Project Magenta plans for G1000 -like GA glass cockpit..

[tigert]

This should be interesting for a lot of flight schools doing transition training for pilots, as well as for home cockpit folks: 2 LCD's, *no 7-segments, no leds, nothing but the screens and knobs and buttons :)www.projectmagenta.com//Tuomas

[Guest airhead]

Very nice indeed, thanks for the info. Looks like PM is doing an excellent job replicating the functionality and appearance. I understand the advantages afforded by these displays, but I must admit I still have a soft spot for "steam" gauges. On the flip side, a product like this certainly reduces the workload for creating a GA cockpit for the sim.

[Guest mmorrell]

If you are in to steam gauges (as I am, as a King Air/B1900 builder), then check out the products at www.flightillusion.com. I worked with Marco to come up with the engine stack for the King Air engines gauges and they are unbelievable! Smooth, queit and accurate. And comperable in price to Simkits, but of much higher quality.

[Guest airhead]

Yes, I've checked out the Flight Illusion site as well as few others. There are some very good products showing up on the market lately, much needed competition for Simkits. They all seem to have some nice stuff, though I do like the compact size of those FI units. FI definitely has something there. I think I downloaded a video of their TP cluster being driven by the sim, very smooth indeed.Aside from building my own radio units, engine controls and misc. switches/levers, for the near future I am likely going to go with OpenGL gauges driven by the sim over my network. Not the perfect solution for GA application but it will do until I can either build my own gauges or save the money to purchase some. In my opinion, this approach works a bit better for the airliner and regional jet guys using EFIS and MFDs, but it's should still be a big improvement over using standard FS panels. I have no doubt these gauges are really good and I'm sure they are worth the money, it's simply a matter of the funds being required elsewhere at the moment. Unless I win the lottery...oh, forgot, ya gotta play to win... :)

[tigert]

>Yes, I've checked out the Flight Illusion site as well as few>others. There are some very good products showing up on the>market lately, much needed competition for Simkits. They allYep, nothing is perfect, but Simkits has created a pretty impressive setup for the price level that was pretty much unheard of. Sure, lots of money for a home builder, but then again, something totally radical for the flight training scene. Plus they use common parts - if a servo blows up, you can just go to any hobbystore and get a new one..>Not the perfect solution for GA application but it will do>until I can either build my own gauges or save the money to>purchase some. In my opinion, this approach works a bit>better for the airliner and regional jet guys using EFIS and>MFDs, but it's should still be a big improvement over using>standard FS panels. Well, in practice it works just as fine. What matters is the fact that you can still mount that QNH adjustment knob next to the altimeter and all the other knobs next to the instruments - it does not matter at all in practice that they are actually represented in a computer screen behind the panel. It is also an advantage - I am using just FS panels at my home sim - most GA planes have the same gauge layout, but the "feel" of the sim can be very easily changed by just using different gauge bitmaps. I can switch from the Cessna 310 to a Piper Archer by just switching the panel gauges - the holes and their positions are the same.>I have no doubt these gauges are really good and I'm sure they>are worth the money, it's simply a matter of the funds being>required elsewhere at the moment. Unless I win the>lottery...oh, forgot, ya gotta play to win... :)And well, TFT screens dont break or wear much. When you add mechanical parts to your sim, you add mainteinance. They do break. Eventually. What are you going to do then?Our Cessna 172 sim at the club has now a bit over 500 flight hours logged. Mechanical parts do break, you need to "ground" the sim when the potentiometers wear out and start creating spikes, you need to replace that compass when the servo breaks, you need to fix this and that.. It's normal with real planes too. But if you do mechanical instruments, remember that those will need fixing. Eventually, some day they break. FS gauges dont :)//Tuomas

[Guest airhead]

Tuomas,You actually bring up a good point in regards to ability to reconfigure the panel gauges for different aircraft. This is something that has weighed heavily on my thoughts for the 'pit, especially since I'm really not sure I want replicate one specific aircraft. While the whole process would be somewhat easier if I could just say "I'm doing a C172", though the more I think about it, the more I realize a more generic (yet still realistic) format may suit my needs better.At this point, I haven't really done anything more than lots of thinking, planning and putting pen to paper (or mouse crosshairs to CAD screen as it were...). This is likely where I will stay until I get a suitable design. If my life experiences thus far have taught on thing, it's that planning is just as important, if not more so, than actual construction. If I screw something up now, all I have lost is time. Screwing up after beginning construction will surely cost more... :)