New Here

[msalem15]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Michael and I am 23 years old. I have been around aviation my whole life. Went to Aviation school but decided that i didn't want to fly as a career and just wanted to do it for fun.

Iv'e been wanting to build a full cockpit for a long time. However, cannot decide between a 737NG or an A320. Also, not quite sure If i will try to build things myself or just buy parts from FDS.  I currently work for an IT company and I am very technical. I know it can be costly, but I will get things as my budget allows.



Thank you,
Michael

[Bob Reed]

Hey Michael, first thing... THink about what you want...... Make ABSOLUTELY sure what aircraft you want. Then single seat or dual? Now where are you going to put it... Planning is of the utmost importance! Search through this site and read read read..... This is a great hobby but can become all consuming. Glad to have you here.

[msalem15]

Bob,

Thank you for the advice! I want to go with a dual set up. I love both aircraft, but it seems like there are more builders here for the 737 than the a320. Also, it seems like there are lot more resources for the 737. Anyways, thank you and I will keep doing more research!

[Trevor Hale]

Michael, 

Welcome to the site.  Like Bob said, better to plan plan plan and go with what your heart wants rather then what your brain wants, because you can do a lot of things, but if you buy the wrong things it will cost you lots of money.  This isn't a hobby where you can make money in resale.

Best regards,

Trev

[jackpilot]

Mike

A few pragmatic "cents"of mine  to help you decide:

-The A3xx cockpit is huge, much much wider than the 737 (bigger room)
-Windows,especially on the side, are BIG ie: very hard to fill  vertically with a visual system
- Repro parts are available, but more complex and less popular than for the 73 hence more costly ( a realistic sidestick is more $$ than a realistic yoke.) etc
- real 737 parts which are abundant and cheap on EBay (throttle, seats, overhead frames, lights, etc) are basically inexistent for A3xx
- Avionics softwares (logic/instruments) for Airbus are a mixed bag. Check out on forums and ask opinion to Airbus builders beforehand
- last but not least flying the A3xx is a completely different experience from the 737
as the airbus engineering philosophy is based on a different approach.

Whatever your choice, you will have tons of fun.
Jack

[msalem15]

Well I appreciate everyone's responses! I have a lot more research to do and I will go through the forum and hopefully make a decision in the near future.

[jskibo]

Also note...everything takes 3 times the amount of time you planned

Worse when you get distracted by other things, like Real World Flying

[KyleH]

A couple of points in the A320's favour that help simplify building;
- Since it uses side-sticks that are not linked, there is no complicated yoke mechanism that has to be built to get a proper dual flight control setup. You can start off with basic joysticks.
- There is no automatic movement in the throttle handles. You either move it manually or you put it into the Auto Thrust position and it just stay's there and the thrust system does its thing.

That being said, a working auto throttle and linked yokes that are found in a Boeing add a great deal of cool factor.

[msalem15]

Thank you for all your opinions! I believe that the 737 will be a bit easier due to all the resources and I will probably start out small and go from there. It doesn't seem like there are a lot of a320 builders here. Anyways I have a long ways to go and I am very excited!

[tbanana1]

So true, go with what your heart says, It can be what you want it to be and as deep as your pockets can afford .
If you use Saitek Throttles and not the higher end realistic 737 throttles, Check out www.cockpitsimparts.com. They make a throttle kit that slides over the levers on the Saitek unit. They also have a overhead unit and coming soon there own 37 throttles.  I just got them and there awesome for the costs.

[msalem15]

tbanana1 that is a great site. I have a Saitek throttle and that would be a nice touch to add more realism! I think the reason I am going back and forth is that I have been doing some research on http://www.a320-project.skalarki.co.uk/en/ and the A320 looks clean and beautiful. I love both aircraft just have to go with what my heart says like you said. I appreciate your reply!

[tbanana1]

No problem, there is a guy  also that has a site that has the Airbus throttles for the Saitek,
\
http://www.flightsimpm.com/apps/webstore/
Check it out!

[msalem15]

That's a great site too. Thank you!