Hardware cockpit panels for flight sims.

[metalnwood]

Hi all, I thought I would throw an idea out here and hopefully get some feedback.

I am going to produce some hardware panels for flight simulators. Most of my interest lies with military, old and new and for my civilian flight simming I am more a light plane, single or twin engine flier. Nothing much larger than a baron 58 etc.

Right now I am working on the radio for a military plane, complete with back lighting, 7 segment displays, more or less a complete replica of the original and I thought I wouldnt mind spending some time on something simple for GA fliers.

To keep it simple I am thinking about what I would really like. What are the things I really need taken away from the keyboard or mouse to make flying more fun. No matter what kind of aircraft I am flying I always like to be able to tune frequencies without the keyboard and mouse. Thats comms and nav. I like to have a knob for the OBS, I would like buttons for the autopilot.

Thats the more frequently used stuff that makes me happy if I dont have to lean over to a keyboard for it.

The kind of panel I am thinking about is simple, just buttons, switches and rotaries, no readouts.

I am also assuming putting on some of the more simple things like lights, engine start, pitot, a flaps switch.

So, if you could put anything else that you frequently use in flights on to a panel to mount next to your yoke what would it be?

While simple in functionality it will be laser engraved and cut as well as backlit text.

Thanks,
Jason

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (metalnwood @ Apr 22 2012,2:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am going to produce some hardware panels for flight simulators. Most of my interest lies with military, old and new and for my civilian flight simming I am more a light plane, single or twin engine flier. Nothing much larger than a baron 58 etc.

My ears stood to attention on this concept .. with the Military , WWII you can extend that to a Lancaster for example .. a 4 engine with a singleton driving .. to the later older type , be very easy to do

[metalnwood]

Here is an example of a panel recently cut for testing the concepts.

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Apr 22 2012,2:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My ears stood to attention on this concept .. with the Military , WWII you can extend that to a Lancaster for example .. a 4 engine with a singleton driving .. to the later older type , be very easy to do

I have given some thought to having a switch to allow twin engine controls to map to four engines. I.e. switch in one position then engine 1/2 controls are for 1/2 and switch in another position they map to engines 3/4.

Sorry if thats not quite what you were talking about.

[Ian Warren]

Looks superb .. wont get that in a Mosquito cockpit

[metalnwood]

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Apr 22 2012,2:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Looks superb .. wont get that in a Mosquito cockpit

No probably true

Thats one of the many replica panels for some specific aircraft.

There are a number of places doing replicas of civilian aircraft, usually the buses like 737, 747, 320 etc. At the moment I don't have any real interest in making specific replica panels for GA aircraft. I think us GA fliers have a larger hanger of small planes and generic panels are a better fit.

There is still a market for combat sims so it probably wouldn't hurt to offer a generic panel that could have a few extras like bomb doors, reticle brightness, arm etc.


With luck as a few more people read I might have ideas for another half dozen useful switches that might not be common to my kind of flying

I might even do something a bit silly for my own and have some completely replaceable panels dedicated to a couple of genres. I can currently fit a piece 1500x1200 in the laser so I guess I could drop in and out entire front's if the mood took me (and the $$ were on hand!)

[Ian Warren]

With all the cockpit builders out there .. not so much , maybe looking at older flick the switch WWII panel is and be the a far better option .

[metalnwood]

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Apr 22 2012,3:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

With all the cockpit builders out there .. not so much , maybe looking at older flick the switch WWII panel is and be the a far better option .

Not so much what? Market for the panels? Perhaps not, it's not something I would bet my house on or give up otherwise lucrative work but as something of a side business I don't need to have a business case or even worry at this point if it will turn a profit.

As a cockpit builder if I get what I want out of it then it's a win, if I can sell panels and help others out then it's a win-win

There are a number of cockpit builders out there but I don't think in any way they make up the majority of people who would go for something like this if the price is OK. Also, most cockpit builders don't have the equipment to do exactly what they want and look to other companies to tie it together with CNC machines, lasers or the more complex electronics. I only know a few that go from end to end, developing the software to talk to the sim to developing the electronics and the housings/cases for the panels. They have had the skills required across a number of disciplines from software development, electrical design and development and mechanical engineering but it is hard and time consuming to do. Most cockpit builders are really doing the shells, maybe some basic panels and then getting the rest from somewhere like opencockpits.

