WHERE TO FROM HERE ? ? ? .

This web site.

Well the first thing I got to say…. The FS9 moving sim you just read about got finished in 2003 … It was a lot of fun and a real sidetrack on my initial plans for building a moving sim. The time came when I need to put that behind me and move forward into the “next generation” of home motion cockpit building using FSX.

I have met some wonderful people through this website and it is a marvelous experience. I am continuing to have contact with them and they are real top guys. As it stands at the moment, the FS2004 website is finished and I don’t plan anymore updates on the cheap FS9 platform. I am however putting some pictures of my new one as I build it, along with some details, just for the hell of it. It is not step by step break-down of it though.

Progress.

As I pre-plan where I’m going with this never ending mission, I have played with making a “instrument consol” as a test unit for the inputs and what will work within a budget.

Probably I will make a similar panel to the one below for my next moving sim and plonk it in it….. This has the advantage of being of use in the sim or out of the sim and in the room in the house

Below is a picture of the experimental consol……

This setup is like this….

The video card in the computer has 2 outputs… 1 for the normal monitor and 1 for S/video.

I used the S/video output to drive the TV set and that’s what I put the scenery on.

The ordinary monitor outlet does the instruments.

The other video out (on the laptop) is via MAXIVISTA… A great wee program and worth twice /three /four times the money.

Maxivista sorts everything out via the network, and even if you haven’t got an installed network.. it sorts it out… But you still need the hardware !!!!

Their site … http://www.maxivista.com Its not very often you buy software that makes you say “WOW”… well this does.

Great for GPS, radios etc… but no good for fast moving things like scenery etc.

You can hook up multiple screens via maxivista, via other computers and have screens for GPS, radio, ATC, moving map, etc etc.

And of course… the other computers don’t have to be laptops.

You will also notice a VB beer can behind the laptop.. well… this is optional.

This setup is experimental and is NOT the final product.

Well now we have the new one for in the house, not completely labeled etc. 25-5-06

Things have progressed and I have now wrecked this new one !!!!

I plan to build a small one to suit the cabin of the sim better.

The start !!!!! June 2006 !!!

My new simpit will have…

1/.. Pitch, roll and unlimited yaw. (Heave was dropped off due to the garage low ceiling and cost of heavy drive units.)

2/… Be a 1.5 or a two person (The 1.5 is a concept of the pilot and the throttle quadrant etc, but not the co-pilot position)

3/… Be totally self contained. (Because of yaw, the only cable going to the pit, will be the mains AC supply.. all the rest will move with the sim)

4/… Have all inputs going to and all outputs coming from, software. (Similar to a PLC concept)

5/… Be made from junk. (Cant believe the fun I had making the trial sim .. so will do the same with the main sim)

6/… Software … I’ll see how I go with this .. Might actually do my own program etc. but I am tempted with www.flightdecktechnology.com output board as it handles macros really well. Update …. Doing my own software (See “the plan” page)

7/… Be a proper built cockpit. Generic, not a copy of a particular aircraft but will be based on a twin turboprop.

Time scale ….

Winter 06 … Get the basic motion platform made and functioning with temporary remote switching.

Summer 06-07 .. Get the sim cabin built to a basic stage.

Winter 07 … Software.

Summer 07-08 Complete the sim cabin and integration of the software etc..

Winter 08 … Fine tune everything … software, mechanic’s and cosmetic.

Summer 08-09 .. Have fun using it. !!!!

Winter 09 … See what Liz has been up to for the last couple of years !!! .

The start of construction. 17-6-06

The above two pictures show a 15mm plate with a part of an axle off a van welded to it. (dual wheel, 12” wheels) I used one wheel which is actually welded to the brake drum for added strength. To the underneath of the rim I welded the 4”x2” channel irons that will hold the drive units. This whole unit revolves around the bottom plate which will be fixed to the floor.

The hole in the center (looks black) is where the mercotac slip-ring unit will go. These are available from www.mercotac.com (Thanks to AndyT who put me on to these.) These units allow me to feed in the 230vac for all the systems and lets me rotate around and around for ever. !!!

UPDATE OCTOBER 2006

Some pictures of developments to date.

As mentioned before, the drive units are “twin” wiper motors, which are working really well. (I have the basics of the cabin built and moving with manual switching)

There is actually a sixth wiper motor on the base frame (fitted after the pix were taken). . .. It is a locking system for the platform so when you climb in and out, (thru the rear door) it stops a lot of weight bearing down onto the wiper motor drives.

I have ended up basically putting a larger “2 person box” on this one just to get the thing going quicker. (I want to put all my time into the motion platform and THEN build a proper cockpit that will take 2 people)

Software seems to be the name of the game and so far everything is falling into place on that one. (See my software page)

The other thing I have in mind is ,, while at the moment I have rebuilt this using twin wiper motors, I luckily “fell” upon 3 heavy DC motors after I built the units, so my playing around since has always been to suit them should the twin units ever bugger up.

Updated 5 Nov 07