hifly 925 Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Fantastic job! Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Your work is truly inspiring Stephan! If only I had the time, the workshop, the all forgiving wife...... Maybe when I retire, God knows when that will be, it seems to move ahead of me just as I get nearer. For me It wouldn't be a Spit, The love of my life (apart from my wife.. oh and the kids) is the Tornado.... dream on JG! Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Hi Stephan, Have you tried using SPAD for your Saitek Radio, instead of the Saitek drivers? SPAD is supposed to be more customisable than Saitek drivers and you may be able to get it to work. I don't know for sure, but it's worth a shot as SPAD is free to download here. fstools.weebly.com Hope it works for you mate. Brian Link to post Share on other sites
eland2705 16 Posted February 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Brian, I had a look at SPAD a couple of weeks ago, but went the Lua route.Got a reply back from Rob at RealAir, who confirmed that I need to 'fly' one of the a/c that has a radio. RealAir presents several Mk IX with different liveries, if you want to use the radio for VATSIM etc, you have to use one that represents a restored a/c, and has a radio fitted. I'll be investigating all that this weekend.On second thoughts, maybe I should go fly a real aeroplane? It's 31 deg C here at the moment, and promises to be a bit hotter tomorrow (Sat 7 Feb) could be a bit bumpy, but should be worth the trip out to the airfield.This was taken a couple of months ago by my wife. We were at 3500' over the Yarra Valley in a Warrior II, VH-ITE. Little village called Millgrove (37.7530° S, 145.6520° E) in the distance, over the panel. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 I'm glad you got a reply that was fairly good news Stephan, at least you will have a radio of sorts in some of your aircraft. The photo looks great. It looks a lovely place to fly, just as it is in the Scottish Highlands where I am. We very, very rarely get temps anywhere near 31c, so you're lucky in that regard. Cheers for now. Brian Link to post Share on other sites
eland2705 16 Posted November 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Good afternoon all, I see that I have not made a post since February, very slack and totally unacceptable! Unfortunately work has been workish, and during the winter the workshop was not a nice place to be in. What about the last 2 months of spring? You got me there, just slack! No more excuses. Here is where we are at the moment! The windscreen element took some fiddling and a couple of re-cuts of 3mm clear vinyl, and the aluminium flashing took some getting right, but it looks like it might do the job. Once it has a coat of paint (grey/green cammo) it should be OK. Don't worry about the spashes of crappy green pain on the windows, they are covered with a clear plastic film, so once it is all done, I'll peel it all off, and presto...clean windows. The "armour plate" behind the pilot's head is on and the seat belts are fitted. and a lot more of the crappy green interior is done. Of all the jobs to be done, painting the inside that crappy green has gotta be the worst! There is now a 'press-to-talk' button on the control column in place of the gun button, and hopefuly once I am on VatSim I will be able to use the radio. The problem of hearing the radio and the engine was solved by feeding the Merlin thought the 5.1 surround sound speakers, and fitting a second USB sound card that feeds the ATC channel through (that has to be set in FSx settings) an adaptor box, so I can use my avaition headset, with it's boom mike. In a previous post I said that I had gone the Lua route for the Saitek radio interface. In hindsight, I probably need to rethink that, and will be investigating the SPAD option with a little more application. Another inovation is the screen layout. Because of the demands of the insturment software, the screen in the cockpit is Screen 1. This presents a problem when you fire up the PC, as a great deal of the screen is hidden by the Instrument mask. For a while I was happy to just dis-mount the mask,but then I descided to install a splitter feed and put another screen on the outside of the rear bulkhead. With the wireless keyboard/mouse, all ytou nhave to do now is stand at the back, set it all up. Once FSx is all running , you switch off the outside screen, cliomb in strap up and fly your mission. I had to try it our a couple of weeke ago. Took off from 17 grass right at RAAF Point Cook, flew across the bay at 2500' to Moorabbin Airport. Did a touch and go on 17 right (using all the correct radio protocols etc) and home again to land back at Point Cook. Worked like a dream, even to the little bounce that the Spit always gave you if you were any faster than stall speed, or had too much power on at touch down. Until next time, and I promise it won't be 8 months away. Steph. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Great looking project! Link to post Share on other sites
bilirubin 50 Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 I have just seen this thread for the first time and can honestly say I am blown away by the build and your talent Stephan. You are a very talented guy and must have the patience of a saint. Keep up the excellent work and keep the updates coming. No more excuses about the temperature in the workshop, get yourself a warm coat and man up!! Mike Link to post Share on other sites
