DIY Warthog Desk Mount

[Rosco]

I've been urged to post this here for fellow DCS addicts. I got tired of taking up most of my desk with joysticks and throttles. This setup is much more comfortable and I can just slide them off in 2 seconds if needs be. If you're interested in this setup for your own desks, let me know. I have drawings of both.

I've also posted a short video on YouTube..

 

-Rosco

[CrackerJack]

Very nice work! I've made a stand out of 4" pipe but I'm not happy with it. It gets in the way. If the offer still stands I'd be interested in the drawings :-)

[FSFIan]

I am also interested. Right now I live in a dorm room where the desk is not mine to modify, but I will be moving out of the dorms within the next few months and will have a desk I can mount things to.

[DTWD]

Clever, good use of space.

[Rosco]

I'll try and post some drawings I've made to this thread a little later on tonight.

[Rosco]

Here are the drawings for both. If you watched my video I mention how I would prefer the throttle setup to be farther down. The drawings reflect this and a couple other changes I would make if I were to build a new set.

I tried to make these to scale, but there are few measurements that aren't perfect since I just kind of did a couple quick sketches. In other words, use them as a guideline and not necessarily exact. :thumbup:

Other than that, hope these help! I'll be more than happy to answer any specific build questions if they come up.

 

Cheers

Rosco

 

[Devrim]

Nice idea and thanks a lot for blueprints.

I'd like to do that, I really need a solution like yours! Great!

 

But... The main question is that whether my wife would let me do this or not... :\ :D

I have a stylistic desk in a good quality. Probably she won't let me drill it. :)

 

At least I can put a CD under the desk. :D

[doveman]

Great idea there. I imagine you could quite easily make it hinged to fold back under the desk when you're not flying and need to sit nearer to the desk to work, to avoid hitting your chair/junk on it Probably a pair of strong magnets on the base and under the desk would hold it in place, otherwise a clip shouldn't be to hard to fashion.

[tacky_taco]

What a great idea! I'll be doing this before the summer is over

[TomOnSteam]

For people like me with no workmanship skills or tools - 4 metal angle brackets in an S shape and you can do something similar for a few bucks. Of course it doesn't look as slick though!

 

[Nevyn]

Clever OP. Mmmmm, time to come up with a cunning plan like this for myself I reckon.

[WildBillKelsoe]

Great ideas. Thanks for sharing. I especially liked the kneeboard idea.

[mondaysoff]

I've been urged to post this here for fellow DCS addicts. I got tired of taking up most of my desk with joysticks and throttles. This setup is much more comfortable and I can just slide them off in 2 seconds if needs be. If you're interested in this setup for your own desks, let me know. I have drawings of both.

 

Thank you Rosco for posting your ideas and giving me the inspiration to do something interesting with my TMWH..

 

The throttle slide took me about 3 days to make, about three hours each day including painting and an awful lot of head scratching, your drawings helped a lot.

 

I'm not going to copy your joystick setup, but rather try and make something where the pedals and joystick are attached to a base board and I will probably purchase an extension for the stick, probably around the10cm mark, as I fly heli's mainly..

 

As you can see from the pictures it is still early days, cables and wires everywhere. I think I have sussed out how the TIR cables will run, basically everything under the desk. My only head scratcher at the moment is the keyboard, running out of room underneath, hopefully with the new TMWH I won't need to use it much anyways.

 

 

Will post more pics when complete.

Edited July 22, 2015 by mondaysoff
duplicate images

[TomOnSteam]

I think there would be a lot of interest in selling these as a ready made product that you can attach to a desk. (or a kit with some tool-less assembly)

 

I mean I bought an Obutto cockpit because I didn't have the tools, time, space and skills to make even an ugly version.

 

I guess some people wouldn't want to permanently modify their desks, so it would be good to have clamping version too.

 

I think it could save some relationships by having an easily removable and attachable set up haha :)

[mondaysoff]

OK, pedal and stick floor mount now complete. I have really enjoyed making this setup, and what's best is, it hasn't cost me a fortune, I paid about £20 for the black plastic pipe and fittings, and £40 for a 10cm Warthog extension from Wasy100, everything else has been scrounged from around the house, garage and attic, I very rarely throw anything away. I used 12mm MDF board for the throttle slide and 12mm chipboard for the floor mount, all nuts, bolts, screws and washers collected over the years, already had the grey and black paint, the under board supports are unused cupboard feet from an IKEA furniture pack, which I might add grip the carpet like glue.

 

 

 

Now all I have to do is learn to adjust from Desktop control to a more real life situation, before this setup I used a Thrustmaster T-Flight Hotas X, (which will be up for sale soon) so the Warthog is a brand new experience for me, as soon as I received the Warthog in the post, it was being measured up for this setup, so has not been used in DCS yet. I have had the MFG’s for about six months, so I am used to them now, I have never had pedals before, so I jumped straight in with the Crosswind’s. IMO these two devices, although extremely expensive, are a match made in heaven, I know just sitting here with my feet on the pedals, right hand on the stick (extension included) and left hand on the throttle, I just know MY DCS experience is going to increase 10 fold.

