Flight Simulator Cockpits

Lately I've noticed a more consistent stream of mainstream or entry level hardware & software coming into the market. I think with the increased interest in FSX , the average GA pilot spending more time on the ground due to fuel costs & more people interested in building a simulator, there is a growing need to bring more realism to flight simming.

Hagstrom Electronics - if you are happy with glass displays for output, but need buttons, switches and knobs, get the KE-USB-108. It provides a method for toggle switches being turned on and off, rotary encoder decoder boards (for your knobs). The only problem with this approach is if you may want to turn LEDs on and off. It is the simplest solution I have found.

I received the acrylic panels in the mail yesterday.  I made the mistake of ordering white acrylic with 40-50% light transmission, and find that it transfers TOO MUCH light.  I have placed another order last night, but for a white acrylic with about a 20% light transmission.  That should allow the paint to stop the rest of the light.  I will then use a pantograph engraver to cut away the paint for the letters.  I found a used panto-engraver on e-bay for $350.  You can also build one very easily...just go to the instructables.com website for the instructions.  They show how to build o

Not much doing on the cockpit today, but I did make some progress. I want to eventually mount a car seat to a base and also include a pedestal. As you can see the base is in place.

FsXpand

One of the goals I wanted to accomplish with my cockpit was the ability to fly various types of aircraft and have the gauges displayed semi-accurate on the panels. Now my cockpit does lean towards a civil air setup but with the 4 12.1" displays under the glareshield I can pretty much display whatever I want.