Hello all!I'm a real world CFII and Piper PA28-181 ArcherII owner. My 12 year old son and I are about to embark on the construction of an in-home SimPit. I've been using MSFS since it was SubLogic Flight Simulator 2 on the Commodore 64, and have lately been flying X-Plane as well. We see the project evolving over 2-3 years (of course it will never really be finished, will it), but we are starting to look seriously at beginnning in the next week or so. I am a computer systems consultant, and am no stranger to building computers at home, and I do do some programming as part of my job. I thought that the combination of RW flight experience and computer expertise would be of help. However, I do have a couple of questions: What is the most popular (and therefore the most available) aircraft to build? I'm looking for any suggestions. We lean toward the LearJets, but also have a fondness for the A320/B747/727 class aircraft. Are there more accessories available, and more aircraft software availalbe for one over the other? I understand that it all depends on what I'm willing to fabricate, but I was hoping I could utilize some of your vast experience to warn me away from make and models that are hard to simulate. I envision this as an 8 LCD monitor arrangement, with as many boxes as needed to support the beast as well as what actual hardware I can wire in over time. Anything you definately recommend? Finally, which Company produces the best A320/Lear 45/B747-400 for FS9? We are planning to base the simulator on FS2004.Enough questions for now, you'll be seeing a lot of me in the future, I think!Mark

I think if you want an airliner, then of the MSFS add-on planes the Level-D 767 is the best choice, since they have a SDK that enables you to hook up with all the internal data of the systems, so you can wire warning lights etc..Or of course the other choice is Project Magenta (www.projectmagenta.com) - while more pricey, it is designed from groun up to be exactly what you are looking for - a home cockpit system simulator.Most other add-on planes (in the complex system range) do not let you access the internal data easily, thus it will be hard to simulate everything in your hardware cockpit.Then again, most GA planes work nicely because there is not much extra crap simulated :) The basic steam gauge stuff usually uses the FS2004 internal gauge stuff, which can be interfaced to.Also check out www.reality-xp.com - their gauges can be controlled with keyboard shortcuts, thus you can use them. Here's my GPS for example:http://tigert.com/aviation/vatsim/cockpit-stuff/gns2.jpgBut please check www.mikesflightdeck.com if you havent already, it's a huge resource that will give you a lot of the initial "how do I?" -answers :)//Tuomas

Hi Mark! Welcome to an intriguing, if unusual hobby. I too am a RW pilot. I spent 10 years flying in the USAF and then small Cessna type planes, for business. Simulators can give you 75% of the experience, without the ATC delays, TSRs, and locked gates. Just don

Welcome to another Learjet lover :-)I have built a Lear cockpit - see it at www.excitingsimulations.com/cockpit and feel free to ask anything you want.

Hi Al,Well, I'm beginning to seriously look at what's out there. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do the Lear45. Do you have any tips that you'd like to share? I don't know how fast things will get going, but I want to create something flyable, modular, that I can add more and more realism/decrease distraction finally winding up with a 180deg view hardware controlled cockpit that is enclosed.Mark

One big tip is to buy the full Lear 45 ops/pilot manual. I got mine on eBay for a few $.The others: learn, learn, learn and plan, plan, plan.BTW, your plan sounds very much like my plan. I am at the stage where I deal with that BIG display - I do not have the space for a fully enclosed cockpit. I have compromised very heavily on this part.I suggest you plan for a one PC, multiple view solution. It is cheaper and easier to setup and upgrade one PC than a full network. You can buy motherboards which support 2 and even 4 PCIe video slots which will offer you 4 and 8 video channels respectively - on ONE PC! That is costly but comes off cheaper than 4 or 8 networked PCs, not to mention the time it takes to set up and "tune" :-).That's all I can think of for now. If you have any more specific questions, then shoot.