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#3598848 - 06/28/12 07:01 PM The wife finally let me build my simpit  
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L0stS0ul Offline
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I sure wish I would have found this forum sooner. Lots of great stuff in here that would have really helped me build mine. About 3 weeks ago I got the bright idea that I would build my first sim cockpit and after showing my wife drawings and pleading on where I wanted to put it and showing her the measurements she finally let me start it on fathers day weekend smile

The wife had a few requirements.
1. it be as small as possible
2. able to be torn down quickly
3. I only had fathers day weekend to build it

I decided on a simple setup. Two 30 inch deep, 27 inch tall, and 4 1/2 inch wide side walls with the cockpit panel sitting on top at 38 inches wide, 8 inches tall, and 15 inches deep. Trying to keep it modular I made made the monitor mount 6 inches deep and the panel 9 inches deep but I should have built it as a single unit and when I redo it I will make it a single unit.



I really struggled with how to get the curve on top and it's no where near as drastic as I wanted but again, it's a prototype so I was trying to work quickly.

Here's some pictures of the sides. Simple construction using 1x4's with 1/4 inch plywood on the outside. There is some structure inside to boxes to give me locations to screw into.



Here's the first test fit of everything after I put the face on the panel and cut out the spots for the chproducts yoke and Saitek pro flight panels.




It was at this point that I realized I needed something to assign keys to as I didn't make a place for the keyboard. I found this little gem on amazon and they actually shipped it to me the same day smile

Razer Nostromo

I realized after that arrived that I needed more than the 4 1/2 inch area to mount the thing on so I made some arm rests out of some scrap. I also started looking at where to mount the throttle quadrant.




I got the location figured out and mounted it with some scrap 1x4 and it works great. Pulled it out towards me about 2 inches more to keep room for the controls. If I had made the panel taller I would have mounted the pro panels higher but oh well. It works well. I also got everything hooked up and started testing it out to make sure the 10 port USB hub work work out for all this stuff. It does smile



Finally I got to do some flying with it.




But I right away realized I had made a serious mistake in my design but I did find something to rectify that smile




All that is left is to finish painting it. I coated the arm rests with plasticoat spray on plastic. Looks pretty darn good and gives a good not slip surface for the nostromo to rest on. I am going to get a track ball for the right side so I don't have to pull the mouse over there. It would be nice if the nostromo had the ability to control the mouse. I couldn't find one for a decent price that could.

I've really been enjoying it. It really does help feel more realistic. I want to add 2 more monitors to the setup when I get some more funds.

Now that I've been able to use it I think I made it a little to tall and should have made the base sides 25 inches tall with a 10 inch cockpit panel but it was a prototype so I'm pretty happy with how it turned out smile. If I ever get the chance to do another one I know what I'll change.

Thanks for taking a look at my project. It's been fun and I can't wait to get it all painted up. Trying to decide between a GA scheme or an old WW1 style paint job.

Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#3598871 - 06/28/12 07:40 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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- Ice Offline
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Welcome to the world of pit building! You are right when you say this will NOT be your first pit. Is the wife ready for version 2 yet? smile

Very good and simple design and I am glad you got your "priorities" right!

I would suggest you keep on tweaking this prototype until you are happy with it, then think about making version 2. You will notice that the height of everything will depend on your chair height.

Good luck!


- Ice
#3598886 - 06/28/12 08:16 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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L0stS0ul Offline
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I'm not sure she's ready for version 2 yet but I'm already figuring out what I'm going to do with it smile I think I want to have the option of switching between yoke and stick when switching simulator types in the next one. In the mean time I am going to finish this one up and get it painted and make it look as good as I can. I won't have time with a kid entering our lives in the next month to be able to do a whole new build for a while smile

Thanks for the tip on the height of the chair. I think that was one of the things I miscalculated when I did the original rough measurements for the height of the current one. The monitor is a little low and needs to come up about 3 inches to be comfortable and that gives me a lot of extra room in the panel.

