A question for real pilots

[OldAirmail]

I'm bought a button box and I've set it up for my flight sim. Everything that you see here works, and it's intended, mainly, for navigation.

But the question is - is the top row of knobs correct? Terminology correct?



The top left three corresponds to this Cessna 172 from FSX





Setup

The bottom row of red buttons are commands that appeal to me, and reflect a lot of the planes that I fly.

People who like helicopters, fighters, or airliners would, of course, choose something different.

Starter 1 - 2 & Starter 2 - 3 after I turn on the Battery, Alternator, and Fuel Pump with my Saitek Switch Panel, these buttons start up each engine.
The way it works is that a short press on 1 or 3 will start that engine. A long press on 2 or 4 will start those engines. So each button starts a different engine depending on how it's pushed.

Refuel is a simple in-game command.

Water Rudder lowers or raises the rudders on amphibious aircraft.

Wing Tips - Up/Down can be used by aircraft like the Grumman Goose or a Corsair.

Tail Lock - Hook, the DC-3 needs a tail wheel lock command, and planes like the EA-6B Prowler need a hook command, and the folding wing command above, for that matter.

Parking Brake can't live without that.


Middle row switches - Radio

I have the Saitek Radio Panel, and that's great for setting things like Com1, Com2, Nav1, Nav2 etc, but I really wanted the full row of radio switches.



Top row of rotary encoder knobs

I've set them up, and they do work as intended. But I haven't made the labels yet. That's why I'm asking for help. The most I ever did in GA airplanes was to taxi them to their tiedown spot and clean them up a bit. And that's been almost 50 years ago.

At any rate, let me know if I've gotten something wrong, or if I should replace any of the encoder commands with something more important.

[FlexibleFlier]

It looks like a pretty nice setup to me. Of course, as you say, a lot depends on the type of aircraft you fly.

My only question is about the Rudder Trim, for two reasons:
1. Most aircraft with rudder trim also have aileron trim. They are driven separately but often both are needed to trim the aircraft for balanced flight.
2. Might you actually prefer having some GPS quick tuning capability?

Last question: where did you get the box? I think I could like it a lot.

Please let me know how you finish...I'm sure others will have some suggestions that you might find useful.

~Michael

[OldAirmail]

Thanks, Michael.

Last question first, the box is from DSD and is the FLT1, $100

Most of what he does is for racing sims, but he also has some general purpose USB came controller boxes. "Programming" is as simple as "programming" the buttons on a joystick.



This one had two bad switches. I ended up taking it apart only to find that the parts inside the two switches were binding up. A little spray oil (Tri-Flow in particular) freed the switches.

Interestingly, there were six or seven unused contacts inside the case. I might replace the rotary encoders with some that have a button built in.

Otherwise, this was one of the best, and cheapest, button boxes that I've found. I have no problem recommending his button boxes.

Just don't use my name or post, I got him ticked off bigtime about those two switches.



Now, the FLT is my favorite box from DSD, but I've run into another game controller box maker with cheaper prices, such as this one - the BBJ SimRacing PC USB 12 Function Button Switch Box $34.39USD/GBP 27.50


Go to BBJ SimRacing, or take a quick glance here - What! You don't want to make it yourself?



"2. Might you actually prefer having some GPS quick tuning capability?"

I was playing around with cheap Arduino controller boards and made my own.




I pulled the 7" monitor off to put a printed cover on top for the buttons. This is only a rough first draft for label placement.



........

THANK YOU MICHAEL!

You've given me an idea!

l was going to add buttons of one kind or another to the top edge of the GPS. But I could put the airport barometer encoder there. I even have spare red knobs!

That would free up one encoder on the FLT1 for aileron trim.

[OldAirmail]

Found them!



I may want to file off the index mark on the knob though.


Lots of options.

[Victory103]

Great set up, I would only suggest just using "BARO" in place of the Kollsman/Barometric rheostat.

[OldAirmail]

Thanks, Victory.

That's exactly what I'm looking for, and why I need the help. I'll change it to BARO.


That knob is used for setting the airport's barometer numbers in the altimeter, but the name of the setting in the software is listed as Kollsman.

It makes a nice difference, when landing, to have the altimeter match up with the airports actual altitude.

Keyboards be damned!

