Hi - New project with CAP Cadets

[UCONN88]

Hi All:
I am started a new project with the Civil Air Patrol cadet squadron I run.

We will be using components from Simkit and yanking apart my old SimHawk. I will be looking for a lot of help, look forward to some good Q&A. I never realized the scope of some of the simulators out there.

Ray Goff (aka UCONN88)

[AndyT]

Welcome to the party!
I'm sure that you will find what you need here. What kind of cockpit will you be building?

[UCONN88]

We are going to build a base C172. This will be fitting into their aerospace education modules. I hope to get a scrap cockpit, but if not, oh well.

The basic starting point is the panel from Simkits. I hope to use their new USB instruments, more are coming. I have old controls off a Simhawk (yoke, throttle, etc) that I want to hook up to new "supported" control boards. Looking at Phidget vs some of the others, like Simboards. The ones from Simkits would work, but with Euro conversion, etc I hope to get some US based products.

[AndyT]

I use Simkits and Phidgets and I have very little trouble with them. And interfacing actual hardware with little modification to Phidgets is pretty easy also.

Here is a pic of my pit.
http://www.mycockpit.org/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=893

[UCONN88]

I am about to order one or the other. I told my old hardware from a Simhawk unit I bought years ago (had a proprietary board). The yoke and power quadrant (cessna style) are to be re-used (at least). I have a simkits panel and a usb airspeed indicator so far.

The yoke has a rotary pots (I think) at the end for roll control, and a rod system that goes to a linear motion Potentiometer. Since the old board used to have an old joystick port, I am assuming these would be "analog" inputs. The prop, power, and mixture controls all hooked up to sliders (I will get new "slider 60" phidgets for those.

I am new to phidgets, looking for guidance on the input boards to get.

[Trevor Hale]

Here is the big question you need to ask yourself first. Are you going to be controlling the 172 with switches that emmulate keystrokes? Or are you going to use fsuipc offsets to control the Sim.

I would suggest if your going to be using servo gauges for your instruments then go with phidgets. If your going to use a base aircraft like the Dreamfleet line of aircraft and undock the instruments behind a panel, then you could get away with simboards.

Simboards have a very nice easy to use user interface that might be easier for the kids to understand.

I was a civillian Instructor with the Air Cadets here in Canada. If I were to do a project like this one with the kids, I would go with Simboards, as understanding that when you toggle a switch for the landing gear, the interface sends a "G" to flightsim, is easier then the switch sends a 1456789 through FSUIPC at offset # 0x5624 to tell flightsim to raise the gear.

If you catch my drift.

I hope that is clear, Both products are fantastic, in their own ways, and please be clear that both products can program key presses and Offsets. But for the ease of the kids understanding, simboards might be the best route for the age group involved.

Regards,

Trev

[Westozy]

Sim-Boards are awesome, purpose built, not adapted!

Gwyn

[57sqnFS]

Cool nice to see what the cadets are up to over the atlantic!
we are Air Cadets from the UK and we are building a replica of the aircraft we fly the Grob tutor
we are using it as a trainer and therefore i have designed tandem control sticks so the cadet can actually follow through and get a feel of control which is a common practise we follow in real 'Air Experience flights' and glider pilot training