I've also been looking at these USB Touch screen 7 inch monitors to mount on the left above the switch panel to use for the built in FSX GPS display. I've read about someone using that before for the GPS.

#3599067 - 06/29/12 04:50 AM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
Joined: Jul 2006
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Cali Offline
Military Advisor - USAF
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Originally Posted By: L0stS0ul
and after showing my wife drawings and pleading on where I wanted to put it and showing her the measurements she finally let me start


Awesome pit, I liked seeing the add-ons as the time went on. This sentence opened you up to a lot of jokes. Keep us posted if you add on anything else.


i5-2500k @ 3.3, Asus P8Z77-V LE mobo Windows 7 64-bit, 8GB 1866mhz
EVGA GTX 670 FTW 2GB, 256GB SSD, 500GB WD, Warthog, uber modded Cougar, TM Cougar MFD's, TrackIR 5, G15 keyboard


#3599074 - 06/29/12 05:02 AM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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Apache600 Offline
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Love the cup holder (and contents). Freakin awesome!

#3599116 - 06/29/12 08:47 AM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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Bluedeath Offline
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Great job!


"When you plan revenge best dig two graves" Confucius
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" Benjamin Franklin
#3599130 - 06/29/12 09:33 AM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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- Ice Offline
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As always, the "ergonomics" of the pit is hard to nail down right the first time, that is why some people start off with a cardboard mock up. I did my pit in Sketchup, but even then I had to do some adjustments especially on the screen-height part.

And remember --- if you at any point change that chair...


- Ice
#3599207 - 06/29/12 01:50 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: Cali]  
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L0stS0ul Offline
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VA
Originally Posted By: Cali
Originally Posted By: L0stS0ul
and after showing my wife drawings and pleading on where I wanted to put it and showing her the measurements she finally let me start


Awesome pit, I liked seeing the add-ons as the time went on. This sentence opened you up to a lot of jokes. Keep us posted if you add on anything else.


I have a habit of opening myself up to jokes like that smile I honestly didn't read that sentence like that until you pointed it out lol

#3599209 - 06/29/12 01:52 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: - Ice]  
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L0stS0ul Offline
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L0stS0ul  Offline
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VA
Originally Posted By: - Ice
As always, the "ergonomics" of the pit is hard to nail down right the first time, that is why some people start off with a cardboard mock up. I did my pit in Sketchup, but even then I had to do some adjustments especially on the screen-height part.

And remember --- if you at any point change that chair...


That was one of the things I wish I would have seen before I started mine. It didn't even occur to me to mock it up with cardboard smile I was browsing the forums here and saw someone show their mockup and I was like "GENIUS" smile

I tried playing with sketchup but was not having much luck getting it to work. I just can't think in 3 dimensions when dealing with computer models for some reason.

#3615632 - 07/28/12 11:38 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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L0stS0ul Offline
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VA
Thought I would update this. I've now painted the pit and I think it looks really good. I've tested the ability to take it down like the wife asked and it comes apart in less than 15 minutes and is only a few parts so yay me smile I have also made a few modifications. I've bought a flight stick and throttle for jet sims and needed to have the ability to convert from GA to flight stick. Ended up coming up with this option. It works really well but I have the huge gap where the flight yoke goes that I need to fill somehow. Still trying to figure that out. I did have to move the cup holder though frown Not as nice a location...








Last edited by L0stS0ul; 07/28/12 11:39 PM.
#3615847 - 07/29/12 02:06 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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Cali Offline
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Davis-Monthan AFB, Az
Wow, that looks amazing! You can come paint my pit if you want!


i5-2500k @ 3.3, Asus P8Z77-V LE mobo Windows 7 64-bit, 8GB 1866mhz
EVGA GTX 670 FTW 2GB, 256GB SSD, 500GB WD, Warthog, uber modded Cougar, TM Cougar MFD's, TrackIR 5, G15 keyboard


#3616120 - 07/29/12 10:01 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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choowy Offline
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Nice finish and really effective setup there, well done.

