Index

  Step 1 - Getting started
  Step 2 - The bucket
  Step 3 - The canopy The control interface
  Update - Adding stuff and redesigning (99-09-18)
  Update - More pictures to look at (99-10-04)
  Step 4 - Major cockpit revision (00-02-19)
  Update - More pictures to look at (00-02-26)
  Update - First panel photos (00-07-12)
  Step 5 - Another major revision (02-07-24)

Step 1 - Getting started

The first thing to do was to decide exactly what I wanted to build. In the field of homebuilt cockpits there are (at least) two extremes; In the low end there's the dedicated chair with shelves for the stick and throttle, and in the high end there's the fully enclosed, sound system-fitted, functional panels, big screen TV, all out bonanza (that no-one can afford). I decided to try and stay in the middle - both for financial reasons and for the risk that it wouldn't get finished.

The next thing to keep in mind is that it must be transportable. This means that it must fit through the door and be light enough to carry. I soon discovered that it needed to be modular to do that. My current design comes apart in; a large box-like piece (that includes the supporting frame, the chair and the monitor shelf), five control panels, and the canopy. All pieces are bolted together.

Third thing to decide was wether or not I wanted working control panels. I think it adds to the realism, but it can also get real expensive if you're not careful. I took the middle road on this too. In Longbow, all keyboard functions are programmable, so you can put them on whatever keys you like. This is good. In most other sims, however, maybe half of the keyboard commands are restricted to using the shift, alt and control keys to keep the functions on logical and intuitive keys. This is bad from the cockpit builder's point of view. While it is relatively easy to hot-wire a keyboard and put keyboard inputs on dedicated switches, the shift functions totally mess this up. I have yet to figure out a way to "type" shift-T with the throw of a switch.

Some of you will have heard of the EPIC board. This a great piece of hardware that works as an interface between the computer and anything up to 300 switches (with expansion kits). It can even work LED displays and in the future analog gauges. The down side is the price for this baby - $285 (when I'm writing this) for the basic model. For now, I will have to make do with the low budget version (i.e. hot-wiring).

Step 2 - The bucket

New Equipment		Dodge van passenger seat
Cockpit Version		Prototype X-1

The whole structure of the cockpit is mounted on top of a strong frame, consisting of several wood beams (25 x 100 mm or close to that) and a 20 mm fiber board. The seat is then bolted to the frame with two huge screws. To the sides of the frame, 16 mm fiber boards are bolted, and in the front, the monitor shelf (also 16 mm). This structure now measures about 630 x 1730 mm, and weighs a ton. :-) I call this the bucket.

Next, the side panels and front panel are bolted to the bucket. I use 30 x 30 mm beams to reinforce the joints since at least the side panels will experience some abuse when people climb in and out of the cockpit. With the panels mounted, the cockpit is about 950 mm wide.

At this point, I place the monitor, stick and throttle in their respective places to check that they feel right. It turns out that I made the bucket a bit too short, because the seat could use a little more room to the rear (I will keep in mind to add an extra 10 cm next time). It's not a big problem though. Time now to get started on the canopy.

Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image (640x480).

	This is a side view of the bucket. Note the hole in the side - by moving the monitor a bit, and turning it 90°, I will be able to access the computer from either side of the cockpit (I will put one of two keyboards on the outside).
	This one shows the front.
	And this is from the rear.
	This is a close-up of the bottom of the seat. Note the spacer used to tilt the seat backwards.
	The panels, obviously. The panels are held to the bucket by bolts and nuts and detaches easily for transport.
	This one shows the reinforcements mounted under the panels. Note that they are only attached to the panels.
	Here are the bolts that hold the panels.

Step 3 - The canopy The control interface

Well... (hrrmm) This is where I was supposed to construct a huge and realistic canopy for my cockpit. Well I didn't - so sue me. Anyway, when I started out with this project the intention was to provide my fans with a chonological step-by-step description of what I was doing. So I will. Read on.

After much consideration, and compromises, I decided to go for the low-end approach. This means that I won't (for now) make it fully enclosed, instead I will keep it compact and not too authentic. I will have mounts for the sticks (like you see in the above photos), a keyboard stuck to the front, and probably a Saitek PCdash next to it. I will have a control panel for the sound system, with output for a headset, volume knobs, and also the main power and light switches. I will mount switches (that I already have) where there is any room left. At this point they are purely cosmetic, but who knows what the future may bring...

As a method of keeping the cockpit compact, I will probably take off about 30 cm off the rear. I have not decided on this however, because it means that I will have some trouble making it enclosed at a later date. We'll see. For now, I'll concentrate on the panels.

As you can see, I still haven't got any work done. This is most likely because I can use the cockpit as it is. I apologize for the delay. Darn Jane's for releasing F-15!

Update - Adding stuff and redesigning (99-09-18)

New Equipment		Saitek PCdash
Cockpit Version		Prototype X-2

It's been a while now (over a year!) since my last update to this page. As I have said before, this is what you get for moving a functional but not finished cockpit inside. It may be unpainted, but it works, so you never get around to finishing it... Does this sound familiar?

Anyway... I have been adding a few things this past year. I did get a PCdash, which I mounted to the left of the monitor, and I mounted the keyboard just below the monitor like I explained earlier. The sound system so far consists of a subwoofer (I don't know the output) and two car-speakers that I bought on sale. I got a good deal on the subwoofer too. No control panel yet.

I have not cut anything off the frame (bucket) yet - instead I have been thinking seriously about re-doing it completely. This time with square steel pipes (something like 40 x 40 mm I think) welded together as a base frame, and plywood for panels. The plan is that this will weigh a whole lot less than what I have now. I don't have any figures, but it takes two people to move it - even with the seat removed. I have not decided how far it will disassemble, but in order to get the thing through doorways at least the side panels will have to come off. Maybe the monitor shelf will too.

