Can anyone point me to an alternative to the Simkit/TRC Cessna simpit glareshield and enclosure?
Please note I am interested in pre-built (or at least ready to build kits) stuff, not custom builders or plans of how to build my own.
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Can anyone point me to an alternative to the Simkit/TRC Cessna simpit glareshield and enclosure?
Please note I am interested in pre-built (or at least ready to build kits) stuff, not custom builders or plans of how to build my own.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-C...=p4506.c0.m245
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CESSN...=p4506.c0.m245
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cessn...4506.m20.l1116
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cessn...4506.m20.l1116
As for the enclosure and glareshield, sorry, but building it yourself is about as complicated as building a box. Cant go wrong.
Or visit GA airport maintenance shops for a scrap part.
http://www.sgsim.com/
I know nothing about them. I just remember the site.
Glareshield for the Cessna is easy....
Get a 4ft x 1ft slab of insulation block (styrofoam) approx 75mm-100mm thick and a hot wire cutter or coping saw......
Draw on your shape of the glareshield onto the block as 1 piece...
Cut out the shape of the glareshield using a hot wire cutter or coping saw....
Sand and smooth round all edges....
Prime with white emulsion paint (emulsion only...any other paint will melt it)...
Then prime again.......
Then paint black using black matt emulsion....
Then paint again.....
If you dont like the painted look, then you can always cover it with dark grey or black letherette (make sure it stretches 2 ways, not 1 way).....But make sure if you do decide to do it this way, that you cut out an mdf or plywood template to glue your styrofoam piece to so that you can staple you letherett e covering to it as your buggered without this as you will have nothing to staple to as you cant staple styrofoam...
As for the box......
MDF for the box, bendy MDF to provide the curved 'top part' of the box...
If you are willing to put a little time and effort into it, then you can make all this very cheaply...without going down the simkits route!
OTHERWISE THERE IS NO OTHER PRE-BUILT ALTERNATIVES TO THE SIMKITS/SEAGULL KITS OR READY MADE'S!
I know the GA sim market very well, and there is nothing out there in terms of boxes and glares, apart from like what jackpilot has pointed out by looking on ebay etc!!!
Good Luck....
Alex
Thanks, that will save me some time searching without results.Quote:
Originally Posted by alexpilot2008
http://www.aircraftspruce.co.uk/cata...rsealsAcc1.php
Better late than never
Is this the aircraft spruce add on cover, literally something that fits over an origional glareshield?
I do believe it is the whole thing but you are right to be suspicious for that price. I have sent them an email asking about the fittings etc because there are lots of variations over the years but this looks generic.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Jay
Chris
Are you building a GA Pit, Cessna type?
Alex
yes, I finished the design this morning so just needs to be cut. Although I did do a test cut earlier to check gauge fitments and to see if the Saitek gamble had paid off :)
http://www.fsuipc.co.uk/img/cess1.jpg
http://www.fsuipc.co.uk/img/cess2.jpg
http://www.fsuipc.co.uk/img/cess3.jpg
The hardest part of this project is modelling the plastics for the G1000 SVT. I have nearly finished the software but expecting a hefty bill for the prototyping.
I am in Southend
Chris
Brilliant mate, I live in Basildon.
I am building a Cessna 150, but on a budget, and have no space for the sim, so it's just a desktop sim for now that is setup when I want to fly and packed away when I dont.....
Nice to meet ya pal....Alex
my budget kind of went out of the window on this but if I get it done before the bailiffs arrive then all is good :)
If all goes to plan then this will be an instructor cockpit for Southend Airport. I will give you a shout when it is done so maybe you could pop up and have a fly? Maybe get a real flight too? Sometimes the pilots are in a good mood
Chris
That sounds excellent my friend,
I have had a few trial flights at Southend, not much in the log book mind, I fly my sim out of Southend quite a bit.
Please feel free to contact me when it's up and running, you know that a local is always willing to visit, and a real flight would be superb, not flown GA in a while for real, I could chip in on fuel maybe?
Congrats on the build, superb quality.
Stay in touch.
