My next project

Discussions about Cockpits, Joysticks & Setups
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Ells
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Post by Ells » Sun Feb 26, 2012 6:43 pm

Well it's always good to learn buddy.


Once I figure out where I'll be living in 4 months, I'll start my own build too.
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Teej
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Post by Teej » Sun Feb 26, 2012 6:56 pm

In the end...what counts is it's very comfortable to fly and much more ergonomic than what I was doing before.

While I am still likely to build a replacement at some point...it's perfectly serviceable as is.

When AF came out and I was flying on my FCC-modded Cougar, I built these stands:

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Was still using them in '09 when I joined up with the VTB. With the Warthog, I promptly bought one of "Metalnwood"'s extension kits and was setting that on a concrete block in front of the chair. I was a lot smoother with that (and landed the #2 seat) but it still wasn't very comfortable due to the long reach (required for the stick to not hit the chair). I was also still using the above throttle stand with the 'hog throttle quick-clamped to it.

So now...while my seat frame may not be pretty, it definitely works better than anythign I've "flown" in here before. :D

I'm actually really tempted to make up a set of Cougar mounts for this thing and fly the FCC some more. I haven't plugged that in in nearly 2 years!
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Teej
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Post by Teej » Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:54 pm

Well, at this point I'm not sure I'm gonna put pictures up of "v1" hehehehe.

It works...and very well...but aesthetically it's almost as horked as ^ those stands. :D

I keep making small revisions to it - the slip fit bracket I made to hold the stick/wheel/pedals in place was too sloppy loose. Turned it into a bolt-on mount, and it's much more solid...but the adaptation is quite ugly since I didn't originally frame it up intending things to bolt on. :D

Now that I know a little more about what works and am starting (!) to make halfway decent looking welds...it's kinda begging for a rebuild. Not sure I'm in a hurry to redo it though since it's so comfy.

Also thinking if I redo it (or maybe even if I don't), possibly doing an inverted pedal setup for racing.
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Ells
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Post by Ells » Fri Mar 02, 2012 1:18 pm

I think the Hawg would scare the cat now. ;)

I found out the chair we had in Paris was the Speedmaster, with a centre mount for the stick rotated about 15 degrees left for ergonomics, was a very comfy chair and once you got used to the centre offset was very nice to fly in.
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Teej
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Post by Teej » Fri Mar 02, 2012 1:57 pm

Yeah, this week I've flown a handful of sorties and I've been driving the snot out of it...11 races in the past coupla days on iRacing. ;)
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Teej
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Post by Teej » Sun Apr 08, 2012 12:44 pm

Oh, what the hell. Here it is.

Note that it isn't pretty because:

1: First time I've touched a welder.

2: Trying to make parts "slip fit" with off the shelf steel doesn't work so well - they end up "sloppy loose" unless you have the means to buy things tight and mill them to proper dimensions.

3: Several on-the-fly design changes were made due to #2.

That said, there's really only 2 "problems" I have with the setup...

- The looks of the front bracket and its mounting system due to the build-time re-engineering.

- When I put the steering wheel on, the 2-point mounting of the front bracket allows a bit of movement of the wheel fore/aft. Usable, but would be better with a 3rd attachment point.

So on the one side, I really want to make it look better...but on the other hand it's so comfy and works so well now I'm really not motivated to improve it until I clear out a bunch of other non-related projects.

I have in fact stopped using the extension tube on the Warthog. While it was a great mod when flying in an office chair, once I was able to put the stick base where it is now, the extra throw was a detriment rather than an improvement. With the previous long-reach + long-throw I was smooth but fought unintended inputs - roll while pitching, pitch while rolling. Gotta find a new way to "offset" the grip angle (I'd rather not rotate the base, but I might do that).

This was intended to be a "rough draft" before I even made the first steel cut...and it is. :D

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Beaker
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Post by Beaker » Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:34 pm

Looks good to me man, dang! Form follows function. Any plans to support your throttle arm?
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Teej
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Post by Teej » Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:35 pm

Beaker wrote:Any plans to support your throttle arm?
Thanks!

I actually got quite lucky there. I deliberately built the throttle mount so that my arm would naturally rest fairly close to 85% throttle. As it turns out my arm is quite well supported when I'm at anything less than about 90-95% throttle. My humerus fits in nicely in the shaping of the seat...so when my hand is on the throttle my arm is totally supported. I see no need for an armrest there at all.

I'm debating whether I want a little support for my stick arm, but even that isn't uncomfortable as-is.
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Ells
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Post by Ells » Wed Apr 11, 2012 2:17 pm

Looks great Teej.
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Beaker
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Post by Beaker » Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:11 pm

Teej wrote:My humerus fits in nicely in the shaping of the seat...so when my hand is on the throttle my arm is totally supported. I see no need for an armrest there at all.
Interesting! Sounds like a lucky break.
Teej wrote:I'm debating whether I want a little support for my stick arm, but even that isn't uncomfortable as-is.
Yeah you already have it, it's called your leg! :mrgreen:
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