wain 879 Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Great work...would like to see some shots of it all in action... admire your talent and determination.... Wayne Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Hey Stephan, I was beginning to wonder where your project had gone. Fantastic work you've done. It's looking brilliant and an inspiration to all would be cockpit builders. It's going to look brilliant when you finish it. Looking forward to seeing more. Thanks for updating us. Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Brilliant Stephan, just brilliant. Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted September 1, 2016 Report Share Posted September 1, 2016 Hi Stephen. Any updates on this project? It has been almost a year since we had an update! Link to post Share on other sites
eland2705 16 Posted February 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 (edited) G'day to you all, I am still around, and still working on the Spit. Family and heath have go in the way a bit. My son got married, my daughter has been posted back into the area (she is an officer in the Australian Army) and I had shoulder surgery, meaning that I was unable to work in the shop as much as I wanted to. Also meant I have been grounded since Oct 2016... I really need my flying fix and soon. So where were we? I made a representation of the big 'ol brass compass (either a P6 or a P8) that the Spit had mounted on the bulkhead under the instrument panel. It contributed absolutely nothing to the flight simulator, but does add a touch of authenticity to the cockpit. Next will be the fuel on/off cock starboard of it. That probably will have a switch in it, as FSUICP4 has a preset for fuel on/off. I still need to get down and paint the floor and front bulkhead, but the shoulder is not allowing me much movement at the moment, and I need to make up some proper rudder pedals, those are appalling! Edited February 26, 2017 by eland2705 2 Link to post Share on other sites
eland2705 16 Posted February 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 (edited) The three screens are now up and seem to be working, although Nvidia did one of their software updates and I had to completely re-define the screen set up. FSx still doesn't like the triple screen, and crashes if you try change any of the settings whilst in it. What I normally do is make all the changes, save them in small screen setting, and fly in large screen. Because Screen 1 is usually used by the Panel software and behind a mask, I have to use a split screen for the normal computer management type operations, and then setting it all to run from behind the sim. You can see the duplicate screen here Edited February 26, 2017 by eland2705 3 Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted February 26, 2017 Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 Oh my, it's looking exciting now Steph', glad to see you are still on the case. Looking forward to more updates. Best of luck with health probs, I think as most of us are getting older, aches and pains start to come to the fore. Battle through and carry on regardless, your Spit' is a great project. Thanks for posting updates. Regard Link to post Share on other sites
eland2705 16 Posted February 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 How does one upload a video (.mp4 file)? I did one of the start up so you could here the engine noise (music). Photobucket, my usual source for the picture in this thread will only handle photos, I think. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted February 26, 2017 Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 Hi Stephan, You need to upload the video to YouTube or Vimeo which are the video versions of Photobucket, then copy and paste the link they give you to here. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted February 26, 2017 Report Share Posted February 26, 2017 (edited) That is looking terrific! Thanks for the updated shots. Your Hangar Spit is looking quite "restored"... Looking forward to more updates and "action" shots someday soon. I like your Panel/Instrument setup there. I hope the panel software permits "grab and move" and "nudge" features to place the dials in the correct spots...Looks like an elegant and cheep solution to stock a panel with gauges...neat stuff. Edited February 26, 2017 by Captain Coffee Link to post Share on other sites
eland2705 16 Posted February 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 Ok, so I went and had a little play yesterday arvo. This is "Start Up" Link to post Share on other sites
eland2705 16 Posted February 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 (edited) And to be a bit more tedious and boring - a take off. I've just notice that the instruments were very laggy. Maybe because I started up SimPanels before FSx. I think I might do this movie again, but it gives you the basic idea Edited February 27, 2017 by eland2705 Link to post Share on other sites
eland2705 16 Posted February 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 Another one. 6 minutes, a beat up and a landing. Link to post Share on other sites
wain 879 Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 looks really good, like how you did the dials, shame you have no space for the keyboard somewhere.... Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 Nice to see you back Stephen, I think that is the exact type of exercise you need to heal that shoulder up. The Spit pit looks great and sounds just as good, nice to see it up and flying. Watch out for that tree limb up on your right when landing and get well soon. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted February 27, 2017 Report Share Posted February 27, 2017 That is incredible Stephan, the growl of the engine makes the hair on my neck stand up! What do your neighbours think about your flights (and sounds) of derring-do?! Link to post Share on other sites
Lodewijk 1 Posted August 27, 2017 Report Share Posted August 27, 2017 Hi there, I'm thinking about building something like this... What's the name of the canadian book you used for reference Stephan? Link to post Share on other sites
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