What have you done for your simulator today?

[B747-400]

Hi,

nice to see your progress ... I added some new pictures to my  homepage!
Enjoy the quick update www.B747-400.net

Cheers
Hans

[Jason L]

Got the materials for my curved projector screen frame today.  Took apart our old trampoline and got some 1 1/2 conduit from Menards.  Tomorrow I'll be assembling the frame and taking measurements so I can order the screen from Carl's Place DIY Screens.

Also got the temporary mounts up for the three projectors.  Just aquired my last darbee 1080GT last week for a heck of a deal.

[kattz]

Found and purchased a set of OEM chronometers, the OEM gear handle, and the FDAS panel for the future cockpit door.

Worked on wiring.

Kev

[blueskydriver]

Hey Guys,

Glad to see you're getting things done during this time of the year, where everything pulls us away from building...like nice weather, vacations and such.

Even though things have been crazy for Karen and I; especially, with all the previous winter weather, now too much darn rain, we managed to get the projector screen stand made. Well, the local welding shop did it for us, using the specs from my previous homemade built stand. Got it home this past Friday.

Took just a few days. And, it's made to be taken a part into 3 sections. We just have to clean and paint it, then mount the screen. 

[kurt-olsson]

Nothing... 

[bernard S]

server wires   still.at it another full rack to go

[Joe Lavery]

Any comment would seem frivolous, Bernard you are building a monster..... 

[MistyBlue]

Working on an accurate 3D printed version of an Airpath compass for the 737.  LCD back-screen to display the Prosim compass on.  Coming along nicely so far.  Gonna be almost spot-on when done.

[blueskydriver]

Hey Tony,

Care to share your 3d print file and where did you buy the small lcd screen, as well as how are you interfacing it; vga, hdmi, usb display plug or what method?

John

[blueskydriver]

Regarding my sim project, I ordered and received some sheet metal from a local company that makes metal siding for sheds and metal residential roofs.

Basically, they're flat 29 gauge sheets without profiles/ridges and they're 12'x42", plus it's all black. Thus, I plan to rivet this to the inside curve of the projector screen stand, then attach the actual white screen after that. This will prevent light from going through the screen and bouncing back towards it causing reflective ghosting effects. Also, I will make a top of sorts to keep the light inwards towards the screen.

Lastly, I plan to order more metal like this to use for covering the back section of the sim and the exterior of sub-floor box....

John

[RayS]

Some updates from The Beech House:

Added 6 more feet to the screen this weekend, making it a full 220-degrees viewing area now. I've yet to re-align the projectors though. That will come tonight. It's tedious work.

Side doors are still a work in progress. Co-pilot side is finished and has that cool 1979 retro look to it including some teak-wood trim..

Carenado released v1.2 of the Beech 1900D a few days ago with (Drumroll please!) Landing/taxi lights that actually illuminate the ground! No more taxiing around blindly at night.

Permanently installed the Stream server. No more tripping over wires.

Installed a new GoPro 7 Black camera for streaming. A bit more resolution than the old GoPro 5 and better low-light sensitivity.

Avidyne PFD: Added ADF capability (Yes I use it sometimes because it's fun!). Bumped around some colors after ripping the hex color codes from the operations manual. Also added the ability to run the PFD as a Master or Remote unit. I use the remote for streaming so I don't have to mess with it during flight.

[C150DIY]

Finished my radio stack by fitting the last switch panel to my collection. Will tidy up the USB cables for GoFlight modules and leobodnar card by utilizing a powered usb hub. Next will be finishing behind the glareshield.

AlexJ C150

[blueskydriver]

Likely this would go under the hanger section, but really it is for the simulator... Just got a new DIY Mr Cool 36,000 BTU Mini-Split AC/Heat unit yesterday and took it out of the box last night.

This is a big unit for sure and it's DIY, which saves a lot of money. $2,700 vs $7,000 and $12,000 quotes I got. Not debating the pros and cons of DIY vs Pro install, just want too list the prices. I will say that if anyone can build a simulator, then anyone can install one of these Mr Cool units.

Only issue of concern is mounting to steel interior walls. With ridges in the metal I have to figure out what to use behind the actual unit mounting brackets.

