DIY a physical cockpit of P47 for DCS

[Emikoussi 2]

[Biggles2010 343]

Excellent work. It really has that 1940s look.  How are you planning to interface controls and instruments with DCS?   And what will you be using for outside views?

[Emikoussi 2]

Thanks for your answer.

In fact I will use CH throttle quadrants to interface, I will use the connexions and potentiometers of it, it works well, and it is simple. For the instruments on the screen inside, I will use an Helios profile. I have contact with Capt Zeen (http://www.captzeen.com/helios/index.asp), and he is ok to do the profile for P47.

For the external view, Track IR.

Here you can find a complete explanation :

https://www.checksix-forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=286&t=215582&start=25

[Emikoussi 2]

https://www.checksix-forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=286&t=215582&sid=ec72200f3d9245f978668412ebe69243

[Emikoussi 2]

Hi there.
DIY of a P47 physical cockpit for DCS, in which almost all the functions usable in the simulation are interfaced by realistic physical controls. A real simulator.
It is not a true copy of the original, but strongly inspired.
The budget is minimal. (Only stuff found around, garage sales, etc, except the parts of a destroyed PA31, but which in my opinion can be replaced by just about anything that makes machinery, with a little bit of imagination).
The design and realization are quite empirical.
The body is medium, fairly roughly cut, mounted on an OSB panel on wheels.
A screen will be placed at the height of the instrument panel, and a Helios profile will have to be made to have the instruments conform to the device. A second large screen with Track-Ir for the outside view.
A subwoofer is fixed under the seat, it makes a rather muffled noise, rather (even very) loud, and it makes everything vibrate, two small speakers are fixed behind the instrument panel. The hull/cockpit itself is a sound box, so it works really well. An airplane makes noise and vibrates, so it adds enormously to the impression of reality, it's quite impressive as soon as the engine starts. This is perhaps what makes it the most realistic. A P47 simulator that does not make noise and does not vibrate cannot be realistic...
I will update with photos as the progress progresses, with explanations...

 

[Emikoussi 2]

Step 1: Box done. Fairly basic in medium, on wheels. Visual  test with instruments screen (Helios profile of the P51 Capt Zeen). Installation of the gear lever, the 3 trims, the flap lever, and the throttle, (made from a Mirage test bench power control, found on used site for cheap, aluminum and medium), black/red/blue Piper PA31 caps, levers made of aluminum, and an old cut Maglite for the throttle. Positioning of the two fuel selectors, (made with improbable things, gas bottle tap handle also for the EXT TANK command). Laying the rudder (this rudder isn't great, not strong enough, downright fake and plastic, but it'll be fine for the moment, then I'll have to build another much stronger one, which will order this one). Installation of the tail wheel lever. Positioning test of the Primer and Cowl flaps controls. The seat is in medium, adjustable, and the top is a real airplane seat, (Stampe perhaps, recovered in Zouerate in Mauritania).
The FLAPS lever is made entirely of aluminium.
All cokpit lights are of aviation origin.
The levers must be solid and frank, not fragile so that there is a feeling of reality.

 

[Emikoussi 2]

Step 2: After painting. The joystick is a Sidewinder 2, lengthened and the engines boosted, handle changed, (thanks to Virtual Flight Training on Youtube). Well it's not extraordinary, but at least it indicates the buffeting of the stall, which is very useful, an airplane like that being piloted at the limits of speeds and load factors. The base of the joystick will be hidden by a tin pan, turned upside down. Cockpit lights (on a separate 12V network controlled by the Battery ON switch, and downstream a master cockpit lights, as well as the two small slow motors which will drive the physical markers of the OIL COOLER and INTERCOOLER, controlled by the same switch which will act in the DCS software). The small aluminum box comes from my father (trained on P47D in 1943 in the USA, volunteer, thanks to him. But reservist during the Algerian war, not agree to shoot on villages, not agree with this history, so pull aside and leave the army. Thanks to him for that too). It allows you to unroll the paper checklist inside, it is individually illuminated by a mini switch.

