IM REALLY CONFUSED (sry all im really slow) about some of the Project Magenta software. I dunno how to word this (yes im that confused!) IM looking into buying most of my avioniics stuff from project magenta such as PFD, ND, EICAS, Standby instruments, MCP, and CDU from them. But heres the problem, im wondering if the MCP and CDU are actualy panels that i can install or are they like regualr flight simulators where its just a cartoon type thing thats on a computer screen that u use the mouse to select things. (I guess im just trying to figure out if its an actualy panel that i install directly in my sim or if its a cartoon type deal) Also with the Engine displays and PFD, ND and so on is the same deal.. and actual panel screen that i install directly into my main instrument panel or if its just on a computer screen like a regular sim. (u know what im saying is it real panels that i install) as u know im ttryin to make my sim as real as possilbe and im just confused because the sim pics that are on the sight show everything as thougth a real airplane yet on the website it says that u download the software as thought u just add it 2 a screen on ur computer.. In other words (im know im confusing and confused and im prolly just confusing everyone else by what im saying) is it able 2 b setup just like a real sim or airplane or not. PLEASE HELP! i want my sim 2 look EXACTLY like the real one and i wanna b able install all my sims 2 my thingy. Please elaborate a bit (all those that have Project Magenta) i tried contacting proejct magenta suppost but no one returns and i didnt see any FAQ's. Thanks for ur help all!

Hi again!Nice to see an guy, eager to get started.I hate to dissapoint you with this fact: you can't build an exact 737NG flightdeck replica with all systems working like the real one in a few weeks... It is not possible. If thats your timeplan buy a REAL sim! What you are tring to do is not possible. If thats your plan, you better ave a suitcase full of money to hand over to the right guy, for example at CAE Electronics.Take me for example. Im under a tight budget and can't afford a real sim, neither to buy all the panels from flightdeck solutions... Even if I could, there are no "Build your own cockpit! 99% preassembled! Just 2 screws and plug it in! Instruction video included!" My flight sim project started about two years ago, with simple reasearch of what was possible, what had been done, what the resources were and what it costed. I came to the the quick conclusion that building a sim can be EXPENSIVE.My project up until now has been 95% thinking, reading and planning. the rest has been simple prototyping of ideas that may be part of the final sim. Dont get this wrong, this is the fun part!My advice to you is to READ. A good start is to go back into ths forum. Read interesting articles, search for what you need to know. All your questions have probably been asked here on this forum before. Asking is silver, reading is gold ;-)Take a look at mikesflightdeck.com which problably is the best resource about simpit building around. Thats where I started. (Thanks Mike)How much money have you planned on spending on your sim? Start there. I hope I didnt take your eager spirit away :-)Cheers!/ Olle Build

Yeah, listen to Olle, I couldnt have worded it better. The better you plan, the less you need to re-do all over again when it didnt work out in the first place.Tuomas

Hi Flybywire, yes as the guys advised it will be a long haul of experimentation & investigation, I have been investigating, reading & testing bits & pieces here for about 8 Months & have not even picked up a hammer & saw to start building yet ! There is still much to do.To answer your question in regards to project magenta it is an exact representation of the glass instruments found on the boeing & airbus flight decks & is designed to be used in a multi computer networked enviroment, the instruments are not installed into Flight Simulator as panels.How do you do this? Well firstly you need Flight sim running on your main simulator PC, obviously a high end machine with good frame rates, you then need some extra machines networked with that computer that will run the Magenta instruments, the instruments communicate with flight simulator over the network using addons called FSUIPC & WideFS that is installed into the Flighsimulator Modules folder, this will probably be just the beginning of the whole deal, as the next thing to think about is indicators (Lights),switches, buttons & knobs, there are a few ways to tackle this one, Epic Card, Keyboard & Joystick hacking, FSBus & probably a few more all need to be considered with there advantages & disadvantages such as cost, ease of production, expandability (you will allways want to add something later on) & limitations, this is why experimentation is important, to find out what you can & can't do with each option.Once you have got something that is close to a flyable mass of wires, switches, screens & computers, by the way you're gonna need a bit of room to do this, it isn't something you can just pack away once you have been doing some tests & happy with a result, you should then start looking at building your cockpit shell, Now you have to look at physical dimensions of things, how they are going to be mounted etc.So there are many aspects to this hobby & it is an engineering feat in itself no matter how simple a simpit may look in a picture, I can guarantee many hours of thought & design & testing have gone into it.One thing I read somewhere in my research & I think is important is to keep the Sim Flyable at all times, lets face it, you are doing this cause you love to fly your sim, not cause you want to play with electronics, carpentry or CAD programs, this will keep you interested & let you get the evermore feeling of emersion into your sim each time you add something new.Start with cheap solutions first, Such as free software to get a feel for what you want to do, If it is definately going to work then purchase commercial versions such as magenta, otherwise you will run out of money before you cut your first piece of wood.Hope that helps a bit, it can be very intense reading sometimes but keep at it, it does start to come together after a while.Cheers Glenn.

You seem to maybe have a bit of confusion about what "Panels" are. Although you seem to be using the name to refer to actual physical wooden panels, in most sim usages it's electronic panels - software that displays the instruments on a screen. Project Magenta is a purely software system. The way most simmers use it is that they build a physical cockpit panel, in which they mount screens that show the Project Magenta instruments, and physical switches, knobs etc that interface to it. Since most of the airliners these days display the instruments on screens anyway, not the old fashioned analogue dial instruments, that allows the maker to have a sim that looks truly realistic. For projects that simulate a plane that does have analogue gauges - such as a Cessna or some such using Project Magenta's GA panel - a popular method is to make a "mask" - a physical panel that goes over the screen and has holes cut through it to show just the indiidual instruments.

You should try:http://freefd.homelinux.com/freefd/Don has assembled some of the best freeware Gauges around. I've worked with him for a few years now and his gauges are great!Semper Fi!Ray SotkiewiczSGT, USMC: '82-'93H&MS-11, 3rd MAW62F, Inertial NavEl Toro, CA

Hi again :)To really get a feel for what the Project Magenta instruments do, download their demo software from their site... very impressive stuff, and very high end. To get an excellent idea of what's involved in putting together a sim, check out http://www.avsim.com/hangar/flight/a320project/pics.html. This is an Airbus cockpit and there are some great shots of how it all comes together.Regards - mm