Alex
whilst browsing for encoders i stumbled across this :)
http://www.cockpitsonic.com/index.ph...mart&Itemid=27
Very similar to the simkits glareshield!
100 Euros cheaper than Simkits listed price.
Simkits price dont include tax and extortionate courier charge. Expect to pay near on 500 Euros for the simkit version once all the additional costs are added.
Simkits are a joke with their pricing, totally not good value for their products, I had their gauges, and what you get for you money is VERY little.
Remember prices that are displayed on US sites are also without taxes and shipping.
The total costs will exceed Simkits.
And as you know Alex I`m not sharing your view;)
I`m waiting on a new CCU2 and warningpanel from a Mycockpit fan,
this will complete my search for the Simkits instruments for my Cessna set up.
greetz
Lol, Kermit......
Our views on simkits are always best not spoken ;)
Simkits all up C172 cockpit with panels and controls .........you can almost buy two real C172's for the same price.
I bought the glareshield from cockpitsonic view here but after 3 weeks of waiting nothing has arrived. No contact from the seller either so will be issuing a chargeback.
Gripe #2
Simkits are a bunch of tards! I bought the cessna trim wheel and flaps switch second hand that included the simkits stencils of which I based my design on. Upon fitting the parts to my cockpit I find that there is a massive error in the cutout caused by the stencils simkits provide being completely wrong! Simkits deny any responsibility even though I sent them these pictures. They said, "the stencils are to be used as a guide only and may need modification" WTF
btw, the trim wheel is clever but the flaps switch is seriously bad design and not worth the money.
http://www.fsuipc.co.uk/img/stencil_error.jpg
http://www.fsuipc.co.uk/img/trim_error.jpg
oh and guess what, they removed my post on their forum about the error stating that the simkits support forum was the wrong place to post support queries. Somehow I think they need a bit of competition in the sim market
Chris
Well theres your problem. You shouldn't have put a support question in the support forum. It needs to go in the "Builders that we don't care about" forum.Quote:
Originally Posted by cjellwood
For me Simkits is a great idea and concept, but when the gear costs more than the aircraft it is simulating, then I have real issues with it for the home builder market.
I realize that in order to come up with a quality product and design, it takes time, effort and money to tool up for it however. They appear to be going well in that they are still around, so more power to them.
With Saitek jumping on board and coming out with instruments and radio/nav panels for a very competitive price (and real cheap compared to $imkits), I hope to support them in competing in that market, which will hopefully mean that they will come out with more for the home pit builder. I just bought a saitek pro flight yoke, throttle quad and pedals to replace my old CH gear. I am going to get the radio and nav panel next. My plans for the instrument panel are to use an lcd monitor behind a cut-out with rotary encoders. I will mount the saitek radio and avionics panels next to the monitor in the appropriate places. It isn't going to be a 1:1 scale of a Cessna 172, but it will be close enough. The increase in fidelity to get it 1:1 with every nut, bolt and instrument in exact place is a cost factor of at least one zero in the cost. I will be using that differential to actually pay for time in a real aircraft and fly (hopefully!). I may look at a separate Tach and ADF gauge next to the yoke so that I can mount the yoke in the right spot and place the LCD above. That way at least I will save on the cost of the other gauges and indicators.
I am looking forward to seeing how you progress with your project!
Either way you look at it, there is money to fork out. Personally I am suprised the Chinese have not jumped on the simulator band wagon. So far I have done well avoiding simkits by sourcing various gauges and parts from other suppliers but the trim wheel and flaps switch had to be bought from them. An alternative to the flaps switch is a simple 3 pole circular switch connected to a lever. The simkits flaps switch does not have any 'click' or any resistance whatsoever actually which is not good.
For the glareshield it may be a case of having a custom prototype made from foam or fibreglass.
Chris
You should of got Chris @ inflight simulations to order the glareshield for you through his cockpitsonic uk distribution website (www.cockpitsonic.co.uk), that way Chris would of tracked your order every minute of the way, and he and his wife will always alnswer the phone in the office, he is a top bloke. Maybe contact Chris through his Cockpitsonic UK website because I know that he will certainly be able to contact them.
