Life Size F-86D Simulator - Any Experts?

[princetonprep17 0]

Hey all. First post on the forum as I was referred here by a member on one of the car forums I am active on. I really wish I would have found this forum earlier as I'm on MS FSX as much as I can and it looks like there is some great information here! Anyways, I was hoping someone on here might be able to help direct me to someone who may be able to help me find a new home for my custom hand-built flight simulator that is modeled after a F-86D.

 

Long story short, my uncle designed and built this for me while I was young as I wanted to be a fighter pilot. The gauges such as the altimeter, flaps, flight horizon gyroscope with adjustable horizon, airspeed indicator, scanning radar, rudder pedals and fuel all work in unison. There is a selection for missiles, bombs and machine guns with corresponding noises when items are fired. The cockpit seat is fully adjustable so if you need more or less legroom, that is no problem. The radar scans and shows "targets". The simulator is set up for a microphone, headset jack and fresh air line vented to the exterior as well. Overall, it is an awesome piece of machinery!

 

Unfortunately, the extent of my flying dreams has been MS FSX and I don't have the space to store it anymore. I am ready to let it go to someone else to enjoy, but I don't have the slightest clue where to advertise this or even what to ask for it. I was hoping someone here might know (or know of) someone who deals in life sized flight simulators? I attached a few pictures so you can see what I'm working with.

 

To be clear, I am in no way trying to solicit the sale of this here. Rather I am just trying to find some leads on someone who may deal in things like this (if that even exists). Any advice or leads are greatly appreciated and I look forward to checking out all the great information in the MS FSX sub!

 

 

Here's the link for the album.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jimmy RFR 406]

First off, welcome to Avsim!

 

Second, that is bloody amazing!  Your uncle must of been an amazing person to have built that for you.  If I had room, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

Although there might be people here who might be willing to purchase it and do something with it in a sim capacity, it almost would seem a waste, since it would be undoing all the hard work that went into making it.

 

My suggestion would be to contact a few aviation museums, to see if they'd be interested. For example, the aviation museum where I live here in Edmonton has an extremely wide variety of cockpit training setups and mock cockpits, and I know the aviation museum in Calgary used to have a mock up of an Avro Arrow cockpit.

 

You wouldn't necessarily get anything for it, but you'd be able to be proud that your uncles work has a place of honor and can be enjoyed by many others!

[TheFlightSimGuy 514]

Who is your uncle and how do I get adopted into your family? I have a clean bill of health and am great with kids. 

[princetonprep17 0]

First off, welcome to Avsim!

 

Second, that is bloody amazing!  Your uncle must of been an amazing person to have built that for you.  If I had room, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

Although there might be people here who might be willing to purchase it and do something with it in a sim capacity, it almost would seem a waste, since it would be undoing all the hard work that went into making it.

 

My suggestion would be to contact a few aviation museums, to see if they'd be interested. For example, the aviation museum where I live here in Edmonton has an extremely wide variety of cockpit training setups and mock cockpits, and I know the aviation museum in Calgary used to have a mock up of an Avro Arrow cockpit.

 

You wouldn't necessarily get anything for it, but you'd be able to be proud that your uncles work has a place of honor and can be enjoyed by many others!

 

He truly was an amazing and brilliant guy. The youngest captain ever for TWA when he was flying. Flew the Lockheed Constellation for years before a health condition grounded him. I used to love to talk aviation and conspiracy theories (mostly aviation related like where Amelia Earhart may have landed) with him. It's a hard decision to make to let it go as it has so many fond memories attached to it. 

 

I have contacted a few aviation museums and they have all expressed interest in having it donated. My concern is that I don't know that it would actually get displayed and enjoyed - and that's what I want for his legacy, people to enjoy it as much as I have. I really appreciate the thought though!

Who is your uncle and how do I get adopted into your family? I have a clean bill of health and am great with kids. 

 

Haha! He was just an aviation guy that was a whiz with electronics, mathematics and engineering. Unfortunately he passed away several years ago after a long battle with cancer. None of his kids ever took an interest in aviation like I did and it just grew into a great relationship even though we lived across the country from each other. In addition to this simulator he also designed and built several large RC aircraft.

[n4gix 4,947]

That really looks nice. Pity though that the other pics seem to have disappeared... :blush:

[zmak 331]

Perhaps try posting on the DCS forums

[princetonprep17 0]

That really looks nice. Pity though that the other pics seem to have disappeared... :blush:

 

Hmm, that's strange. They're still showing up for me? I can try uploading the images to my imgur account and linking through there if you think it might work better?

Perhaps try posting on the DCS forums

 

Thanks. I'll take a look. Just out of curiosity, where is the picture in your avatar from? Absolutely love it!

[n4gix 4,947]

I checked by enabling my moderator's magic powers to Edit anyone's posts, but see that you uploaded them as file attachments. For some reason they are not being displayed.

 

Links to an outside source (such as Imagur, Photobucket, etc.) would work better.

[princetonprep17 0]

I checked by enabling my moderator's magic powers to Edit anyone's posts, but see that you uploaded them as file attachments. For some reason they are not being displayed.

 

Links to an outside source (such as Imagur, Photobucket, etc.) would work better.

 

No problem. I'll upload them to my Imgur account and then add a link to the album. Thanks for looking into this for me!

 

Edit: Here's the link for the album.

[n4gix 4,947]

No problem. I've added your direct album link to the original post as well. That is a very nicely done bit of kit. Your uncle clearly put a lot of effort into it!  I fully understand why you'd like it to have a good permanent home.

[princetonprep17 0]

No problem. I've added your direct album link to the original post as well. That is a very nicely done bit of kit. Your uncle clearly put a lot of effort into it!  I fully understand why you'd like it to have a good permanent home.

Perfect! Thank you! He did indeed do a phenomenal job on it. I am still in awe of it even after all of these years!