I will post a few pics later. In the mean time, if you're thinking about AC/Heat for your simulator and it's room, take a look at the Mr Cool units. Mine came from Home Depot here:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/MRCOOL-DIY-Enhanced-34-400-BTU-Ductless-Mini-Split-Air-Conditioner-and-Heat-Pump-208-230V-60Hz-DIY-36-HP-230AE/309068911?MERCH=REC-_-rv_mobileweb_rr-_-NA-_-309068911-_-N

Note: the ad says 34,400BTU, but the box says 36,000BTU.

John

[jackpilot]

Nothing much..
A nice flight over Toronto downtown...

[bernard S]

john  emm me thinks this going to end up costing you more $$$ at end of day   by time you add a pendulum and ducting etc    i assume yiu yrying to cool building plus sim?

[blueskydriver]

Hi Bernard,

This unit is really for the building, but since my sim is in it I was just making a tie-in for the forum posting. I should've posted this news in the hanger thread...lol!

Regarding the sim, I already have a smaller AC unit, server room style. Also, I have all the real piping that goes in between the aft cockpit bulkhead wall; kind of like a big Y/Curved shaped ducting pipe, as well as the ducting for the MIP. 

Kind Regards,

John

PS You know Bernard, it would be awesome if you started making YouTube videos regarding your sim. Things like this...AC units, ducting and piping would make a great tutorial, amongst all the other topics you're very knowledgable on. Maybe, you could enlist some family members too help out...

[bernard S]

john come on down and knock yourself out ..

[MistyBlue]

Hey Tony,

Care to share your 3d print file and where did you buy the small lcd screen, as well as how are you interfacing it; vga, hdmi, usb display plug or what method?

John

Hey John, sorry just saw your reply now.  It's not ready for prime-time yet.  Still some additional design/integration work to do and some weak areas in the 3D print I need to fix.  Working on it when I have time.  When It's ready I'll put the file out there.

The LCD I bought from Adafruit. Just about a perfect fit and includes the driver board.  https://www.adafruit.com/product/912

Bought an RCA to HDMI converter to make it easy to interface with the computer.

Results came out pretty good in the rough initial prints I did (attached).

[blueskydriver]

Hi Tony,

Glad to see you progressing on this and if there is anything I or others on Cockpit Builders can help with, just give a shout out. There are many great folks here that love too assist fellow builders...

John

[_alioth_]

Finally, I got the laser cut panel for my A2A Piper Comanche cockpit

Today... testing the gauges. Everything seem to fit fine.

[blueskydriver]

Hey Arturo,

What perfecting timing! Your laser cut items look great and is leading me towards getting a laser cutter all the more. Karen and I have been talking about starting with a smaller one at first, like the K40. Here is a great video channel of someone doing an A10 Warthog and his laser cutter unit:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJq3cq9N6xYF0fAvTgpwoBg

Please keep posting about yours...

John

[_alioth_]

Paint work done!
Mounting all the gauges just to see how it looks like. I am very happy with the result!





Arturo Moreno.

[blueskydriver]

Hey Arturo,

Your work is jaw dropping amazing and looks just like the real thing! If you decide to start selling items please let us all know...

John

[B763]

Finished throttle handles & made a prototype "J-Rails" using 2 sets of Sparco rails for my Ipeco seats. It works quite well (longitudinal & lateral) and smoothly without any loose movements to any direction. Now waiting for finishing and painting. These will do the job until i can find pair of manual 767 seats with OEM rails.

Regards

Ari / B763

[RayS]

I haven't posted any progress for awhile, so here goes.

Decided that I was getting tired of constantly color-correcting the 3 Darby projectors so they now have a super-strong permanent mount, for proper edge-blending, to at least minimize the minor differences between projectors.

Using Calibration Pro from FlyElise, I wired up 3 cameras and went to work.

Unfortunately, the process made me want to take up truck-driving instead. The program kept crashing, not saving my work in the process (Tested on 3 separate computers.) When I was finally successful, the results weren't even passable. The edge-blending was not bad, but left a lot to be desired.

Cue the manual pixel-nudging again.

After 3 days of aligning everything manually I'm very happy with the results. Masking is good, just need to fine-tune the edge blending Fade/Slope/Gamma settings.

The pic shows a nicely aligned screen but it didn't come out the same way on the screen itself.