#3617566 - 07/31/12 08:11 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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Beazil Offline
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Now THAT is a nice DIY setup! Great work. I always appreciate when someone posts thier work. S!

#3733882 - 02/11/13 06:49 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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L0stS0ul Offline
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Thanks guys, Sorry it's been a while since I updated the post. Not a lot of changes since the last pics until the last few days. The biggest change is an upgrade to a 40 inch screen. Makes such a huge difference. I've also done a quick video of how it all works with Flight Simulator. I'm really pleased with how this all came out. I still need to paint the mounts for the stick and throttle black. It's always that last 1% that takes forever to get done smile






Last edited by L0stS0ul; 02/11/13 06:50 PM.
#3733907 - 02/11/13 07:51 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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Force10 Offline
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Excellent job...looks great! Also, I think you have achieved something never before seen in simpit history...an unused electrical outlet right under the pit. That's gotta be a first!


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______________________________________________________

Oddball from Kelly's Heroes: "If we're late, it's cause we're dead"



#3734231 - 02/12/13 11:12 AM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: Force10]  
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Originally Posted By: Force10
Excellent job...looks great! Also, I think you have achieved something never before seen in simpit history...an unused electrical outlet right under the pit. That's gotta be a first!


A first? I wouldn't say that... wink Looks great though L0stS0ul!


Originally Posted by Abraham Lincoln
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.


#3734365 - 02/12/13 04:20 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: 531 Ghost]  
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Force10 Offline
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Originally Posted By: 531 Ghost
Originally Posted By: Force10
Excellent job...looks great! Also, I think you have achieved something never before seen in simpit history...an unused electrical outlet right under the pit. That's gotta be a first!


A first? I wouldn't say that... wink Looks great though L0stS0ul!



lol Ghost! That's a very clean looking set up you have there. Are all power cables under the carpet? Or just out of view on the right side of the pit?


Asus Z87 Sabertooth motherboard
Windows 7 64 bit Home edition
Intel I5 4670K @ 4.4 ghz
16 gig 1866mhz Corsair Vengence Pro memory
EVGA GTX 970 Superclocked 4gb Video Card
Intel 510 series 120gb SSD (boot drive)
Samsung 840 1TB SSD
Onboard Realtek sound
______________________________________________________

Oddball from Kelly's Heroes: "If we're late, it's cause we're dead"



#3734390 - 02/12/13 05:02 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: Force10]  
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Originally Posted By: Force10
lol Ghost! That's a very clean looking set up you have there. Are all power cables under the carpet? Or just out of view on the right side of the pit?


biggrin

In that picture you can see some of the cables wrapped in aviation grade teflon spirial wrap (PT/TQ). All of the cables (FS,PT,TQ, DT225 and speakers) are wrapped and along the right side. The Saitek panels are also wrapped and kept tucked up under the shelf my CPU is on plugged into a powered USB hub.


Originally Posted by Abraham Lincoln
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.


#3736905 - 02/17/13 04:09 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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L0stS0ul Offline
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VA
I've been trying to find a way to get a second screen on my pit for a while now. I was at home depot yesterday and they had a tablet mount for $20 so I bought it. The mount that they had was not going to work for me but I figured out a way to change out the arm for something that would work on my pit. It works really nice. There are lots of good apps for the iPad but not so many for android. Right now I'm using fsMoveMap which works pretty good but there are a bunch of features that I want that it does not have. I think I'll work on building my own moving map app for android over the next few days. I want something that will fit aesthetically with my pit smile

Here's a video and some pics of it all working smile very happy with how it worked out.





#3737070 - 02/17/13 10:06 PM Re: The wife finally let me build my simpit [Re: L0stS0ul]  
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Very cool, wish I had a tablet to play with for things like this. Some day.....


I've got a bad feeling about this.....
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