[simpits-tech] flightsim.com forum...

[Matt Bailey]

On Tue, 01 Oct 2013 23:25:38 -0700
Ray <raysot at comcast.net> wrote:

> On 10/1/13 9:19 PM, Matt Bailey wrote:
> > Curious, what "regional type" sim do you have now?
> I went to a KingAir 350 Hybrid aircraft. My first major project was a 
> 777 and she was gorgeous. After 10 years of chasing EPICUSB bugs and
> my own programming bugs I grew tired of it all. I also found myself
> hopping from KSEA to KPAE (A 10 minute flight in a 777) for test
> flight after test flight and thought "Well, this is rather boring"
> 
> So, I built an F16 using various hardware interfaces. Huge mistake on
> my part. I was done with programming and sold that pit off.

I ran into a similar issue with various and sundry interfaces being
mixed into my sim. That is one reason I am glad to have more or less
finished my current sim...it has given me a chance to try a lot of
different technology, figure out what works, and what interfaces to
keep or toss. I have settled on Arduinos and simple custom circuits for
almost everything.....it standardizes the sim, it's VERY cheap, and
gives me essentially total control over how the interfaces operate.
Example: I can now quickly solder up my simple air core circuit,
interface it to an Arduino, flash over my canned air core script, tweak
it if necessary, and cook up some Python code to drive the thing, in
only about 2 hours or so. I have the ultimate cheap and easy solution
for reading switches and buttons: one Arduino Uno with a couple of
Centipede boards, for 128 digital input/outputs, plus some built-in PWM
outputs on the Arduino, and its analog inputs, for a total cost of less
than $100 and no custom circuitry required (not even pull-up
resistors). Throw in some transistors or FETs and I can drive lamps
and buzzers etc.

Anyways, I found that I had to eventually settle onto a pretty narrow
and streamlined way of doing things, or I would have gone crazy as my
sim project collapsed under the weight of its own complexity.

> Fly on, young friend! (Hopefully that small donation earned me a few 
> Karma points...)

Great story! Perhaps your lucky seat recipient will find his way onto
simpits some day. :)

> But now I'm fully embroiled in this KingAir thingy and it better
> suits my flying. As others have commented on this thread.. I am more
> of a builder than a flyer and between you and me, that breaks my
> heart. :-) I am a flyer first, a builder a distant second.
> 
> That being said I can't wait until the KingAir comes out of storage
> so I can build a full shell around it! ;-)
> 
> http://anthonyscott.zenfolio.com/b200/h57cca794#h57cca794

OH, THAT sim! I saw this on the Facebook page (I am on there, have
posted pics of my own setup a couple times). Good job on the King Air!
I forget, what instruments are you using? The engine gauges look great.

Idea: since you are scratch building the "guts" of the cockpit anyway,
have you considered buying a scrapped King Air cockpit? Nice cockpits
are kinda hard to come by, but the stripped metal shells are plentiful
and not very expensive. Alliance Air Parts here in Oklahoma City quoted
me $1,500 for an entire stripped Learjet fuselage a year or two ago.
This would eliminate almost all the hassle and design work of
custom-building a shell, and could look better (after all, it would be
a real nose section).

Matt