Building A Flight Sim With Real Cessna 172 Controls!!!
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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- This is my last build project before the move, it was half done when I got the notice that I was being pushed out of the space but I had to go back and finish it up and make this condensed video of the work. Worth it though, because this flight sim is the real deal! Enjoy!
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#Cessna #flight #simulator
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the dexterity and precison of an experienced fabricator mated with the feverishness of a child (it's a compliment, Fran)
Keeping your inner child alive is what allows us to create and innovate, and not to always take life too seriously. Enjoyed watching this.
having that physical awareness of your controls is such a huge advantage when piloting anything, i can totally see how training in this way give such an advantage to pilots, excellent result for your simulator Fran.
The build, and the flight, were so cool Fran! Thanks for taking us along and showing us the process!
I'm glad you're making something again. It makes me sad when everything goes wrong for you. This is what this channel is for.
I don't think I've seen you build mechanical stuff before - it's all been electronics. I'd like to see more - you've got some really good expertise and ideas.
You can binge-watch the builds here - ruclips.net/p/PLLEGuAEYBk-3eS6l4sL_Pht3k-FvKWvyC
AND she has a Shaper Origin CNC router! She inspired me to buy one as well!
A "good" landing is one you walk away from. A "great" landing is when the aircraft can be used again! Good to see you actually making stuff, Fran. I wish I had more woodworking tools!
I'm blown away by the ingenuity! Thanks for making this, I have so many ideas now. Flight sim is quite the rabbit hole... 😁
I worked for many years in training simulators used for another field (power plant control rooms). Getting the location and 'feel' for the genuine controls is a key part. Then you can run the student through all sorts of scenarios, with variations from time to time so the student doesn't get too comfortable with everything going exactly the same way each time. They're a great way to learn.
Perfect timing. I just reloaded my FSX and I have some unscheduled time off to start building a home sim setup.
Flight Simulator has gotten so much better. I really haven't messed with it since the middle '90s. I trained in Pipers so the Logitech configuration would work for me. 😁
The Logitech yoke lacks proper forward and back pressure so it's a bit meh, the Alpha yoke is far better in this respect. You're right, the Logitech ex Saitek quadrant is fine for a Cherokee, I owned a PA28-140 but trained on Cessnas. TBH, not really much practical difference when difference training between push rods and levers on the throttle quadrant. What's missing IMHO is the trim wheel!
Fran, I've been watching your videos for a few years and at first I wasn't so sure I wanted to come along on this pilot journey with you. HOWEVER, this video was really cool and I'm digging it!
I really like that way of creating threads in wood. I have used a tip from Keith Appleton before about cutting the threads and then soaking them with thin CA glue to reinforce them. The paper towel does have the advantage of not risking splitting a small piece with the force of the tap, and you get threads all the way to the bottom of the hole.
I have used that technique on RC airplanes for years. Surprisingly durable
Ahhh keith appleton reaches franlab.
Hes an amazing craftsman
@@paulcresswell2279 The AI rules us all Paul doesn't it?🤔 Many of us are all watching many of the same channels. All great stuff.😀
😀
Cool mod to the throttle quadrant! Nice little test flight and a great landing! "Keep the blue side up!" (by the way, a bad landing you can't walk away from, a good landing, you walk away from, a great landing is when you can use the plane again!)
Nice job with the Cessna controls! I used to play Flight Simulator a lot in the 90s, using a CH Virtual Pilot yoke and Thrustmaster rudder pedals. It helped me on learning to fly for real. Just a tip, don't chase the runway on final by banking, keep the wings level and use rudder only, it's much easier and smoother!
Fine job... no derbis on the runway.. Amazing to build your own, gives another dimension to learning the plane and learning to fly
NEXT PROJECT: Space Ship Flight Simulator
Compliments! Great upgrade.
IRL Cessna & Cherokee pilot here, and a simmer. The yoke feel and the elevator trim tab control are probably the most important controls that need working on for me in a sim. The yoke needs to have the right amount of forward and back pressure, which as I'm sure you know you compensate with using the trim tab. The trim tab is regularly adjusted throughout any flight to maintain steady altitude.
