A place for the new ICP

At the time when I built my CenterConsole there were not a lot of infos about the F-16 available, so the HUD block, where the ICP mounts to, was missing the chamfer on the front to have a better look at the instrument panel..
You can see on the pic the correct width of the ICP but the whole block is too wide.

Since I now have a new ICP with a new backplate I decided to rework the HUD block.

That’s how it looks in reality:

(c) Martin Schmitt, xflight.de

I will keep the backpart from the glareshield on and just replace the chamfered part.
The whole model is not 100% accurate, I just wanted to fit my ICP and to be able to mount the HUD frames I purchased ages ago.
On the real part there’s a big lens but on my version I just made the outline of it.

The frames for the HUD have been purchased a lot of years ago from another simbuilder. They are milled from MDF but are more then enough for my needs – I don’t plan to ever build a full working HUD.

After a testprint to confirm the ICP fits in the block I started my longest (and most stressful) 3D print – 11 hours print time.
It got stressful mainly because I realized only after 3 hours into the print that I didn’t change the filament spool and so I didn’t know, if the rest of the filament on the spool would be enough.

It was close but it worked out in the end!

Base block after 11h of melting plastic.

The ICP fits perfectly inside the box!

There are holes at the sides so one can use them to rest the fingers when working with the buttons on the ICP. Like the real block I printed inserts for it that add some surface to this area.
It’s a pressfit to put them in but if they ever get too loose I can easily put them into place with some superglue.

To mount the HUD frames another plate is added on top where the frames get screwed to.

Mounted HUD frames and ICP.

Connection between the block and the current CenterConsole is done in two ways. First the top plate is lengthened to the back and has some mounting holes, second I added heat inserts at the back of the block for 5mm bolts.
The CenterConsole gets aluminium brackets with the corresponding holes at the top and front.

Since the HUD frame would really be disturbing and blocking the view when using a monitor I designed another top plate similar to the first one, without the frame mounts. The two plates can easily be interchanged.

Behind the top plates is still some room left on the CC, so I added another plate that holds the HUD camera.

See you next time!