Hello From Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

[vyper883]

Hello Everyone

After lurking for a very long time, I've decided to say hello. I'm a 40 year-old who used to work in the aircraft industry, as mainly a structural tech, as well as some unofficial maintenance engineer work. I left all that behind, in order to take over the family bar business a few years ago. What was I thinking? j/k.

Anyway, I'm an avid pc builder, I have some fairly good carpentry skills; wiring, electronics, soldering, all well within my skill levels.

Currently, I have a desktop flightsim setup, with a pc running FSX on an intel core i7 920 OC'ed to 4Ghz, and an Nvidia GTX 480 based system, with a TH2GO and three 22" LG monitors track IR, ect. I also have three other AMD quad core systems, that may come in handy, as I've already started construction of a MIP stand for an Airbus A320 sim. I have too many hobbies, which I recycle from time to time, so hopefully I will stay focused long enough, that my build may someday resemble an A320 cockpit. The wife is already starting to ask questions.... Hmmm.... "It's a DVD/Blu-Ray shelf.....REALLY"

I've lurked on a few sim forums for a very long time, some of which I've posted on- probably since 2006. I know EXACTLY what I'm getting myself into, as I've seen many builds, and read about many other enthusiasts projects, and their experiences. Having said that, I'm already looking forward, to what kind of unforseen events will unfold, as I follow through with this potential build.

As far as PC's/ visuals go, I'm already ahead of the game. I have monitors for my MIP, I have 3 DLP Panasonic commercial projectors that will belt out 3500 lumens a piece, although I may have to source out short throw lenses, which are NOT cheap at retail, for these light cannons. the only real work as far as visuals are concerned, would be building a curved screen. Long live nthusim, Ivar, and Melnato- REALLY good examples. I also have some professional studio sound gear, that may lend itself for flightdeck audio tasks.

I'm contemplating of building my own CNC, to build my panels, as these, even at lower prices are still rather expensive. We'll see what happens, I may at least complete the MIP with ready made panels.

Regrets? Only one- I wish I knew about this hobby while I was still working at the hangar. I could've fabbed a lot of pieces, as I had every tool you ever needed at my disposal, to make pretty-much anything. Bending brake, lathe, power shear tables, sanders, forming tools, welders, band saws painting booths- you name it. Along with a boatload of sheet aluminum in various thicknesses, and tempers. And lots of plexi- we used it for templates-go figure. What we thew away in materials would've been a simmers dream, as far as panels/parts go. If only I knew THEN, what I know now. Once, I was given the task to fab an instrument panel section for a Cessna Citation, that had a NAV radio upgrade. Weird or what? lol

Anyway, I think I've said more than enough to bore you all to sleep. May I also say, it is an absolute pleasure to see a forum with so many talented people, some really great projects, and tons of useful info to help propel this hobby forward! Cheers!

[Crescent]

Hey Vyper883. Welcome aboard. Good to have another "local" around.

[vyper883]

Thank you Crescent, and sorry for not responding sooner. Just been busy over the Holidays. I'm looking forward to find out how many other "locals" I can run into! It would be extremely cool if there there are a few "bus drivers" in the Calgary area as well. To anybody else, chime in if you fit the description!

On another note, I joined opencockpits a few months ago as well. Does anyone know if there are any special requirements to be able to access their downloads section? The reason I ask, is because a number of kind folks here have suggested their A320 panels.zip as a good source for mip dimensions in autocad format. However, every time I try to download said file, I get "the website declined to show this webpage". They have a very helpful site, however I'm not well steeped in spanish, so I've JUST posted my first thread there earlier, to address the very same question. I figured that maybe it's a requirement to post something BEFORE you can download, but that didn't work either. Any insight you fellas may have would be useful Cheers

vyper883

[GregKeath]

Hey there vyper883. I too am from Calgary. Currently working for westjet in weight and balance department. Nice to see some locals in the area bulding some flight sim's. I havent started building quite yet. I have plans to start building a 737ng sim within the next few months. The wife is already giving me the "really!?!" Looks. Do you happen to fly on vatsim at all? Good luck on your journey with the A320!

Greg

[vyper883]

Nice to meet you Greg
I haven't taken the vatsim plunge yet, I will eventually though. If you work at westjet, you must've heard of Avmax. I used to work there doing heavy maintenance and structural on CRJ's and dash 8's mostly. Man like I said earlier in this thread, I wish I had access to the shop knowing what I know now lol. The sim would've been built likety split with the resources from that shop. The plexi alone that was scrapped after being used as skin templates, would've made great looking panels.

Anyway, best of luck with the 737, and maybe we'll throw some ideas around in person. Take care.

[GregKeath]

Yeah sure have heard of avmax. I often have thought about asking some AME's here if they had any scrap that I could use for my pit. Might have to look into that here. I plan on building all the panels from scratch so plexi would be a great score! Have you started building your pit at all?

[vyper883]

Ask the structures dept. The AMEs don't usually mess with plexi- not in their job requirement, as it's mostly used as templates for aluminum skins.

So far I've built the shelf for the ECAM panel. I'm waiting for pricing for MIP panels from FDS in Ontario, before I finish the captain and fo shelves, and once I have them, I'll build the shelves around the panel dimensions.

[GregKeath]

Thanks for the info I will look into the structures dept. I'm looking into FDS for the interfacing of the sim. Seem's like the easiest way to interface everything. Yeah maybe we can throw around some idea's in person. Cheers!