classic flight

[Mr. Midnight]

hello folks im wondering if anyone here has delt with classic flight out of the uk.
they deal with motion platform software and platform.

my problem is that i cannot seem to get through to them emai or message on there website.

according to fscocpit they are legit.

they seem to have a good website that you pay to join , and yu get fro them all kinds of plan and useful information.

im not saying i will join , but i cannot seem to get through to them.

has anyone else had this problem or talked to them.

i found them through fscocpit in the motion section.

thanks....Robert

[impalazoo]

I purchased hardware and software from these guys. Got no support,never got software to work. "useless" Try Buggies built fo Fun.

[Trevor Hale]

hello folks im wondering if anyone here has delt with classic flight out of the uk.
they deal with motion platform software and platform.

my problem is that i cannot seem to get through to them emai or message on there website.

according to fscocpit they are legit.

they seem to have a good website that you pay to join , and yu get fro them all kinds of plan and useful information.

im not saying i will join , but i cannot seem to get through to them.

has anyone else had this problem or talked to them.

i found them through fscocpit in the motion section.

thanks....Robert

Robert I feel the need to jump in here for a minute, and talk to you about something.

I want you to succeed in this venture, and I am concerned that you might be biting off more then you can chew. The simulator hobby is something that is quite difficult for people who are new to electronics and computer interfacing.

My personal suggestion is work on your simulator and build a basic setup that you can transfer onto a motion platform in the future.

Perhaps you should get yourself a couple interface cards, maybe an input card and an output card, and start tinkering with them and flightsim. build yourself a Main instrument panel and an overhead panel and get your project going.

If you make things more complex then they need to be at first, I think you will find that your going to get lost and confused far to early in the game.

Maybe I am full of crap, but It is just my personal suggestion.

If you really are set on building motion first, do some searches on Youtube for motion platforms and follow the "MODELS" that they have and get a model motion platform interfaced to flightsim first. then you can start to work on a full scale system.

Best regards,

Trev

[Efe Cem Elci]

Gotta agree with Trevor on this subject...

Also:


The simulator hobby is something that is quite difficult for people who are new to electronics and computer interfacing.


It can apparently be quite difficult even for someone not necessarily new to electronics and interfacing. I majored in computer engineering and we had our share of electronics and circuit design courses and projects. I was more of a software (programming) guy but we also worked with the integration of programming and hardware and PIC programming so I thought the task wouldn't be to beyond me and within a few weeks I'd be on top of it all.

Definitely not the case, even when I had remembered how to solder somewhat neatly and the general principles of circuit design there was still a lot that I needed to know and I learned it through the mycockpit.org site and personal research/trials.

And lets not forget the necessary handyman experience once things start getting big.

So, I agree completely with Trevor that you might want to consider starting small and growing once you've seen what the deal is. I still find myself reflecting on how much time and work I have spent on the smallest things that I didn't know about or didn't pay attention to in the beginning.

[AndyT]

I agree and disagree with Trev.
If you have no background in electronics or software, then its going to be a tough uphill road. Having said that...

I think if you plan on having motion down the line then you really need to plan for it up front. you need to design your sim so that it is modular and well balanced weight-wise. If you do not do this, then later on it will be very difficult to add motion to it because you will have some very difficult problems to overcome.

Weight and balance are critical for motion, and so is size. Size is important because the sim is going to be moving and you have to take into account where its going to be at its most extreme angles. You may only move 10 or 20 degrees in any given direction but if the sim is too close to the wall... Get out the wall patch and paint.

Ok, so you decide you want motion. Thats great. How much motion in how many directions? If you build a fighter pit then you should use a modified gyro design to give you full 360 in 3 axis. Yes, it can be done, but its going to take some serious planning. If you are up for that, then by all means, go for it. Or maybe you decide to build a 7X7. You will not need a full 360 range in any direction, so you can plan on a much simpler platform. The difference is the fighter pit is light and small and the 7X7 pit is heavy and large in comparison.

If you decide you do not need motion, then your planning becomes much much easier. Just make sure you have room to build what you want.

Obviously there are other considerations, but this is just to cover the issue of motion.

And to answer your first question:
Classic Flight has a very cool looking website, but they offer little. They want money just to join their forum! That smells of very dead fish to me. I did not spend money on them or their products.

[Mr. Midnight]

thats why i like this site , because folks are up front and straight with me.

i have been doing a lot of thinking, and i was wondering what it is that i really want out of this , and that is just to enjoy flying .

there are times that i get to invovled and then it becomes more work than enjoyment.

i must face the facts that even though i have a electronics degree and im well verses in computers, i dont have the time or means(money ) to achieve what i want.

and you folks are right on the money, i have no experiance in motion platforms or motors and such.

not to say that i cannot learn, but that will be a learning curve that will take both money and time.

at one time i had a six monitor set up , with six computers in network toghether using wideview, and i will tell you guys that was the most fun that i have ever had.

and i am going back to that.

that to me was as real as it gets.

i believe my friends im going to stick with the basics and go back to what i know best and build one from ground up with materials that i already have.

i will use the cnc machine that i built from hobby cnc and create small panels to fit my go flight modules,

i want you to know that i really appreciate you folks , getting me back to reality and focus on the fun of simming, because that is really what i want is a finish product that i built whitin my means and enjoy flying around the country.

once again thank you.............Robert:)

[AndyT]

Robert,

Glad to help. I just hope I did not scare you away from motion somewhere down the line.
I did not know anything about it either when I started. Yes, learning it takes time, but not as much money as you might think. Motors can be had free or very nearly, and controller boards are fairly simple and inexpensive.
Now time is where you are going to have to pay up big. It will take plenty of time, but then don't all pits?

