My Obutto arrived and I spent the better part of last week assembling and then shifting stuff around to find something that worked for me. This is just phase 1 of development and I will be adding stuff to in order to get it to where I want it. Some people had asked about the transition between flight and fps games so I thought I would post now while a lot of stuff is not in the way to talk about how I'm doing things which may help answer some questions that people have.

First, let me say that I am incredibly happy with this pit. Others are correct. It's *solid*. Built tough and looks very, very good - even in the sort of naked state that I have it in. It is also comfortable. That seat. Wow, that seat. I'm very broad shouldered so I was concerned about how the seat wraps around you. No problems with this one at all. I was concerned about how easy it would be to put together. Dead simple. Really. I didn't get the acrylic table. I feel that it would have just gotten in the way for how I will have my pit set up when I have finally added all the components. I actually think that the lack of the acrylic table in the end was a very good choice and likely has made switching configurations much easier for me. That may be some thing that some people may want to consider.

So let's talk about those configurations. This first shot shows the pit in "flight" mode.




As you can see, stick and throttle and keyboard off to the side. The keyboard is mounted immediately behind the post for the stick. The small table in front was just there to show other people what it looked like. I intend to fly without it because I will have something else going in that space in my final cockpit setup.

So when it's time for FPS, I loosen all knobs, rotate the throttle outboard slightly, reach down with my right hand and pull the stick mount out of it's bracket-tube and place that on the floor. Then I swing the keyboard tray around and that's it. I may choose to slide the seat back a couple notches but extended playing will determine that. It really is easy and takes between 5-10 seconds. Yes, that's it. Changing back to flight mode takes about the same time. It really could not be more simple. This next shot is the FPS configuration.




Again, very simple. Sadly my shot does not show enough contrast so you can see the large mouse area still left over. I'm using the SteelSeries Merc Stealth which is a beast of a board and I still have ample room for the mouse. As I said, switching back takes about the same time.

But what about driving? That's where the small forward table comes into play. Most times it will be off and I'll have the wheel just attached to it. My intention is the put the rudder pedals aside, put in the driving pedals, and then slide in the table with the wheel attached. I can't see that taking more than 20-30 seconds. I don't have a picture at this point because I have not unpacked my wheel yet.

So that's what I have for now. Today I will be making a space for it in my CIC (Combat Interactive Cellar). Then over time I will be purchasing and installing the other components. It's important to have a solid base to start with and the Obutto fills that roll perfectly. I've really got nothing to nitpick on it (not that I'm an experienced reviewer).

One last thing. For Canadians I can highly recommend the official distributor GetGadget.ca. I was very pleased with the turnaround time. I could have had it even sooner but Purolater does not do pickups on the weekend. I ordered it on a Friday evening and it got to my place in southern Ontario by Thursday.