Next thing on my order of business is a new seat. I recently tried out the seat of a friend's rally car and it is very comfortable. It's got a nice snug feel about it and it is relatively light. I plan to get one of these second-hand.

Alright then, this is it for now. I hope I will get some work done on the cockpit in the near future, so it may be worth your time to check back. I will probably add a few pictures, showing the mentioned additions, during the next week.

Update - More pictures to look at (99-10-04)

I haven't done much real work on the 'pit during the last week, so I will just call this an update. I have found what I think will solve my interfacing problems; a relatively cheap keyboard encoder from Hagstrom Electronics that handles up to 144 switches (in a 12x12 matrix layout) or 24 individual inputs. All of them digital. It can produce simple keypresses, as well as make and break codes and macros. I will let you know how this turns out. For the time being, have a look at these new shots.

Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image (640x480).

	Side view. You can see the recently added cardboard mockup.
	Side view from the rear. My Windows wallpaper, btw, is from Rogue Spear.
	The inside of the cockpit. Speakers to the rear, FLCS to the right, and TQS to the left. The pedals are CH ProPedals. I have added the left-hand wall since this picture was taken.
	Another side view. As you can see, I have some work to do to make the "outside" workstation even close to ergonomic. Also visible here is the roller-equipped plate the monitor sits on.

Step 4 - Major cockpit revision (00-02-19)

New Equipment		EPIC board 304 button expansion module Switches and wiring Control panel material (4 mm Lexan) Correau bucket seat
Cockpit Version		Prototype X-3

A lot has happened (planning anyway) since the last update. I have a new design for the panels and the shell. I have also purchased a lot of material. See the list above. I have re-done the cad drawings of the 'pit to reflect the changes. I have made connection diagrams for the EPIC, but I have not yet done any actual soldering.

The EPIC is installed, and I have even tried programming it a little to make sure it works. Guess what - it does! :)

So, what is next? Before I start cutting up a lot of plywood for the panels and shell, I will see if I can get my next sub-project to work. This is to strip the handles off my FLCS and TQS, and reattach them to a center-mounted pedestal and the left side panel. The buttons and pots will all be connected to the EPIC. We will see how this goes. If it doesn't work, I will have to redesign the panels - again. By the way, I am rather happy with the present design. With the new seat installed it is very tight, yet still very comfortable.

Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image.

	Flat view of the panels. The stick and throttle are not shown. I am still working on the design of the center console. (550x540)
	Side and split rear view of the cockpit. (570x350)
	Circuit layout for the distribution boards. Each have 64 channels, and are expandable for another 64. Let me know if you can make any sense of it! (430x540)

I promise to post more photos as soon as I can borrow the digital cam again.

Update - More pictures to look at (00-02-26)

Here are the new pictures. They show the new seat, and cardboard mockup version 2.0.

Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image (640x480).

	Side view. 'Nuff said.
	Right rear quarter. You won't recognize the rear wall, but it is a leftover from the very first prototype.
	Looking over the pilot's right shoulder. Showing front and left consoles.
	The bottom part of the new seat. I mounted it on an old chassis allowing a small front/back adjustment.
	Another view of the office. This one shows the right console.
	Front view of the seat. Note the new cover on the lower part. It is an old and used seat, and there are large holes in the fabric underneath it.
	Front console.
	Side view.

Update - First panel photos (00-07-12)

These photos show some of the panels I made. Each one consists of a sheet of 4 mm Lexan (a very strong kind of plexi glass), and a printed plastic film beneath it which has all the lettering. The Lexan was drilled very easily, and showed no signs of cracking whatsoever. It's a great material!

The graphical layouts of the panels were created in Autocad and exported to a graphics program. They were then laser printed on paper and photo-copied to a transparent plastic film - the kind used for technical drawings before the age of computers. ;) Because the panels are intended to be backlit, the black print turned out to be too thin, allowing some light to come through. So, the next step was to mask the lettering, on the reverse side of the film, and spray-paint it all black. That did the trick. As you can see in the pictures, I also painted them white on top of the black. This was not really necessary in the end, but I did it the same way on all the panels to make them look the same.

The film was then mounted between the Lexan and the switches. It is not glued at all at this point.

Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image (640x480).

	A selection of panels.
	Closeup of the engines control panel.
	Same panel from the rear.
	Reverse side of the chaff/flare control panel and the TWS lights.

Step 5 - Another major revision (02-07-24)

This time I have (once again) re-designed the whole cockpit. Now it's a combination general aviation and fighter pit. I have built plywood front and center consoles, and I attached the handle of my (ex) FLCS stick to a scratch-built center-mounted control column. It sits on a big spring to provide centering, and has pushrods and pots to read the movements.

I have been playing around a bit with MFD software and FS2002 "glass cockpit" gauges. With either a second networked computer or extra video cards, this will be displayed on the to 15" monitors. These will go behind the front panel, on the shelf that is visible in the pictures below. I will attach some sort of glare shield to cover them up.

The empty space in the center console is where the switch panels will go. The LCD will probably go somewhere on the front panel, above or below the MFDs.

Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image (640x480).

	Side view.
	Another side view.
	An over-the-shoulder shot of the front panel. Notice the two gaping holes. This is where the MFDs will go.
	Close-up of the flight controls.
	Side view of the stick mechanics.
	A back-lit LCD display I managed to acquire for free. I have two or three of these somewhere, plus a bucket-full of (highly technical) documentation.
	The remains of a gutted Thrustmaster TQS throttle quadrant. I will attach this to a new lever eventually.