[simpits-tech] Mercsim Setup

[Brian Sikkema]

This message is mainly directed at Sean, due to his recent Apollo 
revelations, but I figure there might be other interested parties as well.

I was doing some thinking about the Mercury Sim today, and I think I've 
finally settled on a layout that I like. In doing so I also managed to clear 
a couple of hurdles (I think) that have been bugging me for a while: 
entry/exit and display.

With entry and exit, I couldn't really go with the original "hatch" setup 
that the Mercury actually had, because the layout is of the Merc on its 
"side" (so that the occupant is right-side-up instead of on their back), 
which makes getting through the hatch into the seat very difficult. And 
considering that this will be a public use sim, not just mine, difficult is 
not a good idea. But then I struck upon the idea of having a section of the 
capsule actually "roll" back, like a rolltop desk! This seems like it will 
work well. There are a few technical problems, but all in all I think I can 
get it to work well, and I think it pays off compared to other ways of doing 
it.

Secondly, the display system, which will consist of a smallish screen in 
front of the window, with the projector over the sim operator's head (sim 
operator not to be confused with sim pilot - operator runs the sim, and does 
things like throw in system failures. Pilot flys the thing). Two poles go 
from the screen to the projector, those will be supporting a shroud, which 
will secure to the sim itself, probably by Velcro, in order to keep all 
light out of the display system.

A small video showing the proposed operation of the door can be seen here: 
http://www.me.mtu.edu/~bjsikkem/Door.avi - let me know what you think of 
everything. This whole setup still needs a lot of work, but you get the 
basic idea. Any questions on what something is, just ask.

Brian

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