September Featured Builder of the Month Ivar Hestnes
MyCockpit Presents the September Featured Builder of the Month
The Staff at MyCockpit is proud to announce Ivar Hestnes Builder of the mOnth September 2008 as selected by his Peers.
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1. Hi Ivar, Please Tell us a little about yourself! Where do you Live, and are you Married?
I am 32 years old and single. I live in a small village called Flemma in
Norway and work as a truck-driver for a construction company. We are just
finished with the 400 meter runway extension at ENML. As you might guess, I
have a passion for aviation. But are also interested in cars, girls and
other technical stuff. I like to have a project to puzzle with. When not
working on my sim, I enjoy improving my garden, read magazines and visit my
neighbors and friends. I am not the kind of guy that sit in the sofa and
watch TV.
2. How long have you been involved in flightsim?
I had airbus a-320 and f/a 18 hornet on my Commodore amiga when I was a
teenager, but did not get "hooked" then. But rediscovered the interest three
years ago.
3. What or who got you involved in the idea of building a simulator?
When I got really hooked on the simulation stuff, my neighbor said to me:
Why don't you build yourself a simulator? I thought that it could be a cool
project and when I discovered that it actually was possible, I started
researching :-)
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4. How long have you been building your simulator for?
Have been building for 1 year and 9 months now. Spent around 6 months of
researching before that.
5.What aircraft did you select and why?
It was easy for me to choose the 737. I grow up with divorced parents and
due to the distance between them, plane was the best transportation. It was
always Braathens SAFE with their 737 or Fokker f-28. I always had to peak
into the cockpit on my way back to my favourite seat behind the wings :-)
6. What would you say has been your biggest challenge this far regarding your sim?
My biggest challenge will always be the software issues. Don't know anything
at all about programming. Probably easier to get a trip to Mars with NASA,
than to teach me programming. But it is also a challenge to learn how the
aircraft works. And then learn how to use it, he he. Very educating hobby.
7. Have you had to make any noticeable sacrifices to realism, in order to solve any problems?
Not yet actually. The build is going more or less as I have planned.
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8. How many rebuilds (tear downs) or Major overhauls has your sim undergone?
No one yet, but expect to coat the shell with epoxy on the outside next
year. The plywood is moving a little and the paint has cracked a couple of
places.
9. Do you fly your simulator On-Line, if so On what Network, and under what name?
Not yet, but it is one of my goals to fly online on Vatsim. Something to
look forward to.
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10. Have you ever had any regrets choosing your selected aircraft?
Absolutely not. Because of my history, I love the 737. And it is also the
most common used airliner here in Norway. And there are loads of parts to
get from the vendors. Makes the building much easier when you can choose between parts from many suppliers.
11. What Software do you run in your simulator?
FS 2004 with loads of addons. Mostly Norwegian freeware, Fsuipc+wideFS,
project magenta, fs2phidgets, interfaceIT,
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12. Where do you see your simulator in the next year?
It should be more or less finished in 2009. At least all the big stuff
installed and woodworking complete. But guess there will be lots of
improvements to do all the time.
13. On average, how often would you say you fly your simulator?
I really should fly more than I do, but at the moment the building is the
most important. Some weeks I don't fly at all and other weeks I can fly for
5 to 7 hours. More time for flying when the major work is done.
14. On average how many hours a week, do you spend building in your simulator?
That depends of workload at my job. Much overtime = zero building time. I
can be lazy and don't work at all one week, and next week I can work 50
hours. But in average I guess 25 hours a week including the coffee breaks
(which can be very long sometimes, hehe).
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15. Do you think your Simulator will ever be 100% done?
I think that I will come to a point when enough is enough. But technically
speaking, it won't be 100%. Not possible as far as I know :-)
16. On your wish list of items, what is the next thing you want to buy or add to simulator?
Next thing to purchase is the rest of the FDS pedestal panels.
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17. If you could suggest some advice to a new builder just getting started, what advice would you give?
Three words: Research, economy and patience. Spend some months on
researching all the aspects of this kind of a project. It involves more than
just buying some panels. Plan the build in stages, and also plan the
shopping list. Make a time line. ( I didn't, but it could really be useful).
Be clever when ordering parts. Order parts so that you always have work to
do between the deliveries from the suppliers. Lead time varies very much,
but some weeks/months lead time there is from almost all the suppliers.
Never give up and don't rush the building. Try to do your absolutely best
and a little more. It really gives satisfaction to be patient. No one in
this hobby knows it all at the beginning. So it will be a long and educating
journey to a complete simulator. But it is a rewarding hobby. Lots of help
to get and lots of friends to make :-)
18. Is there anything in your simulator that you have done, that you don't show anyone because you don't think you're happy with it?
Actually not. I show most of my progress not only when modules are finished,
but also during the build. But the cable chaos from the computers, I don't
like to share, he he. Guess it is the same with all the builders :-)
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19. Where is the most exotic place you have ever flown to in your simulator?
I mostly fly Norwegian destinations. And the most exotic in Norway would
definitely be Longyear at Svalbard (ENSB). At least in the real world :-) But
the airports at the Norwegian coastline is exotic all of them in their own
way. Rough weather, Mountains, fjords and ocean :-)
20. If you could change one or two things about your current sim, what would it be?
Would love to upgrade to a Northern flight sim TQ. But all over I am happy
with the results so far.
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21. Will you be visiting the Flightsim show in the Netherlands this November?
Hope to do so, but have not made the decision yet. Some of my friends are
going so I should really join them. Would love to meet some of the mycockpit
members there and my suppliers as well :-)
22. You have such nice woodwork in your setup, Do you have a full wood shop?
Thanks :-) Doing my best. I am well equipped with tools. And the tools I
don't have, some friends and neighbors always have it available for me to
use. But no extraordinary tools used to make my shell. Jigsaw, tablesaw,
angle cutter and a drill.
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23. What would you feel are the most important tools in your work shop for building simulator parts.
Regarding wood, it is definitely the drill, angle cutter and the jigsaw.
24. What Dream Tool would you like to have to build parts for your simulator?
Metal lathe with milling equipment. No doubt. But a CNC water-jet could also
be handy, hehe.
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25. If you could Meet someone in real life that you have talked to through the flight simulator world. Who would it be and why?
Amongst the suppliers it would definitely be Mr. Peter Cos at
flightdecksolutions. We have a very good communication for more than two
years now, and I am very happy to be his customer.
Amongst the builders there are several people I would love to meet. Hard to
name just a few, but here we go :-)
Tim (warvet), because of his kindness, and excellent humour. He really make
me in a good mood.
Phil Lambert (phil744), he made me my map-light panels, and also make me in
a good mood. Very funny person with excellent skills.
Also would love to invite Mr Thomas Richter for a few flights after he has
checked through all my software, hehe.
All my Norwegian builder friends I would also love to meet. Some of them I
have met, but still a few to meet.
Cheers :-)
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Ivar, Thanks for taking the time to do this with us. Truly you are an inspiration to many builders. Including me, I can only hope that one day I will be able to create a shell that is even close to your masterpiece.
You Truly deserve this wonderful Award.
Best regards,
Trev
