Long Term Captain Gain | A320 Home Cockpit: Cost, Options, and How I Funded Mine
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- Опубликовано: 2 июл 2023
- The number one question cockpit builders seems to get is "How much did your home cockpit cost?". In this video I decided to share the answer to that question and review some options on how to bring the price down.
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Find out more about our A320 simulator and its full-size cockpit at www.flightpathsimulation.club...
A list of all the main parts used in my A320 build is available at
www.flightpathsimulation.club...
Other useful links:
SimObsession has a really good article on the same topic:
www.simobsession.com/faq/how-...
Building an A320 home cockpit on a $5/day budget (in French):
www.jl-a320.com/ 
Игры
One of the most honest and straightforward home cockpit builder videos I’ve seen - well done and congrats on a great build. Looking
forward to watching more of your videos.
Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment.
So far I’ve got a thrust master airbus sidestick and quadrant so I’ve got a long way to go 😅 love your setup! I’ll start saving 😁
That's pretty much where we all start, so who knows where that will lead you?
@@captaintango thanks -- looking forward to the journey, and looking forward to watching more videos from you!
Thanks. I'll try to post a video today from our last positioning flight before WorldFlight 2023. We did practice some formation flying on our way down to Sydney, which is always a lot of fun in the A320.
@@captaintango looking forward to it!
I'm 13 but when I get the finances and a stable job, I will definitely be putting money into making a cockpit
It's never too early to start planning. It took me more than 25 years to get to a full-size airliner cockpit but for some reasons I feel like it will be faster for you!
im in the same situation as you are you planning on building it on your own or buying it build and also do you think that the thrustmaster airbus stuff is worth it?
your interests will change 5 times over before you turn 15
@@Fenderak can i ask why?
@Fenderak not always true. At the age 5 I wanted to be a pilot, I've been a professional pilot since the age of 18 and am in my 50s now and still love it.
Very inspiring, good job.
Thank you!
Great video T!
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
Great video! Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Absolutely incredible!
Thanks
Hello Captain Tango, I’m absolutely impressed by your beautiful home built cockpit! Would you mind if I ask couple of questions regarding your sim project? I’m looking for a A320 cockpit for my ADX training school, but I have no idea how to get one at a reasonable price yet! It looks like you did entire full nine yards of installations all by yourself. Where do you live? In the US/Canada or Europe? It looks like you purchased entire kits, parts, components and bells and whistles from Europe. If you live in the US, how much did you actually pay for import taxes, handling/custom clearance and shipping costs ? I wish I could build my sim all from the beginning by myself because it gives me an opportunity in the future to maintain and repair my own system in later years after warranty expired! Unfortunately, I don’t have that free time. However, I want my new sim to put into action after it arrived at my school! Last question, is there a sales representative in the US for your system or you would have to contact your European sales rep every time when you need a service! Thanks!
Thanks for your comments and questions. I'd be happy to share my experience. I'll give some brief answers below but if you want more details, please feel free to reach out via the Contact Us form on our website: www.flightpathsimulation.club/contact-us/
I do live in the US (Texas) and all cockpit parts came from Europe. There is no import tax for this type of equipment. Air freight is really expensive so I had everything delivered via ocean freight which is a little bit cheaper. You do have to pay for customs clearance, but if you stay on top of things you can limit the fees to around $500. I will have to check on the exact shipping costs though.
The company I used in in Germany and doesn't have representation in the US but they have customers all over the world. They have been very responsive any time I had a question or issue. You have to keep in mind the time zone difference but it almost works better that way for me as I would send my questions at the end of the day and get answers by the time I woke up the next day. Also there is no real "sales rep" so you deal directly with the technical people.
Thank you for being open and honest about the cost. A question so many duck. I am building DIY, but boy, does it take a lot of time. Even at minimum wage, it would be cheaper to buy simulator parts, but maybe not so rewarding. Be great to see other videos about your thoughts of owning and using your sim. Is it worth it?
I had been debating whether to make this video or not, so thanks for your comment. I have some experience building parts myself (for an SR-22 cockpit) and it is definitely a lot of fun, but also takes a lot of time. I hope to have some flying videos out in the next few weeks. I already have more than 1,000 hours in the sim (it just took me a long time to get to making some of the recent videos) and I am so glad I decided to build it. Good luck with your project!
@@captaintango Thank you for putting the effort into making the video. Be great to see more. 1,000 hours! It's a huge investment of time and or money to build a cockpit, so great you are using it a lot. Are you happy with the choice to go with Airbus? Do you miss flying other aircraft? Looking for reassurance that all the effort and time is worth it 😊
I am indeed really happy with my Airbus cockpit. One of my goals was to still be able to use my previous setup, which is much more flexible. So I can still fly anything from a GA plane to the 777 on that sim. Although I have to admit it is mostly collecting dust... So far it has been hard for me to resist flying the "big one".
@@captaintango Great to hear. I am sure I will feel the same, but good to know the enthusiasm for a cockpit doesn't fade with time. Thanks again for sharing your story and experiences.
@@mantoga5516 I wanted to go the diy route, but trying to source the parts is seeming to be very difficult for me (How do you even find non OEM parts like call buttons?). I considered buying real panels, because they are about $400 a panel, excluding shipping which would be about $100 from USA to Australia, could probably buy multiple panels at a time and get postage deals if same seller but then comes the process of having to rewire the whole panels to work with arduinos and etc. The last option was the prebuilt sim panels from EU companies, but the EU to AUD is horrendous so it's really out of the question for me.