By the way, I never knew about the stencil thing, why sell simkits stencils if they don't represent the product they are designed for.....Stencils to make your own MIP so that you can use Simkits gauges..... but the instruments won't fit what you have just cut out.......because the simkits stencil needs modifying to fit the simkits gauges......that is one BIG flaw here!
I will say no more about simkits........
funny you mention the UK cockpitsonic.co.uk because I tried calling them earlier to see if they sell the glareshield but they not answer the phone lol. The glareshiled is not listed on their website so I wondered if they could get one. I emailed them instead, waiting for reply.
The irony here is that if all the cockpit builders put their heads and money together, there would be no need for all these expensive niche items. The companies are already waiting for bulk orders before they ship anyway. Take FlightIllusion for example, 8 week delay before shipping any item. That is because they are storing 8 weeks worth of orders so to bulk buy the PCB's etc with customers money. Not because it takes 8 weeks to produce the parts.
Oh and where is this motorized force feedback cessna yoke that FlightIllusion were teasing us with a few months ago? Obviously they are taking orders and deposits which is actually paying for its development :)
Say for example we all needed a glareshield for a Cessna cockpit like I do. We can pay £300 - £400 each for a piece of plastic, or all agree on a design and manufacturer to then each pay £100 for the part to be custom made. (£500 estimated cost for 5-off production). Then there is a mould left over for any future orders where each part ordered will only be around £70 if a few are ordered. The same goes for electronics for radios etc. Where the **** do simkits get off charging £400 for a single AP or radio unit without control board? It is buttons and LED segments ffs! 1980's technology lol
Chris
Chris,Quote:
Originally Posted by cjellwood
You hit it on the head and I have been looking at crowdsourcing for a while now, but didn't really think about it again until you triggered it with this post. I am a subscriber to Make magazine as well and consider myself handy, but there are times when we just don't have the time or tools for stuff that we need. A while ago I looked at a site called Ponoko http://www.ponoko.com/ .
It is basically a front end to manufacturers and 3D fabricators for small production projects. This could be one answer..... We could upload some designs, get some prices and just do it ourselves. Some sort of shop or link to the manufacturers could be put up in the forum with minimum orders required (if any). Food for thought
EJB
hmmm, sounds good but this sort of action requires trust on behalf of all parties to work fluidly. Earlier in the day I sent details of the simkits glareshield to a fabrication company local to me so will be interesting to hear what they say about it and the price they quote from simkits example picture. For my part I can make a 2D dxf file of the glareshield base so all is then required is for it to be raised into a 3D sketch (which I am no good at).
I also havea good idea for a flaps switch which is very simple but everytime I pay someone to design the electronics for a radio etc they disapear off the face of the earth half way through the project. I may strike lucky soon. But for now lets tinker with the glareshield idea and see where it goes.
Here is a pic of my cockpit showing just the gauges that arrived today from a good small company www.homesim.de
It took them a few weeks to make these gauges for me which is ok but unfortunately they only build half size cockpits which leaves several open holes in my design that will be filled by FlightIllusion reluctantly.
http://www.fsuipc.co.uk/img/SP_A1886.jpg
Forgive the rust, this is only a test cut. If anyone fancies a go at this design, the laser cutting cost is around £100 all in. The square cutout at the bottom left is for a Saitek control panel which is shown in one of my earlier posts.
Oh and by the way, I have 2 x 32" LCD screens going cheap if anyone is looking for a dual screen setup display
http://www.fsuipc.co.uk/img/SP_A1467.jpg
Chris
Never heard of home sim, but their prices seem very reasonable! You have any feedback on how they are performing? The website shows full size instruments, are they not available yet? Sorry to hijack the thread, but this is pretty interesting and I would like to know more!
