C-3 cockpit illumination with blue fluorescent & white moonbeam lights.
We got our C-3 cockpit lights working this week. There are two 4” blue, fluorescent lamps each with adjustable ultraviolet filter; they are intended to improve instrument clarity. We were amazed that the two fluorescent lamps and their associated starters still worked after all these years. There are also two white “moonbeam” cockpit lights for general cockpit lighting. The brightness of the moonbeam lights is adjusted with a pot located on the fuselage control panel. Power for the 12 to 15 VAC left moonbeam light is routed through the top and bottom door hinge. We were also lucky to find vintage GE #94 lamps for the moonbeam lights on ebay.
Original #8581 bracket (right). Lateral crack near bottom goes all the way across bracket.
Sometimes parts are worn out or broken beyond repair. The original part #8581 (right) is a lever and bracket assembly that supports a pivot point for linkages going back to the tachometer regulator. Like several brackets in the fuselage, it is cast from pot metal. This bracket had many cracks and was broken in several places due to fatigue. We made the substitute (left) from aluminum. Ours doesn’t look as cool but is functional.
RPM and Air Speed are first working instruments in ANT-18.
Last week we got our first two cockpit instruments to work and roughly calibrated in the ANT-18. After restoring the two regulator bellows and replacing a good bit of bad vacuum hose, our cockpit engine RPM and air speed instruments started to work. Yea! Both instruments respond to throttle, and the air speed decreases in a climb. When we connect up the instructor’s air speed instrument, the cockpit air speed instrument unfortunately stops working – so we’ve got some troubleshooting to do.
On September 15, 2016 Bob K, my long-time friend and business partner, said “do you want to go look at a Blue Box?” We had both worked in flight simulation engineering at Wright Patterson AFB as civilian employees for many years. From 2000 – 2021 we founded and operated Protobox LLC in Riverside, Ohio providing flight simulation support, visual displays, and specialized electronic circuitry to the simulation industry. The Link Trainer known as the “Blue Box” or “Pilot Maker” was the first real flight simulator Ed Link invented and produced to train instrument flight to pilots. Bob showed me an old ebay.com advertisement for a Blue Box located in Kentucky. Next day we took my 6′ x 10′ enclosed trailer and were off to Isen, KY for a look at a Blue Box. We knew very little about a Blue Box, other than pictures, and one we had seen at the local Air Force Museum.
Model “Esp” arrives.
The Blue Box was among several simulators Dan had for sale. His garage, barn, and carport were like a museum of old flight simulators. He had two T40’s, the first trainer I had ever supported. He even had 2 of only 18 Link Blue Box helicopter simulators ever built. — and an old Willys 1946 Jeep. Bob negotiated the price, then the adventure began. The Blue Box never fit in my trailer; we returned to Ohio empty handed. Next day we rented a 19′ Ryder truck with a lift gate and headed back to Kentucky. This time success, and the following day the Blue Box was in our high-bay building in Riverside, Ohio awaiting much needed attention.
