My MonsterTech MTX-F Rig

[Der SchattenJager]

After deciding my flight sim gear needed a permanent place to live (aside from a box in the closet, untouched for the last 4 years after having children) I decided to pull the trigger on a MonsterTech MTX rig.

 

Ten years ago, after having purchased a TM Warthog HOTAS and Saitek ProFlight Combat Rudder Pedals, I dreamed of having a dedicated cockpit to house all of it (including my triple-monitor setup and TrackIR,) instead of pulling it out from a box and plopping it on my desk whenever I wanted to play DCS or BMS.

 

Sadly, that never happened. As I alluded to, children came and the flight gear went away (along with the desk, the loft it was in, and actually the entire house...)

 

The former glory days of my DCS desk setup circa 2011:

 

Over the last few months, having seen the release of MSFS2020, SW: Squadrons, and various DCS updates, I got the bug to get back into flight sims. So I researched. And researched. I first came across Playseat, but decided it wasn't customizable enough. Then I decided on Obutto. I really liked the R3volution, especially that keyboard tray. I figured I could turn this thing not only into a simpit, but a work desk as well!

 

But before I pulled the trigger, I discovered motion sims like Prosimu and DOFReality. And thus, for months, I had my heart set on getting a Prosimu T1000 3DOF, but I wasn't completely happy with how their platform lacked a center-stick solution, and the Warthog side mount they offer expects the base to be attached (how absurd!)

 

I then discovered the construction system known as 80/20, and how completely customizable it is. I found that there were several companies like SimLab and MonsterTech that offer custom solutions based on 80/20 profiles and hardware. And what's more, I even found an open source motion platform for 80/20, if I decide to go down that route in the future!

 

Ultimately, I decided that MonsterTech seemed to be the only 80/20-based rig shop that had dedicated flight sim hardware support, so that's what sold me.

 

From MT, I purchased the following MTX-F (black) components:

 

• Base module
• HOTAS module (with Warthog Throttle/Stick mounts)
• Center module (with Warthog stick mount)
• Left/Right MFD side mounts
• Bass Shaker mount (in case of future need)

 

After roughly 4 hours of setup time, I had the rig and all of my gear installed (including a Bestop Jeep seat and Andre's JetSeat.) Here's the results:

 

 

 

 

 

I've been playing a lot of Squadrons, so I moved the Warthog stick to the side and removed the Virpil gooseneck extension. The position of the MFDs also directly intersects the path of my legs, so I have since removed those and will probably buy an 80/20 profile to add those much higher up when I go back to playing more DCS.

 

I definitely need to do some cable management, but I think I'm going to need to hold off on that for a bit while I figure out what I'm going to do hardware-wise. My Warthog is definitely showing its age, and I had to disassemble the stick and re-glue the o-ring, and also clean and re-grease the ball/socket and spring. The left throttle axis appears to be dead, so I plan to take that apart and see if I can fix it. I'm considering getting a Virpil WarBRD or T-50CM and Constellation Alpha for side stick and keep the Warthog at center.

 

Eventually, I will move the rig to it's own dedicated space in the basement away from the 75" TV I currently have it positioned in front of (and thus have to move whenever my family wants to watch TV on the 'big' screen) but I haven't decided if I want to get a gaming TV or a multi-monitor setup like I used to have.

 

Anyway, it's a bit of a work in progress, but I hope you like it!

Edited December 2, 2020 by Der SchattenJager

[DutchCoolHand]

Great setup, I fly in VR and am about to place my order for the JetSeat and have been looking at a very similar setup. Can you share how much this setup was? 

Edited December 7, 2020 by DutchCoolHand

[RogueSqdn]

I'd have commented sooner but I've been busy working on my new computer.  That said, it looks great.  I seriously considered getting black for my rig, but decided against it because I thought every little scratch and speck of dust would show up.  Would you mind letting us know how that works out?

 

 

[Der SchattenJager]

On 12/5/2020 at 12:41 PM, RogueSqdn said:

I'd have commented sooner but I've been busy working on my new computer.  That said, it looks great.  I seriously considered getting black for my rig, but decided against it because I thought every little scratch and speck of dust would show up.  Would you mind letting us know how that works out?

 

 

 

Sorry for such a long delay. Life really got in the way the last few weeks!

 

Your concern about scratches is a legitimate one. Every joint that you make with a cut side against a coated side will leave a permanent mark. It's unfortunate, but ultimately not a major issue, since those joints will typically be permanent, or at least in areas that are hard to see. I feel like MT could get around that issue if they coated the ends of their profiles, but that would be a big cost to them. If I had known ahead of time, I would have bought some thin rubber sheeting to put between the joints.

 

Overall, though, the coating does seem to hold up pretty well to dings (I've dropped a heavy wrench on a profile on more than one occasion and didn't see a mark) and the black look is worth it to me.

 

Here's an example of the vertical center stick profile after I removed the piece that holds the stick bracket:

 

As far as I can tell, those scratches are immediate and permanent when you tighten down a joint. Again, you're not going to see this when the profile is in place, unless you tighten it down in a different position, but this could be a problem if you constantly re-adjust the position of things, say to better support different users.

 

This is my first 80/20 based project, and one thing I was surprised by was how difficult it was to get an immovable fit. In order to keep frames from shifting from significant force, I absolutely needed the corner brackets they provided, and they didn't include enough of them to put them in all of the places I needed to prevent shifting. I'm going to have to order more. and of course, those will also leave permanent marks on your profiles.

 

Because of the freeform nature of the interlocking system, I found it difficult to make perfect 90 degree angles. There's enough wiggle room in the channels that things can shift as you tighten, so you'll be well served by using a bubble level as you tighten things down.

 

After it's all is said and done, I am quite happy with how it turned out. I have plans to buy some additional profiles to support my MFDs, and I'm hoping to find a good desktop solution. I'd like to be able for this to double as a workstation, but that may be difficult if I have a center stick in place.

Edited December 22, 2020 by Der SchattenJager

[AV8RN4CR]

Outstanding Rig.  I am trying to locate your 2 side table attachments and the center stick mount if you could help me with that please.  I apprecaite any information.

EDIT**  I found that Monster Tech used to sell the tables, but no longer list them.  I contacted them and they found a couple of the side tables to sell me.  I was so happy when they arrived.  I also got their thrustmaster mounts, but I do not see that center mount with them either since they now build it to come from the seat area.  My problem is I bought the Trakracer frame and am now trying to fit Monster Tech onto it.  The frames are very different.

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by AV8RN4CR
added info