FORCE FEEDBACK YOKE
One of the issues from my initial cockpit design was the joystick: it wasn't powerful, nor accurate enough. Plus, now that I wanted to create a Cessna 172 cockpit (because that's what I am learning to fly on), I realized that yokes, not joysticks are used in a Cessna 172. So, I needed to make a realistic yoke with powerful force feedback instead of my original joystick design..
Objective:
To create a Force Feedback Yoke which would simulate control loading (stiffer controls at high speeds) and realistic elevator trim.
Materials:
MDF, Power Transmission Parts (Shafts, Couplings, Gears), Drawer Slides, Potentiometers, H-Bridge Speed Controllers, DC Motors, a real Cessna yoke and a used force feedback joystick.
How I Did It:
I started by looking on Ebay for Cessna 172 Yokes, eventually settling on a pair for $40. The yokes had a diameter of 3/4 inch, so I looked for the appropriate power transmission parts online at McMaster-Carr. Once the mechanical parts arrived, I constructed the frame out of wood and drilled the appropriate holes for the ball bearings. I then ordered the controllers, power supplies and motors after more research. Once the motors arrived, I found that high gear ratio in one of the gearboxes made the motor too stiff. I then opened the gearbox, rearranged it and cut down one of the gears.
For the force feedback electronics, I disassembled an old force feedback joystick and decreased the power mix applied to it. I then connected the motor outputs to 2 separate H bridges, which were powered by two separate power supplies, which in turn output to the motors. I mounted one potentiometer on the gear rack and another to the roll axis.
The potentiometers returned values both back to the force feedback controller in order to calculate the necessary motor values and to an Arduino Mega which could take a more accurate reading. I then found a used Cessna 172 yoke for a very affordable price and attached that yoke to aluminum shaft. The shaft had a large gear on one end which connected to another gear, which then connected to a gear box and RS550 motor. This “block” slid on drawer sliders for the pitch axis. The whole block was moved by a motor attached to a gearbox attached to a gear rack.
For the force feedback electronics, I disassembled an old force feedback joystick and decreased the power mix applied to it. I then connected the motor outputs to 2 separate H bridges, which were powered by two separate power supplies, which in turn output to the motors. I mounted one potentiometer on the gear rack and another to the roll axis.
The potentiometers returned values both back to the force feedback controller in order to calculate the necessary motor values and to an Arduino Mega which could take a more accurate reading. I then found a used Cessna 172 yoke for a very affordable price and attached that yoke to aluminum shaft. The shaft had a large gear on one end which connected to another gear, which then connected to a gear box and RS550 motor. This “block” slid on drawer sliders for the pitch axis. The whole block was moved by a motor attached to a gearbox attached to a gear rack.
