Hi all,

I wanted to share with you a small project that I started for my home desktop cockpit setup. Excuse my enthusiasm writing a so lengthy thread for my home setup and gear lever mod so feel free to skip this thread if you are not feeling bored enough for today 🙂

I would also like to share with you my idea of building a sim desktop setup as this could also inspire others who are thinking which direction to go if they are new to the hobby or rethinking their home setup.

This is not a custom aircraft setup with cockpit MIP panels, I just use my ultrawide screen for viewing purposes and controls that are clumped to my desk. These are two monstertech desk mounts where I mount my WarBRD joystick and MT-50 throttle, the VirtualFly TQ6+ and my newly acquired Fulrum One yoke. Combined with my Thrustmaster TRP rudder pedals I have transitioned slowly from plastic/potentiometer-sensor controls that I had been using in the past, to metal/hall-effect-sensor controls. You may call it picky but to me it makes a difference when I use controls made of metal not only on the outside but also in their interior mechanisms. It feels more solid to use and from a feeling perspective it's more immersive. 

I don't have a love relationship with a specific aircraft and so my strategy is not to make a cockpit that resembles a specific real aircraft as this would be more realistic for a specific aircraft but would be not realistic for all other. I fly from airliners to bush planes and fighters (or at least I say I do with not so much free time as I'd wish). What I aim to achieve is to create is a unification of controls that I can use with all aircraft types. In the future I am planning to getting the reverb G2 so this would work well in this direction. 

Back to my mod idea. So, so far the controls that I am missing would be a trim wheel, a steering tiller and a landing gear lever. A flaps lever is aircraft specific as every aircraft has a different set of flap detents, so I can survive with an up/down rocker switch that I assign on my MT-50 throttle. For elevator trim I can use my joystick/yoke dedicated trim controls which even though not as fast as a trim wheel can do the job fairly good for my flying and the rudder pedals can control the steering tiller good enough (though I'm thinking of a steering tiller mod for the future).

This introduction leads us to my upcoming mod. It is true that its a kind of "luxury mod" in a way, as someone could say that you can assign any button on your joystick, yoke, MT-50 throttle even keyboard for a Gear Up/Gear Down action, and I won't disagree, it is as simple. However the immersion factor some times lies in the details, and for any retractable gear aircraft I think this feeling of raising and lowering the gears is a special one. To be honest I had never assigned this control to a button as I found it more realistic to select it with the mouse and drag the lever in the virtual cockpit. As a result, most of the times the flight immersion is killed as I try to fiddle with my mouse to hit the Gear Lever click-spot right after takeoff or in -the sometimes really rushing- minutes before landing. In that situation, if you don't assign this control to a button you are running the risk of losing important seconds as well as your attention from your flying and your focus from the main instruments while being close to the ground. It is not without reason that the gear lever is usually big so that pilots can operate it without taking their eyes of the main instruments. It is also a control that usually comes with some sort of security mechanism as it should not be ever used accidentally.

When I researched how I can get a good landing gear lever, most of the plug-n-play options I could find were not what I was looking for. I found plastic gear levers integrated in throttle products (available and upcoming) from Logitech/Honeycomb/Thrustmaster as well as other plug-n-play dedicated gear levers sold on eBay and elsewhere which are mainly 3D printed mechanisms. Some were better than others and I was close to getting one of those to just "get the job done". However I realized that I do not want to break my all metal feeling I try to achieve in my home cockpit. These 3D printed levers were not cheap either, costing around 150 euros including shipping. 

So, after a few days of web searching, I made a decision. I found a company based in Spain called SISMO. SISMO like many other simulation hardware companies make components as well as complete cockpit setups for flight simulation and their new 737 MAX gear lever grabbed immediately my attention. There are also other similar products like the Skarlaki A32X gear lever but as I said I wanted a more universal all metal design. The 737 MAX gear handle does not look aircraft specific as for example is the 737NG handle (which features three positions), it is all metal and has realistic actuation. I should also note that SISMO support was extremely professional and helpful when I reached them on the phone, something that I greatly value as a customer. I then ordered an Arduino UNO board and a case box so that I connect the gear switches to it. What I am now finalizing is the mounting brackets and screws I need to order to fit the gear mechanism to the side of my monstertech desk mount so that it will be safe and stable in operation. I anticipate that around the end of next week I'll have it ready to go and so I will update this thread with my progress. Make sure to have a look as by then as I will upload photos of the result and my final thoughts.  

Finally, a tradeoff of this mod is its price, as the total price including the Arduino board and clamps costed around 300 euros. However considering what you get, compared to how much other less realistic and plastic gear levers cost, I consider it a good value. At least to me. It is a system that most aircraft utilize and thus I believe I will enjoy for years to come a realistic gear actuation. 

Again apologies for the lengthy post. I know there are people who would be interested in such a mod and they may find this helpful. Remember to check back in 10 days or so. I would be glad for your comments. 

And here is a photo of the SISMO 737 MAX gear handle:

Edited November 11, 20205 yr by ComSimPilot

Hi all,

I'm writing again as promised to report that the mod is now complete. I used an Adruino Leonardo, some 10K resistors and cable work to make it both robust and clean looking. The feel of the handle is very nice, with a strong adjustable force to unlock and move the lever. All metal construction, not much to say about its operation. I mounted it below my TQ6+ using a tv mount heavy duty bracket, so its completely solid during operation. If anyone is interested I would be glad to share the arduino program I used as well as the wiring diagrams.

Needless to say now I don't have to look around to hit clickspots with the mouse or buttons to lower and retract the gears. I move my hand to the gear and its an intuitive gesture while I keep my attention in the flight also being more immersed with the operation of the gear.

I attach a pictures of the end result:

Edited November 21, 20205 yr by ComSimPilot