[Roypcox]

OAM I have always been a fan of yours and I personally would be very proud of my self for what I would call your inventiveness to supply a need that fits the constraints of your small space. Some planes are just layed out differently than others. I.E the landing gear is much different from the DC 3 than say the Beechcraft Barron 58 even the flaps on the DC-3 are on the floor to the side of the seat on the Barron it is on the wheel and on the firewall. With your setup it is basically correct and I for one would be proud to have created such a fine piece of equipment for my enjoyment that fits in a small space and it quiet functional. You should try to sell them!!! Things look great to me. Hip Hip Hooray for a job well done !!!!!

[FlexibleFlier]

First off, you're very welcome. I'm glad that I could provide some small inspiration.

Second, your hardware skills are far better than mine so I'm not sure I could produce a working button box without some serious step-by-step instructions. However, the challenge is appealing and I may give it a try some day. And, I really like your GPS - especially at that price!

Last,

It makes a nice difference, when landing, to have the altimeter match up with the airports actual altitude.

It's not really a good idea to get used to setting the primary altimeter to correspond to field elevation. This is not general practice and can lead to disaster. Instrument charts assume ASL baro settings, though they may have AFL in small type in parens. But ATC is expecting you to base your flight on ASL below 18,000 ft!

But here's a twist. When I was a pilot for Eastern Air Lines back in the '60s we did use both: the primary altimeters were set as reported by ATC, which would be AGL, and we had a third altimeter, quite low on the instrument panel, set to field elevation as reported by the company office at the airport. This was mainly a leftover from earlier days when there was no radar altimeter but, of course, unlike radalt it didn't fluctuate wildly with the terrain; it was a bit useful, mostly close in to the airport where the terrain tended to flatten out. Honestly, I remember setting and cross-checking it as part of our procedures but I don't remember ever needing it for safety. I have no idea if any air carriers might still do this.

Nice job all the way around. Wishing you clear skies and a tailwind (except on landing, of course).

~Michael

[FlexibleFlier]

Brief edit of the above: AFL (thinking Above Field Level) should read AGL (Above Ground Level). Sorry...the fingers were quicker than the mind, a common failing as I get older.

[OldAirmail]

OAM I have always been a fan of yours and I personally would be very proud of my self for what I would call your inventiveness to supply a need that fits the constraints of your small space. Some planes are just layed out differently than others. I.E the landing gear is much different from the DC 3 than say the Beechcraft Barron 58 even the flaps on the DC-3 are on the floor to the side of the seat on the Barron it is on the wheel and on the firewall. With your setup it is basically correct and I for one would be proud to have created such a fine piece of equipment for my enjoyment that fits in a small space and it quiet functional. You should try to sell them!!! Things look great to me. Hip Hip Hooray for a job well done !!!!!

Thanks, Roy.

The FLT1 button box is for sale by DSD for $99.75, shipping included, click here http://www.derekspearedesigns.com/dsd-flight---flt1flt2.html.

The only thing that I did to it was to put the labels on it. They were made with a $32 Brother Pt-d400 Label Maker, using cheap white on black tape.



The only tricky thing is trying to put the labels on straight.


The box is about 8.5" wide by 5.5 inches high. I had thought of all kinds of ways to mount it, but things got real simple when I had it in my hands. I just put it on my desk and tipped it back. And it's at the perfect angle!





I'll probably put angled side supports on later, but in the meantime I just pull the cord out and put it under my table when not in use.


And just a reminder - You can "program" it just like you "program" the buttons on a joystick.

[OldAirmail]

First off, you're very welcome. I'm glad that I could provide some small inspiration.

Second, your hardware skills are far better than mine so I'm not sure I could produce a working button box without some serious step-by-step instructions. However, the challenge is appealing and I may give it a try some day. And, I really like your GPS - especially at that price! See above about buying a button box

Last,

It makes a nice difference, when landing, to have the altimeter match up with the airports actual altitude.

It's not really a good idea to get used to setting the primary altimeter to correspond to field elevation. This is not general practice and can lead to disaster. Instrument charts assume ASL baro settings, though they may have AFL in small type in parens. But ATC is expecting you to base your flight on ASL below 18,000 ft!

But here's a twist. When I was a pilot for Eastern Air Lines back in the '60s we did use both: the primary altimeters were set as reported by ATC, which would be AGL, and we had a third altimeter, quite low on the instrument panel, set to field elevation as reported by the company office at the airport. This was mainly a leftover from earlier days when there was no radar altimeter but, of course, unlike radalt it didn't fluctuate wildly with the terrain; it was a bit useful, mostly close in to the airport where the terrain tended to flatten out. Honestly, I remember setting and cross-checking it as part of our procedures but I don't remember ever needing it for safety. I have no idea if any air carriers might still do this.

Nice job all the way around. Wishing you clear skies and a tailwind (except on landing, of course).

~Michael

There's a big difference in reading bits and pieces here and there, and having done it for a living, so I'm never sure if I have it all right.

Actually, I'm sure that I'll NEVER have it all correct.


What I'm setting the BARO to is the reported barometric pressure as reported via the OpusFSI real-time weather engine.

Many of the airports that I fly into and out of have nothing broadcast, and Opus gives me what I need, This was for Concrete, WA. It can get far more involved. I'll keep using the simple version.



This is where the adjustment takes place.



I must have said it wrong, so I read this to be sure I had it right - Barometric Pressure and Altimeter Settings.

I followed his math examples, even went to one of the airports - KEXX, and it checks out.

2. Reported barometric pressures are corrected to sea level.

Barometric pressures reported by the tower and by automatic weather observation stations (AWOS) as "altimeter settings" are corrected to sea level. So are the pressures reported by the weather person on the evening news.

If this were not the case, barometric pressures reported at stations having high elevations, such as Denver, Colorado, would always be low. Locations near sea level would always be high.

Anyway, don't stop with the advice. Dispit my wife thinking that I'm never wrong , it could happen one day.

[FlexibleFlier]

Yes, you have it right. You do always want to set the baro to what is report by ATC, ATIS, or the Tower and the altimeter will then read field elevation when on the ground.

Sorry if I confused you. There have been instances where pilots wanted to use the altimeter to show height above the field by setting it to read 0 feet when on the ground, although I can't for the life of me think of why they'd want to do that. I guess I got carried away with a bit of worry.

So, you're well on you way to having a terrific setup. Happy flying!

~Michael

[OldAirmail]

Thanks, again for the help, Michael.

This is the finished labeling.

Maybe.

I like having the white labels in the middle, but I may redo them.

Over all, it looks better in real life than it does when using my old camera.


When I find some knobs that I like, I'll add the BARO encoder to the GPS. It's either that or put the two trim knobs on the GPS, and I don't think that they'd be a good fit for that box.

[Flying Trucker]

Good morning OldAirmail...

Just a thought:

Top Five Buttons
1--VOR 1...I would maybe change to GPS Display
2--VOR 2...I would maybe change to Weather Radar Display or Auto Pilot
3..ADF...I would maybe change to Aileron Trim
4..Aileron Trim...I would maybe change to Elevator Trim
5..Rudder Trim...I would maybe change to Rudder Trim

Not sure but the second row already takes care of the NAV 1 (VOR 1), NAV 2 (VOR 2) and ADF.
These three instruments are easily tuned on the Instrument itself.

I also was thinking about controls like: Carburetor Heat, Cowl Flaps and Pitot Heat

Just something to think about Sir...Good Luck...

[OldAirmail]

I'm like a little kid - I don't know what I don't know and therefore think that I know all that I need to know. Got a headache from that one?


These are the Saitek Panels that I have.





Although CRS (VOR1) is on the Multi (middle) Panel, I like having it on the top/left corner of the new button box. I suppose that I could eliminate VOR1 on the button box, and shift VOR2 & ADF to the laft, allowing me to put BARO where ADF is now.

Yeah, I'll do that.


The center row of switches is based on the (FSX) Cessna 172, and has nothing to do with setting the frequencies.




I also have a GPS that I made. It works, but I'm making changes to it. This picture shows the "trial run", 100% success, but without the button labels.





"I also was thinking about controls like: Carburetor Heat, Cowl Flaps and Pitot Heat"

Those, as you can see are on the Saitek Switch Panel.

Basically, I really hate having to use the mouse to click on the on-screen buttons/switches/etc.

I also don't like taking the time to remember what keys do what, and then trying to find the keys on the keyboard while I'm "flying".



While some people want to build an EXACT replica of whatever, I want something that will be general and cover the wide verity of prop planes that I like.

So where I might be in a Cessna now, I'll be in a Bonanza later. Tomorrow I may start out in a Beaver and then switch to a Fieseler Storch, only to end up in a DC-3.

It would be impossible to come close in matching the cockpit of those, never mind all the other combinations.

That's why one of the red buttons is marked Tail Loch ~ Hook. Tail Lock for when I fly a tail dragger, and Hook to lower the hook if I feel like landing on a carrier deck (not so good at that).

There are specific buttons that do specific things in a general way on most aircraft. Got a headache again?



But you've helped me Doug, even if it wasn't in the way you intended.

So keep on, if you think that I'm missing something important. I'm sure to be missing lots of stuff.