metalnwood

Dont have him do that as I am not sure that this is correct, although it may be. Any slight difference from the correct size will make the width of the panels unlikely to fit in the console spacing. The plans are in inches, not mm, thats why the size is small, something like 48x96. Have him import as inches and when loaded switch to metric, most software it will be a 30 second task to do this and you will end up with the correct sizes for everything.

I had no idea what the pvc may cost but that 3/8" is $171USD on their special price. I made my y2kiah from 3/4" MDF. Not sure what the cost would be in the states, generally cheaper than here so I may guess $30usd a sheet. You guys seem to get ply at reasonable cost as well so probably not much more than the MDF. Remember a pit like y2kiahs's will take at least 3 sheets for the basic two consoles and floor, not counting the forward nose section which isnt really required. So, while hearing that pvc may be better than I first thought, I still am not seeing why I would put an extra $350 in to my pit to use it.

Yes, as long as it works in windows at the correct resoltuion then DCS will run it fine. On something like the 7970, 680 the frames should be OK as well. Generally, capped at 30 you would acheive that.

Yes yo-yo, it might not have been clear from my post. The ply would paint well. It was the PVC I was not sure would take a finish. It would depend on the surface of the PVC. To my mind I would not pay a premium for the PVC as the ply is pretty good as it is.

Interesting, I would bow down to others knowledge of this particular product as I have not worked with it and it may be something other than what I am think of. If its as good as others say then if it was my choice I would only have two thoughts. Plywood is absolutely fine for pits, so what is the premium in terms of $$ for the product. Is it worth it? Secondly, if I want to paint it, will it take a finish? The second is possibly not a concern if it is just the internal structure that wont be seen or you are happy with its current look. Happy building!

You brits like to beat yourself up with wet fish dont you. I already bought it now tell me how bad a purchase I made :)

It wont be as clear, of course, but I think it is one of those things you have to try rather than do the numbers on and decide that you wont like it because it might seem a lot worse than the monitor you are used to. it's apples to oranges comparing that way. More pixels on the rift will be better for sure but just imagining that a rift with the same pixels as your monitor but spread over a big FOV wont be good doesn't give it enough credit for the new perspective it will bring to your simming.

Depending on what you are building you wouldnt see the carcass of the pit anyway, it would all be covered. The sides of the plywood should be as good as if they were cut on a tablesaw with a nice blade. The only thing required to get the best cuts on ply is that the guy doing it uses whats a called a 'compression' bit. This makes sure there is no tear out on either side of the ply when cutting. I would go for ply unless a really good reason was stated, which I cant think of one. Also, some plastics machine really well but I am not sure PVC is one of the better ones.

I couldnt imagine pvc being cheaper than ply. ply is good, you can glue it, you can screw it easily. Off the top of my head I cannot see an advantage to PVC unless you needed to offload it.

I really don't want to continue this line of conversation but you said it and Frank endorsed it a couple replies later. Firstly, any price Frank sets is OK. No one here knows Franks actual costs except Frank and for all we know his mark ups are limited given the time investment he may need to put in. All I am saying is that a ferw times he has very clearly said he is doing something affordable for everyone and has made compromises to reach that goal. I was thinking costs along the lines of goflight or similar. Not cheap but ok for an enthusiast. So, I dont query the legitimacy of the costs, just how they relate to 'an affordable cosckpit for everybody'

I used y2kiahs with the saitek combat pedals. I cant see why the same combo would not work with dimebugs.

Hmm, thats a fair bit over 10K USD for the two side consoles. Not sure what it will cost for the center but I am not convinced you are hitting the mark of low cost for everyone ;) I would also query the no warranty and only a one month warranty on anything this cost.

seat is looking great. Very much admire your perseverance to do the project all by hand.

How much for an option to fill the side canisters with beer and have a drinky hose coming out them?

One thing missing from your description is the spacer panel. You are talking about using EL for the lightplate, the lightplate is often used as the spacer panel as well. The spacer is between the backplate and front panel where the nuts usually hide for the mounted switches etc.

Aha, sounds like someone has done some investigation, good stuff ;)

Are you talking about a grip on top of the warthog base whose custom electronics interface through the warthog or a stick that has another wire coming out and plugs in to the computer in addition to the hog base? From memory you need to have the hog grip attached to the base when its turned on for the computer to recognise it. I could put my logic analyzer across it to see what they say to each other. It could be that there is a simple handshake and that the custom grip only has to do this once off conversation to the base so that everything is ready to rock and roll. Would require arduino or similar to get it all going if this is the case.

I mention it because a lot of newer cpus will run at 3.2, 3.4 and turbo boost will take them to around 3.8. A lot of people will easily over clock them to 4.5, some higher, some might only use the built in overclock tools and only take it to ~ 4.2. For these guys an upgrade in gpu can mean an upgrade in frame rates and spending the money can be worthwhile.

It needs to be put in context of what your CPU is. I have put in better cards and got definite improvements but the CPU was also at the top end before the gpu upgrade.

There are a lot of threads on exactly this topic but in another section. Here is the latest one which I add something too (add is debatable but I do say I prefer the WH :) ) http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=111129

I dont dismiss the quality of it as I dont know a lot about it. I am not saying force sensing is a bad technology either but it's only on the viper. If the only aircraft I was to fly was a viper I would still have a hog because its a replica of the f16 stick. My bias from the saitek was only based on his criteria. Firstly, if he was flying the f18 then I dont see how the stick is preferable over the f16/A10 stick and secondly as he is an a10 pilot then I really dont see the sense in getting the stick that is not an exact replica of what he currently flies. Other than that I am happy with the five saiteks products I have owned and if the OP had different criteria I might have suggested the saitek - if it was cheaper :)

Were you meaning the saitek throttle, not the WH one? The WH does not move around when using it and has a friction control to change how much pressure is required to push it. Where there is the possibility of the base moving is where you take the throttles past the rear detents, i.e. to shutdown the engine. At this point you need to lift the throttle past the detent. Because this has a lifting action if you do it too aggressively you could lift the throttle quad a little. In general, the throttle quad should not move at all on the WH. If you can get by whatever means a WH and rudder for the same price as the X65 I cannot see any sane reason to pick the x65 over the other combo and would love to know why anyone would.

I am sure there are a few guys running triples with nvidia, it shouldnt be an issue. Its certainly the way to go if you can use a newer card and do it all from one. TH2GO is past it's use by date now, it's cost goes a long way towards a good card that will do it natively. The upside down T configuration you are talking about is a popular one that lots of us have got, including myself. The best monitor to go below the centre monitor is a touchscreen if you can get the $$ to do it. Make all the difference interacting with the pit or using helios on the touchscreen.

Tony, you dont have to. An extension works excellently for the a10 and thats what the extensions were initially made for.

If they do, it wont have a twist stick. I am confused? The warthog is a replica, you dont have to map anything that isnt how it should be on to the stick or the throttle as far as the a10 is concerned and you are an a10 pilot. The saitek is a compromise all over the place as far as that is concerned. I could not imagine how the x65 could map any better to the f18 than the wh. Neither is a replica of the f18 stick but both should have enough buttons to do it. If it just comes down to the pedals then fair enough but in terms of flying what you do now, the a10, the winner by far is the WH. IMO, if you care enough to want a stick thats going to last you well over half a decade for some serious simulation then you are going to want pedals and at that point you may wish you didnt compromise on the stick to get a stick rudder. A set of cheaper saitek rudder pedals second hand will be a lot better than any stick rudder, more control and you will have brakes too :) Still, I dont know everything and would be interested to know why you think the x65 could be the better stick for the f18?