Jangeisler, you could mount the pedals above and behind the rudders and have more of a racing posture? You already have to move the seat forward a bit, when reaching for the wheel, right?

Hi. Great idea, thanks. :-)
In the plan, I can actually reach both the hotas and the wheel from the same relaxed position.
But now you mention it, it could be nice with a laid back racing position.
I will consider it, and see if it would be too complicated to build.

The original plan was to keep it as simple as possible, and to make it possible and comfortable to reach ALL the controls from the same position.

I think that I need to set everything up temporarily, setting the right distances and heights, even if that means that I have to lay the controls on stacked books etc.

If the racing position is awkward, I will try to plan something like the idea you mentioned

I just drew myself in roughly, and it seems to be okay so far. :-)

The chair dimensions arent very accurate I noticed, but thats because i didnt buy a chair yet. Ive measured up everything else before drawing. :-)

Heh, I can't believe I didn't think of that earlier...

...oh wait, I might have, but ruled it out because my Cougar has a force-sensing mod installed, and those work best when the stick is mounted as securely as possible. I wonder how that's going to work if it's on a sliding platform.

One of my ideas to get around this with a fixed stick would actually require me to buy a new keyboard...a split one. Then place each half somewhere near the stick and throttle in a comfortable position. The middle platform that would normally hold the keyboard instead becomes home to the mouse and my 3Dconnexion SpacePilot. Perhaps my MS SWFFB2 too, for the prop sims (but it won't always be mounted there, just brought out when needed like it currently is).

Only thing is, I'm kind of fond of the keyboards I already have now, and a split mechanical keyboard would be even more expensive than usual.

Thanks for the answer. The sliding system will be quite secure. The "rails", upper and lower rail, are going to be a quite tight fit, and the platform will lock in both position, so in both positions it should be as if the platform was securely mounted in place.

That's the idea at least :-)

so far so good.... I still need to draw a board for the computer to be on, and add some pipes to strenghten the frame.

Need help guys... I can't seem to find suitable "interlockable" rails for the pedals and joystick boards. (meaning that the upper and lower rails won't go apart)
I've thought of using sliders fo drawers but that doesn't seem sturdy enough in extended position.

Does anyone know where to get rails like that? Or maybe an everyday product to take the rails from?

You can get heavy duty drawer slides for drawers that need to take a lot of weight.

I used the slides from a filing cabinet drawer for the adjustment on my rudder pedals.

Cheers,

Andy

Thanks for the tip, Andy :-)

...are you using some kind of small wheels underneath your rudder pedals?

Jangeisler,
I used 'full extension' heavy duty drawer glides for my wheel to slide in my pit. They are strong enough to support the weight of the wheel, plus the much heavier stress of me yanking on the thing when I am racing... especially when things aren't going my way! You can also look for server racking gear. It is generally heavy duty stuff.

I had promised a while back some info on the sprung load latches I was using... well, I finally remembered to swing by the hardware store and snap a pic for you.


I have seen them called chain bolts and spring bolts. Just make sure it has a spring that keeps it in the closed position unless you pull the chain. I replace the chain with braided metal cable.

In reference to your question about using PVC for your framework. I just recently finished building a setup for a friend of mine based on some plans he found on the internet.


I think it came out as good as it could, but we both agree it is a bit... wiggly... especially when doing agressive flying. He doesn't have a wheel set up, but I don't think I would relish bolting a wheel on to it as well. The PVC just flexes too much and doesn't have enough mass to it to make it feel solid. We have discussed filling the piping with sand or expanding foam insulation, but we're not sure it would help much. We may end up using it as a framework to start attaching an MDF skin to, but if we were starting from scratch, we would skip the PVC all together.

By the way, he is using Velcro to strap the chair to the rig whenever he flys. It keeps him from sliding away from the controls, but he forgot to unstrap himself once and almost broke one of the supports when he went to slide away and stand up. The Velcro holds nice and tight though!

Hope all this helps!
Dud