Xpendable’s Blog

My Latest Posts

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• Reworking the left and right console structuresAugust 13, 2024
  I have decided to rework the left and right side console structures. This has been nagging at me for over a year. I have wanted to approximate the outside fuselage… Read more: Reworking the left and right console structures
• Elephant in the room – Eagle Dynamics vs RazbamJune 16, 2024
  If you are a DCS (Digital Combat Simulator) player, chances are you aware of the current “spat” between Eagle Dynamics (game developer responsible for DCS) and Razbam Simulations, the modular… Read more: Elephant in the room – Eagle Dynamics vs Razbam
• UFC renderJune 11, 2024
  Here is a test render that I did from FreeCAD showing the latest work on the UFC. I still need to complete the mounting interfaces between the different 3D printed… Read more: UFC render
• UFC display electronicsJune 11, 2024
  I discovered that the ssd1306 OLED i2c display, which has 128 x 64 pixel resolution, is the perfect size for replicating the com 1 and 2 radio preset display windows… Read more: UFC display electronics
• UFC design work continuesFebruary 24, 2024
  I have spent weeks working on designing the UFC, and probably still more weeks to go! It’s fun work, but takes a lot of time. One major success I’ve had… Read more: UFC design work continues
• UFC design work startedJanuary 30, 2024
  I have begun designing the parts for the UFC to be 3D printed. While there are already UFC models available out there, most of them do not account for a… Read more: UFC design work started
• Button box (part 4)January 6, 2024
  My rectangular buttons came in, so I took the button box apart again and swapped out the square yellow Master Caution for a rectangular amber button and moved it to… Read more: Button box (part 4)
• Button box (part 3)January 6, 2024
  Things are finally almost done. All of the controls are wired up and working with the exception of the 4 black buttons on the top panel. Actually, I do not… Read more: Button box (part 3)
• Button Box (part 2)January 1, 2024
  After a couple of days of modeling my Harrier “button box” extension for my Thrustmaster Warthog throttle, I’ve settled on the following control layout: Each of the 3 panels is… Read more: Button Box (part 2)
• Button boxDecember 30, 2023
  Since my Harrier cockpit is a long way from being even remotely “flyable”, I have decided to build a custom “button box” that will attach to my Warthog Thrustmaster throttle… Read more: Button box
• Mirrors (part 1)December 17, 2023
  One of the things I wanted to do was to recreate the 3 canopy mirrors that the AV-8B has on the sliding canopy. I found the actual part number of… Read more: Mirrors (part 1)
• 3D Printed HUDDecember 8, 2023
  This past weekend, I spent many hours redesigning the HUD frame to make it more realistic. The previous version had been designed using the DCS Harrier as reference. As it… Read more: 3D Printed HUD
• Fiberglassed right sideJune 26, 2023
  On Sunday, I clean up the sharp edges and cut off the overlapping and bubbled corners from Saturday’s application of fiberglass. Then laid on a strip to cover the right… Read more: Fiberglassed right side
• First layer of fiberglass on the seat backJune 24, 2023
  I finally got around to preparing the seat back for fibreglassing. The first step was to carve and shape a new back layer to replace the old one which needed… Read more: First layer of fiberglass on the seat back
• Who is Xpendable, and why the Harrier?June 13, 2023
  Welcome to my first blog post on OpenHarrier. First, a little bit about me and my background… I will keep it simple and brief. I am married, have 4 kids,… Read more: Who is Xpendable, and why the Harrier?

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