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MFG 3d printed combat pedals


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Ordered! I hope this proves to be a very successful enterprise for you.

 

Regarding the included knob for the spring end, is it just intended to be easier to turn than the stock MFG one, or does it have some other function? I've seen discussion of a spring mod to make it easier to disconnect the spring, so I wondered if this might have anything to do with that. 

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On 8/13/2020 at 11:04 PM, X-31_VECTOR said:

A little OT from the new combat pedals, but I'm now experimenting with both the hydraulic damper mod many install on the MFGs, as well as keeping the spring connected. I like the dampened feel, but unless you set the spring tension very high, the pedals don't return to center on their own.

 

It's tricky, because for helicopters, no spring and damper is the way to go. But for WWII fixed-wing, the spring is the best way (short of FFB pedals) to simulate the aerodynamic forces acting on the rudder. I may just have to live with disconnecting and reconnecting the spring when I switch between rotary and fixed wing.

 

Hi, mine pedals come just yesterday so today I will put it to work.

I'm interested in Your feeling with damper for WWII warbirds, cause I bought also the main damper I wanna ask You, is it better flying a WWII aircraft with the damper?

Also the spring must be keep attached for recentering?

I feel the damper a bit stiff (mine are these https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B08CHDPR1R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  ) so I think it must be softned using the gear on it, do You have any suggestion on haow much to soften it to achieve spring centering?

Thx.

 

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8 hours ago, Hunter Joker said:

 

Hi, mine pedals come just yesterday so today I will put it to work.

I'm interested in Your feeling with damper for WWII warbirds, cause I bought also the main damper I wanna ask You, is it better flying a WWII aircraft with the damper?

Also the spring must be keep attached for recentering?

I feel the damper a bit stiff (mine are these https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B08CHDPR1R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  ) so I think it must be softned using the gear on it, do You have any suggestion on haow much to soften it to achieve spring centering?

Thx.

 

 

Spring must stay on. Damper is only to smooth out the movement and provide weight. That's how it is on a real plane, imagine moving 300 lbs of metal cables and rods with your feet. You can't do it instantly fast like on MFG rudders.

 

Yes damper is WAY TOO STIFF out of the box, just turn the little gear knob to the LOWEST setting, try it out... increase... try it out... increase... until you like the way it is. I have mine at about 30%.

 

I've had about 10 people try out the damper, including me. Not a single one would ever fly without it again. MFG already copied my design and now offers dampers on V3 pedals as stock option.

On 1/7/2021 at 8:01 PM, X-31_VECTOR said:

Ordered! I hope this proves to be a very successful enterprise for you.

 

Regarding the included knob for the spring end, is it just intended to be easier to turn than the stock MFG one, or does it have some other function? I've seen discussion of a spring mod to make it easier to disconnect the spring, so I wondered if this might have anything to do with that. 

 

The knob wheel is just an easier way to adjust spring force. And a visual upgrade. I hated that rod sticking out.


Edited by hegykc
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Agreed on everything above. I've been using a damper on my pedals for a few months now, and would not go back. (The way I have it mounted is not as elegant as hegykc's solution that is included with his pedals, so I'm looking forward to switching it). 

 

With the caveat that I'm not a pilot: my sense is that for non-fly-by-wire and non-hydraulically-boosted aircraft, the aerodynamic forces on a rudder, especially at higher speeds, provide a natural re-centering force that increases with airspeed. I've had stick (and rudder) time in a few small aircraft, and this seemed to be the case, though the fastest never got above 130 knots and the forces were quite light. 

 

Hence for WWII aircraft, I think the use of a spring to recenter makes sense, though as with all things it is personal preference. The trick when combining it with the damper is getting the balance between the two right. Like hegykc, I keep the damper force relatively light. Otherwise I need too much spring to get recentering.

 

With helicopters, it's a different story. In trimmed, coordinated flight, you're of course keeping the pedals in a position that may be far off of center for long periods. So fighting a spring is neither desirable nor (as far as I can tell from watching the pilots I fly with) realistic. With the spring on the MFG pedals connected, and your heels on the floor versus up on the original MFG footrests, it is much easier to hold an off-center position for long periods of time. Even better (in my experience) is to disconnect the spring and just use the damper for helicopters. But if you switch aircraft a lot, this can be a tedious process.  

 


Edited by X-31_VECTOR
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32 minutes ago, X-31_VECTOR said:

for non-fly-by-wire and non-hydraulically-boosted aircraft

 

There is still weight, even in fly-by-wire modern jets. Because we are talking literately about physical weight. Imagine playing a GYM simulator right? You would be picking up 100 lbs dumbbell weights with your joystick. How realistic is that? Now imagine installing that damper on the joystick and then simulating picking up weights.

 

See what I mean. Doesn't matter what plane, what speed. You could be cold-and-dark, parked on the ground, you are still moving maybe 50lbs with your rudders on a Cessna, or 200lbs of metal in a modern jet. That's what I was after, I want to feel like I'm in a plane. Not like I'm playing MSFS2020 with a gamepad.

 

Now, a side affect of the damper is that aiming is quite more controllable because it is easier to hold position with a damper, and it is harder to over-correct in a dogfight or ground attack. This is most noticeable on WWII planes where there are zero autopilot/auto-aim systems to help you.


Edited by hegykc
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9 minutes ago, hegykc said:

 

There is still weight, even in fly-by-wire modern jets. Because we are talking literately about physical weight. Imagine playing a GYM simulator right? You would be picking up 100 lbs dumbbell weights with your joystick. How realistic is that? Now imagine installing that damper on the joystick and then simulating picking up weights.