 

 

Once again, without Rosco’s imagination and pictures I would probably still be playing from the desktop.

 

My apologies for the sideways pictures, I must be doing something wrong, they are the correct way up before I upload them.

 

Many thanks.

[cichlidfan]

Very nicely done! :thumbup:

[mondaysoff]

Very nicely done! :thumbup:

 

Thank you cichlidfan for your +rep, have only just noticed.

 

I can't stress enough how much more smoother and accurate flying is with this setup, including using the warthog extension. I didn't think I could enjoy DCS anymore than I already did.

 

Thanks again Rosco for showing your design.

[Solway]

OK, pedal and stick floor mount now complete. I have really enjoyed making this setup, and what's best is, it hasn't cost me a fortune, I paid about £20 for the black plastic pipe and fittings, and £40 for a 10cm Warthog extension from Wasy100, everything else has been scrounged from around the house, garage and attic, I very rarely throw anything away. I used 12mm MDF board for the throttle slide and 12mm chipboard for the floor mount, all nuts, bolts, screws and washers collected over the years, already had the grey and black paint, the under board supports are unused cupboard feet from an IKEA furniture pack, which I might add grip the carpet like glue.

 

Perfect, simple and comfy.

Pls show in detail how did you attach the stick to the pipe and the pipe to the chipboard.

Thank you in advance.

[Rogue Trooper]

Very nicely done mondaysoff. It looks superb.

[mondaysoff]

Perfect, simple and comfy.

Pls show in detail how did you attach the stick to the pipe and the pipe to the chipboard.

Thank you in advance.

 

With the pipe section you have two blanking caps, one double pipe connector and a 1 metre length of single socket soil pipe, all 120mm. This was all purchased from Screwfix.com.

 

 

For the base blanking end cap, once you have found your comfortable position (distance from pedals and stick) you can drill your holes through the blanking cap the size of your bolts, I did four. Then place in position on the base board and drill through the wood, fix to the board using desired nuts, bolts and washers. This is now ready to accept the double connector fitting, once in place you can to stop this section from turning inside the joint (It didn’t with mine, a very snug/tight fit) by making a pilot hole and using 20mm self tapping screws to secure, I did five around the base and five at the top where the WH meets the top blanking cap. I didn’t use glue just incase of any future adjustments were required.

 

 

Now you can insert your 1 mtr piece of soil pipe into the double connector, you will need to cut this piece to your desired length, always cut the bottom end, the narrower end, the wider end, the top will take your other blanking cap with the WH attached. Once your desired length is achieved you can now fix this in place with more self tapping screws if you wish, to the top section of the double connector joint (I didn’t, because I found it quite solid enough).

 

 

The blanking cap is the perfect diameter for the base of the Warthog stick to sit on and is roughly the same thickness as the original steel square base, so the screws can be reused.

 

To mount the cap to the Warthog stick you will first require a piece of tracing paper ( haven't used that since primary school days), remove the metal base from the stick and place the tracing paper over the holes of the metal base and mark with a pencil, be careful not to move the paper whilst doing this. When you have your pencil marks, get a ruler and draw two straight lines from the top and bottom holes and the same for left and right holes, that should give you a centre point. There is a small centre point marking on the blanking caps to match up with your tracing, best to sellotape this in place and drill the holes, just make pilot holes for this end the screws will self tape into the plastic and make for a sturdier fit. Before securing with self tappers and if you are not using an extension, place the WH into the pipe and adjust for comfort, then secure.

 

Thanks for your interest and I hope this explanation helps.

Edited August 15, 2015 by mondaysoff

[mondaysoff]

Pictures for post #20

 

I'll get the hang of this one day.

[hansangb]

Great job guys. Starting to build one myself. these will really come in handy!

[andrewwong2000]

Thanks for the inspiration !

 

I went down to my local hardware store and use some 4.5mm thick shelf brackets.. Then bent the S-shape into it so I could mount the joysticks and throttle.

 

I recommend using Sail Track if you want to slide the shelf bracket under the desk. I can completely remove the throttle and joystick if need be.

 

Now just to make it look nice and weld a brace so it's rigid. As the bracket is not braced, it does wobble a little bit - not very noticeable in game.

 

Thanks!

 

Andrew

[Gpruitt54]

Is there a thread where people can display their DIY flight desk or full dedicated flight sim pit setups? If such a thread does not exist, maybe one should be started. The design ideas would be great for those considering building a desk or full pit setup.

[hansangb]

For pit setups, there is a sub-thread here for Cockpit builds.

 

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