How Long Have You Been Building Your Cockpit?

[NeoMorph]

One thing I have noticed about a lot of cockpit projects is the sheer amount of time building them. Like this one guy who was building a classic DC3 and it took him 2 years just to build the rudder pedals, control column and throttle quadrant (they do look awesome though).

Is it that us builders subconsciously hope for better flight simulator software to come out that makes linking all the switches and dials and displays easier? 

I've got to admit to procrastination about building my cockpit because of cost, room and just wondering how long I will be interested in the final cockpit by just using Flight Simulator II... then FS III... right up to FSX. I've basically been wanting to build one since 1984 (omg, where did those 26 years go?).

But one thing is for sure, I want to build as much of it as I can myself. The only things I will purchase are things like engraved panels and special switches (like the fire handles on the ATR 72). With this in mind, I can see myself working on the cockpit for many years to come...

So how long have you been building so far?

[shaneb]

So far . . . I've been building two years

started with the shell and base . . .



to the shell exterior completed . . .



to currently working on interior . . very close to the point of interfacing switches

[Nick1150]

I must admit that my project is going too fast... at least faster than I imagined !!!

The main reason for that of course, is that I did a very detailed and in depth research which took almost 2 years !!! I am flying online for many years, but the fact is that huge changes happened during the last 8 months!!!

Few years ago my "project" (no cockpit project was in mind then) was like this:


8 months ago my project was like this:


Today my project looks like this:


Regards,

Nick

[NeoMorph]

Yeah, research is going to take a lot of my time in the coming months... I have some ideas about my ATR 72-500 project but the one thing that I am having problems with is finding dimensions for the cockpit itself. If it's going to be too big I might end up shelving the project and going for something smaller (I only live in a 1 bedroom flat you see).

I do know my cockpit won't be as impressive as other peeps on here but half the fun is actually building the thing.

Oh and Shane, I am green with envy with regards to your cockpit... it's almost like you will eventually be able to really fly the thing heh.

[shaneb]

Even with limited space you should be able to build a sim that will suit your needs.  The other sim that I have (I call it my generic sim) has one forward projector for outside visuals and three monitors for the main instrument panel and it takes up about 7 foot x 10 foot area with a short throw projector and is an enclosed cockpit.   Hope that you will have enough space for your ATR!   

[NeoMorph]

I've sent an email to ATR asking for dimensions for the cockpit... dunno if I will get a reply but "if you don't ask, you don't get" as I was taught when I was a nipper.

I do know that reading up on the Flight-1 ATR 72 has really peaked my interest... I love how deep it is... I've wanted a good flight simulator since way back in 81/82 when I got a TRS-80... but with pixels the size of "O" it was a little hard to do heh.

The one thing that really confuses me is the dearth or parts suppliers. Unless you dig in to all the flight sim forums and try and find current suppliers (I found loads and loads of links that no longer work) then you are stuffed before you begin.

[shaneb]

You are in a similiar situation  as Lear 45 builders . . . not much out there in the way of parts (commercial vendors) so the majority of our parts are made by members.   One source for ATR parts is  Ruscool Engineering . . someone may have already provided you the link, here it is again . . .

http://www.ruscool.co.nz/

[Boeing Skunk Works]

Mine took the better part of six years.

[XOrionFE]

Thus far my 737 has taken me a little over a year and a lot of the parts come from Flight Deck Solutions.    Trust me when I say that even when much of the stuff is fabricated for you there is still a lot of work to do.    I think I will have mine about 90 percent done by late summer this year and definitely in time for World Flight 2011 but there will still be many details to finish off after that as I am sure I will always be looking to improve it.    For me one of the best decisions I made was to finally give in and buy the MIP, CDU Bay, CDU, and Overhead Panels from FDS along with combining them with a bunch of real parts from APHS.    The FDS parts all work perfect together and are really well thought out and that has made all the difference in the speed at which I was able to progress.   Funny but I remember talking to Peter Cos on the phone in around Oct. of 2009 and asking him about buying an MCP and CDU.   He told me he was in the process of developing newer versions of both and hesitated on giving me a date when they would be available.   I recall being impatient at the thought of waiting that long and Peter told me this hobby is not for the impatient builder.  Boy was he ever right.   In the end, by the time he was taking orders on the CDU (8 months later) I wasnt even close to being ready for one.....    So a lot of patience and time is definitely required.   Know all thee that pursue this hobby that is typically a long long process.   Another reason I have been able to progress quickly is by having a helper and Don Harrison gets a lot of credit.  He has build the Simparts throttle kit I purchased which took countless hours and is nearing final completion (we were flight testing it last week).    Having someone else involved and pushing along is really a tremendous help and makes it a lot funner so find someone to help you out and in return let them enjoy the sim along with you.  The other part of course is tons of research and borrowing ideas and knowledge from others who have come before such as Ivar, Nat, Maurice, Ian, Michael, Trevor, Jack (and a host of others ...sorry if I missed someone but there have been so many excellent builders.).

