Ok guys....

                   I know this is going to sound nuts but I want to build a 109 cockpit with working instruments and all for IL2.  It's nuts because I am not into woodworking etc....but want the total immersion from being in a real cockpit mockup.  I've found some links on webpages regarding construction and even found a usb device that could take values in the game such as airspeed, altitude etc, as well as switches and all and allow you to hook them up to actual analog guages and switches.  There are plenty of cockpit pics out there to reference off of and even found a place that makes a fiberglass replica of the 109 dash.... Match this with the Matrox Parhelia card which gives you three fields of view and BAM!!!  You're in a 109!

                  Am I going nuts?  If so, please tell me that I am.  Like I said, I know squat about building crap.

Regards,
TX-"I wanna damn cockpit"Rahman
BLUE 2

You're completely nuts. You must immediately let me help you build one. We can then use that experience to build my personal favorite cockpit, the 190 Dora. TX-"I'm as nuts as you for a 109 /190 cockpit" Zen"Arrgh, who's been smoking pole in me cockpit?"

Well, I guess we are just a breed of nutz then.  I too want a cockpit with the works.  Please post your links and info and reference stuff for us too.So, we'll have a 109, 190 and a F4 (maybe also another 190 though).I too have been looking at the Matrox card and FB will be supporting the surround gaming...woohoo.S~Black 5... end ...

psssst...  I see stupid people...They are all around me!!!They don't even know they are stupid!!!!I see no possible way I can avoid helping you guys on this one.  It will simply be a matter of time before Zen emails me some half-assed photoshop blueprint and asks "hey manford, can you build this?".Of course I can you fool!   Have table saw, won't travel, but will assist.   Count me in gents!TX-Deck out.

Youre nutz, but while your at it , build me a cockpit for a Ferrari LMP LeMans race car , nuttin to fancy, you can exclude the carbon fiber composites , lmfao.S~TX-TornadoBlue 3TX-TO

Thought it was Winter but I must be wrong..It must be fall...cause the nuts are falling from the trees.......We can fix it.. My dad's a TV repair man..he's got an awesome set of tools....Black2

Ok....we're certifiably nuts....point made.  I will be posting what I have so far later this evening.  Lots of information out there....also found a place to get gauges for a pretty cheap price...  More information to come....WEEE HAWWW!Regards,TX-Rahman"BLUE 2"

Ok....searhced for this last night but could not find it....located it here this morning.  Just a small tidbit...The original instruments and parts of historic airplanes are often expensive or even unavailable. The alternative for airplane nerds is a replica. AeroArt is now providing these replicas. All of them are made of plastics and are build from the original factory drawings as long as they were present.much much more to come....Regards,TX-Rahman"BLUE 2"

I have a couple of great ideas to bring to the table, should add quite nicely to the realism involved...1.  Fog machine - I have an old "Fog Hog" that still works, a leftover from my days in a top 40 cover band.  We could rig it so when your plane takes damage it kicks out an enormous amount of smoke everywhere.  Now that would kick ars.2.  Ctrl-E - I think when the pilot reaches for that infamous keystroke, he should be lobbed backwards out of the pilot seat and hit the wall opposite the computer.  Make anyone think twice before hitting the silk.TX-Deck out.Edit - I just had an additional thought on the ejection seat.  For those who happen to live in a college dorm or high-rise apartment, set the back of the seat facing the balcony.   When you hit ctrl-e, hit the silk for real and practice your base-jumping technique.

While we are on the subject of flight sim rigs... I thought I would go ahead and post some info and pics on my current setup.    Needless to say, I'm anxiously awaiting the Matrox vid card to hit the market.  I've had terrible luck with their cards in the past, but I'm willing to take another chance on the remote possibility that it will work this time.  If it doesn't, there is always eBay!Here are a couple of pics of my setup here at the house... descriptions follow...And a full view....The monitors don't interact on the same pc at the moment, but hopefully soon they will.From left monitor to right, here are some quick system specs:Dual PIII 600 clone - Home of www.honestmango.comRAID 5 9.1gb 1gb RAMOld ATI All-In-Wonder vid cardSWB DSL line, 5 static IP'sCpq TFT5010 flatscreenDual PIII 866 XeonGeForce 4 Ti4200 128DDR15GB WD HD80GB WD HD1 GB RAMBUSYamaha 16/10/40 SCSI CD-RWSBLive Platinum (the original from 1998!)MS GamevoiceThrustmaster HOTAS Cougar #3042Thrustmaster Elite Rudder Pedals (connected straight to the Cougar)Child-view automotive Rearview mirror (for that LA-7 feel)Envision 17" flatscreenDell Dimension 4100 (courtesy the Crooked E, former TX-OC3 server)Geforce2 Ultra 64mb384mb RAMGeneric 48/24/48 CD-RWSBLive ValueUMAX Vistascan flatbed scannerCpq TFT5010 LCD flatscreenAll PC's are located within the cabinets, out of view.  The monitors are mounted directly to the wall behind the desk, via some nifty 1/2 pipe mounts I fashioned, all three for the sum of about $10.  The desk is actually a kitchen countertop mounted on kitchen cabinets, all purchased at the Home Depot several years ago.  Under the desktop directly below the exposed keyboard is a homemade tray that holds the keyboard, mouse, and KVM switch to toggle between the server and the Dell machine.  The desktop is a little thin and I tend to run out of space quickly, but the end result is we have much more drawer and cabinet space than two desks would provide.   A few feet to the left is where my wife's PC is located.  We both have drafting-style chairs to lift us up to the raised height of the countertop style desk.  Any other setup and I think my wife would make me relocate everything into the garage.  So there you have it, the place where Manford dwells!   LOL!TX-Deck out.

