Generic pit (mk2)

[Steve A]

After recently moving to a bigger house i have found myself with a lot more room to build,I trashed my captain side thing lol and started a more 737 looking sim. so i thought i would share my generic/737 kinda cockpit.
Financial restraints and knowledge stop me from building a full replica of a 737 cockpit but its still a whole lotta fun flying .

This week i have extended my centre pedestal in prep for a couple of modules to be fitted from goflight and i installed my open cockpits multi radio.
I also took delivery of my MCP and thats took pride of place in the Glareshield. I messed around with my throttle as well but i dont like it. Im not to worried cos im saving for a really decent one.

Bit of a bummer, My projector has packed up, i think its the lamp and they are more expensive to replace than a new model, so im using my 24 incher for my views at the moment.

Next up is to wire up my leo bodnar cards to some buttons on the overhead, which is just a poster print.

Its a bit difficult to take any decent shots because im up against a wall

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/FLIGHTSIMWITHPEDESTAL013.jpg


http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/FLIGHTSIMWITHPEDESTAL004.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/FLIGHTSIMWITHPEDESTAL009.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/FLIGHTSIMWITHPEDESTAL007.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/FLIGHTSIMWITHPEDESTAL011.jpg

I just use default fsx with a couple of scenery addons and my standby gauges are excellent freeware items from jeehell.
Hope you guys like it :D

[Geremy Britton]

Hi steve, making space for thr goflight unit eh on that pedstal? :)

Looks realy good, i love the mip and especially the glaresheild it looks a realy good finish is that paint you used for it .. what meterial is it .. give me some details about that looks a great finish and build quality. :)

Sorry to hear about your projector something i am dreading because the projector i own is a special wide project one which means if the bulb blows you'd be best buying another second hand one. Anyway.

Oh, and i've sent you a PM, check your inbox..


Keep up the great work and keep the pictures coming!

[Anderson/SBSP]

Very cool!!!

[Steve A]

Geremy its mostly made from 10mm mdf with the main mip made from a double skin of 3mm mdf, I think my camera is a bit of a liar because the paint finish isn't that special in the flesh, i just used dark grey gloss after a good coat of polybond sealant.

[dodiano]

Very Nice Work!!!

[Steve A]

Just a little update.
I installed a ch throttle in place of the saitek one and its much better, feels a lot smoother and much more accurate and solid feeling, Thanks to geremy britton for steering me toward this product ;)

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/FLIGHTSIMWITHPEDESTAL024.jpg

I also started on the FO side by installing the glass gauges ( i cheated by using a vga splitter from the captains gauges lol ) I actually managed to get a download of freefd and its very good for a budget cockpit build.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/FLIGHTSIMWITHPEDESTAL023.jpg

Now im not happy with the mip panel. On the top floor of my house where the sim is situated the temperature sky rockets and i have noticed a little warping. Something i shall have to think about. ( any advise appreciated )

I also fitted my goflight landing panel which i got from geremy too, excellent price and speedy delivery buddy, thanks again :)

[Geremy Britton]

Glad you liked it Steve, it was no problem. The module looks great :) I'm sure many will agree with you i do offer flight sim parts at very good prices.

And yes you can tell the difference between the saitek and the CH products can't you. And also love the little downlighters that are sold in my local Homebase LMAO

As for your temperature i wouldn't blame you stuck in an attic on a long haul in your cyprus home, i wouldn't be able to stand that in the UK. :smile:

An idea for that would be to get an air conditioner, not sure how much they are nowadays cheap one maybe £50 and do what brianwilliamson did and make it 'part of the sim' by putting tubes from the air conditioner outlet leading to the air con nozzle in your flight deck. That wouldn't break the realism and you'd have cool air on you whilst you fly. Just a thought :-)

Thanks for the pictures and the compliments ;)

[Steve A]

A few updates to the pit.
The mip panel has been replaced with 12mm thick mdf and i took a lot more time with the cutting so i'm much happier with the quality of the finished item.
I received various panels from open cockpits and i'm currently in the process of interfacing them into the sim, Flaps panel, du's etc.
I reshaped the facia of the glareshield which looks a little better.
I have also got a new projector and i am rear projecting onto a shower curtain with brilliant results.
I have also enclosed the cockpit now with provisions for the overhead. Trouble is it now looks like an outside toilet from the outside :D But i reckon its how it feels on the inside what counts.

