[simpits-tech] Pneumatic (Air) Motion Q.

[Rochester, Craig]

I have some engineering experience with pneumatic cylinders and controls.  I
was researching the possibility of using pneumatics instead of hydraulics to
drive a motion platform.  Pneumatics are bouncy (think of  a car with bad
shocks), but for a light, one person pit, maybe it could be made to work.
Another issue is that pneumatics are inherently dangerous compared to
hydraulic for a given power requirement.  There's a lot of energy stored in
compressed air.
 
The fellow at this site has very good info on a pneumatic motion platform.
I emailed him about a year ago and he was indeed having problems with
bounce.
http://www.cadsoft.de/people/kls/fltsim/index.htm
<http://www.cadsoft.de/people/kls/fltsim/index.htm> 
 
I've done some work with force cueing with a "helmet loader"; apply force to
my head to simulate inertial and G-forces.  I did this with pneumatics and
an electronic pressure regulator and I'm encouraged by my early tests.  The
difference is that I'm trying to apply a force directly to my head.  For a
platform your applying a force to move the platform to achieve a position:
more complicated and more susceptible to compressibility problems.
 
Craig R.