[Emikoussi 2]

Step 3: After a few months of abandonment of the project, recovery... Things become more serious:
The seat has been revised.
Medium planks have been placed under the pedals to prevent the heels from bumping into the plastic of the Rudder Pedal Saitek, so that they can slide to the end, it is absurd to have made this plastic protection which protrudes and hinders movement, they have never flown a plane in real life ...
Installation of the light switch box (interfaced): Master Lights, Wing Nav Lights, Tail Nav Lights, Landing Lights and cockpit lights (aviation). The case is the bottom of an old PA31 Strobe Light, with aviation plug. The oxygen tube and box come from a Russian-made gas mask (found cheap on eBay), and obviously not usable. Medium flight case. The radio is an old glider radio found on used site for next to nothing. Its volume knob is used for the volume of the sound on the speakers, and under the seat the volume knob of the subwoofer, the frequencies are not interfaced. The control on the right of the radio (made with a bottom of the PA31 autopilot case) is the master which powers up the sound system, with two headphone and microphone sockets (connected to the computer). The two black elements are antenna and gyro connections coming from the PA31 (they are useless here).
To the right of the lower seat, former PA31 water settling bowl, (normally in the wings at the lowest point), extended by a PVC elbow. Obviously, the system is only there for the visual. The Hydraulic Pump control (fixed on the right instead of the left on the real P47) is an old grease pump coupled with a PVC elbow, it will then be coupled to a small cupboard door damper, and interfaced. The Tailwheel Lock command will be modified for something better, obviously interfaced. Between the pedals, an old Jet Pump from the PA31 (just for the visual).
To the left of the seat are the (red) control of the Carburetor Heat, and behind, the (red) Air Filter control, made with two mechanical clamps, which each control, through and from telescopic antennas, a pull switch which is interfaced.
Still to the left of the seat, the arming control, made with the other part of the Strobe Light box and 3 cut tin door handles which control 3 straightforward and sturdy rotary switches. Interfaced.
The two fuel controls are made with various aluminum boxes, they are interfaced by two sturdy rotary switches as well.
The gear control is an old latch from old house shutters on which I added the black ball, and the two aileron and rudder trim handles (bought on eBay) are coupled to potentiometers via small plastic tubes, interfaced ).
The main trim is made with an aluminum disc (I no longer remember its origin), coupled with a fishing reel mechanism which made it possible to operate the rotating marker (between the two Aileron and Rudder trim levers) : super simple and functional. And interfaced.
The two oxygen commands are not usable (and besides, although existing in the list of commands/keyboard equivalents of DCS, they are not active in the simulation except by mouse click, weird...).

[Emikoussi 2]

Step 4: progress...
Installation of the Primer and Cowl flaps control (still interfaced with telescopic antennas activating a pull switch), Oxygen indicator, (still coming from the PA31). I added a small Alternate Static Air command, not interfaced. The aluminum box on the right rear and an old transponder ALT Reporter, it is useless.

[Emikoussi 2]

If someone has a "tip" for a simple software solution to assign two functions to the same button, I'm interested:

As for example for the deployment of recovery panes:
- you must first open the cover protecting the switch,
- then activate the switch which controls the opening,
this therefore makes two physical connections for this: one for opening the cache, the other for deployment,
which complicates things a lot for me since the opening of the cache would have to physically control a physical switch in itself (which is not provided for on the cache). Still possible to achieve with mini push buttons, but a software solution would be simpler if possible.
 

[Emikoussi 2]

Slightly beefier TAILWHEEL LOCK lever, return spring and interface switches to be installed ...

 

Useless little details that make things more realistic: The small pipe connected to the oxygen quantity indicator, the canvas sleeves (of aviation origin) with serflex around the PVC pipes on each left and right floor side, and the small Alternate pipe static source connected to its command...
 

[Emikoussi 2]

Positioning of the two push switches for the TAILWHEEL LOCK interface.

 

HYDRAULIC HAND PUMP: installation of the return damper, and also so that there is a certain resistance when the pump is activated.

[Emikoussi 2]

Right side almost finished

[Jambock86 0]

That's awesome! I'm planning to start a P47 cockpit soon (I'm working to figure out the electrical/code piece first, to see where I can go with that) but I'm really interested on which software are you using on the dashboard, to display all gauges, that's my main issue right now, so I appreciate if you could let me know which one are you using or planning to use.

Thanks in advance,

Jambock86