where dio i start

[seristee]

good day to all. id like to start working on a 737 home cockpit and i don't have the slightest idea where to start. i want to start by purchasing the hardware such as the usb cards,master cards,soic cards thats sort of stuff but i dont know what they are. can anyone with the relevant understanding and expertise i may say give a newbie an idea of what they are and which is the best to buy. thank you

[ivar hestnes]

First of all you should do a lot of reading and studying of pictures. Spend lot of time looking at builders web-sites and collect drawings, plans and useful information. Use lot of time looking at the different vendors web-sites.

All this would give you a good idea of what direction you want to go when planning your project. The planning is very important. Spend some weeks on that.

Make yourself a building plan. Build in stages, but always have in mind the next step. Starting with the MIP is usually a good start.

There are several kinds of interface cards on the market. Some which is easy to configure and some cards that demand more of your skills.

If you spend lot of time on the planning, you will have an easier progress on your build and you always know the next step.

This is a very rewarding hobby. Lots of stuff to learn which adds to the fun Lots of useful information on this forum. Also in old threads. And lot of knowledge amongst the community.

[Mike.Powell]

Ivar is correct. It's important to do your research first.

Here's a starting point: http://www.mikesflightdeck.com/getting_started.htm The first paragraph has a number of links to excellent cockpit building overview sites.

You can find a list of links to project sites here: http://www.mikesflightdeck.com/simpit_links.htm Looking at the different projects will give you an idea of the range of possibilities in this hobby.


Welcome to the community!

[P1IC]

Long, rambling post, sorry! Just some thoughts from a simpit builder who has started on the totally homebuilt route. And has a commercial flying licence and instructor rating in the UK, and lots of expertise in digital and analogue electronics.

good day to all. id like to start working on a 737 home cockpit and i don't have the slightest idea where to start.

A very familiar scenario! It drives us all.

i want to start by purchasing the hardware such as the usb cards,master cards,soic cards thats sort of stuff but i dont know what they are.

So why do you want to buy them, if you don't know what they are? Seems to me that you are really keen to get going, and that's good, but you also need to stop and think about it. So for example, you need to do some RESEARCH as a previous poster said, so that you understand really quite a lot about simpits, even before you spend a cent. Yes, really.

So having a need to start buying is actually something to be resisted!

can anyone with the relevant understanding and expertise i may say give a newbie an idea of what they are and which is the best to buy. thank you

I can't think of anything better to say than what has already been said in this thread. But one other thing: if you think you can buy all you need off the shelf, then you'd better have deep pockets. The shallower your pockets, the more work you need to put in yourself, and therefore the more clued in you need to be.

What I mean about that is, you need to know where the compromises will be. Sure, you can buy instruments and controls, and of course you can build some of your own, and you can make them work together, but unless you know all about the stuff you buy and all about the stuff you make, you will find things a bit difficult. So there will be compromises between what you really really want, and what you can actually achieve within your current knowledge / time constraints / budget (probably in that order).

The nice thing about current knowledge is that it's something you can improve on, whereas the budget thing is normally fixed, and decreasing! And of course time is an issue, but we all have enough, except for the impatience factor. So if you find your impatience getting the better of you, then you can always use the budget available. If it is available!

And if you just buy stuff, you STILL need to know all about it!

It's all about knowing what each of the available systems can do, and what they can't, so that you can fill in the bits by building stuff (if you can do that, or by buying it, if you can't -$$$), so that you will emerge at the far end of your long and intensive project with an aircraft which will fly. And how do you decide what to buy and what to build? RESEARCH! Thanks, Ivar!

And let me re-state that phrase: "long and intensive project" - everyone underestimates just how long it takes to get to where they want to be. But for many (most?), the journey is as much fun as the arrival. So if you can't be fussed abut the journey, then don't even start. But if you like a challenge, in addition to the motivation of wanting to fly virtually, then you're good to go! And in that case, welcome to the world of virtual aviation!

[jytte]

The planning is very important. Spend some weeks on that.

Weeks? some of us spend YEARS

But yes, planning is the most important thing.
Good luck with your project.