Hello,
many years ago I had the idea of this project. Cause of my job and some other things in live, I only was able to make one prototype, that then wasn't ever really finished for years. After many moves from one place to another, the prototype looks more and more like a part of an F/A-18 cockpit which took a hit by a sidewinder
.
In 2015 I decided to start once again from the beginning. I wanted to use as many of the old parts, as possible cause I have a very limited budget. It took me many months to plan the complete layout of the pit, for using it as universal as possible. I also want to use it with older sims like the old Jane's series, cause I never had the time back those days to fly those sims. That has made things much more complex and it becomes necessary to use another old PC with Windows 98 SE interfaced to the pit for running those old games, too.
As I want some working MFD's and gauges for the modern sims like MSFS, Falcon BMS or EECH All Mods, a third computer, which controls them via LAN, was also needed. The first PC, my "machine out of hell"
(attention irony - it's only a AMD Phenom 1100T with two GTX 680 in SLI, so no monster anymore) runs the modern sims only.
At the moment only the unfinished cockpit hull (no painting yet), most of the consoles, the changeable
HOTAS systems (also no painting and lettering) and the center panel are made. Overhead panel is in production now, and testing of the electronics is only done seperatly outside the pit, so I have still to test all those things running together. Hope I could do this until the end of spring next year, to beginn with the paintworks after this.
I had also much help from many guys here from the forum and want to thank all of them once again. Without your help I never had the chance to come near to the point of my project, where I'm now! I definitely still have to fix many problems, which I even don't know of at the moment. I hope I could fix them too, with the help of you all.
If anyone has some questions to me, I will always try to help as much as I can, cause we all share the same love for flight, combat or driving simulations and that makes us really friends.
O.k, this is the planned project in it's finished state. I had to change it ever and ever again, but now I hope I have cosidered most of the needs for all of my simulators, I want it to use for. It's mainly for combat flight or attack helicopter simulations like Falcon BMS, DCS, Strike Fighters, Combat Air Patrol 2, EECH AM, the old Janes series (Longbow Antologhy, F-15, F/A-18 TSH, USAF, IAF etc.), but I also want to be able two use it for WWI-WWII sims or flying big birds like the C-5, C-17, C130 in MSFS.
That's why I have many controls integrated, which do not have to be in a real fighter pit. That was the compromise I had to make for the universal use, but I want to have it as real looking as possible for this circumstances.
All
HOTAS parts are interchangeable, means the throttles or collective could be changed, the grips of the center- and sidesticks are also changeable (side- and centerstick are never used together at the same time as shown in the pic), center stick could be replaced by a yoke, sidestick could be replaced by the 4 lever throttle and at the place of the throttles a sidestick for use with Airbus like aircraft could be placed.