Phase 1 complete! ....check out my 737-700.
Hi all,
Today I have reached a milestone - I have completed Phase 1 of my pit! ..... My Engravity CDU came yesterday and boy does that add a LOT of realism to planning and executing a flight. It's expensive but it heightens the simulation by 1000% as compared to programming a CDU on a PC screen.
Installation of the CDU went ok but I had one moment of panic. At first, I could not get any text to appear on the CDUs screen - the buttons were working and changing things on the PM CDU screen on the PC but I couldn't get anything on the hardware CDUs screen.
After almost 2 hours of anxiety, I found a setting in the PM CDU.ini file called something like [BLUEBACKGROUND=OFF]. I set this to 'ON' and hey presto, the CDU came to life!
I also had a strange experience today. :p
Around 6 weeks ago I ordered the new Saitek Yoke and Throttle kit but was advised by Simware by email, that it was out of stock.
I forgot about it, then today a courier knocked at my door with the yoke and throttle! I was a little unsure about this product before ordering - a little worried that it would be a 'toy'.....
But let me tell you, the Saitek Yoke knocks the CH Yoke for six in every respect. It feels more like an airliner yoke in terms of design, it has a steel shaft that makes for a smoother, firmer elevator action, and of course it comes with it's own 'long throw' throttle unit!
Really, very, very impressed with this unit considering it cost me £93. CH are going to have to up the game as they are still charging more money for their older, arguably inferior yoke.
Tonight, I made the final touches to my phase 1 pit, then had a good mess around with airfiles, cfgs, etc in FS, to get my 737-700 flying correctly.
Happy to report that it is now performing better than I could have dreamed. I opted for VATSIM for on-line flying as Squawkbox proved to have a lower hit on the FS PC, wheres sadly, IvAp was still drawing a lot of juice out of the FS PC, even with the user interface running on one of the client PCs. I will just have to get used to the VATSIM way again! (I found IVAO more friendly, with fewer egomaniac Controllers!).
So it's happy days and time to do some flying now. I still keep popping up to the attic (my sim is in the converted 3rd floor / attic of my home) and just looking at my sim ............ I think it's love! :mrgreen::mrgreen:
As always, my photo has come out really nasty with harsh light, and I also took it from the wrong perspective (too high), so the view over the glareshield onto the monitors doesn't look right in this photo...... in short, it looks a 100% better in real life than in this pic.
http://www.mycockpit.org/photopost/s...php?photo=2012
:D Incidentally, phase 2 is a 'shell' of some description. (probably not airliner styled but a simple design to block out unwanted peripheral vision and enhance immerseion........... Planning and drawing begins in earnest on Sunday !