Hello and thanks for a brilliant site!

[No Longer Active]

Hi noddycat.

I am currently rebuilding my Cessna 152 flight simulator from the ground up. I have built quite a few cessna sims in the past, my last sim I sadly sold as I had no space for it in my tiny flat, but I have a large house now and my new sim is going in the garage.
My new house means a new sim which means I can learn from all my previous mistakes and make my final sim a winner.

If you would like help, tips and advice on building a cheap and effective trainer, then by all means drop me a pm.

If you have not already bought it, I would purchase the Cerenado Cessna 152 add-on for FS9/FSX. Its a great banger to have fun in and learn the principles of flight, in my experience this add-on is much more realsitic than the default Cessna 172.

If you were to get your PPL (A) then you will most likely be training in a C152 or PA38 for that matter as they are cheaper to fly than C172's and PA28's.

Anyway the offer is there for any help if you need it.

All the best.

Alex
(Essex, UK)

[noddycat]

Thanks very much Allan and Alex

Allan - I've heard that about staying current in some clubs once you've got your PPL. On one hand it's quite onerous (not to mention expensive) to keep yourself valid and on the other I guess it keeps you reasonably sharp, so long as the weather allows flying I guess. I'd hope to be able to mostly fly at least once a month when I get the my PPL, money allowing, as I work for myself so can often fit in spare time around weekdays (family / kids at the weekends prohibit doing much then). But no matter how flexible I am, I can see that sometimes the weather will make it impossible, or at least somewhat unpleasant, to go flying. I suppose that's when the check rides with an instructor will become a necessary but unwanted expense. Realistically, there may well be the day I say I just can't justify the time or cost anymore on flying, but it'd be great to know I'd done it and got my PPL - a life goal. I just wish it was all a bit cheaper - everything in aviation seems extortionate! Although if £150+ an hour is pricey, I've got a friend who flies charter S76 helos and the prices his firm charge per hour is mind boggling...

Alex - thanks very much for that, I'll certainly take you up on it. I'll be looking to build a 152 or more likely a 172 cockpit and going through this site, your name keeps coming up time and time again in some extremely illuminating and informative posts - I really like how you did your 172 and I'm hoping to end up with something similar, and if I can get anywhere near your quality I'll be a very happy man. I'll probably use an LCD for the MIP to keep initial costs down, eventually with working heading bug, OBS etc. I've already got three screens (on my work PC) for the exterior views and I was thinking about some Saitek gear for the main controls and initially the comms/nav radio, before possibly making a more authentic radio stack myself (as you've done) or maybe looking at some of the commercial offerings, though these seem a bit pricey.

One limitation I'll have is that it'll have to be modular to some extent and fit on top of my work desk / be easily demountable, though that shouldn't be too prohibitive. Probably best if I get my thoughts together and put them in a new post in the GA section and see what you and everyone thinks. I'll certainly be metaphorically knocking on your door with the project - any and all help gratefully received!

Cheers, Paul

[No Longer Active]

Hi Paul.

You are most welcome to my advice. The Cessna 172 will cost you more than a 152 as you have more gauges to display and more avionics to implement. Most new GA cockpit builders tend to go straight for the C172 right away as it looks easy to build and cost effective. The reality is that the more gauges you have, the more avionics you need = more money. I learn by this mistake and took my C172 apart and recycled all the parts for a 152.

The 152 is a winner, OK its small, but its cheap to build and you can learn how to fly in a 152. A finished 152 sim is better than an unfinished 172 sim!

Anyway, drop me a PM anytime and get your project moving!

Lots more infor on offer should you need it?

BTW: Where in London you from?

Cheers,

Alex