My Cockpit Build.

[needles 1,010]

Hi Guys,

It's been a while but I've been reformatting my PC and re-installing all my flightsim stuff.

Here goes with the Cockpit Update.

I have been pretty busy with all sorts of things but still managing to do some work on the pit. Waiting for lacquer to dry and then sanding it down took quite a while but the best jobs always, without fail come good with loads of decent prep' work.

I have now installed the Velleman LCD Display. It's just a toy really as I wanted to get some soldering practice in. It will just display my name and location.

I have also installed the TPM switch panel. I used double sided sticky tape to fix the veneers to it as I didn't want to damage the unit by using glues. If......I ever want to sell the instruments, it will peel off without damaged or marking it.

I then taped & masked it so that it could have the 3 coats of lacquer.

I've now installed the other instruments that I already own, plus the yoke. I have yet to complete the wiring inside as I am using a powered USB port which will sit inside the box, so that there will be minimal cables actually going to the box from the PC.

You can also see to the left of the multi switch panel, is the headphone socket. This will be wired through the box to another socket on the rear, so I shouldn't have loads of cabling everywhere.

The Glareshield is finished and I have now started covering the remainder of the box with pleather. It's cheaper than leather but for this job, it's ideal.

That's it for now. The next stage is the wiring inside and sockets on the rear.

Thanks for looking and any comments or advice will be warmly recieved.

Cheers for now.:001_th_smiles89:

[stu7708 244]

Looks great Bri..

And now that it's all mounted together and have a few instruments on it for reference it looks alot smaller than I thought it would be.

[David TRIGGS 0]

Bonjour Brian,

Looking very good your cockpit! ... Although a "one place" I see that it has a reasonable width, so what outside visuals are you thinking of? (A single monitor would seem out of scale behind your glare shield, and a single projector (apart from needing lots of space) would imply a "real" windscreen ...... have you considered the "WideView" system ??

David

[needles 1,010]

Bonjour David,

Thanks for your comments. Much appreciated.

I am eventually going to have the 'TripleHead 2 Go' system.

I am going to get the biggest monitors I can (would be allowed to) buy. The panel as it is is around 90cm wide. I didn't intend it to be this large but once I started building, the beast took over.:icon_thumbup:

But for now it's a lonely 22" Samsung monitor. We will have to see what my birthday and xmas brings. Eh?:icon_thumbup:

Happy simming mate.

regards

Brian

[needles 1,010]

Looks great Bri..

And now that it's all mounted together and have a few instruments on it for reference it looks alot smaller than I thought it would be.

Hi Micke, My panel is about 90cm wide.

Thanks for your comments they are much appreciated.

As you may have realised by now......Wifey knows and she is fine with it.:icon_thumbup:

She was just waiting for the wings to appear from the sides of the workshop :icon_yikes: .

Regards

Brian

[hurricanemk1c 195]

That wood is superb - very posh

Looks great overall!

[needles 1,010]

Hi Kieran,

Thanks for your comments.

The wood is Birdseye Maple.

I used to use it for guitar and mandolin building but since I found flight simming the stringed instruments are definately on the back burner.

'Very Posh'.......Wifey says I always go over the top when I'm building something :icon_thumbup: .

regards

Brian

[PanzerFodder 0]

Very nice job Brian, I do some woodworking as well .

Have a few lengths of solid birdseye in my garage ATM, let me know if you ever need any more

Cheer's...Graham...

[mutley 4,487]

Lovely work Brian and as for advice, just keep on doing what you're doing, definitely work of a craftsman.

So is it going to be the BIP or a second radio? :wootmesalia:

Here's a hint

Cheers :icon_thumbup:

Joe

[needles 1,010]

Hi Joe,

I only asked about the 2nd radio panel purely for aesthetic reasons. I couldn't decide, but thank you for your input. I am now back on the right track. You are wonderful you know.:icon_bowdown:

regards et al.

Brian

[mutley 4,487]

No probs, I just like the BIP

[allardjd 1,853]

One word - WOW!

 

From Allard's Laws of Power Plant Maintenance - you can never have too many clamps.

I presume a whole herd of Pleaths were slaughered to make that fine Corintian pleather?

 

John

[Sabre 28]

Well done Brian it looks superb, something to aspire to but not at all sure what the mrs would say! Though thinking about it I know exactly what the mrs would say

Hoping your not sniffin' the glue mind!! Us health and safety folks need to check up on that sort of thing :toclue:

[allardjd 1,853]

Gorilla glue is great stuff, but not too forgiving of sloppiness. Not sure about the fumes but the gorilla on the label sure looks happy.

 

John

[needles 1,010]

Hey Man this glue's wild man.:wootmesalia: :icon_rockon:

Gorilla glue gives you wings man.

