cornleader
05-25-2010, 12:55 PM
I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My Name is Tim. I’m in my 40’s and reside in east coast Canada. I work as a computer programmer.
I have been an avid flight simmer since MSFS 5 or so. I’m running FSX on a fast machine with 2 x 24 inch LCD monitors using a Saitek joystick and throttle. The graphics are amazing but I have been finding that the more I play, the more I want. After doing some searching on the internet I discovered the home cockpit building following. I had no idea this hobby existed until about a year ago.
So now I am planning to start a 737 cockpit. The first things I took into consideration were the difficulty, challenge, dedication and cost of the project. This is some thing that I would work at bit by bit over the years. I am a musician and have been playing mainly guitar for well over 25 years. I used this to satisfy my DIY approach to my hobbies and got into creating vintage guitar effects. Learned how to source parts, read schematics, solder and fabricate. When this became boring I started to reproduce 1960 era tube amplifiers and build working Marshall amp replicas from the 60’s, which I actively gig with.
I asked myself if I was confident taking on this project. The computer side should not be an issue as a programmer. The electronics should not be too hard thanks to my DIY projects I have built over the years. Fabricating the framework of the cockpit should be fine. Cost? The main reason I expect this to take many years. There was only 1 thing holding me back.
Finding a support group to guide me through the project. Where do I buy parts? Are parts available in Canada? Would I be able to find good guidance dealing with the electronics, software, part sourcing, reputation of sellers, etc? This site seems to be one of the better groups of experienced builders that contains all the resources needed to follow through with my project. I’ll spend some time reading through the posts, asking stupid questions and hopefully with the help of this community make the big step and actually commit to the project.
Sorry for the long-winded introduction!!
I have been an avid flight simmer since MSFS 5 or so. I’m running FSX on a fast machine with 2 x 24 inch LCD monitors using a Saitek joystick and throttle. The graphics are amazing but I have been finding that the more I play, the more I want. After doing some searching on the internet I discovered the home cockpit building following. I had no idea this hobby existed until about a year ago.
So now I am planning to start a 737 cockpit. The first things I took into consideration were the difficulty, challenge, dedication and cost of the project. This is some thing that I would work at bit by bit over the years. I am a musician and have been playing mainly guitar for well over 25 years. I used this to satisfy my DIY approach to my hobbies and got into creating vintage guitar effects. Learned how to source parts, read schematics, solder and fabricate. When this became boring I started to reproduce 1960 era tube amplifiers and build working Marshall amp replicas from the 60’s, which I actively gig with.
I asked myself if I was confident taking on this project. The computer side should not be an issue as a programmer. The electronics should not be too hard thanks to my DIY projects I have built over the years. Fabricating the framework of the cockpit should be fine. Cost? The main reason I expect this to take many years. There was only 1 thing holding me back.
Finding a support group to guide me through the project. Where do I buy parts? Are parts available in Canada? Would I be able to find good guidance dealing with the electronics, software, part sourcing, reputation of sellers, etc? This site seems to be one of the better groups of experienced builders that contains all the resources needed to follow through with my project. I’ll spend some time reading through the posts, asking stupid questions and hopefully with the help of this community make the big step and actually commit to the project.
Sorry for the long-winded introduction!!