment, and would mean that I couldn't really afford anything else for the Pedestal until it arrived; and since it was a custom built unit, construction took almost a year. Anyway, enough backstory. I think pictures speak better than words so without further ado, here are a few pictures of my new baby: The quadrant's backlighting: Annunciators: All in all, it's a fantastic unit. We decided to have one built for us rather than build it ourselves, since we would not have had the time available to produce a quadrant of this quality. Currently, I am working on an autothrottle system for the quadrant; I have done the programming for this, all we need to do now is fit the motors. The quadrant was built by Roberto from Throttletek (http://www.throttletek.com/V2/). We paid around £1200 in total, spread over a year. Perhaps the most incredible thing is the story of the quadrant's journey across the world. Initially, when it first arrived, the quadrant was very heavily damaged and was, quite literally in pieces. Why? Because some customs idiot (and I'm sorry, but there is no other way to describe these people) managed to take it out of the crate for inspection, and then DROP IT. What's more? Whenever an inspection is carried out, a sticker is left and the person who inspected it has to sign their name on the sticker. So it was no surprise when I found out that my sticker had no signature... After loads of initial panic, Roberto kindly agreed to pay for all repairs. As a result, we dropped the quadrant off at Phil from Simvionics' workplace, and he repaired the throttle (t'was one hell of a job) over the next two weeks. When we got it back, it was like a whole new quadrant. If anyone's interested, here are the photos of the initial damage by customs to the quadrant (photobucket album link): http://s822.photobucket.com/user/Stratuspheric/library/767%20Throttle%20Damage As you can see, the difference between the damaged and repaired quadrant is quite phenomenal. The 767 CDU/FMC Opencockpits have kindly sent me a Boeing 767 CDU/FMC unit, which shall be installed in the Pedestal in the future. I am currently reviewing the FMC and the review should be published on the hangar some time over the next month or so. The FMC replaces our faithful previous FMC unit (which was only ever a temporary unit). The unit is fully backlit, complete with a colour VGA screen, tactile keyboard and all of the annunciators. That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed this update! Cheers, Jack Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 Those addons are too cool, Jack. I would only want to fly at night with that fantastic backlighting. Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 WOW! Fantastic stuff. Would it have been cheaper and less time consuming to buy a 767? Brilliant, I look forward to further updates. Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted November 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 Thanks very much Brett & Geoff. Naturally with every simulated flight I do I always find an excuse to turn the backlighting on. It's too good to ignore. @Geoff - Funny you mention that - Phil, who repaired the quadrant (as per the update post), has a 767 cockpit. He paid... Nothing for it; he got it free (and I'm not making this up!), after making some panels for a customer. Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 Again, WOW! Would love to see a screenie of that. Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted November 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 This is Phil's Flickr account, you can check out all the stuff he does here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/project75/ Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 Just saw the pictures of the damaged piece, amazing it was able to be fixed with the case cracked like that, without sending it back to the company. Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted November 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 The reason it was able to be fixed because it's not a "normal" company per-say. Roberto runs Throttletek by himself, and the components for the throttles are made by people all across the world. He imports them, and then constructs the throttles. The panels on the throttle are made by Phil from Simvionics who is based in Manchester. As a result, it just so happened that since I live in the same country as Phil, we could run the quadrant up to him for repair. And, as you've mentioned, what a stunning job he has done! Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted November 3, 2013 Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 But will it all go into your room in Halls, eh?!? Ha! Magic project, Jack - I'm truly amazed at all you and Martin have achieved. Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted November 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 Many thanks Dai. It will of course fit; whether they want it to or not! Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Oh my Jack... That's some very nice looking pieces of hardware you've gotten your hands on.. Is there any chance you will be bringing all that stuff to the Cosford show next year?? I plan on being there you see Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Thanks for the update Jack, you are getting some real serious kit now/ @Micke, I think we will have enough kit to have our own hangar! Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted November 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 @Micke - Cosford should be no problem! Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 @Micke, I think we will have enough kit to have our own hangar! You already have your own hangar though @Micke - Cosford should be no problem! Great, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed the show will be on a date that makes it possible for me to get there... Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted November 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 Next update will most likely be on the overhead thread, just currently sorting out some wiring issues. Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted December 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 You shall all be pleased to hear that, against the odds, customs have actually agreed to paying out some compensation regarding damage to the throttle quadrant. Link to post Share on other sites
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