Simviation Forum - Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things

Jul 18^th, 2009 at 11:35am

JSpahn Offline
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Im too sexy for my hair
Philadelphia,PA

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My twins are 5 months now and less of a handful, me and the wifey had a talk and she is gonna let me get back into my hobby. Grin

Some of you might know I had the start of a homebuilt cockpit awhile back.

This time around I gonna start off my build using X-Plane, and my emphasis will be on a completely generic design. Thanks to Sandy Barber over at X-Plane. org there is a plugin for X-Plane which allows you to use goflight modules, so far I have the MCP and the Gear flaps modules. Also I will be integrating a KE72 from Hagstrom. For the main visuals I picked up a 3300MP projector $250 on ebay refurbished with a new bulb. It isnt a short throw projector but with the space I have I can get a 50-60" screen which is nice, and it is bright as heck!

For the controls I will be using either a Saitek yoke or the X-52 depending on what kind of AC I fly. For the gauges I already have 2 22" LCD panels which will be mounted to the "MIP" using VESA mounts. The gauges themselves will be run on a networked computer running an additional copy of X-Plane. Each AC will have a custom panel which I hope to develop in PlaneMaker(PlaneMaker comes with a copy of X-Plane), that way when I load up the ac the panel will automatically show up on the 22inchers. I should get a ton of realism while GA flying.

For the tubes there is a freeware 737 called x737 which integrates many of the controls via plugins for an actual 737 similar to PMDG. I hope to be able to al least integrate 50% of the controls into my pit for this AC.

Additionally using touchbuddy I want to integrate a touchscreen into the pit for some of the controls, I have a Ramline 210 touch pc for this task.

My goal this time around is to sacrifice some realism so I can build the sim a bit quicker so I can enjoy it sooner. Of course I am sure it will be a never ending project...lol

John

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Reply #1 - Jul 18^th, 2009 at 1:21pm

JSpahn Offline
Colonel
Im too sexy for my hair
Philadelphia,PA

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Posts: 1808

Here are so shots taken with my cell phone, I have the projected image at about 65" which is nice and the projector mounted on a camera stand...sorry for the poor quality....Once I put up the drywall and paint on some screen paint I should get more contrast, right now I am using a canvas dropcloth(Home Depot $6.00) as a temporary screen.....

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Reply #2 - Jul 18^th, 2009 at 8:10pm

BTilson Offline
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Into the abyss...
NC, USA

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Ohh very nice. Lookin' good there. I haven't done any simpit work, or even any flying, in quite a while. I miss it. Hopefully will get back into it someday!

The first step on the long journey of building a flight simulator has been taken... There is no turning back now!

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Reply #3 - Jul 19^th, 2009 at 11:37pm

beaky Offline
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Newark, NJ USA

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Good for you. My 'pit is gathering dust... just haven't felt like working on it lately.

You will love that screen paint... it's pretty amazing stuff. But make sure that if there are any drywall joints in the image area they are very well-finished... the surface has to be perfect.

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Reply #4 - Jul 20^th, 2009 at 3:03pm

JSpahn Offline
Colonel
Im too sexy for my hair
Philadelphia,PA

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Posts: 1808

beaky wrote on Jul 19^th, 2009 at 11:37pm:

Good for you. My 'pit is gathering dust... just haven't felt like working on it lately.

You will love that screen paint... it's pretty amazing stuff. But make sure that if there are any drywall joints in the image area they are very well-finished... the surface has to be perfect.

Understood, Im gonna run the drywall hoizontally to avoid a seam, hopefully anyway...lol

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Reply #5 - Aug 22^nd, 2009 at 8:50pm

JBaymore Offline
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Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

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Welcome back to the simpit madness, John.

Keep the pictures coming.

I hope to get back to flying and building soon too. Been in japan for the past two months.

Unfortunately... that leaves a lot of "catch-up" here at home too.

Logged another 26 hours in a real 747 this summer. Unfortunately..... in the wrong seat. Wink

best,

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

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

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