Edit here are a few pics off the shower screen and rear projection as promised

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture041-1.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture048.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture050.jpg

I cannot believe the real sense of flying now with a large outside view and a semi enclosed cockpit.

[Steve A]

As promised above a couple of pics of the projector set up :p

[Geremy Britton]

Wow, what a difference that made! Looks great Steve. Keep up that great work, and remember to put the precision in the first time it yeilds results you can truly be proud of :D
I'm just about to send you a PM too.

[Steve A]

Just a small update, I got donated another pc so im just migrating my addons to run off that with widefs, as my framerates were beginning to suffer.I added a pic of freefd which i cant recommend enough, it has been flawless and runs great networked. I also did the little trick with the chrono from ian737ng's site.... Brill but i lost the second hand :roll: And here is also a shot of the rear projection.http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picturesofflightsim003-1.jpg http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/FLIGHTSIMWITHPEDESTAL052.jpg

[Steve A]

A small update, and some pics.
I had to have a go at emulating Steve Eversons brilliant solution to mounting the Saitek Yoke on anything other than a desk, I kind of took his idea and added something of my own. I used 2 inch upvc pipe and a 90 degree bend, Screwed securely on the underside of the sim, so now i do have space for my legs on either side of the yoke! Thanks Steve :mrgreen:
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate012.jpg

I recently got my open cockpits Efis unit and it installed without a hitch, However freeFD doesn't play nice with it so i have been experimenting with Fs9 and the pmdg737, which thanks to Ian@737ng's site i can use the default gauges, freeFD eicas still works great on a networked pc. Thanks Ian :mrgreen:
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate014.jpg

Finally I took delivery of a Goflight gf46 module from GLB flight products and that has gone into my pedestal, A wonderful little box of tricks, i can do so much with it just from the twist of a dial. Thanks Geremy :mrgreen:
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate020.jpg

[Geremy Britton]

ahh, nice to see both panels i sent you are making friends ;)

[dmoblay]

Hi Steve,

Love what you have done, especially with the MIP & Yoke mounting, I am in the process of putting my MIP together and intend to steal these ideas - If you don't mind!!

I am also using a projector for the main front view, but I have been trying to work out the best way to do it. You mention that you have used a shower curtain and rear projected it.

Is the shower curtain fixed flush against the outside 'windows' of the cabin or set back from the structure? I wanted to mount it flush so as all you see is the image, but will that not cause the image to bend with the curve of the windows? Would you be able to upload a few photo's of how you have done it?

Thanks for your help, hopefully solving this problem will get me over a hurdle that has been there for a while.

Cheers
Luke

[Steve A]

If you click the link in my signature you will see the excellent interview Geremy Britton conducted with me, The shower curtain is about 8 inches from the back of the mip and flat at 90 degrees, I thiink there is a pic in the interveiw. If your thinking of curving your screen there are a few builders here who use "sol7" (?) and they would be much better qualified than i to answer your questions ;)

[Steve A]

Introducing the "GLB Flight Products avionics pedestal" :mrgreen:

I am almost done now with the interim pedestal and nearly everything you see is purchased 2nd hand from the visitors section at GLB flight products.
I wanted to demonstrate how easy and in-expensive this hobby can be, with the help of a few freinds on here. For less than a couple of hundred euros i have everything to control my 737's radios, flaps, gear etc etc and most of all almost no mouse useage for that part of the simulator.

