Hi all from sunny Spain

[bussgarfield]

I am an ex-pat (I hate that term) living in Spain. I moved from the UK in September 2009 and now have a lovely house in the country and reside here with my wife Linda.
I have been simming since the release of Flight simulator 2002 and my aim is to build a 737 cockpit in one of the 5 berooms of our house - designated as 'my den'.
Before leaving the UK I was able to purchase all the panels needed for the OH, pedestal and MIP from Opencockpits (I was still working then !!!!) and it is now just a case of putting stuff together -when I have time.
I am running FSX on Vista and eagerly await the release of the new PMDG 737NGX when I can really start putting things together. I am currently using the default 737 which is quite limiting but it is a learning curve that I am on, so things will be slow to start with.
I have the MIP supports ready and the main MIP panel has been marked out.
The OH has been assembled and a few panels now have a few annunciators working. Great moves are ahead to get the back lighting in place and the switches and knobs to work with the sim - hence eagerly awaiting the 737NGX.
Until such time, I will fly using the 3 screens, Satio Pro Flight yoke, TQ and rudder systems.
I am looking forward to getting to know you guys on the forum and hopefully any questions I have (and I am sure there will be a few) may be answered in a not too technical way - I have retired now you know.

Kind regards
Gary

[brian95]

Hi Gary, and welcome!

I'm sure you'll enjoy this place here.
Your sim is already way ahead of mine, so i cant really help much with some questions you might have, as I just started my sim two weeks ago! I too am running FSX on Vista but my sim is going to be a very light version of the 737, and I'm also awaiting the release of the PMDG 737NGX!
Anyway, I hope that any questions you may have gets answered and I hop you have a great time!

Brian

[riche543]

Hi gary welcome aboard..
Im sure you will find a wealth of info here. Good luck with the build , we would all love to see progress pics/info of the build.
Rgds..
Rich..

[Geremy Britton]

Hi Gary, great to see you on here... i'm sure many of us would like to move to spain with the kind of weather where having here at the moment. Sun for one minute rain for 30 lol.

[bussgarfield]

Thanks for the welcome.

Geremy, as I write it is currently 35 deg C. It is inside for a while now until it cools down when we will take our puppy for a walk (aquired today). The den will be out of bounds as there are to many tastey cables for her to chew into.
Rich, I will get some pics done. I keep promising myself that I must get the camera out so this will be an insentive. Once I have started to actually put the pit together I will post them.
Brian, My sim is still in the very infant stage. I do have so much to do, - construction wise, I need to rout out the MIP and fit it to the carcass (still needing to be screwed together). That way I can start to build the frame work around the MIP and get the OH installed. Then the fun starts and the electrics will need to be installed.
I do have a plan !!!!!!

I also have so much DIY to do around the house and and grounds. The workshop needs to be built and bathroom renovation finished. My Triumph Bonneville has just gone off to be registered over here so, as the fine weather has finally arrived, I will be putting some miles on the clock over the next few weeks.

By way of further introduction, I retired from the Suffolk Police last June (2009) having completed 30 years of service. My last 22 years were on bikes and cars on the Traffic department so I really do miss riding a bike at the moment.

I am looking forward to keeping in contact with everyone on this forum and getting to know you all better.
It is nice to see that there is a great variety of cockpits under construction here too.

Gary

[brian95]

haha, I'd give anything for 35 degrees.
It's past midnight here and the temperature's about 7 degrees i think, about 15-18 degrees during the day. It's winter here but it never snows where I am.
Also interesting is the differences between us, even though we are both starting our sims. I'm still stuck in school so I don't have much time to work on this until the holidays which come at the end of this week!
Anyway, I hope your plan goes well, and also good luck with your work around the house and have fun with your bike and your puppy!

Brian
(PS. you wouldn't believe how much fog there was this morning!)