FSX doesn't have enough helicopter flying for that IMO *shrugs*

NitroPower wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2008 at 12:44pm:



And dumb post of the day goes to..

One big question no one has asked yet, what price range are you considering for the hardware? I know pro range hardware is generally pricey, but if it's good stuff and isn't too over the top, it'd probably still be worth it.

My view on the "pro-series" hardware, although very nice, is priced outside the mainstream market. Your throttle idea if priced right could sell  OK but a solid "mainstream" offering would appeal to more.

Im actually a bit put off at all the high priced cockpit hardware/software on the market. Im contacted thru my website quite a bit by individuals looking for mainstream hardware and software, so a market does exist.

Now I dont have access to any other statistics like median income or profession of those who visit my site, which means I shooting from the hip. But look into a future offering from saitek which will give the ability to run external gauges from the sim. Or the software from Ellie Systems, Sim Avionics & FSXpand.

Personally Im keeping an eye on things as far as simulator hardware is concerned, in the future I would like to offer some low cost elements. Im waiting to see if the mainstream market catches on.

Mermaid Man wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2008 at 8:00pm:


I joined Simviation to answer this post (and also to garner tips about cockpit building!   ).

Some background: I am a long time simmer and also have a US commercial rating in helicopters, as well as an instrument rating in airplanes. As someone opined recently in their blog, real-world flying has gotten so expensive that I have resolved to spend the "time being" working on my sim-pit.

My 'pit will be a general purpose, fixed/rotary wing one. That said, I want a really good collective lever. For a while I owned a complete Flight Link helicopter setup (cyclic, collective, pedals, seat) but didn't like how any of it "felt" so I sold it to a flight school.

Another thing I didn't like about that setup was the collective - it was a basic, twist grip affair that didn't have a control box on the end of the "stick" and adding one was going to be very non-trivial.

Recently I became aware of a guy in Canada that is hand-crafting some most excellent collective levers, mostly out of machined aluminum. The problem is that the "plug and play" version, with everything needed to fly, is almost US$1000....

http://www.computerrepairs.ca/Simulator_Parts_Fabrication.htm

There is a company in the UK that is doing something similar, for a little more money.

http://www.simcontrol.co.uk/newheli.htm

Both of these companies' collectives have JetRanger-style control boxes, that work well with Dodosim's FS9 add-on that provides extremely realistic engine startup procedures, as well as quite a few other "realism" upgrades. THIS is the kind of collective that I would buy.

So with all of that, here's my take on this: I think there's a limited market for a helicopter collective gizmo - but I would question whether there's enough potential buyers out there to do anything more than small scale production.

Here's what *I* would buy - a collective lever that:

- is USB
- appears as a standard Game Controller to Windows (a Beta Innovations controller card makes this easy - that's what the guy in the first link is using)
- has a control box as mentioned above
- has a twist throttle/fuel flow controller grip
- has adjustable friction
- "stays put" when a particular torque pull or push is made
- costs less than the competition mentioned above

Optionally, it'd be nice to have the mechanical idle release button, but if I can save several hundred dollars by not having that, OK!

---

BTW I'm in total agreement with the response to the toolie "buy a real helicopter" reply. The latter is not constructive to the conversation, and the OP is encouraged to go price The Real Thing and the maintenance thereof. Then you can come crying back to this forum 

cheers,

Dave B.

a1 wrote on Aug 5^th, 2008 at 10:41pm:


What is the point of your post? I don't see one. "We are not talking about flying real helicopters here" - DUH.

I have been perusing EBay for about five years looking for a suitable real-world collective that can act as a starting point for a simulated collective, and haven't seen anything that is reasonably priced.



I was looking forward to constructive and helpful responses... That wasn't one.

Dave.

Jess,

Please don't take my post as criticism of your work - I know that the way you contruct your collectives (e.g. machined aluminum) is not cheap, and the end result looks fabulous. I would love to buy one, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to swing it. Certainly not anytime soon.

BTW looking at your site and a couple others has gotten me very interested in CNC machinery - laser cutters, mills, lathes - and that could end up being a waaay more expensive hobby than simming!!! 
E.g., I'm lusting after an Epilog laser and a 3D printer... big $ to be sure.

best regards,

Dave B.