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Thread: hello from NH.

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    hello from NH.

    hello my name is zach and im 14 years old i have always wanted to be a pilot. i am just starting training. i have the saitek pro flight yoke and want a push/pull thorttel but i cant aford the saitek one any ideas?

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    Re: hello from NH.

    Hi Zach,

    Good luck on your training! Are you doing it on your own, or with an organization like Civil Air Patrol?

    There are a couple of things you need to make this happen:

    1. a computer interface. This is a circuit board that allows you to hook up mechanical connections and translates them into data the computer can read. Cost $50+ depending on what you need. The other option is taking apart an old (working) joystick and salvaging the circuit board to connect the physical parts.

    2. Physical Interface: This is two things. Something electromechanical that sends a signal to the interface. The most common thing used for push-pull throttles are potentiometers (pots). Your salvaged joysticks will have 2 or 3 of these that connect to the pitch and roll axis on the stick. If it has a throttle or other sliders, it also probably has pots for those axes. These are most likely rotary pots. To make your slider turn them, you will need a gear or other solution. The other option is to buy linear pots. They slide back and forth and can connect without any special mechanism to your push rod. Should be less than $10 each at someplace like Mouser.com.

    The second part is the physical knob and slider that move in and out of your panel. There are lots of ways to make this work, with trips to Home Depot. If you do a forum search here about cessna throttles, you will see several solutions, ranging from adapting actual aircraft parts to a simple plastic rod with a wooden dresser pull knob painted and glued to the front.

    If you don't want to spend time building one, be prepared to spend money. The Saitek may even be a good value once you figure in the pots, wires, soldering iron, and misc. hardware you may have to buy to make it happen.

    Ask a lot of questions, be patient and prepared to make mistakes as you go. Before you know it you will probably build something beyond your wildest thoughts right now.

    Reid
    http://juneaucessnasim.blogspot.com
    N58243 (virtual)- Low and Slow...

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    Re: hello from NH.

    thanks for the tips i will look in to making one.and im do training on my own. thanks for the help.


    zach

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    Re: hello from NH.

    oh yea and im also looking for realistik rudder pedels.

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    Warren fsaviator's Avatar
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    Re: hello from NH.

    Welcome.

    When you say you can't afford... you have to be a little clearer. If you plan to build one, it will come at cost also. That cost will be driven by your ability to build, the tools you have available, and availability of parts. Your level of intended realism will also come into play.

    First, take a look at this product... http://www.desktopaviator.com/Products/Panel/Throttle/index.htm

    I built my own for my Cessna, and later my Cherokee... I used real throttle/prop/mixture vernier controls that I bought from Aircraftspruce. The three came to about $100 when all said and done. Then I had to interface them. That's another $50-100 depending on what interface you use. Then add in the cost of the materials for the brackets I made and wiring, and that was another $10. Finally, the three sliding pots cost me about $12.

    So, all in all, about $175 and some time in the garage with tools, and I had a working quadrant.



    Warren

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    Re: hello from NH.

    Hi Warren,
    I was interested to see you bought the three engine controls for $100. Can you tell me where on there site they are cause i can see prices
    which show $142 each. Just Curious.
    Les

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    Re: hello from NH.

    Quote Originally Posted by iwik View Post
    Hi Warren,
    I was interested to see you bought the three engine controls for $100. Can you tell me where on there site they are cause i can see prices
    which show $142 each. Just Curious.
    Les
    Same thing I was going to say. I got all three of mine from eBay and payed about 75. They are heavily used too. I am still trying to find the correct nuts to secure them to my panel. They are heavily McGuyver'd ATM.

    I think premade solutions are cheaper, if you don't need or obsess about the realism.

    Reid
    http://juneaucessnasim.blogspot.com
    N58243 (virtual)- Low and Slow...

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    150+ Forum Groupie Tom_G_2010's Avatar
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    Re: hello from NH.

