Simkit / Flight Illusion?!

[nio007]

Hello!

I have some questions about the gauges from simkit and flight illusion.

- Wich one is better and smoother?
- Is a user from the one or the other here? - Have you some pictures/videos?

Thanks for help! :-D

Thomas

[Thomas62]

Hallo Thomas, wohne auch in Zürich und bin am Aufbau einer 737NGX. Schau mal rein unter http://b737home.blogspot.com
und melde dich mal über den BLOG bei mir wenn du Lust hast.

Gruss aus Buchs ZH - Thomas

[BW901]

Hi Thomas,

I have old (non-USB) Simkits instruments which were already second-hand when I bought them, so my thoughts may be a reflection on the way they were originally built rather than Simkits in general! I have taken a couple apart and tried rebuilding them to improve operation. The single-needle gauges work fine - eg ASI, VSI and also I've had no trouble with the horizon or turn co-ordinator. The DG was a bitch to calibrate and kept sticking around the 150deg mark and the altimeters are just fit for the bin.

So I ordered 4 gauges from Flight Illusion the first week of January to start replacing Simkits. I received 3 of the 4 last week, about a 10 week wait. I replaced the Altimeter and DG and added a Radalt, and I'm still waiting for the DME to arrive. Impression so far is that the Flight Illusion gauges are very well made, and installed perfectly, no messing, no calibration required. They are much smoother than the Simkits gauges, and also quiet - the servos in my Simkits make a fair bit of noise. The internal gauge lighting on Flight Illusion's gauges is also much better.

But Flight Illusion's customer service leaves a lot to be desired. All questions were answered before I placed my order, but after that despite sending several emails I couldn't get any response to confirm my bank transfer had been received or even that my email order had gone through correctly. When folks are shelling out 4-figure sums I think that complete lack of response is a bit off.

I'm still in a state of flux on my sim, hoping to get things realling going in the next two weeks, but you can see a picture of the Simkits/Flight illusion mix on the Captain's panel at www.g-bvob.net (http://www.g-bvob.net), just click on Blog on the main menu.
Flight Illusion = DG, Alt and radAlt, Simkits = all the others.

So my experience is Flight Illusion's gauge quality is the better by far, but you'll need faith that they'll turn up after you've placed your order and paid your money. I'd also be interested in other folks' comments, as I've got a few more gauges to replace myself!

Cheers
Jon

[xtreme3d]

Hi,

There is another company that makes gauges as well. I found them back in the days when I was planning on building a GA cockpit.

FLY SAFE!

http://www.seagullsimulation.com/

[nio007]

Hi!

Thanks for your help and reviews! When i buy some gauges i would buy from flight illusions. There looks really good and smooth. The gauges from seagull seems really expensive. =)

@Jon, really nice panel. From where you have the original instument panel?
@Thomas, Hey danke! Ich werde mich bei dir melden. Ich bin in steinmaur zuhause.

Thomas

[BW901]

Hi Thomas,

My DME display arrived from Flight illusion yesterday, along with an extra cable as the original cable shipped a few weeks ago had one faulty connector (that's my Easter weekend sorted!). So their gauges are really good quality and the one small problem I had was resolved straight away, which is always a good sign from a supplier. Just don't expect any communication between ordering and an email giving notice of shipping:roll: Think I'll stick with Flight illusion, Seagull does look very expensive, but maybe they are another step-up in quality?

My panels are originals from 2 different Fokker F27s. I have 2 shipsets of main panel and overhead and once I start work on the overhead I'll use the best elements of each to go into my cockpit.

Good luck with your cockpit and have fun building :)

Jon

[nio007]

Hi!

Whats about www.simmeters.com ? There are still in business?

Thomas

[jmig]

Hi!

Whats about www.simmeters.com ? There are still in business?

Thomas

I went to their site. Their prices look to be so low, it scares me.

[737NUT]

I went to their site. Their prices look to be so low, it scares me.

They are not real gauges, only simulated. They are meant to be displayed on a monitor behind a panel hence the 6 to 9 euro price

[jmig]

Ahhhhhhh, that explains it. :D

[cjellwood]

I am using a combination of gauges from www.homesim.de and FlightIllusion. Not tested the FlghtIllusion yet but the homesim stuff is very good quality. On par with Simkits and FI. At this moment I am putting my cockpit progress together and will get the homesim gauges running for a video which will be posted very soon

Chris