Not got much cash....build one of these?

[No Longer Active]

Appears simple, 3 touch screen monitors and a lever.......done!

The new biz jet by piper......arriving 2013!







Ooops...sorry did I forget to mention that you need 2 joysticks and rudder pedals......

....now your done......

[Matt Olieman]

Looks nice, but boring ....

[Spatate]

What about the overhead?

[Neil Hewitt]

Looks nice, but boring ....

Clearly, all-glass MIPs and touch-screen controls with relatively few knobs and dials is going to be the way forward for cockpit design - you can see it in the new generation of GA and light jets, but the trend is inevitably there in heavy jets too; the 787 cockpit is halfway there, as is the A380. Of course there will always be lots more manual switches etc on an airliner than you can get away with on a GA aircraft.

Does that mean that builds based on newer aircraft like the 787 or the new generation of glass-cockpit GA / light jet are going to be less challenging and exciting for simpit builders? If you get your biggest kick out of fabricating panels and controls, probably. OTOH, there will be a lot more scope for software solutions, which will keep those of us who like to code busy. My own project (if and when it ever gets back into gear) is going to be heavy on the glass and touch-screen with less 'traditional' panels, but that was a conscious decision on my part to focus on where my own talents lie and the resources I have access to.

I'd honestly love to see a fully-realised 787 simpit. It'll be a while before one happens, I'm sure, but I reckon it'll still be awesome, despite the relative paucity of knobs and dials compared to, say, the 737.

NH