I will go backwards, if nobody minds.
Hooray, i never flew a helicopter, can you elaborate that with pedals. And about helicopters please explain to me why some sites have models for FlightGear that are not available on FlightGear page? Will they start charging for these models at some point? I'm aksing this beacuse FG model is not complete for Messerschmidt and i cant design anything for incomplete model
Johan G, ok, we'll come to that phase soon, we are recruiting a guy who knows more about this segment.
Ludomotico - you see i didn't point this things out previously but i will explain some things now.
Every second kid in the world has a joystick, you can buy one for 10$ and less. How many kids have yoke, rudder pedals, throttle quadrants, panels?
Flight simulation hardware market is, and your post proves it, demanding, small(this is affected by prices) and diverse.
There are three types of users: gamers, enthousists and pilots.
Gamers don't want more than a joystick - maybe a special kind, but a joystick. they will probably uninstall FlightGear within first week from installation.
Enthusiasts want to fly, they probably need flight yoke, rudder pedals and throttle quadrant to start. That's where all the commercial manufacturers target. The size of the market defines their prices, because mass production of these devices is expensive, and demand is not high. Once they are hooked to flying, and everybody is hooked to flying
they don't have any room for upgrading their cockpit. And they can only dream about full cockpit interaction.
Pilots can't use any of commercial hardware because it is not functional, not similar, not complete for flight practicing, and finally, some more expensive than flight hours.
So what are we developing?A hardware that is Realistic(full functionality), Modular( with sections clearly divided), Affordable.
We have chosen small scale production because, any design changes within large scale are not possible without huge expenses.
And demanding market like this will require design changes and compatibility.
We have chosen to have interface as link to computer because of:
1. There are
cockpit builders on the market that want to connect their cockpits to FlightGear, and current interfaces do not allow for connection of entire cockpit. Just parts of it separately. $$
2.
Cable management. Singe USB port on computer, Interface can be mounted under the table, so all the cables disappear form the table.
3. Reduction of certification
costs. Each device having a chip would raise cost per product around 25$. This way anybody buying 3 or more products from computer2cockpit will benefit. And future upgrade will also be cheaper. (That is why i wrote that we aim at people who want the whole or at least half the cockpit)
4.Reliability. Simple equation, less parts, less thing to go wrong.
Saitek's approach is nice but, that is why every kid in the world has just a joystick.
Navigation panel - This navigation panel is designed to be within peripheral vision allowing you to change frequencies ect. while looking at screen. So all output is left at screen. We are developing full instrument panel, that will connect where navigation panel connects(having instruments radios and all the knobs and switches).
I will have design ready within 3 months. We are not just rendering, these designs are ready for production! Adding LCD's to our basic navigation panel that we are offering now would make it at least 70$ more expensive. But our instrument panel will cover that part, for more demanding users. Single knob will have the ability to change Mhz, and khz separately, i will explain that in more detail later, just ask me again. Unfortunately there is no commercially available rotary encoder that has dual shaft. we are planing on developing one, but not within this project. Keep in mind we are trying to make this affordable and we are not manufacturing switches, knobs, encoders, pots, but we are installing them in our design. That is the only way to achieve affordability on small scale production.
You will like it's price within this set and if you need more you will have full instrument panel available.
Fuel and trim panel - pilots will like this part. It is the only way to practice single engine procedures. Also part of every landing and cruise checklist is to open/close cowl flaps. So this panel will be most interesting to the pilots and serious enthusiasts.
Yoke and autopilot - Yes i think everyone is clear that we designed these cockpit parts not to push users to buy more, but buy what they need, and get more. We even have Flap handle on throttle quadrant. I rest my case
Yoke and force feedback - last time i read about force feedback it wasn't finished? is this available in FG now? Within first year from production we could offer this but, i'm not sure that price increase of around 60$ will be attractive (this is not exact information, just some calculation i have in mind, we are not developing this yet)
Switch Panel - I'm glad you like it, i'm proud of it!
Pedals - are nice but still under development. Non slip feature is a must here. I am sim user also and i dont plan to bring plywood board under my desk or bolt the pedals to the floor. And buying some fancy 1000$ stand is not an option.
Throttle quadrant levers - Once more this is not just the render, this are finished designs waiting prototype approval for production. These devices are designed inside out.
Levers are a bit plastic but you have to understand that the design is adapted for small production and hand assembly. So every new component makes thing more complicated and expensive. We decided to rather give you Carburetor heat control than fancy looking levers. And, would you pay 20$ more for this?
Propeller and mixture levers will probably be bent to the right in end product, because they are bent in actual cockpit to prevent fingers collision.
You didn't notice that these levers have aircraft lenght, and different heights?
To conclude, Our goals are:
Functionality,
Similarity(within the budget), and to provide
modular cockpit building.
Please ask more.
Thank you for following!