[simpits-tech] Flash! Beagle's Name Found! w0Ot!

[Brian Sikkema]

> Cool.  I thought the Merc only had one window though.
It does. Well, let me rephrase - the one I'm making does. Shepard's capsule,
I forget what the designation was, had two portholes, like this:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/mercury7.gif
MR-1 through MR-3 were setup like this.

For the remaining missions, MR-4 through MA-9, they switched to a new
interior layout, with a single window directly in front, new control panel,
etc. This is the capsule I'm making. Well, one of those. There were little
changes in all of the capsules, none was exactly alike - which makes my job
all the more "fun."

Anyway, the problem is that little window is nice and close to the pilots
head, because of the cramped conditions of the cockpit. I had assumed that I
wouldn't be able to get a monitor to fill up the entire field of view - but
I was wrong.

Oh, most, if not all (I'm still not 100% sure) Mercs also had a periscope
sticking out the bottom, the image from which was displayed in the bottom
center of the main control panel. You can see it in that picture, the round
thing with the big bezel around it. So I need a display system for that as
well - but I had always planned on doing this seperate, I really have to.
And a monitor will be easy for this one. If I can ever get the optics
figured out, that is. I think they might have been doing some goofey fisheye
thing with it, but I'm not entirely sure. There's a couple of books I need
to pick up from Amazon that should clear some of this stuff up, but right
now all of my available funds are going to my PPL.

Brian