Cockpit Mk2 Build

[Bando]

It all looks like it's coming together very nicely.

Great thread so far.

[lightbulbjim]

I'm still alive ?

 

It's been a while since I've been able to work on this but I'm keen to finish it one of these days. To get the ball rolling again I mounted the bass shakers under the seat.

 

Unfortunately I didn't originally plan to use bass shakers so the install is a bit complicated. Plus only the small ones will fit. Oh well.

 

 

They'll get RCA plugs on them and connect to a box under the seat which will contain the amp.

 

Next I'm starting on the throttle quadrant.

[JaMz]

Great build this mate..

 

 

[VR-DriftaholiC]

On 10/15/2019 at 2:55 PM, lightbulbjim said:

This is my first time using the Virpil gimbal and I have to say I'm a little underwhelmed it. I'm using the progressive AviaSim cams and they feel quite rough. The Crosswind pedal cams by comparison feel very smooth. I'm guessing the reason the stick cams feel rough is long throw, small cams and hands are more sensitive than feet.

 

The axes are also not quite symmetrical in feel, which is annoying. I wonder why Virpil didn't go with a dual cam design to help with this.

 

All in all the gimbal feels like a downgrade from my Cougar U2 NXT. That gimbal is perfectly smooth with very nice progression. Not as adjustable though (although it is possible to adjust the centre position) and it's not really suitable for using with an extension.

 

I love your cockpit hoping to build another soon. I've been through so many iterations myself to get the ergonomics right and still haven't nailed it.

 

I have this same problem and so do many others. I've gotten a reply from Virpil and they are looking into it. It might help to join the other threads so they know how widespread this is:

 

https://forum.virpil.com/index.php?/topic/1306-problems-with-non-linear-no-center-avasim-cams/

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=261204

[lightbulbjim]

For my throttle quadrant I want to have throttle, prop and mixture controls. The throttle lever will have an F16 TQS with a bunch of other controls on it.

 

Some experimentation is required, so as a proof of concept I built a traditional quadrant.

 

 

It works pretty well. The main throttle arm is very smooth. The problem, which I expected, is that when I set the tension so that the throttle arm feels nice the smaller levers are too tight. I'll have to experiment with spacers and/or lubrication to see if I can get the feel satisfactory. Other than that I'm pretty happy with it and will probably keep it.

 

The ribbon cable from the TQS will run inside the arm and be invisible. I also need to figure out how and where to mount the analog sensors. I have some of these, they're hall effect sensors which behave like pots:

 

 

They should be easy to mount and will plug straight into my control board.

 

The only sad part is that I'll be cannibalising two of the sensors from my U2 NXT Cougar gimbal. It's a great gimbal (still works perfectly) but I won't have a need for a desktop stick once this is finished.

 

[lightbulbjim]

A tiny bit of progress today - I lengthened the frame slightly to make the pedals more comfortable and added a crosspiece which will support a central control pedestal.

 

 

I'm still tinkering with the throttle quadrant. I've managed to get the lever feel about where I want it, so next steps are:

1. Figure out sensor mounting.
2. Make some wooden knobs for the mixture and prop levers.
3. Do the wiring (hopefully just mapping the existing TQS wiring).
4. Break it all down and paint the steel parts.

While all that is going on I'm going to figure out how/where the quadrant will be mounted. Probably something like this, although note that the positions and dimensions are in no way final:

 

[Alonzo]

It's looking great. I think you were planning buttshaker / bass-shaker for the rig. There's now some really good (but sadly, not cheap) software called SimShaker that interfaces with IL2 and provides dynamic tactile feedback. It's bloody brilliant, 10/10 highly recommended.

[lightbulbjim]

2 hours ago, Alonzo said:

It's looking great. I think you were planning buttshaker / bass-shaker for the rig. There's now some really good (but sadly, not cheap) software called SimShaker that interfaces with IL2 and provides dynamic tactile feedback. It's bloody brilliant, 10/10 highly recommended.

Interesting, thanks. It’s going to be quite a while before I’m ready to set up software but I’ll keep it in mind. 

[lightbulbjim]

A package arrived today:

 

 

I suppose I'll have to actually finish the thing now ?

 

Those levers are for various auxiliary controls. The next step is to add sensors to them. I have some A1302 hall effect sensors and some small neodymium magnets. Hopefully it's not too difficult to put them together in a compact fashion so that they act as pots.

 

I'm still planning to use my existing hall effect sensors for the three TQS axes. It's just simpler to stick an arm and a pushrod on them due to the design of the TQS.

 

Steps remaining until I call it finished:

1. Get sensors mounted and working on the three TQS axes and the six aux levers.
2. Figure out placement for controls. Add mounting brackets to the frame.
3. Build a button box on a stalk which will sit between the stick and pedals. I'd like to include a landing gear lever here but we'll see how lazy I feel when I get to it.
4. Finishing stuff like paint and lever knobs.
5. Figure out a wiring loom. To promote extensibility I've deliberately chosen not to do any multiplexing, ie every switch and axis will be wired individually back to the USB controllers under the seat. I need to work out how to make it a) neat and b) modular, so I can remove sections for maintenance easily.
6. Finalise the electronics enclosure under the seat, including setting up the bass shakers.

[lightbulbjim]

On 9/8/2019 at 12:04 PM, lightbulbjim said:

Project goals:

• Actually finish building it.

 

Well, that didn't happen.

 

This thing has been taking up space waiting for me to work on it for too long. I've lost momentum, and also kinda lost interest in VR and flight sims. Time to move on.

 

If anybody is willing to collect this from regional NSW let me know and we can work out a deal. I'm not interested in shipping it or parting it out at this stage.