Ok...now back to work :-)

Scott

[ETomlin]

Yeah, my first LJ45 sim, which was more of a test bed really, was started on 7-8-7, July 8 of 2007, same day they rolled out the 787 Dreamliner. From there I built that test bed LJ45 sim and Im guessing about Spring of 2009 was when I started taking delivery of the 2nd version components for my current LJ45 sim. The test bed was functional for about 1.5 years and the current sim has been functional for about a year with naturally more and more functionality implmented as time has gone by. The last 3.5 years have been great fun but at times I have to be honest and say that I wish I could be satisfied with a nice desktop sim. It's just too hard to do that much now that Ive had the experience of sitting in a full size dedicated 1:1 sim. Good luck to all who think they can build and be flying completely in under a year :-)

[NeoMorph]

Eric, even though I think I COULD get a sim up within a year it would take a hell of a lot of money and manpower to do it that all the fun out of building the stuff which is half the fun.

Mind you I remember thinking that it would take me less than a year to build my home automation... took 7 years and four iterations before I was semi-happy with it. It actually works quite well except the core PC needs the operating system cleaned out again (this version has been running for 3 years now and the servers is getting a bit bleh now.

[ETomlin]

Home Automation? Okay Neo, time for you to start a new thread aptly named "Home Automation- For those without enough already on their plates" and give us a little info on that project! Sounds very interesting.

[Bob Reed]

Yes NEO , I agree! And as for, "how long have I been building"? How about since 1998 and as of now NOTHING to show for it other than a pile of parts in the corner. This is the longest I have ever gone without a cockpit since that time. I took the 73 apart to move 2 years ago and I just don;t have the room to put it back together.... Been slowly working on the new one but so far not much to show for it.

[Maurice]

I feel your pain Bob. I was in the same situation with no sim for 2 years until I moved. It was hard starting to build again even though I have lots of room now. The worse part I think was forgetting almost everything I knew and trying to shake up the old brain cells. Luckily, things are beginning to look up but of course, there will be new learning curves for SImAvionics maybe, the 'imminent' release of PMDG 737NGX and Microsoft Flight. Imminent...yeah right!

So how long has it been for me...don't know, lost track somewhere along the way. All I can emphasize is how important it is to get something flyable as quickly as possible. Without that, it is very easy to get totally discouraged & quit. I know... I almost did every time I ran into difficulties and that could still happen if I ever get totally fed up. I won't have any regrets though about quitting because my wife will probably kill me if I do 

Maurice

[Bob Reed]

I have to agree with Maurice.. GET SOMETHING FLYING ASAP!!!I have set a desktop up twice here and every time I do I get re energized on building, but both times I have had to take it down because I needed the room for something else.. And every time I have lost interest.... It is very hard to get started again.

[NeoMorph]

Home Automation? Okay Neo, time for you to start a new thread aptly named "Home Automation- For those without enough already on their plates" and give us a little info on that project! Sounds very interesting.

I posted that home automation info you asked for...

One thing I forgot to put it... I have a power adjustable bed that can lift my legs our raise the back. I modded it to the automation system so that when I wanted to watch some TV it would raise the back to the certain position and lift the leg area slightly. Pain in the legs, press a button and it would lift my legs and lower the backrest.

It was all going well until I messed up some LUA coding... I accidentally deleted the end of a subroutine and didn't notice. Well there I was, about 4 in the morning IIRC and I was fast asleep... my home automation was doing some overnight tests when it hit the bug... Suddenly all the lights come on in my bedroom, the radio comes on and then the bed lifts the backrest completely vertical... and lifts the leg area to the highest point too... I was lucky that it didn't squash me flat heh.

After that I disconnected the bed from the system... NEVER AGAIN! 

[Vectro]

Our project has been going on since september 2006.

[727Steve]

I've been working on the current project (727) for 2 years. Cost of parts and the time it takes to make my own parts have been the reason for the slow progress. I had the project planned out in phases, but after missing the goal dates repeatedly, I found that I was causing my own stress about it and it was taking the fun out of the hobby. At this point, it's much more relaxing and enjoyable to just work on whichever part I feel like working on. Some days I feel like working on the overhead, some days, the throttle quad, or panels. Since doing that, the whole project has been much more fun for me. Still have goals, but they are now more flexible.

Steve
http://727sim.host-ed.net/