Yeah, thinking back to it, that's how I started. With a mouse and keyboard lol. Then got a sidestick, then got a throttle, then got a rudder pedal, then a radio panel, multi panel and it just doesn't stop. There's always that "one more thing and that's it" that your simulator needs. 😅
Exactly! Just one more thing...
ruclips.net/p/PLJ1TYn01NBIRh-XPdG43QPt36DGnWbDrf
@@captaintango Hahaha! Oh my God, brilliant. 😅
Thanks for making such a straight forward video! It helps me a lot on making a decision on whether I want to save up some money to make a cockpit. 😊
I'm glad you found the video useful.
Nice video😊
What simulator do you use?
Thanks. I am primarily still using P3D.
After buying a few piper PA28 parts and trying to connect to adruino, I wondered if a 75,000 dollar prebuilt simulator was the way to go. I could see all of these Porsche parts that I buy from salvage planes being expensive quick. Then I wondered how well the cockpit would work with the next flight sim software.
One thing to keep in mind when building an airliner cockpit is that the software you use for the plane (flight model, systems, displays, etc.) is usually more closely coupled with the hardware than the flight simulator, the later being mostly used for visuals. The software typically runs outside of the sim (so that it can be distributed over networked computers) and communicates with the simulator over simconnect and/or FSUIPC, which have been very stable interfaces over the years. This doesn't guarantee that the next flight sim software will be supported but it makes it easier.
I was thinking of building one of these myself but money and time investments are just to high my ATPL already costs enough as it is anyway great video.
Understood. I'm sure nothing beats flying a real aircraft.
Hobby's are expensive. Of course 70K is a lot of money but traveling, boats, home studios or any other passion can add up. The end result looks great, didn't bankrupt anyone and is a source of joy. Good ROI.
Thanks for your comment. I couldn't agree more!
How do you get multiple window screens And instrument monitors. Dual GPUs?
The cockpit uses three computers, each with one video card, driving three or four screens. You can find more details at www.flightpathsimulation.club/blog/a320-cockpit/
Can I buy separated parts and connect them to my pc. For example only the gear handle or auto pilot.
Yes, you can certainly buy separate modules, for example the FCU, the MCDUs, radio panels, etc. Just note that most modules (including the ones I just mentioned) can be connected directly to your PC via USB, but others require to be connected to another panel which serves as an "aggregator" and has the USB (and power) connectivity. For example the overhead and most of the pedestal are designed like that. So, using your specific examples, the auto-pilot is part of the FCU, which is its own separate device. On the other hand, the gear handle needs to be connected to the auto-break panel. Ultimately it is best to verify with the vendor which parts would be required for a specific subset of the cockpit instruments (in terms of USB connectivity, but also power distribution and backlighting, if desired).
Insane 🔥🔥
Thank you
@@captaintango what for thank you ????
So... the price is?
What happens when you want to fly something besides the A320?
Good question. I was able to keep my previous (much smaller) cockpit. So I can fly anything from small GA airplanes to B777 on that one. Although, to be honest, I barely use it once a week. It's hard to compete with the A320 cockpit...
It is a little extreme to spend 70k on a cockpit for a sim. But at the end who am i to judge that? It is cool looking and I think you have fun with it.
I however understand the idea to buy those components. Making is an option but if one value time and quality, it is easier and better to go for manufactured parts.
Have fun.
Fair enough. It sure has been a lot of fun so far, especially when flying with a first officer.
Where do you buy everything
You can find a list of parts and their suppliers here: www.flightpathsimulation.club/a320-parts-list/
Your expenditure is worth it, I just realize I spend much more on cars which give me much less pleasure than flying a realistic sim😊
Thanks for the note. What's that saying again? A mile of road takes you a mile away, a mile of runway takes you anywhere?
how much power does it take? (watts)
I would guess around 1,500 to 1,800 Watts. I have the main computer and the three large TVs on a dedicated 110V 20A circuit. Everything else is on a 110V 15A circuit.
Thank you very much 🙏🙏@@captaintango
The question of how much is cost, is almost on an every day basis, and I chose to never tell anyone how much it cost.. basically I hate to put a price on my own madness, because that is actually what it is, madness 😂 Nobody in their right mind should ever get dragged into cockpit building, but yet.. there are a few of us out there mad enough for it 😅😅
I hear you. Personally I would use the word "passion" instead of "madness", but maybe that's exactly how a "mad" person would avoid facing reality. Anyway, thanks for your comment and welcome back to RUclips! Your sim is very impressive.
It's jaw-dropping. I break out in a sweat just spending a few hundred pounds on a HOTAS!
Believe me, I know the feeling. This has been a long journey.
i feel like the the time spent towards creating this could’ve went towards actually flying A320s in real life and you actually becoming a commercial pilot unless you already are i’m not too familiar with you or your channel.
I am not a real world pilot. I wish I could though.
17000 or 70000?
Around $70k.
bro could have got type ratted for that money
Someone could, just not me.
Wow, cockpit? More like MONEYpit! 😮
I found this information helpful. No need to be a troll bro
He is not wrong though
That's subjective. To me, a 70k BMW is an endless money pit. This A320 Sim is not cheap, but for people like us who have the passion for FlightSim, 70k in a full-size functional cockpit is not crazy expensive.
@@pablo2097 Yes, expensive cars to impress neighbours are endless money pits, I know😉
Why waste money doing a home pit of the most boring, common, sterile aircraft ever?
To each their own I guess.