@Sabre, Tell the mrs you are building a new sideboard or summat.

@John, don't use Gorilla Glue without wearing gloves. It stays on yer fingers fer days.:blush:

Just got to add the other instruments and I reckon it would take off for real :wacko:

Cheers Guys.

[allardjd 1,853]

Quote

@John, don't use Gorilla Glue without wearing gloves. It stays on yer fingers fer days.

 

Been there - done that. You're right!

 

John

[David TRIGGS 0]

Bonjour Brian,

So ... no projectors thought of for future development! Staying with one forward monitor on the width of your cockpit seems minimal considering the high quality of the physical control panel ... is this monitor off a single computer? If you had another computer you could maybe think of two monitors to give a wider viual ... ?!?!

David

[needles 1,010]

Hi David,

At the moment I only have a (pitifully looking) 22" Monitor but my aim is to go for 3 27" monitors using TripleHead2Go system. Either that or a projector but it all boils down to what the costs are going to be.

If I go for more than 3 Monitors I think there may be certain questions asked by Wifey.:icon_thumbup:

I also need to keep an eye on the amount of space I'm taking up ha ha.

I hope this explains what my ideas are but I'm always open to advice from other simmers.

Cheers for now

Regards

Brian :001_th_smiles89:

[allardjd 1,853]

Quote

I hope this explains what my ideas are but I'm always open to advice from other simmers.

 

The only thing I see that gives me any pause is the location of the trim wheel on the far right of the cockpit on one of the Saitek panels. That looks a little inconveniently placed for something you'll be fiddling with constantly. Of course if there's an electric trim rocker on the yoke then there's no issue at all.

I had to look pretty hard to find anything to criticize. That is a great looking piece of work.

 

John

[rabbitc 0]

Might I suggest looking here for some helpful handy tips??:

http://www.redgreen.com/

Check out the 'clips' section - you might be inspired.

:icon_thumbup:

[allardjd 1,853]

I LOVE the Red Green Show. We used to have it on cable when we lived up north. Haven't seen it in ages. Possum Lodge - duct tape and all the rest - it's pretty hilarious. Didn't know about the web site. Thanks for posting that link.

 

John

[rabbitc 0]

I LOVE the Red Green Show. We used to have it on cable when we lived up north. Haven't seen it in ages. Possum Lodge - duct tape and all the rest - it's pretty hilarious. Didn't know about the web site. Thanks for posting that link.

John

Glad you like it, John. Point of interest, in my college days as a suit salesman, I had the pleasure of meeting Rick Green (a.k.a. 'Bill' from 'Adventures with Bill') who was doing a show for CHCH (Hamilton, ON) at the time and came in to buy a sports jacket for his TV appearance.

A great guy to talk to. Unfortunately, I believe he and Steve Smith (Red Green) had a falling out towards the end which is largely why the show ended.

[M31 0]

Just caught up with this, very impressive Needles ... how are you getting on with this? looks like you live up in my neck of the woods too

I've been collecting flight sim gear for a while now with a view to building something like this, my ancient flight sim desk is well in need of replacing and my hobby room will be getting redecorated early next year hopefully ... this is very good food for thought!

I use six of the Saitek FIP LCD gauges (got one free for beta testing them for Saitek) beware though, after four they can have a fair performance hit on even a very fast PC running them and FSX ... I use a second PC to run the FIP LCD gauges through sim-connect ... also get yourself a good quality powered USB hub for 6 FIP LCD guages, I went through three before finding one that could provide enough juice for the FIP's without them dropping out, using a good quality Belkin modular 7 port powered USB hub for them now with no problems.

Also have the Saitek switch panel, radio panel, multi panel ETC, prefer the third party SPAD drivers for the panels though ... I was never sure about the BIP panel for some reason ... I've recently added a VRinsight GPS 5 unit, love it, have one of the early version Buttkicker gamers ... silly name but it works quite well in FSX once its set up right.

Here are some recent pictures of my FSX GA panels and suchlike, really need to take some better pictures.

Before I got the VRInsight GPS ...

The Buttkicker :smile:

I love combat sims too, this is my current collection of PC flight sim military controllers ... had just gave a Saitek X-52 pro to a friend before this or I'd look even more eccentric ... but I don't mind :smile:

Thats quite some impressive project you have going there, looking fwd to seeing it completed

[aeromax 10]

Much equipment ..

[M31 0]

Much equipment ..

All the gear, no idea :smile:

Seriously though you never stop learning ... GA type simming in FSX is my thing and I'm happy with that.

I'm actually looking to sell or trade on some stuff, the Saitek X-65F HOTAS in particular but no sell or trade forums here unless its something that comes with more posts as in other forums I visit? But I'm new here and in no hurry to sell anything.