Putting the Cockpit Windows In

It's been sometime since I last put up a post and that's simply because progress has been virtually at a stand still since the beginning of November when I fired up 'The Beast' for the first time and started loading software. Work has simply just kept me too busy to be able to spend any time building.

However, over the last couple of weeks I have been putting in the perspex windows.  Perspex is a good material to use as it has good clarity and it's flexible which helps to provide a realistic curve to the windshields.

It's worth researching and reading up about how to work with Perspex - although it is flexible, it can split or shatter quite easily if you don't use the right tools to cut and drill it......as I found out. So this is what I did:

• To cut it, I used my renovator tool rather than a circular saw as this prevented the Perspex shattering.



The Renovator (left) is much more suitable for cutting the perspex compared to a circular saw

Sorry if you're squeamish - lesson learnt!

• Whatever you do, don't do what I did - last Saturday I was trying to cut Perspex with a craft knife - I couldn't be bothered going down to my workshop.......40 minutes down the road to the nearest medical centre open on a Saturday and 9 stitches later.

Use a metal drill bit (left) - not a wood one (right)

• Secondly, I thought it would be sensible to use a wood drill to drill a hole in perspex - wrong! All this did was crack the perspex, but thankfully in this case not in a place that would be in my face the whole time. I found the best way of drilling was to drill a pilot hole first with a metal drill and then re-drill with a bit of the right size - don't be tempted to drill at too high-a-speed, this could again cause cracking.

• Make sure you drill the holes over-sized and use  screws with large flat heads otherwise again you risk cracking the plastic.  If you do crack the plastic, then take a small drill bit and drill a hole at the end of the crack - this will stop it extending further (actual practice used on aircraft cracks).

To provide a bit of realism I've added a foam lining to the windows to represent the rubber seals.  Trying to buy something that would do the job was either impossible or ridiculously expensive, so I ended up cutting up an old foam camping mat (without managing to slice my finger ;-) ). You can see the lining in the photo with the crack. 

Here are the windows all in place - I haven't stripped  the protecting cover off completely yet until I'm certain I've finished all the construction on the outside. Also, you can see  that where the Flight and Engine instrument  monitors are I've covered these with MDF lined on the inner face with the plastic sheeting that came with the monitors to protect the screens - it will also help to keep the dust off when not in use.

Now, I have a question that I would love an answer to!  On the centre pillar of  the BAe 146's windshield there are two orange balls, mounted horizontally.  I've simulated this using two widget balls out of a couple of cans of Guiness, but can anyone tell me what this device is?  I suspect it's some sort of turn and balance device, but I could be completely wrong.  I look forward to hearing from you.