Neil Hewitt
01-19-2010, 01:50 PM
Hi all.
My name is Neil Hewitt and I am a flight simulation addict. There, I said it.
I've been playing with flight sims since the days of Aviator on the BBC Micro (those of you outside the UK and/or under the age of 35 will probably have no clue what either of those are, but trust me, while better than Artwick's FS1 it was not much to look at graphically). I once wrote a very (very!) rough and ready wireframe-only sim game in FaST Basic + assembler on the Atari ST. I remember getting Flight Simulator for the ST back in the pre-MS days, when it still came with sectional charts in the box. I've played pretty much every popular GA / heavy jet sim on the PC to death, including most versions of PC MSFS and X-Plane. I had a major soft spot for Flight Unlimited II back in the day as it was the first sim where I actually learned to fly approaches and departures properly.
Up until recently, the furthest I'd gone towards cockpit building was buying a decent joystick. But then I spent some time playing FS9 on a multi-monitor system and I was intruiged by the possibilities for greater immersion. I bought a CH yoke, pedals and TQ and while I loved the realism boost I abruptly realised that it wasn't enough. That was when I knew I'd have to build some sort of cockpit.
My project, which I'm blogging about at http://milehighgeek.wordpress.com (shameless self-promotion, sorry), is my first attempt at this cockpit malarkey. In its first phase - which is as far as it'll get as long as I'm in my current house - it's going to be a simple console / pedestal combo with a large 46" LCD screen as a primary display. I'm not aiming to replicate any particular aircraft model or even type. My inspiration was mostly light jets, particular Diamond's D-Jet, but I'm going very generic in both looks and equipment, which makes life easy for me in a number of ways. The console will be a full-glass effort with a few touch-screens thrown in. I'm going for a 21st-century feel, I guess I'd say.
I'm a long way behind those of you who have their own metalworking shops and can turn out masterpieces that look like they came off the shop floor at Everett Field - I'm absolutely in awe of you guys, trust me - but I can do DIY-er standard work in wood and MDF, and that's where I'm focusing. What I have found is that it's taken much, much longer than I'd imagined it would. Some of that is down to lack of my own time to work on it - I mostly do just a few hours at the weekend in the winter months - but also because getting good results takes time. I've been working on the project for about 10 months now, but am still some way from a flyable sim. That's OK, though - I like having something to look forward to!
Anyway, I thought I'd come and join some like-minded fellows. I already recognise a few of the people who inspired me in the first place hanging around - Ken Brand and his frankly awesome TQ-building skills for one - and I hope to gain a lot from being here. I'm in London in the UK and my time zone may restrict me to the tail-end of some conversations, but I see a few fellow brits here so it's all good...
See you all around :)
NH
My name is Neil Hewitt and I am a flight simulation addict. There, I said it.
I've been playing with flight sims since the days of Aviator on the BBC Micro (those of you outside the UK and/or under the age of 35 will probably have no clue what either of those are, but trust me, while better than Artwick's FS1 it was not much to look at graphically). I once wrote a very (very!) rough and ready wireframe-only sim game in FaST Basic + assembler on the Atari ST. I remember getting Flight Simulator for the ST back in the pre-MS days, when it still came with sectional charts in the box. I've played pretty much every popular GA / heavy jet sim on the PC to death, including most versions of PC MSFS and X-Plane. I had a major soft spot for Flight Unlimited II back in the day as it was the first sim where I actually learned to fly approaches and departures properly.
Up until recently, the furthest I'd gone towards cockpit building was buying a decent joystick. But then I spent some time playing FS9 on a multi-monitor system and I was intruiged by the possibilities for greater immersion. I bought a CH yoke, pedals and TQ and while I loved the realism boost I abruptly realised that it wasn't enough. That was when I knew I'd have to build some sort of cockpit.
My project, which I'm blogging about at http://milehighgeek.wordpress.com (shameless self-promotion, sorry), is my first attempt at this cockpit malarkey. In its first phase - which is as far as it'll get as long as I'm in my current house - it's going to be a simple console / pedestal combo with a large 46" LCD screen as a primary display. I'm not aiming to replicate any particular aircraft model or even type. My inspiration was mostly light jets, particular Diamond's D-Jet, but I'm going very generic in both looks and equipment, which makes life easy for me in a number of ways. The console will be a full-glass effort with a few touch-screens thrown in. I'm going for a 21st-century feel, I guess I'd say.
I'm a long way behind those of you who have their own metalworking shops and can turn out masterpieces that look like they came off the shop floor at Everett Field - I'm absolutely in awe of you guys, trust me - but I can do DIY-er standard work in wood and MDF, and that's where I'm focusing. What I have found is that it's taken much, much longer than I'd imagined it would. Some of that is down to lack of my own time to work on it - I mostly do just a few hours at the weekend in the winter months - but also because getting good results takes time. I've been working on the project for about 10 months now, but am still some way from a flyable sim. That's OK, though - I like having something to look forward to!
Anyway, I thought I'd come and join some like-minded fellows. I already recognise a few of the people who inspired me in the first place hanging around - Ken Brand and his frankly awesome TQ-building skills for one - and I hope to gain a lot from being here. I'm in London in the UK and my time zone may restrict me to the tail-end of some conversations, but I see a few fellow brits here so it's all good...
See you all around :)
NH