I finally had a chance to pull these off my camera last night...

Opening the canopy...



You just HAVE to wear a helmet? Use a lower seat.



'sup, dudes?



Rob, my official sanity checker:



Test fit of all the instrument panel components:







The view behind the panel.


I will be providing the CAD files for the instrument panels so you guys can design the panel exactly how you want it. I may also offer a panel cutting service using 1/8" tempered hardboard.

The panel installation procedure is kind of odd. You need to put the forward panel support arch in place (not bolted down - you rest it against the forward face of the windscreen), then bend the panel a bit to get it into place, THEN you install the arch where it's supposed to go (5.50" ahead of the windscreen face) and then attach the panel to the arch and the upper portion of the left & right fuselage ribs.

Questions? Comments? Rotten tomatoes?

g.

'scuse me Mrs Buckle... Is Gene home? No? Can I play with his cockpit anyway?

*rofl*

No, but you can build your own.

g.

Nice... but what would be the porpose of this kind of pit? Do you have a way of making your sim in Imax?

You don't need IMax to enjoy this.

Any rear-projected screen will work fantastically. I'll show you an example pic or two this weekend if I can get enough done on other aspects of the cockpit.

Note that the canopy and windscreen isn't a must-have. It's strictly an option for those that want to go that far. The "normal" version doesn't have the canopy or windscreen present and the instrumen panel is configured differently.

g.

Its a beauty Gene!! Do you also planning different canopy styles?

At some point, yes. I'm in dire need of slapping a done stamp on this project so the first release will only include the '109 style canopy. At a later date I'll work on a different style (or someone else may beat me to it - people can develop their own add-ons to this thing)

I did finally get the issue with the instrument panel resolved to my satisfaction so I'll be working up the plan set this week.

g.

Looking good Gene, awesome work as always. I gotta kick myself in the butt to get my own projects going, everybody else is building awesome stuff and I gotta get in on the action!

Kick back and relax for a couple of weeks and you can build yourself one of these.

I ran the first plan sheet last night as a test - it's a 36" x 84" sheet of paper.

There will be at least three sheets that size.

g.

I'll definitely be doing that the wife and I had an early Christmas yesterday buying a TV/stereo and Wii! But I dont know I'm going for a more modern pit with helos/props and jets in mind, and its got to be a space saver as well since I dont want my home theater/office/sim room to become just a sim room, although an F15 would be nice in the garage know anyone that wants to get rid of one?

Hehe.
You can build the jet version of the cockpit - it's a bit wider to accomodate user-designed side consoles and has no provision for a windscreen or canopy.

You'll see how it breaks down when I take the prototype apart to paint it.

g.

LOL the mini pit or F15, you can send you F15 to this address.............................. LMAO
You probably just sit in it making jet/gun/missile sounds anyways (thats what I'd be doing....)!

Yeah, no.

(to both questions)

g.