L-1011 - CPT Installation at the Museum - Installation Part 3

L-1011 CPT Overhead Panel Installation

Today we took on the installation of the pilot's overhead panel and the installation of the CB2 overhead circuit breaker board. The overhead panel is a massive piece of hardware and it took 4 of us to lift it and mount it in place. The panel interconnects with all other pieces of the simulator and gives it a large degree of stability. In the image above and below you can see Jim Blasco working on the interconnecting bolts between the overhead panel and the CB2 breaker panel.

L-1011 CPT Overhead Panel Installation

Each sub-panel of the CB1, CB2 and CB3 breaker panel is hinged and opens up. In the image above you can see Jim's head obstructed by the lowered left hand panel of the CB2 breaker panel. The image below shows the mounted overhead panel with all of the instrumentation removed. The panel is split into three major groups: a) the two eyebrow panels with the light controls, b) the pilot's overhead panel with four sections of instruments (or columns) and c) the CB1 breaker panel (which is after on the overhead)

L-1011 CPT Overhead Panel Installation

The image below shows the aft section of the overhead panel which is occupied by the CB1 breaker panel.

L-1011 CPT Overhead Panel Installation

The following two images illustrate how the overhead panel connects to the CB2 panel which then connects to the flight engineer's station. All three panel elements together make up the main structural overhead pieces of the L1011 cockpit procedure trainer. The images also show a lot of the real flight hardware already mounted into the overhead panel and the second officer console.

L1011 CPT Overhead Panel Installation - Pilot's Overhead and CB1

L1011 Overhead Panel and CB2 Panel Installation CB1, CB2 and SO Station Interconnect

Now that all the structural pieces of the sim are in place we can start placing the instrumentation in the correct places. The images above and below show the start of the instrumentation outfit of the L-1011 Cockpit Procedure Trainer. Unlike the original trainer, we are using actual flight hardware from several L-1011s to allow us to illuminate the instruments and to interface them with the flight simulation software as the real instrument. Below you see the Litton LTN-72 CDUs mounted on the forward center pedestal.

L-1011 Instrumentation Outfit - Litton LTN-72 

L1011 CPT Instrumentation Outfit

L1011 CPT Instrumentation Outfit

L-1011 General Aircraft Characteristics: Center Instrument Panel and Console (25-23)

The center instrument panel contains engine performance instruments, the landing gear control, a flap position indicator, the Pilot's Caution and Warning Panel, as well as standby flight instruments.

The extensive use of remote sensors and air data computers on the L-1011 permit use of servoed instruments. Servoed instruments exhibit considerable improvement in accuracy and legibility due in part to the use of digital readouts.

The center console is designed to provide all three crew members with access to any of the controls.

Avionics Bending: Audio Selector Panel (Analysis)

I chose a set of Audio Selectors made by Gables Engineering for the Lockheed L-1011 project. The L-1011 used a number of different audio selectors, depending on the avionics package selected by the customer. This particular audio selector panel is from a TWA L-1011.



The case for the selector panel is split into two pieces: a top plate that unscrews with four screws, and a "U" shaped enclosure that also fastens with four screws.


Top: The top view of the audio selector is dominated by the brown circuit boards for the push button selectors.


Right hand side view


Bottom view


Left hand side view
Each of the audio selector push buttons has a dual function: (a) when depressed, the audio source is switched to the amplifier and, (b) turning the push button regulates to volume of the selected source. The volume is changed with a potentiometer on the backside of the switch, as can be seen below.


Each audio selector has a primary and an alternate amplifier. The amplifier can be selected with a toggle switch on the lower left hand side of the audio selector panel.

Original Flight Hardware: Weather Radar

The Lockheed L-1011 had many different weather radar configurations. The most common type consisted out of a CRT on each side of the main instrument panel and a main control head located in the center console. The WX RADAR head above has the following control elements:

• MODE CONTROL ... NORMAL radar operation, MEDium and MAXimum precipitation level control and system TEST
• TILT .. changes the radar antenna angle from 15 degrees down to 15 degrees up
• RANGE .. selects the return range for the Doppler radar
• GND RTN .. disables ground returns when the radar is being operated on the ground or at low altitude
• TURB DET .. selects the turbulence detection mode of the Doppler radar from BOTH, to PRECIPITATION only or DOPPLER only.

