Squeezing everything where I want

[Rich]

I managed to finally figure out a way to get everything I might want to access into usable locations, including both front seat headset control boxes and the Mountain High O2D2. It also minimizes headset cord and O2 line routing challenges. It's not obvious but I also reworked the iPad mount so the stalk only impinges 1/2" from the console. The iPhone mount is shown without the iPhone for the obvious reason.

[Mjwatlanta]

Good work! I had my iPad in the middle like yours, but found I was head down too much. Moved it over to where it looks like you mount a phone and it’s great. Also, I switched to a mini as the larger one just made everything crowded to me.

What is iPad stalk attached to? Mine went back to floor/tunnel. I had an aluminum bracket Velcroed to the tunnel. Very sturdy.

[Rich]

Good work! I had my iPad in the middle like yours, but found I was head down too much. Moved it over to where it looks like you mount a phone and it’s great. Also, I switched to a mini as the larger one just made everything crowded to me.

What is iPad stalk attached to? Mine went back to floor/tunnel. I had an aluminum bracket Velcroed to the tunnel. Very sturdy.

In flight the iPad is higher than it looks. Only a glance down with eyes alone lets me see what I need to. The iPhone has live FF display so I use both/either as required. Both are connected to the FlightStream and the Stratus 3 (visible below the pilot side panel). In reality I really don’t monitor either all that much - maybe a glance per minute.

For the iPad I made a bracket from a piece of 1” square aluminum channel bolted to the front of the seat using two of the bolts that hold the seat front in place. For the stalk I started with a RAM mount that uses a 1/2” aluminum rod and went to work on it to change how the stalk and base are held together so the stalk is right against the side of the console. This moves the stalk out of the way entirely. I’ll get pictures out shortly. I posted my earlier similar approach here but this is an improvement.

The Stratus, iPad, and headsets are all ship-powered. The iPhone and O2D2 are not. Both headsets and the Stratus power up and down automatically with the avionics master.

The mini is a more flexible approach, but without going into detail, my wife prefers that I use the pro 11 so she can more easily utilize it.

The headset control boxes are mounted above the plane of the console using 1” aluminum angle plus judicious use of Velcro and 3M dual lock mounting tapes. They need to be easily removable for front seat removal.

[Steve]

Rich - I’d be interested in seeing some photos of your mounting scheme for the headset control boxes. I haven’t figured out a good way to mount my DC ONE-X boxes yet. Right now, since most of my flights are solo, I just leave them on the copilot’s seat. It is more of an issue if I have someone in that seat.

[Rich]

This is for mounting the headset control boxes. Parts list:
- Appropriate mount for the control box (Delta Zulu shown here)
- 1" angle aluminum cut to appropriate length (don't forget to deburr).
- 1" velcro or similar

Mount is velcro'd to the angle and then the angle is velcro'd to the side of the console so that it clears other stuff (especially alternate air).

Other variations are possible, as well, of course.

[Rich]

Mounting the iPad center stalk. The basic idea is to use a RAM vehicle mount. But where to attach it? This is what I came up with:

1" square channel. Match-drilled holes to the two inner front seat bolts. Then concentric hole drilled to allowed 10mm socket access. Then another hole at the inner end to attach the vehicle mount via bots/nut/washer. The factory seat bolts are used to fasten the channel to the front of the seat.

Carved up the vehicle mount so that the stalk would be right up against the console. The stalk is held in place with a 3mm bolt/nut and a piece of 1/2" ID bushing. More details if you're interested. Interestingly, the aluminum rod used in the stalk is a very soft aluminum and was a bear to drill through. It kept clogging up the drill bit. The other cuts were easy with a bench grinder using a cutting wheel.

A reasonable variation on this would be to put this mounted to the right front seat. I chose this so it wouldn't impeded my wife's access to the throttle quadrant - real or imagined.

The use of things like this homemade bracket could be adapted to other applications.

[Steve]

Thanks Rich. That is a nice solution. I'll have to check the cord lengths on my DC ONE-X headset. I don't think they will be long enough to reach that location on the control quadrant console. I'll have to play around with it a bit. I do have the control box clip that came with the headset somewhere...

[Rich]

Thanks Rich. That is a nice solution. I'll have to check the cord lengths on my DC ONE-X headset. I don't think they will be long enough to reach that location on the control quadrant console. I'll have to play around with it a bit. I do have the control box clip that came with the headset somewhere...

Ah, that's a factor I hadn't considered. The headsets I'm using have just the right amount of control box to headset cord length to make this work. The Zulu 3 might actually be a bit tight for the pilot side; the Delta Zulu's is longer. I need to check my other headsets for feasibility.

One other thing I forgot to mention. Placing these where they are doesn't work well to reach from the boxes to the audio jacks. I use LEMO 6-pin extender cables run behind the front seats, along the outsides of the seats (tucked in between seat and side panel) and the across the front below the cushion to feed the boxes. A couple of nylon stick-on cable routing gizmos keeps them in place. This has the added benefit of not having them run along the seat belt latch area.

[Steve]

So, Rich's organizational efforts prodded me to find a solution for my DC ONE-X control boxes. The cords on these are not long enough to reach the control quadrant as Rich described. Also, the clips DC supplied are more for clipping to a jacket pocket than mounting to a surface. I found a fellow that 3D prints control holders for a lot of aviation headsets, including a couple of different ones for the DC ONE-X. They are quite reasonable, well designed, and sturdy:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204849834058

I wound up gluing two of them together and mounting them at the rear of the center console with a couple of velcro strips:

Velcro on aft center console

3D printed holders attached

Control boxes inserted

Side view of control boxes

They are quite sturdy in that position and don't impinge on my leg or hip at all. There is plenty of slack in the control box to headset cable. Two minor gripes: 1) the controls are upside down, but I think that they were designed to plug into the front panel jacks that most aircraft have. 2) I've mounted them as far aft as I could, so they are not in an easy line-of-sight to see the buttons. Luckily, the buttons are raised and of different shapes, so it is easy to identify with button your finger is on without looking. I can glance down to see them, but maybe that isn't something one wants to do when on instruments in IMC...

Anyway, just an idea for anyone with the same model headsets.

[blsewardjr]

Steve- Thanks for the tip on those holders. I have the ones from Sporty's for the Lightspeed Zulus, which I think can be improved on so I've ordered a Zulu3 specific pair from the guy you recommended. I have mine mounted where you do but with the controls facing forward. I then run the power cable back through the area between the boxes. Not ideal so may try Rich's location.