Hi from Essex

[markfire]

Hi all,

I've been knocking around quite a few forums for the last couple of years, trying to fathom out the black art of building a 737 Simulator. Apart from the ££££££ and millions of hours i've put in doing so, i still get a buzz out of new ideas, technology and when something actually works out of the box!

I live in Essex and my local airfield is Stapleford where i've put a few hours in on the 152 (could have bought one with the money i've spent on the sim!)

I currently work for the London Fire Brigade as a Fire Safety Inspecting Officer after doing my time at the sharp end. Retired two years ago and now re-employed, same desk same shit : )  Pays for more Sim parts tho'

At present i am building the Sim in a Wood Cabin in the garden. It's not quite big enough for a surround curved screen and PJ setup, but i can get away with 5 x 40" HD TV's. I'm currently running wideview with FSX and Xplane 10 setup.

I7 sever and four I5 clients. Just had to install air con as the heat is fierce!

Anyhow, thats me, so if your local and fancy a flight in the sim or just a natter about anything Sim related, drop me a pm.

There's lots of great posts here and a wealth of experience to tap into......... sorry in advance : )

regards

Mark

[Trevor Hale]

Mark,

Beautiful cockpit so far, and Welcome...  Nice to have you here.  Have a look around and I hope you enjoy our forum.  We are a good group of guys.

Trev

[Sean]

Hi Mark

Nice looking sim you've got there. They look like Geremy's eyebrows. And a Nimrod seat. I've got a couple of those, they are excellent aren't they? Almost identical to the NG Ipeco's and quality is superb. Did you get that from Gez too?

I'm up in Newcastle, also building a 737.

I noticed in another post you were asking about Sim-A. There's a member here has a full size 737 pit with projected visuals using Sim-A. Lives in North London, just a short trip for you. I'd recommend paying him a visit.

Next time I'm "darn sarf", I'll be sure to give you a shout. Same goes if you're ever in Toon.

Sean

[markfire]

Hi Sean

Yes I got the eyebrows from GB and the Nimrod seat too. Yes they are great quality.

I've got loads to do yet, didn't realise how long it would take to get it all up and running.

My best investment so far is the FSC throttle, I just love it : ). I've just installed the start switches from Anders at Archen Sim Products. Fantastic product and work really well. A deffo if you need some solenoid start switches.

If you're down this way by all means give me a shout.

Regards

Mark

Ps. Do you know the guys name who's in North london, may drop him a line.

[Sean]

Ha! Sounds like we are on similar paths!

I have the FSC throttle (bought it from the guy in N. London).

Got Anders start switches (and N1/SPD switches) last month.

We'll have to exchange details and have a natter.

Ralph is the chap in London. I was chatting with him last month as I'm overdue a visit down there. Really nice guy. He's close friends with the developers of Sim-A, so knows a lot about it.

http://www.cockpitbuilders.com/community/index.php?action=profile;u=252

[markfire]

Sean

Yes we're definitely singing off the same hymn sheet : )

I'll pm you my tel no. And we'll have a chat sometime.

I'll check out your sim later on. Have you got a website?  Mines at www.my737.co.uk. I've just started putting in content, but I'll try to keep in up to date.  So many things that need doing!!

I'm running the IFly737 at present and find it hard to believe that more people haven't got on it. The cockpit builders version is so easy to setup and the flight model works really well. Good support from all the major players regarding drivers etc too!

Mark

[Sean]

Nice looking website. I registered a Wordpress site with a view to creating a blog a short while back, but have't added any content yet. Anyway, I've subscribed to yours.

I'm using Project Magenta Glass Cockpit at the moment, but I need to get some system software. Swaying towards Prosim at this point in time, but having used Sim-A at Ralph's, I like that too, so might go that route. Don't know much about IFly737. I thought it was more for gamers and advanced desktop setups, but I'm happy to stand corrected.

Sean

[markfire]

Sean

Regading the IFly, I know that a couple of commercial clients are using it for their pilot training so it can't be that sad. 

I've played with prosim and think that it's got great possibilities, although Sim A is really nice too. I need to see what they both have to offer in cross platform functionality ( FSX, XPlane) and also need to sort my hardware out. At present running a mixture of suppliers, but  most of the mip, fwd and aft overhead is OC cards, servos etc, all scripted for IFly. So if I change software it's going to take quite a bit of work to integrate.

Mark

[rhysb]

Mark,

Good to see you made it over to this forum, good to see the build is going well! I'm not sure I would call a shed a wood cabin though 
Seriously though you need to go prosim! It's my personal fav for the 737. I'm using sim-a too in my 777 setup and they are both great and you can argue for both but for 737 prosim is the way I'm ny view.

I must pop up again soon. Il bring some stuff up to show you on the software point of view.

Good to have you here

Rhys b

[markfire]

Hi Rhys


Thanks for the advice, i think you're right Pro Sim seems a nicer user interface. I cant say if its logic is better or worse than Sim A due to lack of testing but they both seem to replicate all the required functions.


The shed says cabin in the manual so cabin it is!   : )


It would be nice to catch up and pick your brains regarding the software and a couple of other hundred things!


I was down your way not long ago, went to the Helicopter Museum for the Weston Flight Sim Show with a mate of mine. The show was a bit disappointing, although it was nice to catch up with a few buddies who were there also.




Hope all's well mate, see you soon hopefully.


Mark

[Bob Reed]

Very nice cockpit! Nice to have you here!

[markfire]

Thanks Bob

[Karl737]

Hi Mark,

Welcome!

Your sim looks great mate. Looking forward to seeing more as you progress.

Karl

[markfire]

Thanks for the kind words Karl.


I'll try to keep my build progress updated : )


Regards


Mark

[gpratt]

Hi Mark

Just joined this site. I'm building a single seat 737 using Jetmax product from FDS. I am also looking to change over to XPlane 10 currently running FSX PM and FSUIPC

Gary

[markfire]

Hi Gary


Welcome mate


I've got a lot of my sim built, but as always, loads still to do.


If you need a hand anytime, just shout.


Where in Essex are you?


Mark