New Forum Survey: Homebrew Cockpits (see below)

[JBaymore]

Will,

A fresnel lens is an optical lens that is basically flat.... but has concentric circular lenses on it.  It allows you to both magnify as well as make an illusion of depth of field.  It is sometimes called a collimated (sp) display..... and is what is used in many "real" simulators.  It fools your eye into thinking that what you are looking at is further away.

See the link to the fighter cockpit that I put in the message a whikle ago..... that has a fresnel lens in it.  I also think it has a link on fresnels.  If not..... do a Google on "fresnel" and "FS2002".

best,

..............john

PS:  I gotta' get back to some real work  ;).

[JBaymore]

Andrew,

I agree that $30,000.00 on a home simulator is a little off the deep end  ;D.  But this can be done at a much lesser level for a LOT less.

I intend to do it for as little as I can without sacrificing too much in the "experience" it creates .  Start removing zeros.  Expense so far....... $35.


best,

..............john

[flyboy 28]

its basically an imitation of a real life plane cockpit with controls, gauges, the works.

Well, isn't that your standard VC?

[BFMF]

Well, isn't that your standard VC?

Except it isn't a Virtual Cockpit, it's quite real

[JBaymore]

Flyboy_28,

In a virtual cockpit on the computer you use the mouse to go to say, the landing lights power switch on the overhead panel and click it on.  In a "homebrew simulated cockpit" you actually reach up to the "real" overhead panel above your head and flip the landing lights toggle switch and maybe an LED on the "real" panel lights up over your head to tell you that it is "on"....... and there in the simulation your landing lights come on as you click it.

In a simplified fashion...... what happens is that the real world switch wiring in your cockpit is mapped to the keypress in FS 2004 (or 2002) that turns on the landing lights.  Basically (and oversimplified) you have just sort of wired some other switches whree the keyboard used to be.  For analog controls..... like the throttles...... it gets a bit trickier  ;).

So you decide how you want to lay out a recreation of an aircraft cockpit and then utilizing real switches, potentiometers, commercial control uints made for the purpose, wood, plastic, and other stuff...... create a place to fly in.  Some people recreate these cockpits to very EXACT colors (like Boeing Brown) and surfaces and dimensions (that's how you get to the $30,000 home 747 simulator  ;) ).... and others like myself..... will just sort of make a "generic" large jet cockpit.

Some people even use aircraft grade switches and such.  Some get surplus panels and controls from the real aircraft they are recreating.  (An obsession is a terrible thing to waste  ;). )

What then happens is that for the forward view.... you no longer show ANY panels on tha view........ just the full screen window of the outside area........ because you have "real panels" that take over those functions that you used to do on the lower part of the computer screen.

The one real "splurge" that I will eventually make is to purchase a ready made USB connected GoFlight autopilot / FD module.  Basically it functionsl like the real thing and includes all LED displays functioning.  That is a level of electronics construction that I would not tackle at this point.

Hope this helps explain this.

best,

................john

[Professor Brensec]

Also Flyboy, the other BIG difference between what's being discussed here and the VC on your Sim now is this:

In you Sim, regardless of what 'view' you're in, you only see one 'view' at a time. If you want to look out the right window at the wing, you have to hit the No 6 key on your number pad (or whatever config you have).

What is being discussed, is having several monitors, each showing a different view (that you would normally select one at a time). These monitors surround you, and ideally, you could turn your head around and see the 'rear' view and the Zero up your bum, shooting at you, with little pieces of your plane falling off (If you were running CFS2 or 3)  ;D

It would make for a Simulation that you couldn't even get at QANTAS or any other Airline Flight Simulator. Last time I checked they didn't have combat Simulators for their pilots (at least not WWII ones........lol)  ;D

[BFMF]

[quote]It would make for a Simulation that you couldn't even get at QANTAS or any other Airline Flight Simulator. Last time I checked they didn't have combat Simulators for their pilots (at least not WWII ones........lol)

[Professor Brensec]

That's because Airline Pilots are discouraged from participating in mock dogfights

LOL........

[Scottler]

Let them!  That would definitely increase passenger revenues!!

[fido]

:  What about using a combination of the (virtual cockpit - VR Helment - Head tracker - and a touch screen) type solution for the chroniclly poor.  Also you might consider posting (Plans For Dummies) for cheap homemade rudder peddles, etc. when and if you run across them. I know very little on this subject as you can plainly tell, but I am highly interested if the prices don't  break the bank
                                                Fido

[flyboy 28]

I see now. But shouldn't this go in one of the FS sections?

[Scottler]

No, because it's not sim-specific.  You can build a pit with any version of F$.

[JBaymore]

Flyboy,

You ae correct in one way........ right now this whole discussion that is getting going about "real" cockpits is kinda' "lost" down here in the "General" section.  Those that don't frequent this section of the SimV site don't know that this stuff is being discussed.  I know that I never even looked at this "General" section before this post got moved down here from the FS2004 Section.

But Hyperion is correct also...... as I see it, this is a topic sort of unto itself.  In many ways it is similar to panel design or aircraft design for the simulators.... or to the wireframe stuff... or to straight computer hardware..... and so on.  Like a Gmax aircraft or scenery model...... a simulated cockpit can be used in many different versions of simulators.  

The "topic unto itself" is the reason that I proposed the idea of a Forum Section devoted to this stuff in the first place.  If there is enough interest there MIGHT be a possibility of creating that kind of separate area.  That was the original intent of the "poll" that I set up and in posting this question.

But the Forum idea has now digressed off into more of a discussion of the topic itself  ;).  


best,

..............john

[JBaymore]

Professor,

While multiple outside views are possible...... getting up to a full "Surround" situation is likely technically and cost wise pretty prohibitive.  But...... given enough money......  ;).........


I have been giving this visual stuff a lot of thought.  I now think that one really viable option to very much enhance the flight illusion with the LEAST hardware is to have a single large (21" +/-) CRT type monitor for the 12 o'clock view and then place a 15" (or larger) LCD monitor flush to the sim cockpit side windscreen/wall at the 9 or 10 o'clock position showing that view.  Then you would have that side monitor in the peripheral view when you are looking straight ahead at the main display.

So when you bank........ that "cue" from the side image will register in your brain..... and fool it more that the whole simulated plane is banking.  Not to mention if you look to the left out the "window" ...... you'll then see the matching appropriate "view".

While also adding the 2 o'clock view would be even better for the illusion....... my guess is that the one peripheral side alone will do it.  And that would allow you to utilize a more standard high end agp video card that already will drive two displays.... without resorting to a triple display card like the Matrox Parahelic.... or even more complex solutions.  Or to having to have a whole fleet of high end fast machines to utilize FSUIPC and WideFS and WideView to drive them for that purpose.

And then again I come back to what might be doable with the Fresnel lens with that 12 o'clock monitor to make that illusion better.  Hate to get into the idea of digital image projectors  ;).  Big $$$$$$.

So this doesn't have to involve multiple displays........ might just be a single 12 o'clock one......... but it COULD utilize multiples.  A lot depends on the budget.

best,

..................john

[JBaymore]

Fido,

Hey...... share some more of your ideas on that stuff you mentioned.    I'm in "research mode" on this idea and looking for all sorts of info about the possibilities.

best,

.................john