Woody81

Thanks a lot all, that does make sense. I've been trying to do it as it explains in the pre-mission diagram but maybe fully retarding the throttle is too much. Once it stops responding to my inputs I'm guessing I'm already too slow. The speed indicator is pretty hard to read though... Hopefully I'll get used to it eventually!

Hi! i'm currently practicing to land on the carrier without becoming a ball of flames and i'm struggling. I'm finding that with flaps and/or dlc activated and the gear down that she becomes very hard to control, in most cases rolling over and ending up wet. is there something i'm missing? just if i dont use the flaps/dlc the AOA indicator is showing that i'm going too fast. I got onto the deck a few times yesterday only to end up as a bolter.... didnt realise i'd snapped the hook off! Any advice much appreiciated! 07 james

Hi, If it helps I've taken dimensions from the panels in the game based on the fact that the width is 145mm. They may be a couple of millimetres off from the real thing, but without access to actual panels it's probably as close as I can get myself.

This is a great thread guys. Thanks for sharing all this info. I have been looking at making a collective myself but didn't really know where to start. Can I ask @FragBum did the hall effect sensor work with the Leo bodnar board and if so, was it just a case of connecting the sensor to the pins on the board? I do have a couple of BBI32s lying around in anticipation of my F-14 cockpit build, but I'd love to have decent controls for flying the Huey and Apache when it's finally launched.

Heya, if you mean the switches they are bought off eBay. Sold as piano switches. There is a link to them earlier in the thread.

That's looking great already Mumbles, good work. Unfortunately I'm no further forward as I've spent most of Christmas in and out of hospital and unable to get out of bed, however on the mend now, just gotta get back to work for the coins. Ive just seen this on YT. Might be of interest. Gotta say, I'd pay good money for these! https://youtu.be/7_y4C7a2R-M

good solution mate, I like it. and at the end of the day, none of these pits are gonna be 100% accurate due to restrictions on parts, space, money etc. you just gotta do what makes you happy. i've unfortunatley stalled in my construction again due to issues at home... garage door was broken, lack of money, lack of time, and now the weather is horrible its hard for me to find the motivation to go into the cold garage to use the laser. It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and the wife went crazy.. 40 different presents which included days out, theatre trips, much chocolate, japanese snacks and the main event which is an aerobatic flight in a T-67 firefly. unreal!

That looks really good. Is that a skateboard/Rollerblade wheel you have used on the end of the gear lever? I have been thinking about mine and all I could come up with was using a piece of wood turned on the lathe.

May be a case of making your own mate, company called Otto make a 4 way trim switch but they're £130 each on eBay. The actual switch moves up, down and forward so it's only a 3 direction, but I'd imagine those are even harder to find. I'm gonna keep looking and if I find anything I'll let you know. May look into putting one together myself too, I'm thinking momentary tactile switches. *Edit* Just found this after a bit of searching.... You could make a top for it and it would be spot on I reckon. https://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/5way-tactile-switch There is also a 4 way hat switch underneath it (for me at least) similar to the analogue joysticks in an early playstation pad.

Ah that is truly a work of art.... I can't stop smiling!

Obviously not that far forward myself, but is Helios an option for those inputs? I know that the Warthog project lad uses it for most or all of his inputs.

First panel fresh off the laser. I need to cut a thing for the rudder trim switch, and it could do with caps on the other switches, but all in all, James is a happy lad!

That's nothing to be embarrassed about at all mate, you've clearly gone to great effort and I'd definitely be proud of it. If you feel like you do want to upgrade stuff, just go through it one panel at a time. I've still not finished my first panel (the wallpapering and carpeting in the house are now done!) but I've already decided to change it. Hopefully I'll have the laser turned on today at some point to do engraving. Can I ask how you made the canopy bow? It looks really good and really sets your pit off.

@AusMumbles There are definitely worse problems to have! The beamo looks like a beast of a machine! I use inkscape and K40 whisperer for my K40 and found them pretty easy to use. Having almost finished my first panel (as my skills improve it will most likely be replaced) I've found it not too hard to use. I've done the faceplate first, saved it again as the middle plate and edited the holes, then saved the front again as the back plate and edited the holes so I know they all line up. Maybe give it another week and I'll have a second video up on yt. I'll post pics in here of course once the panel is finished. It's just waiting to be engraved but we've been doing quite a bit stuff in the house so it's been put on back burner for a short while. Those 3D prints looks awesome btw! Really nice!

