The Ultimate Flight Pod Project

[Moach]

Hi all...

i never thought i'd be posting here... this is like the SimV madhouse boiler room  ;D

but here it is... my project

i don't have any pictures yet as i'm not building this at home, ill post some soon...

the whole idea behind the project was to not build an aircraft-specific cockpit, but to have a kind of generic command unit and a completely immersive FS experience, so you'll feel like you're there

here's the deal:
i am currently building the command unit, which is a generic yoke, pedals and thottle levers... this is phase 1 of the project... they are all painted black so they will not interfere with the immmersive experience

phase 2 will add a secondary joystick built from scratch , which will add mixture, prop pitch, gears, flap levers and all that stuff... it will be annexed with the original project

phase 3 is where it gets interesting... instead of using a computer monitor, the image willl be projected onto a very big screen using a computer projector, this will cover most of the pilot's field of view giving an enourmously immersive experience....

phase 4 (if possible) will incorporate 3d goggles to make that giant image pop out of the screen, really making you feel like you're there!!! (there will also be 4.1 surround sound in this)


i still intend to use the mouse and keyboard for most of the playing... the idea is  not to build a "solid" cockpit, but to enhance the FS experience to put you IN the virtual cockpit

future phases of the project will include more projectors and screens to cover not most, but ALL of the pilot's FOV

i have no pictures yet so i made a sketch:




it's crude, i know, but i was made in Paint... so what did you expect?

so here it is... my loonybin project i hope you like it... (also i hope it works)

moach

[beaky]

Very cool (if I had the money, I'd do something very similar), but do yourself a favor and spring for a ceiling mount for the projector (or make a hanging shelf- or put it on a shelf on the rear wall, if it's not too far back). Otherwise you're bound to bump into that stand, which will knock the image alignment out of whack.

[Moach]

im not sure how i will mount the projector yet... that sketch is very vague (im actually going to have to adapt the whole thing to fit in my room)

i've had this project in my head for over a year now, i even bought the yoke a while back, but managed to break it while modifying it

the project was abandoned for more than a year, only recently i decided to fix the yoke and proceed with building this thing (a circuit board was broken in 2, it wasn't easy to fix)

now i'm modifying this yoke type thing to put extra features in it... today i added springs to the elevator column (it didn't have any) and started work on the frame that will hold everything in place..... not much left to complete Phase 1

phase 2 will require some shopping, that's why i divided it into Phases the higher the phase, the more expensive it becomes (i have a way of getting the projector for half the price, so that helps a lot in making the project sound plausible)

moach

[beaky]

phase 2 will require some shopping, that's why i divided it into Phases the higher the phase, the more expensive it becomes (i have a way of getting the projector for half the price, so that helps a lot in making the project sound plausible)

Really...? New? What make and model? Can you get me one? I'm an A/V installs tech, and I can't get 'em half-price! not even close!

[Moach]

i'm not sure about the model, but my g/f's dad works at phillips... and he can get stuff that they won't sell (because of  box misprints, and minor problems lke that) very cheap

she said that every year he comes home with a list of electronics stuff all for half the price... then i said, hey, this is worth checking out eh?

even at half price this projector will be the single most expensive piece of this whole contraption... the rest of it basically was made from stuff i could find around the workshop and some stripped down joysticks which i already had....

the only other stuff that did cost me was the main yoke, which cost about 300 bucks (about 100 USD) and soon an analog-to-USB joystick adaptor (costs about 50 i think) which will be necessary for building my secondary joystick... i think maybe the screen will cost me, but as i will then have already paid for the projector, it probably won't seem like a lot more (if it is, i'll just make my own screen then )

the rest will be just hard work....

(will try to get some pictures today)

c ya

Moach

[beaky]

i'm not sure about the model, but my g/f's dad works at phillips... and he can get stuff that they won't sell (because of  box misprints, and minor problems lke that) very cheap

she said that every year he comes home with a list of electronics stuff all for half the price... then i said, hey, this is worth checking out eh?

even at half price this projector will be the single most expensive piece of this whole contraption... the rest of it basically was made from stuff i could find around the workshop and some stripped down joysticks which i already had....

the only other stuff that did cost me was the main yoke, which cost about 300 bucks (about 100 USD) and soon an analog-to-USB joystick adaptor (costs about 50 i think) which will be necessary for building my secondary joystick... i think maybe the screen will cost me, but as i will then have already paid for the projector, it probably won't seem like a lot more (if it is, i'll just make my own screen then )

the rest will be just hard work....

(will try to get some pictures today)

c ya

Moach

That's good for you... in the last two days, i've acquired two key components for a project of my own: an overhead projector and an old laptop. Both free of charge! My plan is to combine them to make my own LCD projector; tricky but very do-able.
Problem is, the laptop's LCD won't do 1024x768, so eventually I'll want to  upgrade. If your g/f's dad ever gets his hands on some cheap LCD monitors, let me know...

[Moach]

Phase 1 is complete...

here are some pictures:

the finished command unit... you can adjust its height so it fits anywhere, also the angle of the yoke is also adjustable




the rudder unit... the pedals were hand made out of MDF and are bolted down on hinges... this unit has a jack at the end of the cable so it disconnects from the main assembly... it basically presses the little pedals that came with the yoke, but they give a much more realistic experience... also, there is a bar bolted between the pedals that acts as a seesaw, not allowing you to press both pedals at the same time



the thottle box.. this little unit is an extension of the yoke's original throttle button, it was very unrealistic, so i devised a way of adding a thottle lever movement to it... the knobs control trim... it's actually the calibration knobs, so it doesn't have much range, but for small adjustments, they work just like the FS trim



Phase 2 will incorporate a secondary joystick, to work as a throttle quad... i will also try to add a hat switch to control the POV, that is, of course, until i buy the IRtracker

well this is it for now, more to follow as it develops... cheers

Moach

[JBaymore]

Hey..... way to go Moach.

[Moach]

i just made a new trim lever today, as i couldn't get the first one to work properly... instead of using a plastic wheel held in place by two nuts, i made a little lever which fits into a chamfer on the axle, much like a potentiometer's axle... just brought it home and installed it, works great  :D

the elevator trim mechanism is a bit complex... the potentiometer that controls it is actually facing towards the frame, not to the side... i wanted the trim control to stick out the side of the box, so i mounted an axle woth 2 cogwheels that turn against each other in a 90deg angle... wasn't easy getting the cogs in place, if they are not well aligned, the lever won't work at all.... so i'm glad it all worked well

Moach

[Oliver]

Nice start. Phase 3 1/2 is reached

[Moach]

alright... a small update here....

just got the 3d goggles from edimensional... they work great

i can only imagine how it will look like when i get the big screen

i know... i skipped some phases there... but it was the next logical step... next, building the secondary joystick, and then, the projector thing

things are coming along... Neat!!!!

Moach

[beaky]

That's very cool... nice work.

[flyboy 28]

That's the way to do it. Looks cool.

[Alphajet_Enthusiast]

Looks cool! Keep it updated!  :)

[machineman9]

nice thinking, but i think that multiscreening 3 projectors would cost more but give a better atmosphere. i would create a semi circle around some of the wall with wood, then lay down the projector sheet and mount the projectors on the ceiling. also, make sure the projectors are worth having and not pixelated.

having a custom built PC would also have a huge bonus