Smith's VR-Cockpit

[Smith]

Hi There,

 

so with VR getting useable in DCS with the HP Reverb i decided to finally build a little cockpit. Since VR showed up a few years ago i stoped dreaming of a full cockpit as it would use to much time and effort when you can get almost the same with a vr headset. Its just 2 wood boxes but its really nice to have the seating position similar to a F-16 instead of sitting on a office chair. And with it now the controlls are rock solid so i can use my Realsimulator FSSB R3 and the throttle detents like it should be. I also added the idea of mounting a steering damper to the pedals. It feels really amazing. To align all the controls like in a real F-16 i used plans from viperpits.org. So my Joystick is tilted 7 degrees forward and my seat about 30 degrees backwards.

 

 

 

 

 

I also build a PC for DCS VR:

 

 

 

 

The Specs are:

1x ASUS ROG Strix Z390-E Gaming Mainboard

1x Intel Core i5 9600K 6x 3.70GHz

1x 32GB (2x 16384MB) Corsair Vengeance LPX schwarz DDR4-3000 DIMM CL16-20-20-38 Dual Kit

1x 11GB ZOTAC GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Twin Fan

1x 1000GB WD Black SN750 Gaming M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe 3D-NAND TLC

1x 750 Watt be quiet! Straight Power 11 Modular 80+ Gold

1x be quiet! Dark Rock PRO 4

1x 120x120x25mm be quiet! Silent Wings 3 PWM 1450 U/min 16.4 dB(A)

2x 140x140x25mm be quiet! Silent Wings 3 PWM 1000 U/min 15.5 dB(A)

Edited October 3, 2019 by Smith

[Mr_Burns]

Love your rig, so tidy, what case is that?

[Smith]

hey, thank you. It is the Corsair Carbide 275R with tempered glass window Midi Tower

[Mr_Burns]

Cool but where are all the USB and Sound, looks like a big fan in place of them!

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

I would recomend some kind of heptic pad such as Andre´s JetSeat, it´s a great deal for the buck regardind inmersion

[Smith]

Cool but where are all the USB and Sound, looks like a big fan in place of them!

 

Its a normal ATX board so everything is where it should be. The connectors are hidden by a "stylish" ASUS ROG STRIX cover. The fan is just 120x120 and just fits in the case

 

I would recomend some kind of heptic pad such as Andre´s JetSeat, it´s a great deal for the buck regardind inmersion

 

ja i know these but i don't think i like these pads too much. its a lot of work to hide it (i don't like the looks) and then it is just controlled by sound. For flying i only need visuals and sound as feedback and good controls for input. No force feedback, no moving platform or things like that. but thats just my humble opinion :)

[Smith]

Today i finished my 3 MFD housings vor my pit, which i made with a friend.

 

 

 

 

[Smith]

Got only little time today, so just small update:

 

 

 

 

[Bubbles]

Hi Smith, that looks great. Where did you bought this monitors in sqare format?

[Smith]

Hello Bubbles,

 

they are not square, but 4:3 7 inch displays. It is the smallest Display you can get for the Thrustmaster MFDs:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.A0.H0.XCLAA070MA0ACW.TRS1&_nkw=CLAA070MA0ACW&_sacat=0

 

The wide side is only 13 mm longer than the MFD bezel. My Old design used a 8 inch display. It was much bigger than the 7 inch displays:

 

 

 

Some guys at Viperpits.org found out that some real MFD screens are cut from normal displays. They tried to cut the displays, but it didn't work out:

https://www.viperpits.org/smf/index.php?topic=3540.0

 

So most of them now are using the 7 inch 800x600 displays you can find on ebay, and they are small enough to be used in a real f-16 cockpit and they can use all the instruments around the MFDs:

https://www.viperpits.org/smf/index.php?topic=10490.0

[Bubbles]

Hi Smith,

thanks for your detailed answer. I will order some too.

[VpR81]

I assume left and right MFD will be placed at the same spots seen on pics 1-3. But where is the 3rd MFD case supposed to be placed in the finished pit? And are you going to mount them (spotted possible screwholes in the bottom of the cases), or are they heavy enough not to sslide around? Looks great btw.

[Smith]

This is how it should look when its done:

 

 

And ja, you are right, i added holes to screw them to my pit. I want everything to be rock solid.

 

 

Maybe i will add more realism to my pit someday haha:

 

 

 

Or the whole cockpit:

 

 

But i abondened the Idea of building a full fidelity cockpit for the F-16 because its just too much work, and VR can give you almost the same felling of sitting inside a cockpit. I draw these CAD models before Palmer Lucky started the VR hype

 

 

Some Panels i draw for the F-16:

 

 

 

Some CAD parts you can see in the pictures were drawn by members of viperpits.org

 

 

And this is the CAD model of the MFD housing:

 

 

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by Smith

[VpR81]

This is a nice construction indeed, well planned and executed. I´m still looking for a DIY MFD/display solution for my rig as it has no frame to mount them w/o modification. I will definately take a look on the displays you choosed, as these almost perfectly fit behind the TM MFDs. Thanks a lot for that hint. Just wondering what you are going to display on the third screen in the F-16. Or is this just a preparation for future Hornet usage?

