Hi all!
DCS A-10 has got me in the mood to return to simming in a big way. I haven't been involved in the hobby since maybe 2002 or so. My first thought when considering the new TM Warthog
HOTAS etc was, "man, this stuff will be impossible to work with at my desk... I need a pit!"
I found some inspiration from
this guy's work. Ok so what to do then? Looked at flightseat style chairs... not really impressed. Looked at some of your uberpits... impressed isn't the word, but that's just not for me. I need something practical to build, good for simming, but also workable for non-sim gaming. And it can't look like a piece of milspec hardware, or the wife will veto...
My first ideas were not ideal:
Fails on the "versatile" and "non-milspec" fronts, plus extremely hard to build with all those fussy pvc joints. I realized that what I really needed was a simple desk, with closely spaced "returns" on either side of the chair, and a lower height to allow for comfortable
HOTAS heights/angles. After some brainstorming, here's what I've come up with:
Here is construction of two supports on either side, made from schedule 40 1 1/4 inch PVC. These are easy to build because mostly these are four of the same structures linked together into two box units. Self supporting and very VERY strong. Notice the two open sockets which will be used to connect the two sides with a PVC joiner. This wil give the table top more strength. I'm using a silicon based Liquid Nails adhesive instead of the usual PVC glue. DONT use PVC glue, it dried instantly and does not give you any time to align the parts and make things square. In addition I've used an 8-32 wood screw on each joint to improve the durability.
The specialty fittings are "furniture grade" and come in 3-way and 4-way varieties, making the construction very simple. If you wanted to build this purely from homedepot sourced materials, you'd be stuck with elbows and T's, which would make for many more cuts and splices. Workable, but this is way easier. Got the special fittings from
this site. Here's the desk as it sits now, roughed out and ready for finishing. The top is constructed from one piece of 24" wide aspen plank, available from most home stores. It is 56" wide. The returns are 18" wide and 14" deep, and are edge doweled and glued to form a one-piece top. The chair "gap" is 20" wide. I've radiused the room-facing corners to avoid damage to it and me lol. I plan on using clear poly sealer after some finish sanding. The desk is 25" high from the floor to the underside of the desk top.
I'll be using a height adjustable office chair for this desk, with the armrests removed. When simming, I'll probably raise the chair as high as I can and still fit under it. This will give me comfortable reach to the
HOTAS keeping the handles level with my elbow. When doing other gaming, I can lower the chair to normal desk height. Should do the job!
I'll post some more pics when finished. If anyone wants more specifics, please let me know.
-George