Peter_Pilot

Thanks to Dr. Tishin for the much appreciated update and thanks to all the ED team for 27 years of great fun. Like a lot of you I have played very many different flight sims over the years but DCS is now No.1 for me, I hardly spend any time with the others these days. With the pace of change I am hopeful that before I die I will be able to experience DCS in high definition VR without feeling that I am wearing a snorkeling mask. Maybe then I will at last be able to get a kill flying the P-51D or Spitfire IX, flying the helicopters will be fantastic. Looking forward to 2.5 Pete.

Hi All, I went to the Flight Sim Convention at the Helicopter Museum on Saturday and had a good day, lots of people had a go on my setup. Many positive comments and great interest from others hoping to build similar setups. Apologies to anyone who came on Sunday because I wasn't able to be there. My nearest and dearest injured her hand and the local hospital couldn't deal with it and I had to drive her to Bristol. Her hand should heal but it meant I missed half the show. Best wishes, Pete.

Thanks Yurgon, it was fun the last time I took my sim in 2012, I am sure it will be this time. Pete.

Hi All, I am planning to take my home made helicopter controls to the flight simulator convention at the Helicopter Museum, Weston Super Mare, UK on the weekend 22/23 July 2017. As well as flight sims there is also drone racing. http://www.helicoptermuseum.co.uk/drone.htm I will be running DCS World and have the Ka-50, UH-1, Mi-8 and Gazelle modules installed. My collective lever doubles as a throttle so I can also run my fixed wing modules: Mig 21, Mig 15, Sabre, A-10C, Spitfire IX, Bf109, Fw190, P-51D & FC3 modules F-15C, Su-27, A-10A, Su-25. 'Hope to see some forum members there, come along and have a go. All the best, Pete. https://forums.eagle.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=81400&d=1368347191

I am looking forward very much to this module which I have pre purchased. Just two comments on Matt's video, maybe the crowbar should not be red and my pilot's notes say that engine starting should be accompanied by rapid and vigorous working of the priming pump. Otherwise this latest pixel plane is looking great, I can't wait. Pete.

We had a good day at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, our models and my flight sim setup were on display. Lots of folk tried my sim with varying levels of success at hovering the Huey. It was a bit frustrating watching youngsters making a complete disaster of the flying but if they seemed to be enjoying themselves I was happy. A few of the adults who tried DCS World went away saying they were going to download it and give it a go when they got home. It is a bit of an exaggeration to call my setup a cockpit but my controls work very well and most people were impressed so I was happy. Regards, Pete.

Hi Cibit, Did you have a specific question about my collective? You can see some more info' here: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=54830 Pete.

Thanks for your good wishes JG14_Smil, hopefully the day will go well both on the modelling front and the sim. A few years ago I took the sim to the Weston Flight Simulator Convention and received lots of positive comments from those that tried it, which was very satisfying. Your Ka50 cockpit looks wonderful, you make me want to build some more hardware, I have been planning a Ka50 style switch box for my collective lever for ages so I really ought to get on with it. Pete.

Hi All, I am planning to take my helicopter home cockpit crew seat and controls to the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, Somerset, UK on Sunday 28th August 2016. The plastic modelling club I belong to, IPMS South Somerset, will be putting on a display in the museum auditorium and I have permission from the museum management to take my sim along as well. It would be great if any ED Forum members were to come along and say hello. Best wishes, Pete. Here's my setup: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=105273

Some reference photos, not the best quality because I was shooting through the perspex. All the best, Pete.

Here's my collective I made six years ago, it is still working very well today, I have been flying the Gazelle with it. http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=54830 http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1193415&postcount=234 Pete.

Ok, here is my praise: 1. On the few occasions when I have flown a real helicopter (Scout, Wasp, Gazelle) quite often my instructor would say "the reason we are wobbling is because you are moving the stick, STOP MOVING THE STICK!". The Polychop Gazelle teaches this point very well, when I stop moving my joystick it flies much better. 2. Like the real Gazelle very small control movements are needed. I think that if you can hover the Polychop Gazelle accurately then you would probably make a reasonable job of hovering a real Gazelle. 3. If it was easy it wouldn't be half as much fun, I am really enjoying this DCS module, thanks Polychop. Pete.

Hi All, As a sim pilot/PPL/glider pilot who once had a very enjoyable go at flying a real Gazelle, I can confirm it took 101% of my concentration just to hover and land. Even in straight and level flight I found myself getting tense on the stick because it was so sensitive. I can't stress enough the value of having a really smooth long joystick between your knees plus collective lever and yaw pedals, it makes such a difference. My stick is connected to a Leo Bodnar card and is silky smooth and precise with light spring forces. I havn't purchased the Polychop Gazelle yet but I will have to because at last I can have a module suited to my home cockpit based on a Gazelle seat! http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=105081&page=4 http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=105273 http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1193415&postcount=234 Also don't forget that this is a single engine helicopter, it is not a good idea to be hovering at 100 feet, you would be well inside the dead man's curve. All the best, Pete.

I want a Hawk.

Ruso, I made my own stick gimbal which has hall sensors for the pitch and roll axes connected to a BU0836X from leobodnar.com. The collective lever also has a hall sensor connected to the BU0836X. Some more information here http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=54830 and here http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?...&postcount=234 Best wishes, Pete.

I have posted images of my rig in other threads but this is the latest configuration with my new modified CH Fighterstick cyclic fitted, works great with the new Huey. Pete.

Thanks.

All finished and working now. Just for decoration I made some bezels for the hat switch and red button on the grip and painted the lower two buttons black, so now my CH Fighterstick is a little bit more hog like and less sheep like :smilewink:.

I agree, use a screwdriver to push the buttons. I would also do a test by pushing in a tinned or solid wire until you feel resistance then push the button to allow the wire to move into the clamp then release the button. This will give you an idea of the length you need to strip. The mechanical aspects of electronic construction are very important with respect to reliability. Make sure that wires are supported to stop them falling out, I made this bracket with grommet fairleads which does the job. Best wishes, Pete.

A little more progress this weekend. I mounted the LED board, installed countersunk screws, started to paint the electronics enclosure and did a trial installation on the gimbal. Even though none of the switches are connected up and the paint was still wet I couldn't resist a quick test with the new Huey, it works fine, it'll be a big improvement once I get it all wired up. Pete.

I can't begin to think what you mean :)

Yes, completely stripped, but I have designed my project so that I could rebuild it if I need to, I havn't modified or broken anything (other than the warranty seal of course!). Peter.

Yes, knurling! I've had the lathe a few years but that's the first time I tried knurling. I watched the Tubal Cain videos and tried to work out the pitch of the tool (21 per inch maybe), calculated the necessary diameter and turned as close as I could to that. I tried test impressions on the surface but no matter how many incremental cuts I took I couldn't seem to get a repeating pattern so in the end I just went for it and amazingly got something half reasonable. The knurl isn't fully formed 'cos I got worried it would turn out a mess so I stopped early. Maybe they know the secret in NZ? Pete.

This is my old stick http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1193415&postcount=234

Hi All, I decided to make a new joystick for my helicopter controls based on a CH Fighterstick. The real helicopter grip is good but doesn't have enough buttons, only a hat switch. Hopefully this will be ready in time for the Flight Sim Convention at the Helicopter Museum 18/19th May 2013. Pete.