Post by Mictheslik on Oct 20th, 2012 at 2:22pm
As mentioned in another thread, I'm helping to run a new group within the University of Liverpool that aims to further students' understanding of flight simulation. The Student Simulator Group is part of the Liverpool Engineering Student Society and this thread is intended to provide some progress updates on our initial project.
The Sim
Our starting point is a fixed base mock up of a Panavia Tornado built by BAe systems a long time in the past.
It was used for cockpit layout development for the Tornado and was originally destined to be sent to the middle east as a simulator. However, the deal fell through and it was retained and used for development work on the Eurofighter Typhoon cockpit.
This explains the positioning of the three screens that were installed a while ago. However, as it's completely modular the layout can be changed very easily. The final design for cockpit layout is yet to be determined.
We already have many of the basic parts that we need, and most of the work will be integrating them into our sim packages and programming control in/out responses. The intention is that the sim will be used by undergraduate students doing project work for them to test a flight model or instrument etc. without having to book time in one of our full motion simulators.
The seat used will be a mock up of a Martin baker ejector seat that also came from BAe.
The history of the main control column we have is a bit of a mystery, but after a bit of research I believe it is a development stick for the EAP/Typhoon.
The first job was to remove all the external panels, and one side of the cockpit in order to move it from the room it's currently in to one more accessible in our workshop. Unfortunately, our workshop is on the third floor of a large building, so we also had to remove any loose/valuable objects to prepare it for being lifted up using the crane.
The above (badly stitched) panorama is how the 'pit currently looks. Hopefully the move will take place next week and we can start working on it properly :)
We'll be running a blog as a facebook page so that our 40+ members can tell the world what they've been doing, and when I get the link for that I'll post it here (it'll have a few more photos)
.mic
The Sim
Our starting point is a fixed base mock up of a Panavia Tornado built by BAe systems a long time in the past.
It was used for cockpit layout development for the Tornado and was originally destined to be sent to the middle east as a simulator. However, the deal fell through and it was retained and used for development work on the Eurofighter Typhoon cockpit.
This explains the positioning of the three screens that were installed a while ago. However, as it's completely modular the layout can be changed very easily. The final design for cockpit layout is yet to be determined.
We already have many of the basic parts that we need, and most of the work will be integrating them into our sim packages and programming control in/out responses. The intention is that the sim will be used by undergraduate students doing project work for them to test a flight model or instrument etc. without having to book time in one of our full motion simulators.
The seat used will be a mock up of a Martin baker ejector seat that also came from BAe.
The history of the main control column we have is a bit of a mystery, but after a bit of research I believe it is a development stick for the EAP/Typhoon.
The first job was to remove all the external panels, and one side of the cockpit in order to move it from the room it's currently in to one more accessible in our workshop. Unfortunately, our workshop is on the third floor of a large building, so we also had to remove any loose/valuable objects to prepare it for being lifted up using the crane.
The above (badly stitched) panorama is how the 'pit currently looks. Hopefully the move will take place next week and we can start working on it properly :)
We'll be running a blog as a facebook page so that our 40+ members can tell the world what they've been doing, and when I get the link for that I'll post it here (it'll have a few more photos)
.mic
