pitbldr

Your argument carries no weight IMO. Sounds like you want/expect ED to make all these products and keep them updated for free??? Do you expect to get paid when you work? No one is forcing anyone to buy anything. This is a hobby and hobbies cost money. If you can't afford it, find a cheaper hobby. I've spent less than $150 on ED's products... that's a bargain for the hours I've gotten out of them.

Some of you people are really amazing with the whole "glass is half empty perspective"... even if you don't care one lick about the P-51D, you should at least recognize this as a vehicle for bringing in more simmers into the DCS world. If nothing else, this helps ED continue developing other aircraft.... like the ones you DO want. So, just congratulate those people that are excited about this and be patient for the next modern era bird. Always baffles me how people complain about the lack of quality sims but then turn around and attack a sim developer that doesn't do EXACTLY what that person thinks they should. This is a win-win situation boys... more people getting into ED's products, more revenue for ED to continue development... and some people may even cross over the modern planes from the P-51. I don't see a single negative aspect about this.

Yes, I considered that and in that pic the "backplates" are one solid piece of thin plywood I used in testing the fit. The biggest issue with the strip idea is that it would be a little more involved if you had to troubleshoot/replace any parts. Instead of being able to just pull one panel, you'd have to pull the whole strip. That may work for some, but in my case, it's an ongoing project, so things are constantly changing it seems. It would not be hard to do that and if anyone ever wanted that, I could easily make strips. I have played around with several methods of backlighting and decided LED's are the way to go but I've still not nailed down the precise method I would use. But your suggestion is very close to what I am thinking I'll do. Gadroc also came up with a mighty nice solution on the CMSP panel he's offering. Once I am able to spend some dedicated time on all this again, I hope to work out how I'll do mine.:)

Thanks! :D I've been around, but have had little to no time to work on the pit or make any panels. I think I am about to turn a corner though and have a few more hours each week to work on projects. :thumbup:

Congrats! That's a big step!! I had the same issue with my landings... 2 or 3 lessons just working on those and then I had to fly with a different instructor due to scheduling issues and was nailing them after one flight. :)

Yeah, you don't need the Warthog or pedals to enjoy this. Even the most basic stick will work with the only trade-off being you just have to know/use more keyboards commands. I would however get the TIR and the MFD's. Those will make it much more enjoyable. :) EDIT - If you not sure you'll like it, just spend the $20 before the rest and try it out. That's a bargain for a sim of this quality.

John, I get my acrylic from Delvies (http://www.delviesplastics.com/), but if you google 'sheet acrylic' you'll get some other options. For the parts I am making, I use .125" and .25" for the buttons. I also use a mixture of clear, black, white, yellow, and green. The Caution Panel for instance uses the green acrylic. My panels are made from two pieces of .125" - one clear and one white. The black I use in parts where light passing through it is not needed. I would highly recommend a CNC or Laser to cut the parts, especially the smaller pieces.... but I guess it could be done by had if you had the patience and the proper tools.

Sure John. They are made from a couple layers of clear acrylic that I laser cut to size and then glue together. The bottom layer is .125 thick and slightly larger than the top layer which is .25 thick. This creates a flange that keeps the button in place in the panel. I paint them white then black and engrave the letters/symbols on the laser.

Ah.... sorry about that. I looked at all panels for so long when I designed them, that I missed a few typos here and there. Suggestion though before you redo entire plates. You could try taping off the areas around the mistake and then just repaint/engrave that area. I assume you have a template you used to help align the plates when you engraved them and if so, this will work pretty well. I've done it a few times in some of my projects. The trickiest part is getting enough paint put down to cover it, but no so much it stands out. One idea I've had but have yet to try is using paint pens to repair mistakes/scratches on panels. My wife uses them with her scrapbooking and I think it might work well for something like this. Worth a try at least if it saves time and materials.

Looking great!! :thumbup: One tip on the button assembly. I create an "assembler" which is just two pieces of .125" plywood that I glue together after I cut out the openings for the button pieces. The ensures the two pieces are aligned perfectly when I glue them up and I think it also speeds up the assembly time. I plan on buying all the eletronics from you for this once you're all finished developing these. I already have the panel, but will probably need to adjust the size of the opening for the display you're using. Thanks for your continued support of our hobby!! :D

I've not run the sim in about 3 months, so after upgrading to 1.1.1.1 last night, I decided to run a few of the training missions. I noticed something in the navigation mission that seemed off and wanted to verify. I was on the leg from waypoint 3 to waypoint 4 with a heading of 270. The HSI course was also set for 270 and I was to the left of the course line between the waypoints. However, the CDI was deflected to the left. Am I wrong in expecting to see the CDI to the right since the course line was to the right? I even turned right to put the course line on left side of the aircraft, but the CDI did not move. It was late and I was tired, so I hope I just missed something simple, but I did follow all the tutorial instructions, so not sure if it's me or the sim.

Ah, I see. :D

Amazon has a great return policy. Had to return several things I bought through them and it was painless each time. :)

Is it me or is that thing not responding correctly (quickly) to the inputs the "pilot" is making? At one point around 30-45 seconds he's holding the stick to his right and the "plane" turns left at one point. Maybe they've modeled wind into it, but just seemed off. Otherwise, seems pretty cool. I'll be happy to BETA that for them! :D

Very nice work! Please share the parts you used and the source for them.

That's a good rate... I charge $1.30 per minute for jobs that can be billed by the minute.

Sounds good! I am thinking I'd like to use the EOS solution in my pit since I know it'll work perfectly with HELIOS. :D

I might be interested in the controller board to use with EOS, but I was wondering what they status is of the EOS solution.

Nice work!! :thumbup: I am currently engraving 300 Christmas ornaments for a customer, so my laser is tied up with real work and not doing any fun stuff.:(

Not yet. I put this to the side in favor of working other items that I saw as more neccessary - CDU, UFC, etc. My last thought was to use micro-switches but I did not develop that very far.

LOL - very clever! I am correct in that being an old PC case?

Great work as always!! Appreciate your sharing this! :thumbup:

Yes, but work and real life have been taking up all of my time lately. I have several "orders" at present and would need to finish those before I can commit to anything else. Also, when I have time to make a few more caution panels and UFC's, I'll just be posting any not already claimed in the "For Sale" forum.

Looks great!! Where'd you get the lcd from? Will it be controlled by HELIOS?

Looks great! I may be a bit biased though!! :D You did a much better job of making a video of it than I did. Mine was NOT as legibile as yours! :thumbup: