Thrustmaster RCS pedals - spring broke!

[SUBMAN1]

Does anyone know where to find springs for these older rudder pedals? My spring broke in them, in the middle of a convoy attack in Armed Assault. This resulted in my out of control Cobra helo going down behind enemy lines! :-? Must trudge out on foot tonight - and that's gonna be a long hike!

Anyway, if anyone knows where to buy special springs, it would be a appreciated.

-S

[Letum]

have you contacted the manufacturer?
They are oftern helpful.

[SUBMAN1]

have you contacted the manufacturer?
They are oftern helpful.
Not on something they haven't sold in 10 years! :-? I have tried, but no reply yet. I may have to have one manufactured is what its coming down to.

So where do I find this spring? It has 2 coils total. The inner diameter of the coil is 16 mm, the outer diameter is 23 mm. Spring length from end to end is 104 mm.

I have no idea where to buy this?? Do you have any ideas? You can see where it snapped.

Here is a pic of it:

http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/6409/springag5.gif


This is what it is off of. They don't make all metal rudder pedals like this anymore. Everything now days is plastic.
http://home.arcor.de/S.Kohlmann/joystick/rcs.jpg

[Letum]

If you cant replace it with the same kind of spring, then your best bet is to replace both springs with the next best thing. Replacing one with a non-identical spring will cause imbalance.

The first place to check would be agricultural and farm warehouse-shops. I made my own rudder pedals from things I found at the local tractor repair shop; they are full of useful bits like that.

I'll have a google around for you and post again if I find anything......

[Letum]

OK, after a quick google it seams that there are several producers of custom made springs and many of they are happy to offer 1-off purchases.

You need to look for "torsion springs" and have as many details about the springs size as you can get.

run a few googles for "Torsion Springs" or "Torsion Springs manufacturers"



It may cost a bit, but its a sure way to get a good spring! Make sure you buy 2 and replace both!

[Heibges]

Do you have any blacksmith or metalworking shops in your area?

[SmithN23]

I would suggest taking the spring to a hardware store and see if you can find a similar one.

[FIREWALL]

If you have an industrial district near like I do especialy former small aeospace shops you very likely find what your looking for localy and get back in the air sooner. Hope this helps you out.

[SUBMAN1]

If you have an industrial district near like I do especialy former small aeospace shops you very likely find what your looking for localy and get back in the air sooner. Hope this helps you out.

Thats an idea. I work not far from Boeing's massive hangers, so I bet there are some machine shops around here.

[FIREWALL]

If you have an industrial district near like I do especialy former small aeospace shops you very likely find what your looking for localy and get back in the air sooner. Hope this helps you out.

Thats an idea. I work not far from Boeing's massive hangers, so I bet there are some machine shops around here.


There you go :up: I used to live near Everett,Washington and Boeing 747 plant.

Guiness book records once said their hanger doors were the bigest in the world.:huh:

[swifty]

Go to MCMASTER-CARR, http://www.mcmaster.com/, or Small Parts inc, http://www.smallparts.com/. Look for Torsion Springs. You can try measuring the torque using a scale and measuring the length. You can order custom springs from McMaster, just enter in the required dimensions.

[stabiz]

Great game, eh?

[SUBMAN1]

Thanks for all your help. I did manage to find some actual springs for this thing from the community of flight simmers. Ordering them now.

-S

PS. In case anyone cares, to do a 1 off spring for this thing, the typical quote was $135.

[Linton]

$135 for an aerospace product is cheap.Why don't you ask the Boeing people for a hammer-a snip at only $2000!!!

[SUBMAN1]

$135 for an aerospace product is cheap.Why don't you ask the Boeing people for a hammer-a snip at only $2000!!!

That is true. Always had aircraft in the family as long as I have been alive. This spring is by no means aircraft grade either!

-S

[FIREWALL]

$135 for an aerospace product is cheap.Why don't you ask the Boeing people for a hammer-a snip at only $2000!!!

That is true. Always had aircraft in the family as long as I have been alive. This spring is by no means aircraft grade either!

-S

Those massive Boeing doors you work by wouldn't be the 747 plant in Everett, Washington?

[SUBMAN1]

$135 for an aerospace product is cheap.Why don't you ask the Boeing people for a hammer-a snip at only $2000!!!
That is true. Always had aircraft in the family as long as I have been alive. This spring is by no means aircraft grade either!

-S
Those massive Boeing doors you work by wouldn't be the 747 plant in Everett, Washington?
What would I do with a 747? :D I guess i could deck it out and live on it, but still!

But yes, that is where you would find the plane anyway. A Piper Aztec, decked out with full de-ice gear, STOL kit, and long range tanks. Has a 1200 mile range approximately out of 192 US Gal total fuel. Max cruise at 24,000 feet is 248 MPH, ceiling is 30,000, but all and all, you are really limited by the O2 sys to about 24K. Done many hops between Everett and LA. Usually takes about 4.5 hours if you opt for fuel savings. Best time ever to LA was about 3.5 hours with a nice tail wind, but that tail wind turned into an even bigger headwind on the way back later on in the week - 7 hours! Ugghh! Hated that return trip. Bucking high winds, icing, and tons of commercial traffic (We usually use IFR on most long range trips) at midnight! Dark, can't see anything, and in the clouds. On that particular trip, I noticed the airspeed was steedily dropping over time (somewhere over the WA OR border), yet the throttles were still in the same position. Get a flashlight out, and aimed at the wings - its a huge sheet of ice! The autopilot was just correcting by raising the nose, slowing down slowly over time. Much longer, and guaranteed one wing would have stalled and I wouldn't be typing this here today.

Anyway, enough stories (I have plenty of stories by the way). The point is, I've been flying almost every weekend and part way into my adult life with thousands of hours in the air - yet I am still here! So I deem flying a pretty safe thing to do, even with a few of my hairy stories like this one.

Just my 2 cents once more.

-S

[Reaves]

So when are you going to come to Oz and take me for a spin Subman? :ping: