Some more progress!

[Jordan Farmer]

Hi there guys, i just wanted to give you some idea of what my final plan will (hope) to be! im rubbish at using any proper CAD program, so i decided to try just making a 3d model of the design in google's free scetchup program, i must say the UI is very easy to get used to! Anyway, i have a few images, and here they are!

This is just an overview!
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The G1000 bezels, without any switches at the moment!
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The throttle quadrant, i have 2 saitek quads which will be used. these are just made up from rough measurements
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And because im greedy, i want to add some 'steam' gauges aswell, seeing as i have a spare monitor, i dont see why not to be honest!
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Well guys, let me know what you think anyway, and give me some suggestions if you would!
Cheers,

Jordan

[Kerbo]

I envy your planning skills. :) This is looking good, keep us posted on your progress.

[No Longer Active]

As Wriley says, great planning skills...

Just a shame that the monitors could not be the same size, as it kind of looks odd having one screen bigger than the other!

As I said once, make both cutouts for the screen the same size and put the larger monitor behind the 10.4" cutout to the right, it will work! Trust me on that!

By the way, I have sent you the Garmin 1000 MIP cad drawing to your college email as given!

Cheers,

Alex

[Jordan Farmer]

Ok, so a bit of a change from last time, but this is my 'mark I' of my sim. I do plan on building a G1000 based sim, but ive decided, while the PM software is still needing some development, so ive heard, im going to go for a steam gauge style pit. Ive been designing and building all at the same time, and ive gone and bought some materials today to finish the basic shape. The main base is fully made now, i just have the bottom to fix, the MIP to cut to shape and fit, monitors etc to fit, and then i will buy the MDF to make the top/cowl. it is based quite strongly on a cessna as you can probably see. The gauge positioning will change to simulate a twin, but i havnt laid the PM gauges out for that yet. the radios and stuff will be finally built by me, except the GNS530, which i am going to buy from our resident expert Steve1970! But enough talking, i will let the images explain ;)

The MIP
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Its Back end (Ooh arr misses :P)
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You may be able to see the labels, but this is the radio/gauge layout im going for
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Again, the radio's
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The whole sim, from the front!
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Oh yeah, before i go, i managed to extend the tube for my saitek yoke, by using some crutches from the NHS, well, they havnt asked for them back and its been nearly 3 years, i pay my taxes :p

Will post some pics up when ive got it build up!

Cheers,

Jordan

[Jordan Farmer]

As promised, heres some images of the sim so far, its very, very far from complete, but ive been working on it all day, and have the basic setup now, which i am very happy with. I also went and bought Project Magenta's GA IFR software, it was difficult handing that much cash over, but im extremely pleased with it! I managed to get the twin engine gauges working so i have all the holes cut and the screen installed. Anyway, i will let the pictures do the talking!

Ive put the front on hinges so i can access the back easily
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The yoke is detachable and slots throgh the front, it has 3 positions for length aswell!
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The back, behind with the monitor and yoke. the monitor unclips from its stand aswell
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With everything installed
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And finally with the PM gauges working with FS
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Well, its been quite some work, but im there! Now ive got the rest of the work to do, radios to make, monitor stand to fit, lots of SIOC and switches etc! its all good fun! Let me know what you guiys think, cheers.

Regards,

Jordan

[No Longer Active]

Good start on the sim, cant help but notice the top of the MIP doesn't quite meet up with the top of the frame/casing, is there going to be a trim to hide the small gap or can the MIP be raised a little higher to close the gap?

Great to see a GA sim coming along in the pipe line....

My sim should be finished by the end of this week, got one more week off holiday (been on holiday abroad all last week)... so spending a hole week on the sim! :)

Please keep me posted on the updates!

Cheers,

Alex

[Jordan Farmer]

Well alex, i hope you enjoyed that holiday, im on one of those full time holidays where i dont have a full time job! Have fun on your sim this week, im looking forward to seeing the finished product! And yes, there is a gap, thats mainly because of my dodgy measurement and jigsaw work :p but it is temporary, as i plan on making a curved cowl on top, covered with faux leather or something similar!

Cheers,

Jordan

[No Longer Active]

That's fair enough pal, when jigging straight lines, see if you can find a long piece of thin batton and clamp it to the mdf / mip, then use that as a guide for your jig, I found an excellent handsaw from my local market, and that cuts straight lines perfectly, cost £4 and its the best saw I have ever had (its an 8 teeth per inch) perfect for cutting long lengths straight, I then use a 10 teeth per inch saw for finer cutting such for thinner wood and nicer edges such as facing edges and trims!

Alex

[smendlik]

Looks like you are off to a great start. Could you provide more details on how you extended the shaft of the yoke?

[Jordan Farmer]

Thats a very good idea alex, with the batron, i thought, being from a family of carpenters, i should have known that! And i do have a great handsaw, but as per usual, its gone missing! Im uploading a little video now just showing you around my little pit so far :)

@ Smendik;
Hi there chap, you asked how i extended the yoke, i will warn you it was with great difficulty! The build quality of saitek isnt exactly perfect to say the least! Things were fairly tough, but i got there! Basically, i used an old crutch from an accident a had a few years ago, Her Majesties great NHS never asked for it back so i just used it for this! I found the ineer part fits perfectly inside the old yoke shaft, and then the outer part clips onto that. You can then cut to length, I also drilled holes here and there to allow removal and extension etc! The yoke head isnt wired in any more, as the wires had to be cut :( But i plan on getting some extension cabling and re-doing the wires so i can use the buttins on the yoke again, or i will buy a different yoke 'head'. The whole assembly is bolted to a small piece of steel i had lying around, and this is bolted to the desk. Hope this helps,

Many regards,

Jordan

[Jordan Farmer]

Heres that video i promised, not perfect, but its not so bad, i guess!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D4WGUDL1LY?fs=1&hl=en_GB&hd=1

(Best viewed in HD!)

Cheers,

Jordan

[No Longer Active]

Hi Jordan, great to see the video, well something you should be proud of is the fact that your sim is flying, you have gauges, control from a yoke, throttle and visuals....all the essential of a flight sim, bit by bit its coming on at a great rate. From your concept on sketchup to a product that's growing. Many people just have ms flight sim, and wooden boxes and lose interest halfway through and never finish. Keep going mate, use your noddle and you will have a great sim....

Today I said I will do some more to my sim, and indeed I have, I have assembled the back enclosure and middle shelf, just need to some filling then will paint, tomorrow I will fix MIP to enclosure, insert LCD and spray paint MIP....then Wednesday ERM....aint got that far yet...prob some electronics!

Congrats on owning PM, welcome to the prestigous PM owners club!

[No Longer Active]

Ps, does the pole on the saitek yoke move left to right or does the yoke grip move left and right while the pole like on the ch yoke?

Cheers,

Alex

[smendlik]

Thanks for the details. Looks like I'll have to tear into mine and see what I can work out. I don't have any crutches lying around so I will have to spend some time at the home improvement store!

[Jordan Farmer]

Well alex, thanks for such a nice reply, it sounds like you are having fun with your sim! Unlike most people, im very lucky to have 2 workshops, one metal and one woodwork! the only unfortunate thing is the metal working shop is currently full of wood from some trees i cut down! So no welding for a while! But i am very glad to be flying in my sim, it has brought a whole new level to my experience! im currently just flying around testing everything and having a bit of fun! Im very glad that i bit the bullet and bought PM GAIFR, its just awesome! And the saitek yoke, well, the whole shaft rotates, im not familiar with the CH yoke, so i cant compare. I have one more essential thing to build, or buy, and that is some rudder pedals. its extremely frustrating still using the KB to brake etc! im not sure whether to buy any, or make myself, they do look pretty tough to make :/ im not sure yet, we will see!

