Will,

Congratulations!

SO...... my current simpit plan sits on a 5' x 5' footprint.  If I can figure that out....you sure can.  With an extra 3' on one dimension.... that gives plenty of room for a projection monitor on a large screen.

Get the CAD program out  .

best,

...................john

PS:  Oh..... and schedule some extra shifts at the hospital for the cash to do it.  

Thanks for the heads up John.  Unfortunately I have no budget whatsoever at the moment.  Oh well....

That's where the layers of plasterboard/dry wall and PVC (ooh err) will come in handy.  If I need too I will get a de-humidifier.  That isn't something that I had considered too carefully though.

Will

Will,

Ozzy has a good point there on the possible moisture issues.  If you install a small electric heater to keep it slightly warm in the cooler months... that might help with the moisture.  And the de-humidifier is likely a good idea too.

Sorry about the budget issues.  Those sets of various Cessna panels right now are a real steal for someone planning a GA simpit.

But if they are there now........ likely similar items will turn up at similar prices in the future.  Or you can just do what I am doing and make them out of 1/4" MDF.  More time....less money. 

best,

...................john

Will,

Hummmmmmm,  good point.

So likely the garden shed has at least one window.  When the shed is new and unfilled with stuff..... take a couple of rakes and shovels and hoes and lean them against the wall opposite the window.

Through the window.... take a picture of the far wall with the stuff stacked up there.  Then make a blow up of that photo the size of the window.  Paste the photo directly inside the glass of the window before you put some wood over it from behind to black it out anyway.

At a quick glance.... it'll look like a somewhat empty garden shed  

Seriously... install an alarm system on the building with a whopping big alarm horn on the outside.  Make sure that all the visual access into the building is blacked out.  And don't tell too many people what is in there.


If you look a the pictures of my simpit in the other threads.... you'll find that the 1/4" mdf board does a pretty good job of simulating metal panels.  It cuts really easily with a hole saw or a jig saw.  Sanding the edges to round them off is a snap.  A little Airbus grey or Boeing brown paint.... and away you go.

The main problem with the mdf that I have found is the sawdust is a real pain in the butt.  It is very light and goes everywhere.  You don't want to breathe much of that crap either...... nasty.  And it is not really strong in a thin section if it gets laterally bent.  Easy to break a fine cut.

best,

.................john

Ozzy,

I'm totally confused.

Maybe medium density fiberboard is something different over in the UK.  Here it is the finest grained stuff imaginable.  How one could get a splinter is totally beyond me.  Maybe you are thinking of particleboard or chipboard?  ???

I used chipboard for what will be the sub-floor that will be under carpet and panel supports.  Cheap, and good enough for "underlayment" for houses.  THAT I wouildn't use for anything else  .

The mdf here almost resembles masonite in its structure.....  (lot of glue... a little wood dust  )...... but is harder and more rigid.  See the cockpit construction threads that I posted for pix.

Another good possibility for the panel facings would be 1/4" luan plywood.  But THAT I think would be a good candidate for splinters.

best,

................john

I like the Photo' plan John.  Sounds cunning

As for CAD design I am using the OSOPAAHBP system at the moment.  It works for me. (Odd Scraps Of Paper And A Half Blunt Pencil).

The current plan invoves the use of three PC's

1: Master system running FS
2: Slave 1 running guages on glass cockpit. I would love to have the servo run guages but the price is out of my league.
3: Slave 2 running floor wobble system.

I was at Duxford a while back and had a go in a simulator that they have there.  It rocks throughout a range of about 20 degrees and fools you completely.  I should be able to acheive a 10-15 degree tilt at the point I will be sitting at.

Will

Will,

Yeah... those servo driven gauges are REALLY nice.......  particularly if as you say you are going to do a GA cockpit.  But yup..... the cost adds up darn fast.  Looks REALLY "real" though.

Although also adding up the cost pretty fast..... I really can recommend the Goflight modules for the main "complex" avionics stuff.  The 166 radio unit functions almost exactly like the real thing and it works slick as heck.  And if you are going the "autopilot route" the GF MCP is amazing (although it looks visually more like a "heavy metal" unit.  Otherwise, simulating those particualr components and functions with "homebuild" is a pretty daunting electrical fabrication project.

How are you going to do the "glass cockpit" part for the GA type cockpit gauge layout?  The only GA type gauges that I have seen for "glass" are the ones from Project Magenta.  Is that what you plan to use?

I am envious of your idea to go with a "motion" platform.  That one is a bit beyond me  .


best,

.......................john


PS:  Ozzy....... the amount and degree of motion Will gets depends on if his lunch is solid or liquid  .

To be honest the glass cockpit plans/ideas are mostly my development of what you have already done and proved possible, modified to my situation and aesthetic requirements.  I doubt we'll see any knew developments LOL.

The bank and roll system (Floor wobble)is perceived as another "Guage".  FSUIPC outputs the FS data to project magenta.  PM then allows you to display this data on screen in  manner that your brain accepts as a guage.  The Servo driven guages on the other hand take this information and adjust a servo motor to display the same information.  If you take the electrical output that would run the servo and use it to run a relay you can then get the artificial horizon to be as large as you like, for example the entire floor of the shed.

Obviously it won't be or I'll hit my head on the walls at over 5 degrees bank.

I have several Ideas as to how this will be possible, the simplest is two electric motors, one for pitch and one for roll  running motorbike chain that the platform is suspended on.  There are clear safety issues LOL, BUT the inherant instability of the floor would work in the favour of the user.  What the FS and CFS series lacks is any perception of movement.  Imagine that all of the cockpit gear is mounted on a floor capable of tilting 10 degrees.  You push the throttle forward and start down the runway, all of your light comes from what is shown on the three screens in front of you.  The sound is supplied through a set of heavy duty headphones so you are in a state of "sensory deprivation".  As the tail lifts from the ground (Tail dragger) the back of the platform is lifted and the front dropped, at the same rate as the artificial horizon in front of you.  Then, as you pull back on the stick the front of the platform is lifted through the horizontal so that you are pushed back in your seat just slightly.  You inner ear is used to playing FS with no stimulation at all, I think any will be magnified.  If it wobbled when you leaned over to get your beer would it matter? 


Quote:


Youve seen what a lightweight I am - 2 pints and I'm incapable of holding a joystick

Will