Sabreliner in Oklahoma (lots of pics)

[xplanematt]

Hi all,

Been posting on a couple other boards, but I find a number of my flight sim friends are here, so I decided to join the fun. I'm turning a retired Sabreliner 60 into a simulator. Got the project in late 2013, the past year or so has consisted mostly of restoration work, gathering parts, and some limited interfacing.

I built a "homemade" sim over the course of 2010-2012, which taught me a lot. Here are some miscellaneous details on the Sabreliner project:

- X-Plane based

- The original wiring harness ahead of the rear bulkhead was completely intact, so I am using it extensively for power distribution, as well as for interfacing.

- Everything inside the cockpit that can be seen or touched is real, with the exception of one windshield that I had to replace with a Plexiglass replica.

- The cockpit is on a temporary wheeled base at the moment, but will eventually go on a 16ft trailer and have an instructor/observer room behind it.

- Interfacing is done exclusively with Arduinos, though I may add other types of prototyping boards to the mix for future tasks.

- Communication is via ethernet. This sim is completely USB-free.

- Main interface program is written in Python, and communicates with X-Plane and the Arduinos via UDP.

- Current level of interfacing allows the cockpit to power up, and just about all the internal (and external) lights work. The basic engine controls work well enough that X-Plane's engines can be started, the throttles work, and the RPM indicators work.

I'm hooked on real cockpits now, and in fact my wife and I are planning to move further out of town where we can have more room for our projects. Yes, my wife is 100% supportive of this insanity, and did pretty much the entire carpet replacement and seat recoloring herself!

Attached are a few pics of the progress. I am having an absolute blast!

Matt

[mickc]

Awesome work Matt,  very impressive!

[Trevor Hale]

WOW!  Matt thats awesome.  Welcome to the group.  I know how hard it is working on the real thing, and I am more surprised at what you have accomplished than anything.  Great job.  I love to look at other peoples pictures, ass that stirs me up to get working on my plane again.  Winter is starting to settle in now, and I am going to have to get back out to the Beech.  Thanks for the pictures, I want to see more as you get things going here.

727737nut (Rob Archer) Will have a lot of work to show you all the interfacing he has done with those original gauges and teensey.

Just awesome!

[xplanematt]

Thanks, I've found I actually enjoy this a lot more than building my old sim from scratch. In a way there is more work (having to figure out the systems, wiring, and construction of a real cockpit, and work within the physical confines of an already-built shell), but it feels like less work, since I'm not crazy about all the "boring" work of cutting out parts and putting them together. Plus exploring a retired aircraft is really quite an adventure....there are notes scribbled on airframe parts, various ID tags (and even masking tape with Sharpie writing) on avionics and instruments, the occasional tool or memento found dropped behind a panel, and of course the whole experience of discovering how the plane works and is put together.

I know Rob, he's one of the friends I mentioned who is here. Yes, he is doing some great work with the Teensy. The Arduino is quite similar, so we have some overlap in what we're doing with our cockpits.

Matt

[727737Nut]

Welcome to the site Matt    Great pics of your project and progress to date.  Looks great!
Rob

[gigio1]

Well done Matt! Always keep it up !!
Luigi

[B747-400]

Excellent! Have fun!!
Cheers
Hans

[Ridgenj]

Matt, what a wife...
Cheers
Luis

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