So I would like to see any trim tab solution you come up with! 2nd hand Saitek Cessna trim wheels go for $$$$ on eBay as sine Logitech bought Saitek, they dropped the trim wheel.
One more tip: never use full flaps until power off landing is assured. If you find yourself adding power on final when you have already added full flaps, you have not managed your energy properly. But that is what the simulator is for! Great work!
Wow - you are a serious builder, inventor, artist!!
Excellent work Fran! There is nothing like the feel of the "real thing"! Very elegant mechanics to be sure. I don't work with general aviation avionics or private aircraft parts, but if you feel that you want to make a military simulator, or airliner cockpit simulator, using real parts, you know I'm there to help. From real throttle quadrants and controls to instrumentation and 400Hz power sources, no question you ask will be new to me. The materials and craftsmanship that goes into military aircraft and airliner parts have a "feel" that can't be replicated by plastic. I'm sure you'll work your way up to business jets and beyond. Keep it small and portable! Me and my other flight sim cronies went way off the rails when we bought the actual noses and flight decks from 737s to 747s. Luckily a ton of the "magical" mechanical interlinks in these cockpits are usually intact. But you can make your own, obviously. Reminds me of my humble beginnings. I had to interface the mechanics of a real A-10 throttle quadrant to potentiometers and there's many ways to do that. It's a very addictive hobby!
Hi there.. could you pls direct me to some 400Hz / 27V 3 phase inverter design? I'm buuilding a soviet mig.. i have almost all the instrumentation and now i'm going for frame work and the physical stuff, next thing power and then programming.
Vit, I don't know of any 3 phase 400Hz plans or schematics out there. To do it properly requires a lot of custom magnetics or very high power FETs to generate a 3 phase 400Hz power source. There are two ways I know of to acquire 3 Phase 400Hz. The first is to buy a used surplus aircraft 28VDC to 115V 3 Phase 400Hz inverter and they show up on eBay from time to time. The other option is to find a power converter that can take 115V 50/60Hz in and output 3 Phase 400Hz at whatever voltage you want up to a few hundred volts. An example of one of these is at the following link: www.ebay.com/itm/383864716794?hash=item59601ebdfa:g:r0wAAOSw8vJf3MiO
Nice! Are any of you folks working with VR, with the headset and hand tracking!? That has been a pipe dream of mine for ages, one which I'll enact when I have the resources (time, money) to do so! Cheers for your message, it's heartening to know there's other folks out there who go to such lengths! (There always are but usually it's difficult to find them!)
You are...so freaking cool. Much respect, Fran!
Ladies and gentleman, the hands of a master builder. Wow.
I admire your perseverance in continuing with your pilot training. Just a damned cool setup.
Great work!
Ii am having a lot of fun in msfs and IL-2 .. since i love those old birds.
In VR i really have the feeling of sitting in a Spitfire, now all i need is this :D
Vomit Comet!! You so lucky!!! I haven't piloted since the 80s so your flight sim looks really amazing!!! Looks like a lot of fun. Nice wobbly circuit haha that takes me back!!
I've been wanting to do this for a long, long time.. kudos to you
That is so cool. I never would’ve thought of using foam board to attach the 2 pieces of acrylic together.
Nice flight for a student. Thanks for sharing your impressive scratch-build. Fantastic!
Since I've never really been into flight sims, the only videos of people operating them that I've seen tended to be ones about how realistic--and therefore, bloody difficult--they are, and I've never seen anyone successfully land in one... until now. 😁😅 I can't wait for your move to be over so you can get back in the saddle, as it were, but in the meantime, you've put together what looks like a pretty effective simulator station to keep yourself from getting rusty, and I think that's awesome. Much appreciation!
good build fran
Now watching the California floods
well there you go, any landing is a good landing. Nice job Fran, that was fun, way to go👍🦅⭐️
Love the acrylic / foam / adhesive construction trick! I learn something every time I watch one of your videos, Fran!
