Greetings

[laserit]

Hi Everyone

Well I've been playing around with flight sim's since 1986 it's what got me to spend $2400 at that time for an Amiga computer with my first flightsim by Simlogic. I've been hooked ever since.

I'm alot older now and 1/2 of my 4 kids have left the roost, kinda leave's me with a couple spair rooms So after dreaming about making a cockpit for close to two decades, I'm finally going to do it.

I'm very blessed to be in the business I'm in when it comes to this project and I plan to have pretty much everything 3d modelled with which I plan to share with the community.

I would very much like to collaborate with some of you. My strong points are in metal design and fabrication, for which I am very well equiped. In most cases, it's not much more work to make 2 or 3 of something, as most the work is in making first one.

Sincerely
Floyd Stolle

www.stollco.com

[blueskydriver]

Hello Floyd,

Welcome to MYC and the exciting world of cockpit building! You'll be very happy that you finally got to this point in life, where you can pursue your "flight simulator" dreams.

Here are several questions for you:

1. Which aircraft are you going to build or simulate?
2. How much do you want to spend?
3. How long do you want to work on it before you can actually fly it?
4. Do you prefer building every piece or will you buy some hardware items?
5. Which Simulator software are you going too use (FSX, P3D or X-Plane10)?
6. You actually don't have to 3D model it, but if so, which program(s) will you use?
7. The most important question is this; have you ever visited anyone who is building a home cockpit?
8. Do you still have your Amiga? I so wanted one of my own, but settled with the C128. Although, I did use the Amiga in college for Lightwave 3D...years ago...lol.

Since you're new, you might not know this, but besides MYC website, there is Cockpitbuilders Redirect and it too has a great deal of information. A lot of builders use both sites and share info on both; I like referring people to both because it helps the community collectively. So, check both daily.

Again, welcome to flight simulation.

John aka Blueskydriver or BSD.

[laserit]

Thanks for the warm welcome John

I've decided to do a 737 as it is so well represented in our hobby (great software etc.) I plan on spending whats needed (no set budget). I would like to make most of the components myself but in doing some research I find that many things are pretty reasonably priced (panels as an example) and are not really worth making from scratch ( Once I cost in the silk screening and such). But I really would like to go as authentic as possible, alot of the modules you can purchase look interesting but they look like they'll feel like a toy. I want stuff to feel heavy duty like the real thing.How I would love to play around in a real cockpit for an hour or two.

I use all 3 of the main sims FSX, P3D and X-Plane10, Have spent plenty over the years on addons and have some Goflight and Saitek hardware. I've been pretty hardcore into simming, have a home network for it and I've been playing around with the generic two engine jet Project Magnenta stuff.

My plan is to start with the skin and then the flight controls. Which I really want to manufacture myself, All the boards and software are readily available these days. I would really like to engineer them motorized, The mechanical part is no problem for me, but I have no idea whats involved in making them with interact with the sim.

I use SolidWorks for 3d design and I do mechanical design for a living. We have a family business that specializes in tool & die making, metal stamping, forming and fabricating.


I've never visited anyone who is building or has a home cockpit, I would be thrilled for an opportunity to do so.

I sold the Amiga to my brother back around 1990 when I switched over to a samsung 286. Got my first Cad system at work in 1993, it was a 486 and we spent $2700 for a 1meg 3d graphics card for it. At that time I used 3d cad software by the name of "Personal Designer" You could produce photographic images from it but you would have to let it run for hours to render the image. I used to have to program a Co2 lasercutter with milling machine software and hand edit the code afterwards.