    Quote Originally Posted by zebtqb View Post
    oh yea and im also looking for realistik rudder pedels.
    I just finished a set of rudder pedals a couple months ago that I am using for my desktop SIM setup.

    If you want realistic feel and action they're are going to be an investment. Either in cash to purchase a good store bought set, or in time and materials to build them. To tie you over until you can afford a more realistic set (bought or built) there are several low cost options on the market and simple DIY options if you google around that will work well. Then you can start to save your money to later invest in buying or building a better set.

    I built my own and worked for that realistic feel and action, I'm very satisfied with the result, but there was no real savings as I put just north of $200 into them. The cost of aluminium stock these days is nuts.



    Regarding throttle control cables, I have two sets that will very soon be up for sale if you or anyone else is interested. The person I purchased them from told me that they came out of a couple Cessna's during annuals after they had exceeded reasonable hours. I already had throttle and mixture controls, but needed the prop control so purchased the set of two figuring others here or on the other cockpit forums might have a need as well. So, one set is throttle and mixture only, the other throttle, prop and mixture. They are in good mechanical condition and I was planning to clean them up this weekend take pic's and post them for sale.

    If you or anyone else is interested PM me to let me know and/or make an offer as I haven't decided on a price yet.

    For my sim pit build the set I'm keeping will be linked to 100mm slide pots and a USB encoder. You'll find plenty of good ideas on this and other sites on the mechanics to do such a project. On my desktop sim I also have the Saitek throttles you mentioned and they work well, but I did have some calibration problems going through FSX initially. I solved that by calibrating them in through a program called FSUIPC that many here use.

    Welcome to Flight SIM'ing, it's a great hobby and a great way to build your knowledge towards your real world flight time!

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    Re: hello from NH.

    I built that cockpit about 8 years ago, so the prices have probably changed...

    Just looked at the site, and it looks like each of the controls are about $70.

    If you are not worried about realism, you can go lower. If you are modeling a constant speed prop, you will need a prop controller. Then again, you will then need to include an Tach and Manifold pressure gauge in your build.

    Sorry about the increase in prices. My point was, that building one may not end up cheaper in the long run... that is why I provided a link to the Desktop Aviator TQ.

    Warren

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    Re: hello from NH.

    Welcome on board.. You'll have to tell us what you mean by NH (New Haven etc). Anyway I've been watching this thread for a little while and I have a few thoughts to add..

    If you take a look at www.flightsim.com's how to sectionYou'll find a few articles that should be of interest to you. There is one on building a push pull throttle and one how to build Cessna rudder peddles That look a bit like the ones above. You can substitute out materials to make it both easier and less expensive. There are other articles there on 'really cheap rudder peddles' that could get you started and depending on what type of aircraft you want to simulate will get the job done till you decide. Not trying to send you away it's that's where I started many moons ago. Don't be afraid to come up with your own solution or a better way. People were building yokes and cockpits for the flight sim long before there were commercial products for it.

    Everyone starts out small though. A piece here a piece there. It takes time and patience. It's not 'rocket science' though and the people here have been where you are now with a dream and energy looking for a place to start. Take a look at what you can do and work from there. Tools you have access to and resources and so on. Then work on the basics (Yoke, Rudder, Throttle) then expand out from there. Technology (computer hardware) is getting way cheaper these days.. Once you narrow down what you really want to fly then dig into the net for every thing you can find on that aircraft. If you feel you want to take flight lessons you may want to look to aircraft you would take those lessons in as a sim target to shoot for. When you take flight lessons you pay by the hour in the plane so the more you can learn 'on your own' the less time you need in the plane. The cost savings can be considerable. It's kind of like learning the trumpet. If you have you're own you can practice at home.

    Anyway one of the biggest things to remember is to have fun and where possible try to keep flying the sim no matter what controls you have hooked up.

    Best of luck on your build. Keep us posted.
    Ron.
    Up Up and away in my beautiful my beautiful - Amphibian

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