The only homesim parts that I have tested so far is the radio module, a small gauge and VS gauge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZeE4sDp9Wc
It takes a while to set up the control panel with all the parts so I will be testing next week some time when my final cockpit cut is made. HomeSim are not really into selling one-off parts, they prefer to sell bulk items. The control panel that runs all of their gear requires input from their switchboard to operate properly, but on my cockpit there is a Saitek switch board doing the switch work. HomeSim were great and created custom firmware for me so that the switchboard could be left out of the equation and work from FSUIPC data, not the HomeSim switchboard.
Today I got a tracking number for the glareshield so will do a quick review for that once it arrives.
Chris
oh and btw, you can only pay them by wire transfer. Here is a couple of pics of their mixture stick which is just simple good design and cheap :) The throttle stick is the same but with red knob. I have some original Cessna knobs but they want a 6mm shaft, this is 4mm. May need to drill it out
http://www.fsuipc.co.uk/img/stick1.jpg
http://www.fsuipc.co.uk/img/stick2.jpg
Chris
Thanks for the video's, this HomeSim is looking very attractive indeed! At long last a cheaper alternative to the way over priced plastic on the market today. Seagull Systems, Simkits and FlightIllusion all have one thing in common, WAY OVER PRICED! This HomeSim stuff is very good value for money. A six pack for under a grand? PERFECT! Excellent Value Indeed!
At Big Blue Saw, we regularly work with hobbyists and small businesses who need control panels. Typically we will waterjet cut the panels if the customer wants aluminum or stainless steel, or we laser cut plastic control panels. I don't know that we've ever done a control panel for an airplane or simulator, but we have made plenty of panels for boats, cars, DJ mixing boards, and other miscellaneous electronics.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eviljonbob
BTW, I'm really impressed by the quality of some of the cockpits I'm seeing on this forum. Keep up the good work!
...Very uncivilized of them to require wires transfers, but such is the nature of International trade. So everything interfaces through their control board? Was thinking it was individual USB instruments.Quote:
Originally Posted by cjellwood
How long did it take to get delivered from ordering? Were the gauge faces customizable like Simkits are? They look very smooth in your video. Is the setup you are talking about related to your panel, or do the instruments/radios take a lot of fiddling?
It take around a week for small part orders but can take upto a month for large orders. The proprieters of HomeSim work normal jobs and do private aviation projects so it is really just a matter of what they have on their plate at the time. I dont think they are customizable but will check later. HomeSim sent me the DXF files for the radio and gauges so it was just a matter of getting the design cut and screwing them in. No calibration required, just plug it all into the pre defined control board slots and away you go. If you dont want to use their switchboard in your cockpit then they will send you the custom software so everything works through FSUIPC instead of the switchboard.Quote:
Originally Posted by AK Mongo
That reminds me, the gauges are backlit too but I forgot to press the lighting switch in FS to test the lights.
What is really concerning me now is the extra radio modules required such as the AP unit and a few others. If anyone knows an electronics engineer that designs PCB's then please let me know. I will pay and already have the software ready to connect via USB to a PIC18F4550 with the radio AP data etc. All design for the required boards is waiting and parts are ready too, just need the pcb's designed for print and firmware written.
Chris
It is a shame they do not do all the gauges but the range they do sell is better than a kick in the nuts from simkits.
Chris from the UK cockpitsonic contacted me a moment ago. It seems that he gave the Dutch side a boot in the *** earlier which resulted in the appearance of a tracking number this morning for the delivery :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Jay
Funny you say that, I just got an email from Chris a few hours ago. He's a top bloke believe me, he's prob just been very busy with all the other stuff going on!
Alex
Glareshield arrived today :)
http://www.leons-world.com/img/glare_400.jpg
I was suprised it is made of fibreglass, not ABS. I dont think fibreglass is the best material for this product considering the thin sections that warp and can break easily but generally it is good quality. But I expected it to be cheaper being made of fiberglass
Chris
Is that the cockpitsonic one, or the locally fabricated?
It is the CockpitSonic glareshield. Sorry I should have stated that in my last post, I presume everyone is psychic sometimes (so my other half says) :roll:Quote:
Originally Posted by AK Mongo
Chris
Can I ask what your radio stack is, is it the Saitek stuff?
Cheers,
Alex