In time i will build a proper 737 pedestal bay, but this will serve me well while i gather more important hardware.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture111.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture110.jpg

I have been playing around with a few led's too... Just for effect, until i get a led outputs board installed, the pictures are not very clear but it adds so much to the mip with a few strategically(?) placed lights.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture114.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture109.jpg

Thats all for now, going to be starting a shell before christmas, Something very simalar to Christoph Hoffmann's inspiring build.

Thanks for looking Steve

[Steve A]

Ok please don't suggest i test this shell in a wind tunnel :mrgreen:
Sam my partner asked why am i building a garden shed inside!!

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate047.jpg

I am about 50% finished my budget shell (100 euro) using scrap wood,mdf,cupboard doors lol. I need to fix some nice bits of trim to neaten things up and loads of filler and sanding, its not to any scale, i just started at the floor and worked up. When its painted i think it'll look ok and in flight with the projector on i could be sitting in the real thing:razz: My woodworking skills aren't the best and with limited tools and resources the immersive result is cool.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate049.jpg

I have a dualhead2go in the post at the moment so i cant wait to try that with 2 projectors, although i will have to construct some kind of screen.
The overhead is still the print i have been using but i have built the roof with dimensions to let a full size one slot straight in.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate045.jpg

I'm on the lookout for 2 van seats. I think they are better than average car seats. Happy Christmas all :p

[Geremy Britton]

This is one of my favourite threads. Just looking through it seeing all the progress (And all the great pics) Thanks for keeping us updated steve, as they say a picture paints a thousand words.

That shell has sprung up in no time. Makes everything look a million times better. Noticed you have some knobs on the lower dzus panels on the MIP... did they arrive? Reay unpredicatble times at the minute with the postal service.

And don't worry you'll have an overhead eventualy somehow ;)

Good luck with the build and continued success into 2010. You working on it over christmas?

[twisted8]

That really is shaping up great! very good job with the shell!

[Steve A]

Noticed you have some knobs on the lower dzus panels on the MIP... did they arrive? Reay unpredicatble times at the minute with the postal service.

Good luck with the build and continued success into 2010. You working on it over christmas?

Thanks for the kind words Geremy and Twisted8
No the knobs in the picture came from simparts..... very nice quality, I'm sure the ones from GLB flight products should be with me in the next few days, i purchased these ones before you started supplying them at a fraction of the cost :shock:

And of course i'll be working on it over christmas, taking advantage of my 3 weeks off work :mrgreen:

[BlackWidow]

Oh i got to get a projector. That made a huge difference. Thanks for sharing your pit. You have made fantastic progress and i really like that you have used what ever is available and made it turn out so well.

[Steve A]

Been busy over the holidays. I "cladded" the windshield posts to give the impression of thickness. I got a vri cdu for christmas and although it has been flamed for being cr*p i think its cool for 150 euro and it does everything i ask of it since i have been learning to program the fmc.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate001.jpg

I also took delivery of a few boeing knobs and the gear knob plus a couple of flight yoke checklists from GLB flight products, Brilliant quality service again Gez!
I have 1 or 2 other very special items on order from there too ;)

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate002.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate008.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate013.jpg

Next "smallish" thing is to try and get the display surrounds and smoked plexiglass specially made for my mip as im using 17" screens and the standard is 19"

Thanks for reading Steve

[Matt Olieman]

Looking good Steve, just keeps getting better and better :) :) :)

[jongas]

Looks great!

I ordered my plexiglass from here...

http://www.737ngsim.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=86&category_id=22&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=167

When I ordered they offered to cut to any size I needed for the same cost 8.99 per display. I needed mine slightly different to the 'norm' and I was happy with the results.

Hope this helps.