[Baldrick33]

This is a nice construction indeed, well planned and executed. I´m still looking for a DIY MFD/display solution for my rig as it has no frame to mount them w/o modification. I will definately take a look on the displays you choosed, as these almost perfectly fit behind the TM MFDs. Thanks a lot for that hint. Just wondering what you are going to display on the third screen in the F-16. Or is this just a preparation for future Hornet usage?

I thought this was a VR pit, so not going to see anything in the MFDs?

[Smith]

Just wondering what you are going to display on the third screen in the F-16. Or is this just a preparation for future Hornet usage?

 

I was planing to build a F-16 cockpit because it is the best documentet cockpit in the internet and i like the ergonomics (side stick and the seat reclined 30 degrees from vertical). But it doesn't mean that i only fly the F-16.

 

I thought this was a VR pit, so not going to see anything in the MFDs?

 

Yes, the displays are just for the looks, as i cant see them in VR. But i have now a lot of buttons to map for the FC3 Planes and when someone wants to see my cockpit it looks so much cooler with working MFDs :thumbup:

 

And this is my little progress for today, now only the center console with its MFD is missing. I also got a nice Logitech G213 keyboard with very nice green backlighting:

 

 

 

 

Note the 2 mm glass plate. I put it between the TM MFD bezel and the lcd screen. This protects the screen from dust and fingers and it gives the displays a glossy look, a little bit like real MFDs. It looks much better.

 

 

 

 

Everything is green hehe

 

[RuskyV]

Hi Smith,

 

I would like to ask you a few questions regarding the force sensing base you are using for the F16 stick.

 

I have been wondering about pulling the trigger on this base unit but i want to screw it on the Virpil desk mount, thing is i need to know if the base is drilled with the same pattern as the standard warthog gimbal so it will fit onto the mount.

 

The other question is, is the stick keyed in like the standard warthog gimbal, or when screwing the base down i have the option to offset the stick (twist) the stick into a position to centrally mount if desired.

 

Nice setup by the way!

Edited March 8, 2020 by (504)Blade

[Baldrick33]

Yes, the displays are just for the looks, as i cant see them in VR. But i have now a lot of buttons to map for the FC3 Planes and when someone wants to see my cockpit it looks so much cooler with working MFDs :thumbup:

Yes it does, just envious :)

[Baldrick33]

My VR pit is rather utilitarian but one tip I learnt here was to add velcro cutouts to help locate buttons on the mfds, see the pic below - no nice screens though :cry:

Edited March 8, 2020 by Baldrick33

[Smith]

I have been wondering about pulling the trigger on this base unit but i want to screw it on the Virpil desk mount, thing is i need to know if the base is drilled with the same pattern as the standard warthog gimbal so it will fit onto the mount.

 

Hi Blade,

 

yes it has the same pattern like the warthog gimbal (4 holes, 60 mm distamce between the holes)

 

But my advise is to buy this one, it already comes with all the axes:

http://www.realsimulator.com/html/f16sgrh.html

 

I would have bought the collectors edition if I would not already own the FSSB R3

 

The other question is, is the stick keyed in like the standard warthog gimbal, or when screwing the base down i have the option to offset the stick (twist) the stick into a position to centrally mount if desired.

 

It is keyed in, but you can change the direction of the Axes in the realsimulator firmware. So to turn it you must twist the base and i think this means you need to drill new holes in the virpil desk mount

 

Nice setup by the way!

 

Thank you :)

[Notso]

This is how it should look when its done:

 

 

It looks really good. I’m curious though, why do you have your two outer MFD’s angled in? They would be flat in the real cockpit.

[Smith]

Here is how it looks now. I'm really satisfied and i don't think i change much now as everything works perfectly and i don't need more for VR

 

 

It looks really good. I’m curious though, why do you have your two outer MFD’s angled in? They would be flat in the real cockpit.

 

As i said, the MFDs are just for the looks and that i have more buttons to map while in VR. It shall not represent a F-16 cockpit and at the moment i fly the Tomcat mostly with it :thumbup:

[Smith]

As the F-16 and the F/A-18 heavily rely on UFC input controlls it was always a little pain to fly in my VR cockpit. For almost everything i needed to use the mouse with my left hand (I am right handed) and now that WinWing released a nice looking (also not 100% realistic dimensions) UFC i bought it and made a nice update to my cockpit. And this is how it looks now:

I think it looks quite cool and i like just sitting in it hehe
I had a little break from DCS, as i didn't have a plane that i liked to 100%, but with the updated flight model of the F/A-18 and now more realistic landing behavior i started learning the F/A-18 again, and with the UFC controlls it makes much more fun.