Thanks Andy.
I think that the mouse position will be okay now that I've moved the joystick down and inwards.

I'm not sure about placing the upper pedals on a sliding tray. I think that it would slide out too fast when pulling the latch. And I think that it would be problematic to fiddle with the latch-system while pushing up the pedals with my feet.

Anyways, the position of the Pedals in my drawing tested, and is actually pretty comfy. When using the bottom pedals, the upper pedals don't get in the way.

OMG... Can't believe that I didn't found this earlier.

The AKERS BARNES cockpit.. Apparently, it seems that it fullfills all my needs. As cheap as possible, and very very customizable.

If I were to build the ABC, and make the joystick detachable, so that I could put my mouse where the joystick usually are, that would make it perfect for FPS.

And maybe mount the keyboard on a board with velcro, so that i can attach it on the edges on each sides of the seat. When not in primarily use, it could be attached over the wheel.

And maybe mount the pedals on a board with furniture-wheels, with some kind of a spring loaded latch to lock it in each position...

Does anyone have any experience with the ABC? It seems a bit low, and the seat seems a bit inclined, is it uncomfy?

Here's a rough idea (borrowed the original ABC 3d drawing from 3d warehouse on the net):

Hi guys.
I'm going with the Akers barnes.
I'm not posting in this thread again, but I will probably make a new thread or post in "show off your pit" when my pit is done (ish)
If anyone can use the ideas in this thread, your welcome :-)

The piece of wood that goes behind the back piece, make it long from front to back. This way you can find a more comfortable angle and have a few times to cut it before painting it. Also. The holes for the dowels make a few up and down from where it says to in the directions. I tried the 2 inch foam and it was kind of better than the 4". Reason being is the bulk of it. to hide wires i built a box under where the monitor goes. That became the area everything got plugged in or routed to.

Thanks Chappy I:-)
That's actually the kind of info I had a hard time finding.
So, I start out making the support for the back piece longer, so that the seat isn't too laid back initially.
And make more holes for the rod to try out a couple of positions.
:-) thanks, I'll have that in mind.

Regarding the cable box, it's a great idea and I intend to close the sides of the simpit so that I can hide the cables and wires for switches etc that I intend to mount on the sides

So, now I've build my Akers-Barnes. Still need some stuff though. Seat, switches, minor adjustements etc. But heres some pics :-D



The pedals-arragement slides back and forth on wheels, and are lock-able.




G27 and G940. Still only a 24" screen though




Side view

The default seat angle of the ABC was designed to try and match that of the F-16 (though we only did it by eye; didn't have any actual specs for the F-16's seat. As Chappy said, the seat height and angle can be tweaked by putting in alternate holes for the seat-support, and having some different-depth back-support pieces. I've actually done away with my seat base entirely, and instead use a stack of foam blocks down to the floor - more comfy :-).

The cockpit was deliberately designed low, so as to be more compact and portable - it had to fit in a two-seat MG, remember! Quite a few builders have made taller versions, which are easier to get in and out of.

I've recently enhanced my ABC (still the original one Peter Akers and I first built), to support a triplehead monitor setup. Easy to do - only need to change three pieces; the console top, the front cross-support, and the console face. A number of keen builders had already beaten me to that customisation!

I wonder how many ABC pits have been built now? I am guessing at least several hundred, based on the feedback and requests I have seen over the years.

Regards
Michael Barnes

You could have sold the flat-pack to Ikea and reached many more. You guys changed quite a few game rooms!

AMEN!

Welcome to SimHQ Loophole!

That 3D model of the ABC looks suspiciously similar to the one I drew up in SketchUp.

Congrats on the build, mate! It's looking really good! Though I haven't had the time or resources to work on mine lately, I'm still loving it. If you feel like going center-stick, check out my build thread on here for an idea on how to do it that still keeps in concert with the feel of the ABC.

I wonder how "comfy" that seat is though?

Thanks for the replies, and big kudos to Loophole, thanks for the design.
Yes, i found the sketchup model on 3dmodels.com or something like that, and added my gear. :-)

The seat isnt very comfy yet, but it will be once i make the foam seat. :-)
The pit still needs some work though, although i dont plan to make a dedicated pit with a million switches (yet)

Some time since I've updated this thread..
I haven't progressed with my pit since last time, but I intend to add some buttons to my simpit the easy way. :-)

I've found this neat application called HID macros, where you can seperate two USB keyboards and use keyboard #2 for FSX assignments.
(for later on, this application also makes it possible to use multiple keyboards, such as an additional overhead button panel etc.)

Also, I've found some ideas for modifying a keyboard for simming, such as:



I'm planning on using nearly every available (generally usable) commands in FSX, which shouldn't be a problem, since a keyboard has 105 keys. :-)

If your going to use that kind of keyboard mod, then I would recommend using it in conjunction with HIDMacros which can be found here:
http://www.hidmacros.eu/download.php

In short, if I read this correctly, it will allow you to use multiple keyboards, and through it's software, have each 's' on each keyboard be recognized as independent key presses, where as windows by default see's all keyboards connected to the pc as the same keyboard, so that an 's' on one keyboard is the same as the 's' on every other keyboard.

Yes, exactly, Lupus :-)
Hid macros supports multiple keyboard ID's and it's actually capable of mapping fsx commands directly to a button press.