Has anybody in this forum 'finished' building their sim?

[Maurice]

After so many years since this madness started, I am wondering if anybody can truly say their sim is complete and all they do is fly now. Mine was finished as far as I was concerned until I decided to rip it apart and move all my PCs & projectors.

Anyone?
Maurice

[Joe Lavery]

What does this word "finished" mean, it's not something I've heard about. 
Can anyone enlighten me?

Joe

[steveeverson]

i always joked that it won't be finished until it has wings on . . . .

[XOrionFE]

Not I...

Damn...what happened to my shell!!



Scott

[blueskydriver]

Mine is finished! Uh...in my dreams! There I am dreaming that I am flying my 100% complete sim that has the perfect visuals and perfect everything inside it to include an all naked female (model) flight crew...but then, I wake up with a man woody and the bewilderment if the woody is from the female flight crew or the 100% complete sim?

Before you answer that, think about what a 100% complete sim would do for you?...lol.

John

[fsaviator]

I finish mine every night.
The problem is that the next day I decide to add something new.

[Nick1150]

Nice question... I doubt there is an answer though...... 

[rhysb]

Ok, I think I have the answer to this, Scott, Maurice your sims are finished!!! A lot of us have "finished" our sims!
What you are doing at the moment is purely what the airline maintenance teams do! A heavy back to metal maintenance check 

[tennyson]

Yes, but these guys reside at
www.cockpitfinished.com

You're looking in the wrong forum!



Frank Cooper

[Nat Crea]

Close...but NEVER 

I don't think I want to "finish"... 

Nat

[saabpilot]

My sim is finished and flying 

But now is up for a "D-check" and adding some "needed" new equipment.
So will be in the maintenance hangar for a month, and then another D-Check is needed as there will be a lot of new "absolutely necessary" stuff that needs to be installed.
Since it then has then been in the hangar for two months in a row our local CAA calls for another maintenance check when alt the same time new stuff will be installed and old goes to the dust bin.

The "needed before airworthy" new equipment is as I see it a never ending story     
Since I am hired in my company NoAir as Test Pilot, Head of Maintenance, Maintenance Mechanic and Floor Cleaner all at the same time life is hectic, but awarding 

Best,
Bjorn
Sweden

Now I will modify the Overhead in the afternoon shift.

[N737AG]

Still a long road ahead before airworthiness certification.

Overhead is in for the third re-wiring - hope it's the last one. Why didn't I do it this way the first time ? 

MIP is up for rewiring as well to comply with OH standards 

TQ still to be wired 

Building is just fun. Like re-doing a Lego over and over again


Axel

[Maurice]

Close...but NEVER 
I don't think I want to "finish"... 
Nat

LIAR!!!! If I could buy you a full motion CAE simulator, can you tell me you would want to get it in a slightly non-finished state so that you can keep working on it. 

Maurice

[Maurice]

Ok folks, it appears that my question was a very bad & silly question open to many very creative and amusing interpretations. So, let me refine my question a bit and see if that helps:

Have you reached a point in building where your sim is as functional as you hoped/dreamed it would be when you started and the sane portion of your intellect (if there is any) is telling you enough is enough and you should really stop tinkering with it. We all know that in our hearts, we all wish we could have a full motion CAE type simulator, but let's not go there.

And since even brand new commercial airplanes and simulators do break down at times, maintenance was not part of my question. Things will break and need repairs but adding 1" gauges or wipers or smoke/smell generators or pressurization or sprinklers or bird strikes or inflatable co-pilots were not part of the original dream (well, inflatable co-pilot may have been  ).

So, with the above in mind, has anybody 'finished' their sim' and can truly say they are not planning to add more 'functionality' and/or 'enhancements' at this time (who knows what the future holds?

Maurice

[Flying_Fox]

Still a long road ahead before airworthiness certification.

Overhead is in for the third re-wiring - hope it's the last one. Why didn't I do it this way the first time ? 
MIP is up for rewiring as well to comply with OH standards 
TQ still to be wired 

Oh, Axel, could you share "your way"? It could save me a couple of re-wiring, since I am just starting that... 

I've heard many times that a good simulator is never finished. I was pretty sure it was coming from you, Maurice?

Nick

[MLeavy737]

  I know for certain my sim will most likely never be finished.  First off because i like to build and i'm sure i will always be changing or adding something.  Never know i guess.  Depends on time as well.  Maybe if i had a nice stretch of days off i could make some progress but that never seems to happen. For now just doing what i can whenever i can.

Second reason it will never be done is because i decided to write my own avionics code.  That in itself doubled the sim build time easily. Always room for improvement and optimization.

Well see i guess.   One thing for certain i know is that ill never stop.  If this sim is somehow finished and sold i can guarantee ill be working on another one the next day!

Good luck to us all on "finishing" our sims!

Mike L

[rprather]

12 years in, no end in sight... lol. Never ending.

[Edoradar]

Maybe one day I will see the light...but I don't see that day really close...

[jackpilot]

Finished: impossible 
Flyable with some systems missing: enjoyable

Flyable was my top priority as I like to keep current with flight planning, ATC fluency, reading approach plates info correctly and using it all, etc, all things that get rusted fast if you do not practice. That meant mostly manual flying ..which I like, even with a basic visual.

But each and everyone has own priorities and this is why this hobby is Top!!
PS: we should push for a new FDS customizable inflatable lady FO

[Jon Boe]

Finished?  Never.

Let's see.  I'm on my fourth iteration.  Three shells, four screens ( two planar, two curved), three sets of panels (FDS NOVA, Signature, & IBL) and am now carving up my old shell to accommodate the "real" liners I purchased from a  B747.  Then get all three COMM's functional and operational on a stand alone basis through the ACP's as well as the Observer CDU (Can't use Sim-A for the B747 as it doesn't exist and PM doesn't support it).  At least I'm not trying to write my own software like Mike is.

I'd like to be done but with the evolution of the hardware/software it is always too great a temptation to upgrade yet again.  HD projectors next maybe?

Cheers,

Jon

[Maurice]

Finished: impossible 

I could not disagree with you more. At some point, everyone will have to admit there is no other hardware they are going to add to their sim. There may be many more things they could add, but for whatever reason, they realize their sim is as complete as it will or should be based on their private situation. I am not talking about software here...that will likely always evolve.

But what is really strange is that it seems that the purpose of most people is to keep building. I always thought the ultimate purpose was to fly (at least mine is) but it seems many people are getting caught up on minute irrelevant details that will add nothing to the flying experience. Not judging here, just observing and if building is your main source of enjoyment, nothing wrong with that.

Different strokes for different folks I guess 

Maurice