PM Pricing "Gasp, cough, cough"

[JBaymore]

Building 50 / Flying 50

Going into overtime!

best,

...................john

[James Twomey]

Well, with my two cents worth here I think that I can't stop tinkering, building and adjusting something on my flight deck. I'm always trying to make my next flight more realistic. For me, my skills at building are rudimentary at best, and so when I complete something and fly with it working like it should, there is no greater feeling.

So I guess for me it breaks down to 45 percent building and 55 flying for me.

James

[mauriceb]

OK, what we appear to have here is a bunch of liars who would turn down a free Level 5 CAE simulator & maintenance crew just for the joy of building . I think not.

Maurice

[Bob Reed]

OK, what we appear to have here is a bunch of liars who would turn down a free Level 5 CAE simulator & maintenance crew just for the joy of building . I think not.

Maurice

You are right I would not turn it down but guess what... It would need tinkering and repair and I would be willing to bet I could find things that could use to be added and or upgraded but it is a mute point as no one is ever going to give any of us a sim like that. And there are other things to consider. There was a airline that was giving away a complete DC10 level D sim.. Catch was you had to take it all and there was a time limit on removal.. Then how do you move it, where do you put it, how could you afford to run it... See...

[Matt Olieman]

I've seen that DC10..... you had to take it all.... and I thought about it..... It didn't take long to figure out it would cost more to move it and clean up then buy a new Level D sim. Neither one I could afford

It's been a few years.... what's the height sim structure, about 10 stories high?

[magicaldr]

Well to slip in my 2 pennies worth, I could not afford £500 on a single piece of software, but I have spent more than that over time on various add ins so I could live with it if I were building something that would benefit. So with my response on that side of the thread, about building V flying I am finding I spend more time in here and doodling in paper with my ideas than flying recently. So I think i am falling into the realms of:

30% Daydreaming about it
50% Buying, building, modding stuff or doing something towards it
20% in FSX actually flying it

My home cockpit is a long way off some of the amazing ones on here. I have no space so a dedicated room is just a dream. Would I buy an off the shelf sim, well I have brought various bits so I expect I would seriously consider it. Then again, I got the desktop aviator, and within 10 minutes had the case off. Within 1 day it was custom fitted in a different panel. So like so many here I would not turn down so pro made stuff, but I would be in there tinkering in no time...

[mauriceb]

[QUOTE=Bob Reed;39324] but it is a mute point as no one is ever going to give any of us a sim like that. QUOTE]

I was obviously exaggerating for the effect . The point I was trying to make is that there are builders who like flying & there are flyers who like building and countless combinations in between. I too like building things and I do recognize the fact that you can get a lot of satisfaction designing & building something, but I still like the flying part better & given the choice of struggling to build something or using ready made parts, I'd choose the ready made parts any day if I can afford them since that would get me flying faster.

Kudos to those who choose the hard way for whatever reason, but I'd rather be cruising at FL300 than inhaling dust at FL0

Maurice

[jmig]

my comments weren't actually directed at anyone in particular at all. i was just talking for the sake....off on my own crazy tangent again.

but...yeah....you guys that are building generic stuff or ga stuff....it really sucks that theres no software. i wanted a king air sim so very badly, but i have to put up with this crappy 737 bullshit.

wish i lived in Louisiana....ill bring the jack daniels and the crayfish and mosquito spray.

"the real pilots are catching marlin and we are all fiddlin' with the goldfish".....

ahh forget it....you had to be there.

Ouuuu Jack Danials??? Hey buddy o pal of mine... come on down guys, one thing we Cajuns are known for is feeding people good.

I think that everyone should fly their sim as much as possible. The T-38 is my third sim. I still have the second with the CH controls and go-flight modules. I use it to test software and just fly.

I spent a year or better researching my T-38 sim. I worked on it for a year then took off a year to remodel two bathrooms. Now I have been back working on it for about six months. My goal is to have it flying by the end of the year. I fly as much as possible.

[Kennair]

For me the thrill of the build is almost as much fun as the thrill of flying it. Interesting to see the likes of New Zealand company Flight Experience hopping into the market to provide a 737 simulator experience to the general public. Obviously their market research sees it viable even in the small market of NZ and recently Sydney. You can buy the full kit from them and set it up as a business via their franchise or just for personal use. Not sure of the cost but I beleive the full franchise was in the order of $500,000 USD! (Of course this includes lots more than the hardware setup). Perhaps someone could chime in here and correct my figures?

I don't know if anyone here has added the cost of a full 737 install using custom panels from the likes of FDS and PM systems, but I would guess you could do it for much less than 1/2 a million. Lets be conservative and say $50,000. I'm sure there are many car enthusiasts that have spent more than that on their MG or Merc restoration project. Is our beloved simulator project really that different? I am of the "spend as little as possible and build by hand" brigade, but if I really bit the bullet and committed myself, maybe it would be a worthwhile investment in a hobby just like fishing for Marlin (or catfish)?? Part of my problem is no-one makes custom panels for a PC12!

Ken.

[jmig]

I think it depends on what you are looking for in your cockpit. Realism or emersion? I belong to the emersion crowd. I want to get as close to real flying as possible. I don’t care if the knob I turn looks like the real knob. I want to feel like I am in an airplane flying.

Then there are the realism folks. These guys, from what I infer from reading forums, want to duplicate the actual cockpit. I have seen posts asking for the actual Boeing paint spec and RBG values of the colors.

I would think that these people tend to be perfectionists. They focus on the details. They get joy in having every detail perfect, i.e., paint spec.

The generalists like myself, aren’t so focused on the details as the emersion factor. For me, a basic cockpit with knobs and switches in the right places to do the normal functions are all that is needed, by way of cockpit details. My willingness to consider the PM software shows this. It really isn’t made for what I want but, it is the closest thing around.

My money goes into visual, sound and tactile systems. This adds to the emersion factor. I currently have three 19" screens running through Triplehead2Go and IR Tracker. I fully plan on eventually moving to three projectors.

Phase two of my cockpit will include small transducers and speakers to provide tactile stimulation. When I designed my control stick, I built in a small 12v motor with an offset weight. Eventually it will become my stall warning and speeedbrake notification.

I also think that the choice of airplanes is, to an extend, related to the realism/emersion factors. Most of the Boeing/Airbus group will, I bet, be happy to go through 15 mins. of checklists and FMC programing before flying. This is the perfectionist coming out in them. They build a cockpit to fit a single model airplane. They then fly it by the book.

As a generalist, I am not interested in flying only one airplane. Although, I have chosen a single model to build and, provided someone makes a T-38C to fly in FSX, I will fly it most often. However, it is designed to easily convert to different airplanes. The aluminum instrument panels can easily be taken off and replaced with a different set of panels, reflecting a different airplane.

All in all, there is no one perfect way in this hobby. That is the beauty of it. We each get to design and build, within our financial and building skills resources, our own little world. That to me, is what makes it so wonderful.