At one point in my checkered past, I interviewed for a job with one of the big U.S. aircraft companies who wanted to update a flight simulator for one of their products. It had been hand-written in some obscure machine code for some obscure processor. I asked if they had a C compiler ("No"), a symbolic assembler ("No") or a linker ("No"). I asked if the schedule was critical ("Yes"). I asked if they'd considered interfacing their own particular controls, as Fran has done here, and customizing flight dynamics with Microsoft Flight Simulator ("No - what's Microsoft Flight Simulator?"). I thanked them and left the interview. :-)
Wow! It's a far cry from that very first version isn't it? I'll never forget flying that sim for the first time with a mix of borrowed equipment and a slapped together 286 running at 4mhz I built. Nice job Fran.
Nice build and workmanship I built my first sim out of plywood nd duct tape back in 1980 Attarii II flight sim... I had just got my PPL and I wanted to stay current... Cessna 152 Rental was $20 per hour... $30 per hour for dual Gas was $2.10 for Avgas...Yeah it was nice...Cya!!
This is beautiful and wonderful
I love the ingenuity and requirement to be as realistic as possible.
This is great. Loved to watch you bring it all together
Love the in flight audio treatment. Attention to detail as always!
What a great project Fran.
That’s great thanks Fran for sharing that with us I used to fly with the old flight sim I need to upgrade
Excellent work Fran.
Greetings from Sunny Greece💙
Gotta say I really love the timelapse aesthetic as opposed to simply sped up video.
Fun. Super good video. Thanks, Fran.
You'll get better. I flew both 150's and 172's. I preferred the 172 since it was a bit more stable when I was training.
I can't fit in a 150 - I'm all leg.
@@FranLab I'm a leggy 6'1" and have poured myself in to a 152. It took some doing and I ended up with my knees in odd places. Fun little plane, though: easy to fly, hard to fly well.
Great Job Fran, keep up the good work...
I've only watched 1/3 for now, but this is an excellent video. You're so skilled!
Thank you for making this happen
I haven't been watching your videos lately, but I just came to look for people doing flight controls. I clicked the video and didn't pay attention to who made it. I was like "That sounds like Fran!"
We have a lot of interests in common. It's a shame we're so far apart, I'm sure we could have some fun working on stuff together. I still love your content, RUclips just hasn't been offering it up recently. I'll have to make more of a point of coming straight to your channel.
Very nice! Not sure what thickness you used for the acrylic but I learned from Robert Murray Smith's channel that you can source some from discarded flat screen displays.
that is so cool. I used the saitek set for a sim, but the real controls are next level.
Very smooth landing. I like the idea with the controls. 👍
Nice work, Fran, all very interesting..
At 20:45 be careful about adding flaps when your airspeed is outside of the white arc on your airspeed indicator! I am a flight instructor. You are right you should have trimmed the plane as that would have helped check your speed on downwind. Keep up the great work!
The white arc (85 knots) on a 172P or later is for flaps 20 or more. Flaps 10 is OK up to 110 knots...and a handy way to slow down on approach.
That’s the best flight sim landing I have seen. I usually just auger in.
This is beautiful. I have been working on a home cockpit for 2 years and you have everything you need on a wooden block. I'm seriously thinking of doing something like this to use in the meantime.
Because I love realism, I have tried getting a real mixture and throttle knob, but found that even old used ones are incredibly expensive! Did you get a special deal on these?
nut zert or nut sert works well on wood with a bit of epoxy. that way you have metal threads.
also use stainless steel nylock nuts work well to hold those little screws so they can be serviced at a later date.
Nail polish as threadlocker, interesting! I will have to try that!
19:05 CHHHHT This is your captain speaking welcome to Franaire flight 105!
I love that you used a controller that many flight sim flyers likely have to do this.
Good luck with your move.
Nice work. Have fun! As part of rebuilding my plane's engine last winter I had to buy new throttle and mixture controls. The plane is a Beechcraft but since the controls were made by the same company that make them for Cessna, they look exactly like what you would find in a 172.
Great build and good flying. Keep at it and soon you will have your license and maybe your own plane!
Fantastic work! Really enjoy this type of video!
Clearly you HAVE to finish your pilot license! A nice good old FranLab project! 🤗
Yay! Something more to watch while I draft! :)
That was too stinking cool. Heading over to Patreon now.