 

See what I mean. Doesn't matter what plane, what speed. You could be cold-and-dark, parked on the ground, you are still moving maybe 50lbs with your rudders on a Cessna, or 200lbs of metal in a modern jet. That's what I was after, I want to feel like I'm in a plane. Not like I'm playing MSFS2020 with a gamepad.

 

Now, a side affect of the damper is that aiming is quite more controllable because it is easier to hold position with a damper, and it is harder to over-correct in a dogfight or ground attack. This is most noticeable on WWII planes where there are zero autopilot/auto-aim systems to help you.

 

 

Makes sense. What I like about the damper in particular is that it takes away the springiness, which feels so unrealistic. What I'd really like to do is is install small dampers on my stick somehow. I use a Virpil WarBrD and keep the springs quite light with their "Cosmo" cams to take out the center bump, and it's pretty good but still feels like it wants to go "boing" when I let it go, if that makes any sense. I found some tiny dampers that might fit inside the stick base, but haven't gotten around to trying to rig something up. Hegykc, maybe your next project? 🙂


Edited by X-31_VECTOR
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Yes exactly: "springiness", "boing", "weight" or "smoothness". All addressing the same thing. Like playing Call Of Duty on a gamepad Vs aiming with a real 10lbs loaded AR-15. The weight of the gun dampens your movement, you can't instantly throw around a 10lbs gun across your entire field of view. It takes a certain time and effort.

 

Don't know about modding anymore other company's products. I could have designed my own pedals by now from ground up 🙂 (I'm not saying I didn't, wink wink.)

 

This can further explain it. My base has dampers, not hydraulic ones but exactly the same effect. Compared to a Virpil non-dampened base. Same force (4lbs), same range, same length etc. Yet they are worlds apart just by implementing a simple damping effect. This is what damper does, and this is how it is in every real plane, regardless of type or age. Due to physics:

 


Edited by hegykc
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2 hours ago, hegykc said:

My base has dampers, not hydraulic ones but exactly the same effect. Compared to a Virpil non-dampened base. Same force (4lbs), same range, same length etc. Yet they are worlds apart just by implementing a simple damping effect. This is what damper does, and this is how it is in every real plane, regardless of type or age. Due to physics:

 

Most excellent. How/when do you sell (or plan to sell) your other products?

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7 hours ago, hegykc said:

 

Spring must stay on. Damper is only to smooth out the movement and provide weight. That's how it is on a real plane, imagine moving 300 lbs of metal cables and rods with your feet. You can't do it instantly fast like on MFG rudders.

 

Yes damper is WAY TOO STIFF out of the box, just turn the little gear knob to the LOWEST setting, try it out... increase... try it out... increase... until you like the way it is. I have mine at about 30%.

 

I've had about 10 people try out the damper, including me. Not a single one would ever fly without it again. MFG already copied my design and now offers dampers on V3 pedals as stock option.

 

 

 

 

Can you elaborate on that last comment?
I do not see anything on the MFG website pertaining to this?

Don B

EVGA Z390 Dark MB | i9 9900k CPU @ 5.1 GHz | Gigabyte 4090 OC | 64 GB Corsair Vengeance 3200 MHz CL16 | Corsair H150i Pro Cooler |Virpil CM3 Stick w/ Alpha Prime Grip 200mm ext| Virpil CM3 Throttle | VPC Rotor TCS Base w/ Alpha-L Grip| Point Control V2|Varjo Aero|

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22 minutes ago, hegykc said:

MFG is from the same country as me. So we copied my damper solution onto his MFG V3 rudder pedals. So the newest version comes damper-compatible as stock.

 

And where are these V3 listed? I could not find any info on them or on a damper. That is what I was asking.


Edited by dburne

Don B

EVGA Z390 Dark MB | i9 9900k CPU @ 5.1 GHz | Gigabyte 4090 OC | 64 GB Corsair Vengeance 3200 MHz CL16 | Corsair H150i Pro Cooler |Virpil CM3 Stick w/ Alpha Prime Grip 200mm ext| Virpil CM3 Throttle | VPC Rotor TCS Base w/ Alpha-L Grip| Point Control V2|Varjo Aero|

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He's busy with manufacturing problems so hasn't had time to for a photo-shoot or to update his webshop. I've been bugging him for a year to let me take new photos and update his webshop, but it's the classic "noo, I'll do it myself".

 

You should all send him angry emails saying, I demand hegykc takes new V3 MFG photos and updates the webshop! 🙂

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10 hours ago, hegykc said:

He's busy with manufacturing problems so hasn't had time to for a photo-shoot or to update his webshop. I've been bugging him for a year to let me take new photos and update his webshop, but it's the classic "noo, I'll do it myself".

 

You should all send him angry emails saying, I demand hegykc takes new V3 MFG photos and updates the webshop! 🙂

 

Ok thanks I will contact Milan regarding this new damper.

Don B

EVGA Z390 Dark MB | i9 9900k CPU @ 5.1 GHz | Gigabyte 4090 OC | 64 GB Corsair Vengeance 3200 MHz CL16 | Corsair H150i Pro Cooler |Virpil CM3 Stick w/ Alpha Prime Grip 200mm ext| Virpil CM3 Throttle | VPC Rotor TCS Base w/ Alpha-L Grip| Point Control V2|Varjo Aero|

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  • 2 months later...

Final design turned out great. My damper mounting design already implemented by MFG on all new V3 pedals directly from his store.

Combat pedals might also be available directly from MFG in the future.

 

First review of the mod, a few more still to come:

 

Get it in the 'for sale' section of the forum:

 

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