Panel Location

Origial Flight Hardware: ATC Transponder

For the Lockheed L-1011 project, I picked a old Gables 4096 Transponder that I restored a few months ago. Don't have the electronics retrofit for it yet, but it will be one of the first ones I work on. The ATC Transponder is located on the center console of the Lockheed L-1011. The panel that I will use is not a TCAS panel.


The elements of the ATC TRNASP panel are.

• TRANSPONDER SELECTOR SWITCH - OFF .. turns the transponder off, STBY .. puts the transponder subsystem into a non-transmitting standby mode, ON .. is the normal operation of the transponder system and LO SENS .. puts the transponder into low sensitivity mode.
• SYS SWITCH - switches between two different transponder systems .. one acts as primary the other as standby
• CODE SELECTOR - there are two double stacked knobs; one for each digit
• IDENT - momentary pressing button increases output signal for about 10 seconds
• MODE SELECTOR SWITCH - The panels supports ATC transponder modes A, B, C and D.
• ALT RPTG - when in the OFF position, the altitude reporting function is turned off.

Panel Location

Original Flight Hardware: Dual ADF Radio Head

The dual head ADF panel that I have will require a good amount of restoration work as you can see in the picture above. Most Lockheed L-1011s had a single dual head ADF panel located on the center console of the L-1011. ADF preset positions range from 100 to 1799. There is a triple stacked knob for each ADF radio. The panel has two of each of the following elements:

• FREQUENCY WINDOW ... displays the selected frequency.
• BFO ... Adds a tone to help identify a non-directional radio station.
• ADF/ANTENNA SELECTOR ... ADF - Automatic Direction Finding. RDDMI pointers will indicate the magnetic bearing to a selected station. ANT - Use for range reception

Panel Location (the aircraft I photographed did not have the ADF head, but, I indicated the position anyway).

Original Flight Hardware: Audio Selector Panel

There are several audio selector panels in the Lockheed L-1011 cockpit. Two of them are located on the center console and one of them is located on the flight engineer station (as seen at the end of this posting). There are number of selectors across the top of the panel which select the microphone connection to a specific radio or PA system.


Here are the individual switch functions:

• Microphone Selector Switch - Connects microphone outputs to respective transmitter or interphone system.
• Audio Selector Switch - Connect headset to respective receiver or interphone. Push for ON-OFF, rotate for volume control.
• Voice Switch (bottom right) - filters code signals and improves voice reception
• Range Switch (next to voice) - filters voice signals and improves code reception
• Speaker Switch - enables captain or f/o to use individual speakers. Push for ON-OFF rotate to adjust volume.
• Amplifier Select - NORM - normal amplifier, ALT - using alternate amplifier.

Panel Locations

Original Flight Hardware: VHF COMM Radio Head

For the communications equipment on my Lockheed L-1011 project I have picked Gables Electronics radio heads. The heads are simply frequency selectors for the VHF frequency range of 118.00 MHz to 136.97 MHz.



The head uses a two drum-style digit displays that are backlit and are each driven by the respective two-element selector switch. The big rotating knob on the bottom of the two element stack controls the digits to the right of the decimal point. The smaller one on top controls the digits to the left of the decimal point.

The TFR switch points to the active frequency and renders the other one the stand-by frequency. The active frequency selection is also indicated by a green illuminated dot.


Panel Location

Cockpit Design Study: Center Console (Part 1)

Here are the top side measurements for the Lockheed L-1011 center console. I will post the side measurements at a later point. The pictures are from the L-1011 cockpit located at the Delta Air Transportation Heritage Museum. The center console has several characteristic features:

Forward Electronics Console
Throttle Quadrant
Center Electronics Console

The following images illustrate the size of the center console:

Image 1: Length of forward electronics console.




Image 2: Width of Center Console.


Image 3, 4 and 5: Rudder and Aileron Trim





Image 6: Depth of Center Console


Image 7: Depth of Center Console as measured from the Main Instrument Panel (Engine Cluster)


Image 8: Throttle, Spoiler and Flap control width.


Image 9: Forward Electronics Console Width