Necessary/Recommended Panels for small "cockpit"

[Griffon26]

Hey Pilots,

 

I just started building something like that for my DCS A10c (most in development):

 

 

I already built an UFC and i own the TM MFDs. Now Im asking me, what should I get next?

 

I want something that you need to get there quickly and easily in combat, yea there quite many of those but I dont have enough space atm maybe that will change in future so that i could expand that thing :) What would you recommend as Nescessary?

 

CMSP? CMSC? Emergency Flight Control Panel? AHCP?

 

Regards,

 

Griffon26

[cichlidfan]

The things you need quickly in combat are already on the HOTAS.

[FSFIan]

If you have limited space, you could take inspiration from my very first experiment and build a panel with a few (ON)-OFF-(ON) momentary toggle switches, rotary encoders and one or two LCD displays with the ability to switch the virtual cockpit panel it controls.

 

From the experience I had, I would suggest:

• Have a dedicated push button for each supported panel, so you can quickly select which one you want to control.
  
• Have two to four rotary encoders. The eight I had were a bit too much, it would have been more interesting to have (ON)-OFF-(ON) toggle switches there instead.
  
• Some panels that are particularly interesting: UHF, VHF AM and VHF FM radios, HSI (for the course and heading rotaries), TACAN, ILS, Lighting Panel (because operating rotaries with the mouse is annoying)
  

[Reksi-Erkki]

The things you need quickly in combat are already on the HOTAS.

 

Agreed.

 

The CDU is a good thing to have for missions with JTAC giving target coordinates. This Android software worked fine for me until quite recently - now it wants an update which I haven't yet installed. Maybe I should pay for the full version... however, I've more or less forgotten the 'hog lately :(

[agrasyuk]

I do plan to build something very similar for desktop Sim (for testing purposes). Agreed with Cich, almost everything needed for combat is on the hot as.

The panel probably should include AHCP. and landing gear lever will be nice - you will use it twice each flight if all goes right ).

 

Beyond that maybe use functions needed for cold start.

[Griffon26]

Yea thats true,

 

I had something misspelled on the first post im sorry :doh:

 

It should have been "before and while in combat"...

 

Maybe that makes more sence now ;)

 

Or we could say what would you recommend from all panels to get a "replication". I think that would be easier to answer and would result in more meaningful.

 

Sry my father told me that theres a plane on the tv called Hornet and i was like :pilotfly: ;) So that writing was interrupted :D

 

EDIT: Read all your posts now and I wanna thank you for your answers! Yea functions for coldstart were also in my mind! @Ian

I was reading that thread before and got some nice impressions from that. Thx to you! The CDU is also an great idea but a bit difficult to build because I dont have an tablet.

 

Regards

Edited January 15, 2015 by Griffon26

[FSFIan]

For the CDU, the way to get something working quickly is to invest $5 into an Arduino board and hook up a spare PS/2 keyboard to operate it.

[agrasyuk]

Ian, for CDU I think the challenge is not electronics (although wiring 60+ buttons is by no means trivial), but to build a sencible construction to house all of those buttons neatly.

[FSFIan]

That's why I suggested using a PS/2 keyboard. It's a working, inexpensive stopgap measure until you get around to build a proper one.