Cheers,

Jordan

[No Longer Active]

To be honest, save a headache and buy the pedals, go for the ch pedals because they look better than the saitek pedals, also they are really easy to mod, you can cut off the actual pedals and replace with cessna looking pedals (the bit the foot rests on) which are easy to make with aluminium.

Just food for thought!

Cheers, Alex

[Jordan Farmer]

I must say alex, i never thought of adding pedals to the top of the CH ones, and i wouldnt go for saitek, the build quality isnt amazing if im honest! Oh well, when i get some cash, i may invest in some! And then ive got to find nearly £500 for a GNS530 from Emuteq, which i cant wait to get!

[No Longer Active]

If you are going to buy Steves GPS then dont bother buying radios or anything as the GNS has alot of radio tech built in such as com and nav etc, however you could make a small audio panel just using 6 to 8 SPST toggles. Just make sure you are not going to get side tracked because £500 is a big commitment.

I have just finnished the back enclosure to my sim, I have assembled the base and sides, screwed in the middle shelf and secured, sanded and filled then sprayed, just run out of spray paint so need to get another tin, tommorow I will continue with second coat (cant believe just how hard work spray painting is plus I need good weather to do it outside!).

Alex

[Jordan Farmer]

there is the Comm/Nav on the GPS and im not going to prioritise a nav/com 2 but i still want my AUD, A/P, DME and XPDR panels. i know steves gps is a very big investment, but i feel that will give me unrivalled realism, and that is what i want to end up with! As far as the other radios go, i have designed them to be 52mm high, and 172mm wide, same as the GPS so they can all fit into one stack. the A/P has been designed, and with parts quite readily available (mainly OC) I have the display card for the 7 segs and an in/out card is on its way too! Heres the primary design of the A/P, give me a few suggestions if you will :)

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And good luck alex, sounds like you are having fun :P

[No Longer Active]

Hi Jordan.

Looks pretty much spot on, that will be a nice A/P if you can make it.

Any tips? Not really I think that you will pretty much need some help getting this to work using OC and SIOC. I have a little bit of knowledge on SIOC but I am no master, will help If I can, I am much stronger on the servo cards however!

My auto pilot is a lot more simple, it is pretty much the same as the Desktop Aviator and Ian Sissions more or less gave the parts to build it, it just uses 6 latching buttons, so no complicated LED's and used 2 encoders one of which selects Altitude and the other is free assignable, its just hassle free, easy to use and simple, main thins is it was cheap...too cheap about a £5 all in all.

Audio panel is just 160mm wide black acrylic panel with 6 toggles, and radios are just goflight that does the job!

Congrats on the design, its coming along nicely!

Alex

[Jordan Farmer]

Thanks very much alex, the one thing im going to struggle with is the PCB design, im going to build it from perf board first i think, get everything laid out how i want! Well, another little update, ive decided its going to be more beechcraft based than cessna, ive been flying the baron 58 around by dreamfleet, and im loving it! I just did my first fully manual ILS approach in my sim at night and it was pretty nervewracking as the runway lights wernt on! I wasnt quite sure whether i was going to crash, but it was just FS playing up (as usual)! im planning on rewiring the yoke fairly soon aswell, should be fun!

[No Longer Active]

Just to let you know, painted MIP today (first coat) second coat going on tomorrow, all I seem to do is blimmin paint the thing, cant wait until all the painting done, coz I blimmin hate it! Looks like sim will be sort of finnished next week, just the more I do the more there appears to do, this project never seems to finish, the funny thing is that I have everything to finnish it, it just takes so much time to do!

Hows your sim coming along? Done any more?

Alex

[Jordan Farmer]

Oh cool, well, i havnt done anything physically to it today, ive already started thinking how i could improve on my current design, and im just starting to plan out an enclosure for it, with a new mounting frame for all my monitors etc, it will be very simple (i hope!)

Good luck with your painting anyway alex, i hope its all going well for you!