Would something like this be suitable? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/For-7inch-Raspberry-Pi-3-LCD-TFT-Display-1024-600-HDMI-VGA-Monitor-Screen-Kit-UK-/194330675030?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 I think I'm gonna go with a TV screen behind my MIP and use Helios to display the gauges etc.

There isn't long left on this (under an hour) but thought I'd share it. Could be useful as a RIO stick? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/US-NAVY-GRUMMAN-TRACKER-S-2-AIRCRAFT-SEARCHLIGHT-CONTROL-GRIP-STICK-FLIGHT-SIM-/124928583347?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

Just did a thing! Future videos will have explanations etc, but I'm so happy that this works. I do seem to have coded the wheels and brake lights back to front, but as that's the only issue I'll take it all day long!

That looks like a good solution, I'm quite lucky that I do have the room to build a full front seat setup, but good on you for having something. I think each part that you don't have to have a keyboard press for makes it more enjoyable. Yes! You definitely deserve some time to fly! It's all good and well getting lost in the build, but the reason we do these things is to enjoy them! I also figured out the ACM thing I was asking about before. I thought it was a toggle switch under the ACM cover but then realized that it's a "foot switch" I also noticed in DCS bios that there is the code for these lights. So when you flick the ACM cover up the missile prep, sidewinder cool and fire rate all switch on. The code will read the light indicators in the game and turn the relevant light on behind the "switch" I'll probably just use tactile switches behind each of those to change mode. Hope that all makes sense! Have a good day and happy flying all.

@hitmanalpha1 That looks awesome! Every time I check back here there's something else that makes grin like an idiot! I've finally started to play with a couple of bits myself. Cut the NWS indicator box but I've screwed up the front panel so I'll be doing it again (again!) I have had a bit mess around with an Arduino too and managed to get a makeshift AOA indexer working. Got the plastic designed just need to cut it on the laser. I'm quite pleased with the indicator light box, and once I have it set it I'll post a couple more pictures. I've actually started a YT channel too but not recorded anything as yet. Once I'm 100% happy with it and the indexer I'll upload the SVG files.

They look alright actually... If I had the room to do both seats I'd be happy with the 3D print for the RIO. Unfortunately 3D printer isn't something I have access to.

Yeah I think you're right. I wanted to order the Virpil F-14 stick and base with an extension but the duty now on coming into the country would likely be an extra £100. Maybe I'll get to Bulgaria again one day! Maybe the best thing to do would be to save up and get yourself a laser cutter. Mine was £350 from eBay, I just saved a little each week until I had enough for that and an air assist set up. Then once you have it, inkscape is a free design software, and K40 whisperer that controls the laser is free too and you could sell completed panels to make some money back.

Afternoon all All these pictures are making me drool! I've got the father in law coming over this weekend to check out our loft for electricals. It is converted and was previously wired, but F/I/L rewired the rest of the house and discovered that it was dangerous hence no electricity up there currently. I've also started ordering some switches, arduinos and LEDs etc. Currently in the midst of drawing up the engine control panel and I'm thinking an easy small project will be an AOA indexer. Actually for anyone interested there is an Android AOA indexer on the play store specifically for DCS. Just requires a small Lua file download into DCS. I would imagine 3d printing will be more expensive than laser cutting, but obviously that's still not cheap. Are you in the UK? If so I have a laser cutter and would be happy to make you some panels for cost as I'm drawing up my own at the moment.

That looks awesome, Well done! How did you go about wiring it up?

Ah mate that's amazing! The work you lads have put into this is unreal. I've just ordered some acrylic sheets to make my first panels. They're turning up tomorrow, but I'm away for work so will have to wait until the weekend to play! I've designed my AFCS panel so that will probably be the first one I make. I'll post some pictures once it's complete. Hope everyone is well. Cheers James

Good evening from England! It wasn't so much the switch itself, more that when you flick the ACM switch it changes the Gun Rate to high, Missile prep to on and S/W cool to on all at the same time. I was just thinking that a relay might be able to be used to activate the 3 other switches when flicking the ACM to on. Yes, this is a similar idea to what I was thinking. To have an on/off/momentary on switch so that the cover holds it down when not in use, then lifting the cover would register as a button press in DCS, and then flicking the switch up would activate the ACM mode. I might be thinking of it the wrong way, it's been a little while since I was in the F-14. Currently very uncomfortable sitting on the floor with the flight stick between my legs! Must get a move on with the loft!