A simple desktop sim-pit, while I wait...

Hi all. It's been absolutely ages since I was around these parts. How is everyone?


So, those who remember me will recall that I have the slowest-running cockpit project in the history of the hobby. I've restarted 3 times so far, each time because I hit a brick wall of one sort or another. One of the reasons that I disappeared from the site is that I stopped simming altogether for several months.


Anyway, long story short, I finally moved out of my first-floor rented flat and bought a house. Not, sadly, a big enough house to house a dedicated sim room - this is London, prices are insane, and I'm a single-income family of one, so I bought what I could afford which is a 2-bed terrace. No garage. But this will not stop me - no. I intend to put up a workshop / shed in the back garden that will be my sim's home. But that's months of building work away, and in the meantime I was back to desktop simming with Saitek kit and getting itchy to do something with power tools, so I've knocked myself up a very basic sim-station and a desktop console to mount my Saitek kit.


It's very Heath Robinson, and it's not without major compromises, but it's better than stuff bolted to a desk in terms of immersion. Most importantly, it has gotten me flying again - as well as playing Elite: Dangerous - which is key.


As I think I mentioned a while back, I've bought the plans for Ron Rollo's Learjet 45 shell, and I plan to build it in my new shed starting at some point next year, but in the meantime I'm starting to build modules for the console. I'm going for an all-glass affair, but as I've always planned to have a generic sim I've got devious plans to be able to reconfigure the panel using replaceable bezels and other tricks. To make all this complicated stuff in plastic I've just bought myself a hefty 3D printer. I'll build a simple test panel first, and once I've proved the theory I will start on the real things - radio panels, MCP, MFD and PFD, and so on. That should keep me busy for a few years :-)


It's nice to be flying again, and I will come back and hang out here more - honest!


NH

http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/atta...id=10769&stc=1