February 5, 20188 yr So, I was playing War Thunder in a Simulator battle when I saw the unique looking flight stick of the BF-109. An idea popped in my head for a replica flight stick from different famous warbirds such as the P-40, P-51, F4U, BF-109, etc. My thought process is in order to make it cheap, yet strong, it would be made out of fiberglass and Bondo. The flight stick would simply be a shell that replaces a current flight stick. For example, take the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. The process would be to take apart the original flight stick and replace it with a replica counterpart. This is my ultimate question, would this be a something for flight simmers such as yourselves? There would be many additions of different replicas from different aircraft, all of which adaptable to fit on most any flight stick. I personally love the idea but wanted to know if this could be turned into a business with enough support backing it. Thanks in advance!
February 5, 20188 yr On the surface it sounds like a great idea. Not sure about the size of the market however. It could be a little bit too niche. How many Corsair sim pilots are out there etc. Also, would the replica have all of it's buttons functional in some way? Granted, there's not too many on a WWII fighter, but hopefully you get my meaning. It could be a fiddly undertaking to strip a flightstick down and re-configure it into a replica. Mark Robinson Part-time Ferroequinologist Author of FLIGHT: A near-future short story (ebook available on amazon) I made the baby cry - A2A Simulations L-049 Constellation Sky Simulations MD-11 V2.2 Pilot. The best "lite" MD-11 money can buy (well, it's not freeware!)
February 6, 20188 yr Moderator The chief problem with all sticks for sim use is that they are simply way too short... Fr. Bill AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556 Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator
February 7, 20188 yr If you have any experience mold making or 3D work, I would design it in 3D, get it printed, then clean it up, mold it in resin, and finish the stick however you wish before selling. It would streamline your production with minimal cost and work. Excellent for small/sporadic runs. Depending on the stick, it'd be a fairly simple 2-piece mold. I only know this because I have a side gig with making small run model kits, and props from movies and television. Here's a basic video on how to make the type of mold you'd want. The materials would be different, but the concept is the same.
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