I'd like to know if any of you use trackballs. I've been strugeling with my normal mouse and was now planing on changing that to a trackball which would be more handy.Anyone uses a trackball ?? Maybe someone has managed to mod it so that it seems build it into the cockpit ??? Any pictures from that ?? Which type/brand of trackbal ??This because all I can find are quite flashy looking things which would again scream out "HEY LOOK AT ME !!! I'M HERE BUT I SHOULDN'T BE CUZ I'M NOT THERE IN A REAL COCKPIT !!"I think for me there are 2 ways to go.1) I buy the Logit.. Marble Mouse and kinda tie it around my upper leg while flying. Then I have it with me, but still it's not really part of the cockpit.2) If I'd find one that looks like a very simple squared box with 1 ball sticking out a bit and with 2 buttons, I could make a board with a gap & fix this one below or in it & then paint a bit so that it belnds in the environement & then put the thing in my pedestall. Problem is .. no one sells simple-and-basic-looking-stuff no more (if it comes to pc's that is):(

LOL, you are a funny guy! My collegues must wonder what serious work im doing, laughing at my computer screen like this :-PTake a look at http://oscarcontrols.com/DPDTswitch.shtmlIt shows how to connect a trackball from http://happcontrols.com/ to a usb mouse circuit.The trackballs are quite pricy 3" ball $94, but they are good. I have a friend who built a MAME arcade cabinet with a 3" trackball and it has a good feel to it./ Olle

Philippe,You may be ahead of the curve with respect to simpits. Trackballs are starting to turn up in commercial aviation (where they are called "cursor control devices"), but seem to be rare to nonexistant on the hobby flightsim scene. (Trackballs have been used in military gear for some time, though I don't think in the cockpit)Dassault Aviation offers trackballs as part of their "Enhanced Avionics System" or "EASy" product offering http://www.dassaultfalcon.com/aircraft/2000ex/avionics.jsp Click on the "Explore the EASy Flightdeck" link. It's hard to see the trackballs. They're hidden by the palm-rest. The system was described in the 7 May 2001 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology, page 77.So here's your opportunity, get one of those big trackballs Olle mentioned and repackage it in something that looks like the Dassault unit. That would be impressive.Mikewww.mikesflightdeck.com

Yea, Boeing 777 has also a trackball. Just get one of those "box" shaped ones - here's a Kensington:http://www.kensington.com/images/K64325M.jpgThen put it on your center pedestal, and make a panel over it and drill a round hole on the center with a hole-saw that just lets the ball top show through.You can then re-wire the switches from inside the trackball body and put them somewhere convenient on your pedestal, so that they look like the rest of your cockpit buttons.That might work?Or just carefully disassemble the unit and spray it with a thin, nice layer of your cockpit body paint. Maybe leave the buttons black or such. And leave the whole unit visible, with the matching color it probably looks fine.Tuomas