NEW SIMPIT DESIGN

[ZQuickSilverZ]

This is a mock up of my new simpit design.

 

The sticks and throttle are adjustable up/down, forward/aft. Only the left/right axis is not adjustable.

 

The throttle quadrants are adjustable left/right, forward/aft.

 

The collective is adjustable up/down, forward/aft.

 

The seat is not fixed to the frame.

 

I have not made up my mind rather I would like to attach the monitors to the frame or build a separate stand to minimize or eliminate movement and vibration being transferred to the displays.

 

At this point my thoughts turn to arm rests (not currently modeled), with the one on the left side being fold up as to not interfere with the collective when flying helicopters, and speakers (also not currently modeled) attached to the back behind the chair. I really don't know if I am going to attach speakers because I am playing in VR more and more. I would of course play sims on flat panel from time to time but is it really worth the cost and effort to have surround sound for those titles? 

 

You will notice I do not have a keyboard. I really don't find it necessary. Between voice communication, Elegato Stream Deck, and voice control software do I really need one? I suppose I could mount a mini between the two flight sticks or off the right side arm rest.

 

My Elgato Stream Deck is represented by the white boxes. They are attached using Monstertech topside mounts. In reality I will only have 1 Elgato Stream Deck. The right side will probably be a 10 inch tablet of some sort. The MFD's are attached using Monstertech side mounts with a 7 inch Kindle Fire behind them.

 

At any rate I would like some feedback and suggestions.

 

Please note this is NOT to scale. This is simply a mock up for the purpose of brainstorming design ideas.

 

Also note the equipment used in the mockup (flight sticks, throttle, and pedals) was used for convenience and does not represent my actual equipment.  However having different equipment should not impact the design. 

 

Edited July 25, 2021 by ZQuickSilverZ

[sirrah]

Looks a simple/clever solution @ZQuickSilverZ

 

However, having a bit of experience by building my own (VR) seat/setup (I'll post an update of my setup here soon, as the pictures linked from my signature are outdated by now), I also think that you'll get in a bit of space trouble when designing this in more detail:

• First of all, I think the position of your rudder pedals as to the position of the mfd's, is way off. The mfd's should roughly be above your knees and the rudder pedals further back (which in your current frame design doesn't seem possible)
• The centre stick grip should roughly be positioned between your upper legs so that your arm will rest on your thigh when you hold it (are you considering a game chair with a cut out section between the legs? as this is most convenient).  
• The side stick should be positioned just right and in the middle of your right upper leg, when sitting down. If you adjust this in your setup, it will partially impede simple access to your chair (although not really avoidable with a side stick setup)
• You should be able to position the throttle grip and collective grip in the same location, so you'll have to figure out how to fold away either of them when you use the other one

Most of the above remarks you probably already thought of yourself, but I thought I'd share them anyways  

 

And I'm not sure what hardware you already own or not, but personally I'd save my money for the big screen, MFD's, (possibly TrackIR?) and go for VR in combination with PointCTRL. Not only is it far more immersive, but using just a small simple monitor also saves you a lot of space 

[ZQuickSilverZ]

7 hours ago, sirrah said:

Looks a simple/clever solution @ZQuickSilverZ

 

However, having a bit of experience by building my own (VR) seat/setup (I'll post an update of my setup here soon, as the pictures linked from my signature are outdated by now), I also think that you'll get in a bit of space trouble when designing this in more detail:

• First of all, I think the position of your rudder pedals as to the position of the mfd's, is way off. The mfd's should roughly be above your knees and the rudder pedals further back (which in your current frame design doesn't seem possible)
• The centre stick grip should roughly be positioned between your upper legs so that your arm will rest on your thigh when you hold it (are you considering a game chair with a cut out section between the legs? as this is most convenient).  
• The side stick should be positioned just right and in the middle of your right upper leg, when sitting down. If you adjust this in your setup, it will partially impede simple access to your chair (although not really avoidable with a side stick setup)
• You should be able to position the throttle grip and collective grip in the same location, so you'll have to figure out how to fold away either of them when you use the other one

Most of the above remarks you probably already thought of yourself, but I thought I'd share them anyways  

 

And I'm not sure what hardware you already own or not, but personally I'd save my money for the big screen, MFD's, (possibly TrackIR?) and go for VR in combination with PointCTRL. Not only is it far more immersive, but using just a small simple monitor also saves you a lot of space 

I appreciate your feedback.

 

As far as the rudder pedals this was not designed to scale. It was just a concept mockup. However I appreciate you pointing out that the rudder pedals needed to be further out.

 

I had not considered a game chair but maybe I should. The center stick is designed to where the bar the mount is attached to can actually move up and down (and back and forth) as well as vertical adjustability of the mount itself.

 

I currently use a 50 inch 4K TV for a monitor but I am going to downgrade that to a 40 inch 4K. 50 makes it difficult to read text sometimes.

 

I do play in VR but some of my older sims do not support VR and I find the big screen immersive.

 

My current setup is X-55 throttle, VKB GF3 MCE with 200mm extension, VIRPIL MongoosT-50CM2 Grip with WarBRD mount (both sticks mounted using Monstertech mounts complete with mouse extension and cup holder), 2 Thrustmaster MFD's (mounted with Monstertech side mounts) with 2 Kindle 7 inch tablets for screens, Elgato Stream Deck (mounted with Monstertech top mount), Oculus Quest 2, TrackIR 4 (soon to be replaced with LetIO gyroscopic head tracker), 50 inch 4K TV (soon to be replaced with 40 inch 4K TV), TPR Rudder pedals, VIRPIL Keyboard mount, and a stand alone tablet (using Monstertech top mount sometimes 10" Kindle Fire, sometimes 10" 2021 iPad, whatever I happen to grab, for tutorials, manuals, charts and such). That is pretty much my complete setup. I currently use an office chair with wheels.

 

I plan on adding a VIRPIL Ka50 collective.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2021 by ZQuickSilverZ

[ZQuickSilverZ]

I actually built this. I followed my design down to the mm and it seems to work perfect... for me. Note I have NOT done the collective or fixed seat yet but rolling my chair up to it seems to work very well. Eventually I will have a fixed seat. I know this looks askew but it is not. I don't know why it looks crooked in the picture but it has been checked with a square and a level multiple times and is laser straight. At any rate since this pic I have upgraded the CM3 baseplate to the proper one.  Also I decided to forego the top screen and the 2nd Elgato Stream deck. A tablet seems to work fine for what I wanted to use the top screen for and a 2nd Elgato now seems unnecessary. I simply place the tablet on the right side MFD mount. I decided to go with ONE center mount for the MFD's instead of 2. It just made more sense. Less weight, less material, and no loss of placement or functionality. 

 

For the screen I am using 2 7" Kindle Fires and Spacedesk. This has limited usability. I can use it for menu selection but it seems to lag too bad for targeting. I will upgrade these to USB or HDMI screens in the future.

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by ZQuickSilverZ