[simpits-tech] Lurk over
Brian Sikkema
bjsikkem at gimail.af.mil
Mon May 12 08:41:31 PDT 2008
Too bad I'm busy this weekend... Coulda made that one.
Seems like there's a show the end of this month... Tulsa maybe? You gonna be there?
Brian
------- Original Message -------
>From : Justin Messenger[mailto:jjmessenger at yahoo.com]
Sent : 5/10/2008 10:36:14 PM
To : simpits-tech at simpits.org
Cc :
Subject : RE: [simpits-tech] Lurk over
Ill be at the Ft. Smith show with my sim this weekend. It will be their first show since they transfered from F-16s to A-10s.
Justin
From: KD <chevello at rcn.com>
To: simpits-tech at simpits.org
Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 23:45:48 -0400
Subject: [simpits-tech] Lurk over
OK so I just caught up on a couple of weeks' worth of the list, and have
a few tidbits to throw in.
Gene, on your RC remote video aircraft, you have me wondering if you
have found a real F-15 to fly from the pit in the shed. I'm thinking FAA
clearance might be tough to get for that... :)
I like the idea of a simple pit kit. I couldn't spend the cash for one,
but then I am handy, have 3 kids, and drive an hour and a half o get
home from work. My money is being used by the clothing store, grocery
store, and
Exxon. You might do as said before, offering plans for
different types (I see you already have that) and offering kits in
steps. You know, get the Fuselage kit first, then the IP kit, then the
side console kit, Canopy kit and so forth. Or the kits in stages. Buy
the fuselage and add your own IP, side consoles, whatever. I would
design so that the seat can be anything from a real NACES or ACES to an
extra orange crate that someone might have hanging around, or those
cheap blow-molded dunebuggy seats they sell at Summit for 89 bucks. I
prefer a car seat though for mine I have a sim seat I pulled out of the
scrap at work. Possibly think about one fuselage section with different
IPs for various acft that all fit in the same one. Then, as someone's
sim life progresses (as from Target drone, manned, non-maneuvering to
fast jet) he can buy other IPs to add to his already purchased pit. Not
really a money maker, but something
people sometimes consider when
buying "Is it upgradeable?" Consider selling the kit of only the tough
to make parts. Things that you would need to use the shop-bot for unless
truly a jigsaw sadist. Long skinny parts or square-ish parts would
arrive as templates along with the ribs. Maybe even make the templates
out of 1/4" masonite or something easier (cheaper) to ship. What about
entire template kits? All 1/4" masonite or MDF. Trace and cut! It's easy
to build your own sim pit! Just a few suggestions that I thought of
while reading.
LCDs vs. mechanical gauges: Mechanical gauges have "the LOOK" It's what
we all really want. It increases the depth of the simming experience.
The simkits and others have their limitations, and sometimes it doesn't
make sense to build a whole nother computer or two just to run gauges.
LCDs have their limiotations too. SOmeone mentioned viewing angles, and
another mentioned yoke
clearance. These are things that we deal with at
work every time we build a new pit at work. Most aircraft don't have the
IP arranged so that you can use a single LCD, or even a pair of them if
you are trying to make your sim really look like what it is supposed to
be. I am constantly arranging and rearranging instruments so that I can
fit things on a screen. Thank the good Lord for the internet. It makes
communicating with the software guys in Poland easiER than it would be
otherwise. There is a patented process called Tannas-Sizing where they
actually cut the LCD screen to make it the correct shape and size for
what is needed. From what I have been told, they first cut one glass,
then flip the screen and cut the other. When they break it, they have to
be REALLY careful, and they have to pay a licensing fee to the owner of
the patent. Then, they seal up the cut edge and put the whole thing back
together. The shop-bot has
me wondering if this would be possible to do
without hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment. Would it be
possible to put a glass cutter on the shop bot and cut the glass in a
perfectly straight line, then do it again on the back glass? That
reminds me. You guys should see the 20"x8" F-35 display we just bought.
It is a thing of beauty made from 2 monitors. Sometimes a combo of steam
gauges and LCDs is what we do. If there are just one or two instruments
that I absolutely need, and NO way to get them on a screen behind the
IP, then we put mechanicals in.
One of the most difficult things to do is to get buttons in front of the
screen. I have a half dozen different things that I do to get the screen
close to the back of the IP bezel, and still fit switches like for the
MFD or knobs for the baro alt or horizon adjust. I could tell you them,
but then..well, you know... ;)
So there are my comments, and I hope
you enjoyed them. I need to go
think about how to get my servos and drives working for my pit controls.
It's just a little Akers-Barnes, but I want a floor stick not a side stick.
Anyone else going to the Andrews AFB air show next weekend? I'll be
there on Friday. I have to go take measurements and pictures of the F-35
Full scale mockup. I have to do that now that I am done designing our
F-35 module. Go figure. NOW I get information.
Please ignore extra commas in the above. I am tired and need to breathe
more often when I am tired.
K
Be a better friend, newshound, and
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
More information about the Simpits-tech
mailing list