[Michael Carter]

Well, you can always strike a balance in between Robert.

You don't neccesarily have to go back to using the six monitors and WidevieW with no cockpit flying from a desktop.

You could still build a shell and try out the Tripple Head 2 Go device, maybe a dual setup. There is a lot you can do with your knowledge and talent that will get you off of a desktop and into a sim. And it doesn't have to cost you a second morgage to look good and operate well.

[Adino]

Well, you can always strike a balance in between Robert.

You don't neccesarily have to go back to using the six monitors and WidevieW with no cockpit flying from a desktop.

You could still build a shell and try out the Tripple Head 2 Go device, maybe a dual setup. There is a lot you can do with your knowledge and talent that will get you off of a desktop and into a sim. And it doesn't have to cost you a second morgage to look good and operate well.

I agree! sometimes the basic things makes it happen....I for instance uses only carton boards and cheap craps, but I must tell you I'm very proud of what I was able to achieve so far. So Robert you now the drill...start sharing some photo soon of you progress ;)

[Mr. Midnight]

thanks for the reply , and i have already started plans on a cockpit.

these are the items that i already have to start with.

1. ch yolk.
2. ch peddles
3.ch throttle quadrant
4.triple head to go
5.go flight GF166a
6.go flight GF-MCP
7. desktopAviator throttle quad for GA planes
8.cessna avionics panel.
9. desktop aviator trim wheel

will be building my coms myself, in fact my e8500 chip just arrived two days ago, and will first get my computer built.

im looking for a two fold type cockpit , one that i can fly a cessna and two be able to fly a heavy that will get me anywhere in the world.

so i must decide what type of heavy will do the job.

i like 737 , but id have to do some serious flying to get that bird everywhere.

anyway folks im putting everything on paper i will plan.

Robert

[akdennis]

I am designing a motion base and was also thinking of getting my boards and interface software from classic flight. After reading this thread I feel warned off however. I don't want to deal with a company that offers (apparently) no customer support.

So...can anyone recommend a different supplier for boards and interface software? I will be using FSX with FSUIPC. If I need to write the software myself can anyone recommend some resouces for the code. I've never written an interface program so don't really no where to begin from the software angle. I would prefer to buy something off the shelf if available.

[wannabeaflyer]

Hi Guys Just wanted to jump in .. i too have started to build my own motion Cockpit and yes have found great learning experiance .. My Hybrid platform was originally built based on great free information from Jim in new zealand, Rolan van der roy and Craig warner and MANY MORE ... all these guys have shown whats possible without breaking the bank and or being Einstien :-) ok ok they may not be For The heavies in terms of full size 737 etc but as great entertaining and knowledge building projects these are the business ... i too thought about classic flight but really by browsing the net i came across info for free that met my needs ...am not averse to paying my way but better deals were found ... i can highly recommend Ian At Bugies Built for fun.. Now there's a guy that can make Motion happen for the Commom man if ever and to cap it all his Control software is a bargin have bought them and am always lurking around his website for update ..Great bloke and helpfull as well ( No I dont get paid by him for this LOL:-) ) another very good Site and i hope you guys dont mind me mentioning them is X-Simulator in germany Treasure trove of motion stuff to be found there in english and anything in german via Babelfish ( Thanks to the internet i can even read Japanese forum Content now thats serious Progress ) MY Only issue going down this road has been Actuators ....Which ever way you cut it up to now decent DIY Pocket Friendly Geared Actuators have been the achilles heal of my project .. Prototype worked great ( scared the living daylights out of the missus (Test pilot ) but As i got more adventerous and added an enclosed cockpit so the weight began to play a part ..Hence my 2DOF cockpit is sitting on its Universal Pivot point waiting for beefier Motors ....But am in no way detered by this i think of it as the long game and as they say keep watching this space :-)

[Doon1]

Hiya Robert,
I, like you, just recently jumped into cockpits and motion. You have a lot more cool stuff than I do though. As I was unsure of component placement and to allow for some upgrades I started with PVC. It may sound a little cheezy but the cost was minimal and if something didn't feel right it only took a couple of cuts on a 2$ piece of PVC to correct it. I'm using thinwalled 1.5" square tubing for the next step (motion) and I can take the mesurements right off of my existing chair safe in the knowledge that I'm cutting and welding only once. Even if you use wood to mount your radios and instruments to, you can still frame it with PVC. Which again allows for the oops factor. It took me 2 days to build my setup so downtime was minimal. After I had it finished I decided to add a 17" monitor I had. $12 in PVC and half a day and i was back in business. The nicest thing is I can fly while working on the motion seat.
John

Here's a link to some pictures if you're interested http://forums.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?t=193685