A-10 Jet Aircraft Cardboard Cockpit Replica

Hello aviators, I've just finished my new project, full-scalled replica of A-10 jet aircraft!

My simply idea is to give everyone who is interested, possibility to have cockpit at home, without spending loads of money and time, but also functional thing, durable enough to hold all your flying gear. I am sure that you have spare 130x160 cm space at home. Or just ask your wife and she will love the idea about huge cardboard cockpit at living room so much, then she helps you to skip all the uselles junk like sofa, fireplace, dinner table and cupboard. Anyway all these things are dangerous for kids and they periodically hitting coners by the heads and you spent lot of time on emergency instead of enjoying friday night in the cockpit. I don't need to say that cardboard will not hurt your kids and that is important, you make safe home for your children, safety first!

BTW: I desperately need laser cutter for my projects, if you like this instructable, please vote for me in Epilog contest!

Like my previous design it's created from 4 mm corrugated cardboard and it can tweak inside 100x80x15 cm box for shipping. (after 20 minutes of jumping on box). Also you don't need anything else to build the cockpit except your hands, tolerant partner, some free space and hot glue gun for few parts. Whole kit can be completed in 4 hours and if you want to place your joystick, throttle, display inside, it takes 6 hours to finish.

The main difference from previous model, is realistic size, all gauges, instruments and switches are like in real plane, created from scratch and painted in extra mega huge cool textures in size around 14 000x 10 000 pixels each.

Step 1: Get Ready!

So here we are, you can choose your own way and make everything from scratch, in that case the way how to succeed with your crazy idea is described in my previous instructable and for those who wants to follow easier path

I have ready four possible variations on my website Dogfight Boss

1) ZIP file contains all High-res textures needed for your own project,

2) Whole cockpit kit in PDF's ready for your local printing company, so you just send it there and they print and cut it for you

3) The same like previous downloadable version, but just with possibility to add your name/nickname on cockpit.

4) And last option is physical kit order with your name on it. Just write me and we will personalise your pit.

Easiest way is to order physical kit from me and you will be sure that everything goes smooth. Communication with printing companies is hard and i already screamed, cried, begged on them and now its all perfectly set up, so why you need to experience all this desperation personally?

Step 2: Assembling a Beast

If you check a pictures what i attached, you'll see that is pretty straight forward. Just need to prepare all the horizontal ribs, sort them by sides and with arrows heading to front. All circus starts on piece called base part, or floor if you want. After you assemble all the ribs, check if skeleton is perfectly aligned with base floor layer, all ribs are on places and baboon is applied, then you can use flamethrower and burn it to the ash.

If you don't have a flamethrower, just use the hot glue gun and glue the ribs to be more durable. On one of the picture is photo of folds, how to bent and glue it.

Step 3: Hardware

About hardware used you should decide at start and mount it before you closing the fuselage. I used 28' Monitor which covers all the gauges, then you can use plugins, if your your simulator soft.supports it, to make external instrument panel. Cockpit is designed for Thrustmaster Warthog throttle&Joystick with Simpit extension, for rudder i am using Saitek Pro flight Combat rudder pedals. But cardboard is easily customizable, so you can use any hardware of yours.

Step 4: Variations and Mods

My cockpit is very variable. Because of the material, you can do almost anything in minutes. Like leave the room and go for beer. Just keep kids with scissors and pencils out of it.

You can use it as stand alone pit with projecor nad normal or curved screen, or cut a hole for desk and make desktop cockpit with monitors. You can also place inside physical switches and gauges.

This is not the end my only friend. i am able to make smaller cockpits for kids, i alreday did 75% and half sized for smallest children. My two years old son loves it. Check it in my video at start. He knows three words, MAMA, PAPA and COCKPIT. Little bit strange, but i am teaching him also word cardboard and don't touch it.

I am creating skin conversions, like on picture i did Patrouille Suisse skin and on each cockpit i print customer name and nickname.

Step 5: Grand Finale

If you are here ,you seems really interested about my project. Thank you and don't hesistate to ask anything you need to know! Except Physic and chemistry, i have no idea what that words means. If you want to know more

about my project, please like us on FB to get latest updates.

Please vote for my project in Epilog contest! I need laser cutter to make better cockpits and also other things from cardboard. If i win it, i will make toys, dinosaurs , dolphins and stones too.

Thanks for reading and see you soon on next instructable!

Lukas Homola