Find your way into flight simulator cockpit construction
3.2 The 5 questions to ask
First you need to get a grasp of the basic components a flight simulator cockpit consists of. Then it is time to have a big look around on internet to get acquainted with the various approaches you can follow. Browse through sites of cockpit builders, read their stories, visit the various cockpit builders communities and resources on internet and visit the many sites of suppliers. Invest some time; it will pay off because you get a basic feeling of the options and their implications.
By then you are heading for some crossroads:
- What are your skills and do you want to develop new skills ? Are you going for ready
made components, or are you going to develop components yourself from scratch or
by using parts or half fabricates ?
If you want to build a flight simulator cockpit based on ready made components, you are limited to either the specific aircraft types offered by the suppliers or a more generic cockpit setup. If you want to move more into the area of the actual construction of components there is a much larger range of aircrafts you can select. If you additionally have or are willing to develop some programming skills there is basically no limitation to the aircraft you can select or level of realism you can achieve. In all of these dimensions available budget and/or available time plays an important role. - What is your time line ?
In what time do you want to fly in the first version of your own flight simulator cockpit? For your own satisfaction and motivation it is better to follow small steps and make sure you can fly in your own cockpit setup (under development) at almost any given moment in time. - What is the space you have for your cockpit setup ?
Some have a corner in a study they share with other family members, some have a corner in their bedroom and others have a dedicated room or attic. - What is the overall ambition ?
What level of realism do you want to achieve, at the start and at the end ? How many PC’s do you want to use ? What is the budget you want to spend ? - And finally, what aircraft do you want to fly ?
Some do not want to make a choice and choose for a more generic cockpit of an airliner, small aircraft, etc. If you want to build a flight simulator cockpit based on ready made components, you are limited to the specific aircraft types offered by the suppliers. If you are in for building the cockpit parts yourself you can choose from aircrafts that are supported standard within the Microsoft Flight Simulator or are offered by commercial or freeware add-on suppliers and that you trust to be around long enough.
