[simpits-tech] Sim-Instruments launches first products

[Brian Sikkema]

>Am I right to state that the 'globe' is an actual rotating sphere, like
>in an artifcial horizon?
Yes, it is a rotating sphere. The problem is, due to the nature of orbital 
paths, it has to be completely free to move.

You see, the orbital path of any object orbiting the earth (excluding polar 
orbits) shows up as a sin wave centered on the equator. So, for example, I 
drew such a wave on the globe for this shot:

http://www.me.mtu.edu/~bjsikkem/EPIorbit.jpg

The red line is (roughly) representative of the path the capsule would have 
over the earth. However, because the crosshair doesn't move, the earth needs 
to rotate left and right, while spinning up and down, to keep the crosshairs 
over the red line. So for example, in that picture the globe would be in the 
process of both rotating "up" (so the USA would be moving up the screen) as 
well as to the right (USA moving right) in order to keep the crosshair over 
the red line. And the more extreme the orbit (larger sin wave), the more it 
has to rotate. So in other words, the globe can't have any fixed rotation 
points.

Right now I think what I'll need to do is have the free-floating globe, and 
have several powered rollers riding on the sides and in back - kind of like 
a computer mouse, but in reverse. But that's just the first step, figuring 
out the programming to drive the thing is going to be a bear, and there ARE 
several knobs that I don't know the function of (yet).

>I'll forward it to the engineers and see what they think.
Heheheh. Thanks, but I'm not sure how much I like the development costs 
being split between the 2-3 of us out here that might be interested! ;) I'm 
not sure if this particular guage saw use in any other capsules - it may 
very well show up in the Gemini, though. Same capsule manufacturer, lots of 
similarities, so it could very well be.

>I'll keep you posted.
Hey, if you guys want to do it, that'd be really cool. It's a lot more 
interesting than some spinny dial! ;)

Brian