Reminds me of my former work colleague who was big into flight simulation. Dave interviewed him in a video a few years back, it was in one of those full-scale, hydraulic motion platform type simulators. I feel like your little custom panel is how you end up like that guy, flying a real-time round trip from Sydney to LA or London to New York. It's a good start, but I'm sure you'll have your own motion platform simulator in no time!
Time lapse voice-over is definitely the way to go.
This is why I watch Fran! She's awesome!
I did my apprenticeship at a small regional airport in the UK, airport maintenance, not the aeroplanes. Airfield lighting and building electrics.
There was a really old simulator that simulated the propeller driven planes the main airline at the airport used. It was a huge bank of cabinets with relays and small motors, nothing digital in it at all. The thing took up half a hangar. Towards the end of my time there another airline started to use it as their base of operations. Their simulator was in a Porta-cabin, all ‘new and digital’.
Unfortunately I was never allowed to try and ‘fly’ either. I did ask several times, but always got a definite ‘No. This simulator is not a toy!’. (This was before PC’s were even conceived, even the ‘new simulator’ had no screens to ‘see’ through the windows)
Great job of design and fabrication. I like the swing arm sandwich construction. I bet it "flies" much more realistically than the plastic quadrant!
Fran, that was pretty dang cool! Great job!
Really nice project and video. But, putting on my instructor's hat for a moment, don't retract the flaps until you come to a full stop off the runway. You probably won't hurt anything if you do that in a 172, but you don't want to build the muscle memory because one day, you're going to upgrade to a retractable and when you automatically reach out to grab the flap lever, you're going to grab the gear lever by accident and that will ruin your whole day.
Ok, this is awesome work!!!
Very nice! impressed.
Great build, Fran. The last Cessna Sim I flew was Flight Simulator, on the 48K ZX Spectrum.
I still play it. LOL.
Thanks!
Damn Fran! This is so cool.
And to think she learned how to fly flight sim by taking actual flying lessons, and now just knows what to do.. Very good, i'll step in a plane in you as soon you got your license :)
Never too old to learn to fly! I wish I started sooner. If you are ever in Austin, I will take you flying around the City :)
Great time lapse video!!!
What a nice lil project, I like the way you dealt with levers. Bowden cables to the rescue! :)
Fran-kly, I thought you were going for a realistic full cockpit build, but hey - these are hella expensive and take a loooooot of time to build.
Fascinating
Fantastic work on the Vernier style controls. Those must be pretty hard to come by.
Great job =D Lovely flying too!
Way to adapt a prefabricated sim tool to fit your needs. Very cool finished product.
Very nice. I did a similar build a few years ago. I pulled apart a logitech joystick and used all the pots, switches, and board to fabricate complete helicopter controls. I love MDF for these projects. Doesn’t take screws that well but super cheap and no wood grain.
Ever try head tracking?
Broken drumsticks make good raw materials for exposed parts, if you can get them cheap/free (or you broke them yourself). They'll be hard, from a defect-free piece of wood, and tend to have grain that is pleasant to the touch even after cutting and sanding. The limit, of course, is that you can only make individual parts up to the diameter of the stick.
Awesome video. I played the hell out of FSX.
This kind of fabrication is what i like to see... keep up the good work !
Brilliant!
Super nice!
I'm dying to watch Fran's flight sim nerd arc. Welcome to the club!
Flying Frantastic!
Suggest binding pitch trim on the thumb toggle just below the top hat. Makes a diffrence.
Hey Fran, if you have outputs from the artificial horizon, you could use the signals to make a gymballed chair... with simple pneumatics.
Wow ! Didnt realize you are into airplanes! You are awesome.
THRUSTMASTER makes some very cool airplane controls
Love it!!
Been living my space and flight hobbies through your videos,, so glad youve had these opportunities
What do you listen to while working? Saw those headphones dangling
Nice! I'm not quite sure why you'd use wood instead of metal, but hey, you built it for you not me! I'd love to see you make the whole dashboard!
It’s easier to work with. If the wood causes problems, then she can try a few other options, and settle on a metal part if it’s absolutely necessary.