I guess I am lucky, I can try it, it wont bankrupt me in the process and the worst that can happen is I get something fantastic for myself

What I am developing, although not what I brought up here, is a number of panes/modules similar to opencockpits or goflight. USB or ethernet connected with a number of different panels usable on a number of different sims. Not all will be fully usable in all sims but I expect that the more complex panels, e.g. radios with displays should work with xplane, fsx, prepared and DCS. They have worked with these in testing.

Thanks!
Jason

[Ian Warren]

A thought , build a module face at request maybe you find a market , lot of people wont have machine options , a gauge or panel from a pilots ref: manual from a period .. i recon super good luck to you and venture and people will - if , have a place to go ! . .... Hey and 'Kiwi made' to boot !

[Kelvinr]

Hi Jason,

Totally missed this thread! See the picture below of the cockpit of the Grumman AA1c one I flew often. It has the most common and basic instruments required for GA flight. Hope you find it useful.

[PA18]

Hi Metalnwood, & others,

My ears and a few other bits stood to attention also when I read your thoughts on a grouping of a/c types for the purpose of panel hardware. I have spent a long while thinking about what sort of simming I would like to do and to start with it included all a/c from pedal power to many engined big beasties and including helos, gyros and anything else that flys. At the other end of the scale is the one prototype and that is not me but I am full of admiration for those who complete their exact replica.

So I have settled for GA singles and twins, piston and turboprop maybe jet if the hardware can manage all these options. Plus military mainly WWI & WWII and would include more than two engines. And you mirrored my thoughts where the sim could expand from 2 engine to 4 by the flick of a switch. I like the way you think!

My thoughts which may be of interest to your project revolves around units or panels that could be swapped out to better meet the broad scope of a/c to sim. for example for single engine one could use the standard Cessna throttle panel with 1 mag rotary and 3 levers. Then for twins, remove that panel and plug in a typical twin throttle quadrant with 2 mag rotaries. The typical vertical column of twin engine inst could be used as std but with a blankout panel for singles use.

I very much like your idea and like the idea of a hangar full of various GA a/c and a sim to meet all occassions. To cater for the "all occassions" maybe more smaller panels would be better than a few larger multi function panels - just a though. Would need to be cut to std grid dimensions to fit together OK.

Another point is the comment on keybds and mousies - I refuse to have either of them in the sim, I didn't have them in the PA18 or the other more recent a/c I've have flown. This will mean a lot more knobs and switches to cover all the PC functions but so be it.

I look forward to the day the panels are available.

[metalnwood]

Thanks for the comments guys. I am looking to make a number of instruments as stand alone units so you can put together what you want.

The idea I was floating here was a simpler one where there are no complex displays as my other panels will have but a somewhat generic one. I guess as you pointed at PA18 it could still be simple but replaceable with other ones.

Here is an example of a dash that I started working on yesterday or day before? Time flies.

It's for the racing crowd but it's an example of something sitting over a wheel giving you what you need often. In our case it could be sitting over our saitek or CH yoke. Not as flexible as mixing and matching all your other panels but easy to put in place and use without the cost.

With this one the clear acrylic engraved with the functions can be taken off and replaced with another if you required very different functions between car/planes/sims etc. The layout for a plane would be a bit different with more rotary knobs for tuning different things.

[Ian Warren]

Nice modelling

[metalnwood]

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Apr 26 2012,5:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nice modelling

Thanks, I had planned to put some screws and glue in it tonight but my wife is working late so I have kiddie duties

It does show the basic concept of something simple that I thought could sit around a yoke on a desk or by itself if you fly with a stick. This one is much deeper than you would usually have, it was made to fit my racing configuration.

It's exactly 700mm wide.

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (metalnwood @ Apr 26 2012,7:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's exactly 700mm wide.

The Saitek Yoke is 295mm wide give a bit room for locking and adjustment , maybe wiring .