Man, you guys are certifiably certifiable. That's the most insane idea I've heard of in quite some time. In fact, I'd like the blueprints for a Yak. Better visibility...need room for a 52" plasma screen....hehehe.Since we're showing our living quarters.....here's what mine looks like after I've been up for 32 hours. I need sleep.....Seriously....if you get this up and running, that would be just too awesome. What you need is a bomber mockup so you can have a bunk for those long flights.S~TX-Seeker"White 3"

Hmm. . .OK. . gotta clean my room. . and get a shot of mine. . .Once you get it all done Rahman, you could probably go into business. I knew a guy in Southern cali that had a B777 full cockpit made, cost him 75,000 and most of it didn't even work!!!!but it sure was fun! And it drove home the point to all who knew him. . he wasn't messin around!!BTW, I posted a weblink a few weeks ago to a site that builds instrument panels for sale, they also are linked with a flying 262 and a current fw190 project. So they CAN make the instruments work. The site is down I guess, until "mid-January" but here is the link.http://www.stormbirds.com/annex/index.htmTX-ShowMeYours&I'llShowYouMineDragon

Any updates here?  How is research coming?  I think this will look good in my home-office hehe...S~Black 5... end ...

Cage,           Coming along.  I plan to go to the library to try to find more precise blueprints for the 109.  So far I've come up with the drawings and diagrams but no hardcore blueprints.  I have sent my work bookmarks home and will post them within the next few days.  I'll most likely create a "Home built cockpits" catagory in the links section and add them there.  Will post an update when I do.Regards,TX-Rahman"BLUE 2"

Good deal...  I look forward to it.  I do plan on building a pit as well.S~Black 5... end ...

HMMMM!  now the instruments would be a bear to do, the cockpit however would not be hard to do at all, ok wouldnt be easy either, but theres a few things you can look into to make it even better.   about 7 years ago we lost a plane to a fire in our barn it was an Avid Aerobat  homebuilt  that was about 85% complete, now that im so deeply involved in flight sims I WISH I would have saved the front half of the airframe to build a SimPit. Check around your local airports and ask about scrap airframes etc etc  they will think your insane im sure : ) but I've seen  old junk AC at one of the local Airports before and it never hurts to ask.  If you have a decent garage and some tools (metal working) you could cut hack and grind your way to a nice foundation for a Sim pit, NOW, if you would want to get really nuts with this  you could probably  obtain some of those hydraulics all the young kids use on their cars, grab a PLC control system  and have a Simpit that moved as per X Y Z axis inputs : ) now that would be fun eh?  I sure wouldnt wanna pay for any PLC control system though : P   I do not have a Digital camera at the moment  but one thing I did  was build a pedestal for my Joystick so the Stick sits right between my legs  I then attached a Board to my chair and the throttle attaches to it, so I have a nice natural center stick mount and left handed throttle. I have some plans on building Prop Pitch throttle combo in the near future, and will post it herealso advise that you guys (if you dont already) buy the TrackIR system  it's outstanding for IL2 especially if you build yourself an active IR emitter(thats another story : P ) all

By george he is right!Back at Visalia (where I did my primary training) there is a Shrike Commander sitting there, just decomposing behind the fire dept. building. That might make a for a good bomber cockpit. Buying it would probably be the easy part, cutting it up and getting rid of the rest would be the pain in butt. . .It is worth a look if you really want to go nuts! Something better might be an RV series aircraft canopy, a long EZ/Berkut, an extra, a navion. . .or an ercoupe. actually an airworthy aercoupe can be found for about 8-10,000. . . there are probably many out there that have been scraped and would go for chump change (maybe 4 cougars)So I guess I am interested in your aviation history Mooby. . . mind filling me in??S!TX-EcoDragonB~

Well..................... my aviation history has alot of un official parts to it : )My former step father was an aviation nut and thats how I got into it  in fact I would say thats what actually got me out of it too.....  I was working on my Private license and did  alot of flying in higher performance aircraft He owned an Aerospatiale Raleigh which was a Cool AC to fly it had leading edge slats like the 109 and was highly maneuverable and had low stall speed too  he also owned a Yak52 which is a very cool AirplaneI've only done your basic Aerobatic package Immelmans Hammerheads Split S Chandelles BUT  I knew right away that Cessnas and Pipers would never ever again satisfy me whatsoever :P     Now that im an adult (snicker) and have a career (big snicker) I plan on finishing my license getting my instrument rating  and going on for some aerobatic ratings  then buying myself a Pitts Special. Also considering a trip down to florida to fly the P51D, but  thats a hard sell to the wife hehe but on the other hand its something that i've been wanting to do all my life.  Also considered buying a Slower aerobatic rated AC  like the one I mentioned in the previous post something about STOL AC that's very pleasurable too, but I suppose I have quite awhile to think about it.

Not such a lunatic idea building an me109. I built a Hurricane too!Fitted with smoke (fog) generators, seat bashers, lighting and video projectors, linked up for air to air combat!!!!Email me if interested.

Kirk,          I'm definately interested in what you have there!  Do you have plans that you went by or just drew them up as you went along??  Will email you soon!Regards,TX-RahmanBLUE 2

Drew up my own plans. I have made a number of sims, including F16's Formula Ones etc.Picture shows Hurricane with Instrument panel visible, and big screen.

By the way, tell me more about that USB device, Rahman. The Epic card is a bit archaic.

Pretty nice work there kirk! South Africa is a little too far for me to take a look in person though!!S!TX-EcoDragonCurrent mount: P-39 Q10Favorite Plane: BF109-G6A/Sand a bandit on my 6Most feared/resented FB addition: LA-7Characteristic noise during dive as reported by a third party witness: GGGGRRRRRRRBBBBBRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWK!!!