A320 Landing Gear and Autobrake Remix

This is a remix of Kai's excellent A320 Landing Gear and Autobrake panel (original: https://www.printables.com/model/1482119-a320-landing-gear-and-autobrake).

Main changes / improvements in this version:

• Adapted for standard 3 mm LEDs – LEDs are recessed ~2 mm below the top surface of the Gear Sign Mask for nice, even diffusion and no harsh hotspots.

• Completely redesigned the LED holder / press-fit part: LED legs are now fully integrated and captured in the holder so they stay perfectly in place during assembly – no wobbling, no glue needed for LEDs!

• Enhanced light blocking: The holder is fully enclosed around the LEDs except for the legs sticking out at the bottom. This completely prevents light bleed between indicators (no more green/red light leaking to neighboring spots).

• Dual-color printing option for the mask: Printed the Gear Sign Mask using transparent/clear PLA for the indicator areas (diffuses light beautifully) + black PLA for the surrounding/opaque parts to block stray light even better. Looks great and functions perfectly.

• The entire indicator assembly (LED holder, mask, etc.) is fully compatible and directly adaptable to Kai's original 3D printed base panel. No changes were made to the mounting dimensions or overall size, so it drops in as a drop-in replacement/upgrade.

Other details:

• LED current limiting: Using 1 kΩ resistors per LED (on 5 V supply → ~2-3 mA, eye-friendly brightness, no burning sensation even after long sessions).

• Compatible with original electronics setup (Arduino + MobiFlight, 6 LEDs for gear states: 3 green + 3 red/UNLK).

• Printing: 0.2 mm layer height works well, textured plate recommended. Use multi-material/AMS if you want the two-color mask (clear for symbols, black everywhere else).

Future plans / further remixing: I won't be printing the main base panel itself. Instead, I'm making the actual panel from 3 mm clear plexiglass (acrylic), painting it, and then engraving the lettering/symbols for proper backlighting. This way the whole panel can have nice, even backlight illumination (typical for real Airbus cockpit panels), while the 3D-printed LED holder/mask part handles the individual gear indicator lights perfectly. (Note: Clear plexi works, but a white translucent/opal/milky acrylic would diffuse the backlight even better and give a more uniform glow without hotspots – unfortunately, I only have clear available right now, so I'll test with that first.)

• Adapted for 3mm LEDs with ~2mm recess in Gear Sign Mask for even diffusion.

• Redesigned LED holder with integrated legs capture – no wobble, glue-free.

• Full light enclosure on holder to eliminate bleed between indicators.

• Dual-color mask printing (clear PLA indicators + black opaque surround).

• Added support for 2 extra pushbuttons: BRK FAN and TERR ON ND (common on real 402VU panels).

• Slightly repositioned parking brake lever slot for better ergonomics/custom plexi fit.

• Designed to pair with custom engraved plexiglass base panel (3mm clear acrylic, painted & engraved for backlighting) instead of printed base.

Status note: This remix is not 100% finished yet (still working on the full plexi panel integration), but what I'm sharing here is already tested, functional, and a solid upgrade: much cleaner light, rock-solid LED positioning, and zero light leakage. Highly recommended if you're building this panel!

Feel free to remix further or adapt for your own backlight setup. Questions? Happy to help! ✈

Thanks to Kai for the great base model!

2026-01-30 Update – First real-world light test completed!

First light test done ✅ Pushbutton LEDs (LO / MED / MAX / BRK FAN / TERR ON ND) are using 3.2 kΩ resistors – nice, soft glow without being too bright. Gear indicator LEDs (3× green + 3× red) are running on 1 kΩ resistors – eye-friendly and perfect intensity.

Zero light bleed between any indicators – the redesigned fully enclosed LED holder is doing its job flawlessly! No more green leaking into red or vice versa.

Small note on the pushbuttons: the red KD2-22 switches light up the entire button surface (not just the legend window), which isn't ideal for super-precise Airbus look, but it's still very usable and looks good in the cockpit overall. Planning to test some better legend-only illuminated switches later if needed.

Photos attached from different angles and lighting conditions – green gear down state looks especially realistic in the dark!

Next steps: full MobiFlight wiring with the Nano + shield, input testing for the buttons and parking brake lever positions, then integration into the sim.

Stay tuned – this panel is getting closer to being flight-ready every day! ✈