Jon

[Steve A]

My fire panel arrived from hispapanels so it spurred me into starting my pedestal... again using scrap wood and some board i found in a skip lol. Its not to scale as i'll be mixing and matching goflight panels and open cockpits radios, plus some other stuff. I started a bit of a ripdown on the mip too as i am hoping to have some bezel surrounds custom made as soon as i have the funds so i just have to take the makers advise and alter a few things for them to be a perfect fit. http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture001-2.jpg http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture004-1.jpg http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture005-2.jpg http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture006-2.jpg

[steveeverson]

Looks really great steve. I like the goflight pedestal and have done something similar with mine. It's really good to see another 'mere mortal' here making things on a budget!
Have you had any ideas about fire handles-? the only ones I can find seem to be the full pull and turn types that cost a packet so was thinking about making some ...
cheers
Steve

[Steve A]

A few of my favourite shots of the sim here, I received the first of many real panels for the pedestal that i won from ebay, and another goflight panel from geremy ( i think he has the spare key to the factory )

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture017.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture009.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture031.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture024-1.jpg

I'm still waiting for the replacement lamp to arrive for the old beamer, then i can start work on the curved screen.

[Anderson/SBSP]

Very well!! Congrats!!

[Steve A]

I just remembered i had this thread going and reading through it i cant believe how much more work i have done,
You can see in other posts i have started a homemade throttle and Yoke but really i should add the photos to this post as this is the actual build diary for the whole cockpit.
So recently i have almost finished the throttle and i have started the yoke, today i set about installing a lower eicas screen as i was never happy with
the way that area looked and it looked even worse when i placed the throttle. I will probably use the lower screen for atc or moving map etc.
The pedestal has changed a little too.
Here are some pictures.
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture053-1.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture056-1.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture043-2.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture036.jpg

And my favourite shot so far dawn at Heathrow gate 101 testing all the screens are workng as they shoud.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/Picture058-1.jpg

I received my axis card from open cockpits but im still waiting for the phidget sliders, and the full fwd and aft overhead is getting posted out
next weds so i need to start thinking about ordering led64 cards from phidgets and a couple of buo836x cards from Leo.
All in all i have plenty to do over the summer.

Regards Steve

[Anderson/SBSP]

I love your amazing job. Congrats.

[Tony Hill]

Very, very nice. Your sim certainly has morphed into something special from your starting point!

[Nick1150]

I am amazed !!!

Keep up the good work ;)

[Steve A]

Today a medium sized package arrived and i'm absolutely made up that its my overhead, Its been a long time in production but i have to say its been worth every minute.
I just have to start the long long process of wiring it up now.
This is really it now for this year, i have to slow down a little now and finish the 3 main projects i have going on at the moment, namely the ovh, the throttle and the yoke. That should keep me very busy over summer.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate085.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate088.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate087.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate090.jpg


A million thanks for another top notch value for money product Geremy ( glb flight products )

[Steve A]

The Overhead is coming along very well, I have all but exhausted my funds for the time being so im going to temporary install into the flightdeck until i'm able to continue adding to it. I have all the important switches interfaced with 1 buo836x card and 24 inputs onto a opencockpits usb axis card through a matrix, I have a led card in the post so i can get some annunciators working.
The toggle switch caps arrived and look great, but im still waiting for some flip gaurds and some rotarys.
I wired some xmas tree lights to the panel lights switch and have the backlighting sorted.
So the panel should be up in the roof of the sim by tomorrow and i'll be flying again hopefully albeit until some more components arrive.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate092.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate091.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate093.jpg

More pics when its installed :)

Thanks for reading
Steve

[Tony Hill]

Very nice work!

[Steve A]

Preparing for takeoff soon lol, it seems like such a long time since i was up in the air.
Should be ready for a test flight tomorrow.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate108.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb82/Quadropheniac_album/cockpitupdate104.jpg

[Anderson/SBSP]

Wow!!! dont forget!! make a video from your first flight test and share with us.

[riche543]

Yep vid would be great steve, lets see how that Overhead works :D

[Steve A]

I only have a cheapo camera which shoots about 10 minutes of film, i will film something as soon as my other components are fitted and i have at least some annunciators working with the led card.
Thanks for the nice words :)