P-51 Hotas Anyone?

[lion737]

A german style stick (like MMaister´s) with brushless FFB, and i am in for any price !

 

 

 

But when it comes to FFB there's a lot of misconception about what feedback it should include. For instance gun fireing, ground bumps, engine vibrations etc. are not forces one should feel on the stick.

 

You should feel ground bumps on the stick, as the elevator is moved by inertia (tail dragger). You are right about gun fire and engine vibs.

BTW, there is a sim, where it is modelled exactly like this ;)

Edited October 28, 2013 by lion737

[reaper7]

Very interested in this.

[VO101_MMaister]

How is it coming along? Just asking:)

[LOGICNC.COM]

How is it coming along? Justt asking:)

 

Nothing to show yet after the last update...I've been working on some tooling and waiting for material to arrive. Should have some more progress to show next week....I really am going to try and make a valiant effort to finish the prototype by the end of December.

 

As far as the knobs on the mixture and pitch levers... by show of hands who wants plastic and who wants aluminum? Of course there are pros and cons to each choice. Plastic is not as durable and doesn't have that nice metal feel, but it is in fact the original material used on the actual quadrant. Aluminum on the other hand is very nice but comes at a much greater cost...in material, machining and in anodizing to the final color. The prototype will be plastic, but I'm debating the final choice and am looking for some input.

[reaper7]

Nothing to show yet after the last update...I've been working on some tooling and waiting for material to arrive. Should have some more progress to show next week....I really am going to try and make a valiant effort to finish the prototype by the end of December.

 

As far as the knobs on the mixture and pitch levers... by show of hands who wants plastic and who wants aluminum? Of course there are pros and cons to each choice. Plastic is not as durable and doesn't have that nice metal feel, but it is in fact the original material used on the actual quadrant. Aluminum on the other hand is very nice but comes at a much greater cost...in material, machining and in anodizing to the final color. The prototype will be plastic, but I'm debating the final choice and am looking for some input.

 

I vote plastic, keep it as close to the original.

[tintifaxl]

I vote aluminium.

[Balto]

I vote plastic. Especially if it keeps to its originality and it is cheaper to make.

[VH-Rock]

I vote plastic. Especially if it keeps to its originality and it is cheaper to make.

 

+1 :thumbup:

[Oscar]

....exactly like the original..... Metal for metal, plastic for plastic....

[hvengel]

Keep it original. I vote for plastic knobs.

[LOGICNC.COM]

It has been a while since the last update. There is some progress being made...the parts bin is slowly growing. All of the standard hardware has been sourced and I have been busy on the lathe making custom washers, etc.

[VH-Rock]

Great work! Can't wait to use this at Duxford when we go there to demo DCS :)

[LOGICNC.COM]

Great work! Can't wait to use this at Duxford when we go there to demo DCS :)

 

When exactly will that be? Forgive me...I am very much "across the pond" from you and I'm not familiar with it! I want to make sure I try and get something in your hands well before that...

 

 

A test cut for the lever knob in the picture below....the mixture lever should be red, and the M isn't centered...but this was just a proof of concept.

[Tiger27]

This looks very cool, but such a beautiful piece of hardware without ffb doesn't make sense.

 

Force feedback is nice but not for everyone, I have used it and didnt like it all that much, some areas don't really feel realistic to me and it can effect aim.

 

The cost would also surely skyrocket apart from the issue with getting the software/hardware to be at least as good as the MSFFB2 but isn't the design for that copyrighted in some way as well?

 

Of course if you can get the feel of ffb right and combine it with a realistic stick I'm sure there will be many buyers including myself.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Tiger27

[tintifaxl]

For me FFB on the stick is an essential prerequisite for buying this HOTAS. Else I would stick with my Warthog and an extension. Maybe it is doable to offer 2 bases for the stick: one with FFB the other without.

[Pman]

When exactly will that be? Forgive me...I am very much "across the pond" from you and I'm not familiar with it! I want to make sure I try and get something in your hands well before that...

 

 

A test cut for the lever knob in the picture below....the mixture lever should be red, and the M isn't centered...but this was just a proof of concept.

 

Rock and I normally demo DCS @ Duxford 2-3 times a year

 

The first show will be end of May, Then July for Legends and then September for the last show of the year.

 

There are other events we do as well for ED/DCS but those are the shows at Duxford.

 

Pman

[VH-Rock]

When exactly will that be? Forgive me...I am very much "across the pond" from you and I'm not familiar with it! I want to make sure I try and get something in your hands well before that...

 

 

A test cut for the lever knob in the picture below....the mixture lever should be red, and the M isn't centered...but this was just a proof of concept.

 

As Pete said, we normally go to Dux 3 times a year. Dates for 2014 are as follows:

 

The D-Day Anniversary Air Show is on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May

Flying Legends Air Show is on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July

The Duxford Air Show is on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September

 

It's great to see progress being made with your project :)

 

Rock

Edited December 12, 2013 by VH-Rock

[LOGICNC.COM]

Force feedback is nice but not for everyone, I have used it and didnt like it all that much, some areas don't really feel realistic to me and it can effect aim.

 

The cost would also surely skyrocket apart from the issue with getting the software/hardware to be at least as good as the MSFFB2 but isn't the design for that copyrighted in some way as well?

 

Of course if you can get the feel of ffb right and combine it with a realistic stick I'm sure there will be many buyers including myself.

 

We are definitely on the same page here....half baked force feedback is worse than no feedback at all. Currently the plan is to include it, but if it doesn't turn out to be what I envisioned then it will be eliminated. And yes, FFB does cause the cost to skyrocket! It won't be the kind of skyrocketing that happened with the Paccus FFB joystick though....you're basically looking at the industrial/medical industry only when the joystick is priced at 2247 Euro!

[VO101_MMaister]

We are definitely on the same page here....half baked force feedback is worse than no feedback at all. Currently the plan is to include it, but if it doesn't turn out to be what I envisioned then it will be eliminated. And yes, FFB does cause the cost to skyrocket! It won't be the kind of skyrocketing that happened with the Paccus FFB joystick though....you're basically looking at the industrial/medical industry only when the joystick is priced at 2247 Euro!

 

 

Today there are several full scale, non FFB sticks available or in the oven, from 200USD to 2000USD. For DIY guys it is not a big challange to put together a decent one either. The market is very small, so it is not easy to make a well selling product without special features. You can put on a P-51 grip with its limited two buttons, but it will excite only a few fanatic pony fans.

 

What is certenly missing is an FFB solution. It has a good reason of course. It is much more a complex and expensive product, to be developed by hobby guys at home, it requires good Mechatronic skills to make it right.

I am really cheering you to succeed with this one. It would be deffinitely a very popular device!

 

MM

[LOGICNC.COM]

Semi-finished pitch lever....

[LOGICNC.COM]

Soon to be part of a finished mixture lever assembly...

 

[Merlin-27]

Great to see the progress on this!

[LOGICNC.COM]

A first try at the mixture plate....not quite there yet! At least I have a practice piece for bending/finishing.

 

[VH-Rock]

Looking great :)

[Whiplash]

nice work!