Monday, June 16, 2008

Initial Cockpit design considerations

So, I've been going over what all I am going to need for an initial design plan for a cockpit. First, while a lot of folks in the full cockpit simulation experience are going for triple projectors for the wrap around 210-degree experience (sans virtual cockpit) and letting the ACTUAL cockpit obscure the view from there, I don't think I want it to be quite that big. With a 19" LCD monitor, that works out to about a 13.4" viewable x-direction, and typically, that represents about a 45-degree field of view at roughly 20" to your eye (that is with a 3" eye spacing, which puts you back from the center of the pivot about 3.6"). Left and right monitors pivot around that 16.3" focal point. But, if that is what I'm doing, then I really begin to question how the TrackIR (that I love so much in a virtual cockpit mode) becomes almost a liability. You don't want your FLIGHT view panning around behind your instruments. And, as I add MFD, PFD and possibly an 8" LCD touch screen radio stack, you really don't want your view jumping around.

So, I'm back to the following specs:

  • 3 main view displays using 19" LCD and TH2go on a 16.2" radius for a 135-degree wrap around display experience.
  • 1 15" MFD for artificial horizon and all the PM general aviation glass cockpit (I don't think this needs to be touch screen, and it will need to interface through a modest networked PC) via either PM or FSUIPC for display. Could also be used to display the analog gauges for older prop planes.
  • 1 15" display for a moving map/radar image. This may need to have touch screen support???
  • 1 8" LCD touch screen enabled display for the radio stacks. I think I've almost 100% decided this. I don't want to have to do all the panels and wiring for inputs into a hagstrom keyboard encoder or anything, and seems a lot easier to have differing setups and change things if it is a "virtual" glass stack. I really need to get a touch screen monitor to begin playing with this. As long as I can just touch the knob to tune it up/down, which PM seems to do from the limited demo's I've seen (need to do more on this via networked PC on my laptop, since the FSX blanks all other pgm windows (even on second monitor ports) when you are in full screen view.
  • Think it is already obvious I'm going to have to have a very modest second PC networked in here to handle some of the secondary instrument displays. Just need to begin playing around with which options work best.
  • I'm also going to need a modest 5.1 surround sound system, with focus on a good base with optical inputs. Need to make sure FSX supports that...hum...
  • I'm going to need a good chair (like from an old wrecked car or something).
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2 comments:

  1. JeffSeptember 2, 2008 at 10:37 PM

    Ok, I just flew my first flight plan VFR from take off in Cascade (U70), flying a level and well behaved route, to landing in Boise (KBOI) without messing around, paying attention to filed flight plan altitudes and followed ATC to land, and followed all check list items. I even kept a VERY good coordinated turn/landing (my firt EVER without bounce all over) and a nice steady 500fpm glide slope down (until the last little bit, which placed me a little to high), but dropped in and flared very well, I must say. I was in a Cessna 172 (with the G1000 glass cockpit), and I can't seem to adjust the aileron trim, so I had to fight the desire to roll left under power (especially on the climb out) the whole way...sigh. Something seems wrong with that.

    But, I had so much fun!!! Got a little boring fighting the roll, but not too bad. There is some really cool scenery up there.

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  2. JeffSeptember 2, 2008 at 10:37 PM

    Got the 8" Lilliput touch screen in last Friday. We were up at the cabin all weekend, so didn't get any time to play with it until late Sunday night. Had a night mare getting it to be recognized as a display device on any of my computers (let alone as a second monitor). Finally got some Vista drivers that seemed to fix a lot of the problems, got it displaying (though I don't think 1024x768 is a good mode for it, since it is native 640x480...so I'll have to revisit that). Got the touch USB input functioning (again, updated drivers/software helped tremendously...non-functioning before that, even with updated Win XP drivers). Can now select with monitor the touch screen is on.

    Launching FSX is a bit problematic, as it sometimes seems like it wants to put the main view up on the secondary monitor. And I was having problems because at some point, FSX dropped to "windowed" view, but maximized. You HAVE to run it in full screen to use both monitors and drag/drop over too secondary monitor. Once got that, I got the PFD up and running and resized on the 8" touch. Looks great! There is no doubt that the 8" 4:3 display is way too small (the real G1000 uses like a 10.5" display, I think, and that isn't including the bezel/buttons/knobs, so rendering all that makes it a bit small). Especially when you try to "tune" the knobs by taping the touch screen. There is little doubt this will need to be on a 15" touch screen and it will be MUCH better. If I can get the second video card working, that should mean I can run twin 15" touch screens for the PFD/MFD and then use the 8" touch for an autopilot and the SECM (Single Engine Control Module), like mags, start, fuel pump, master avionics, lights, heat, etc.

    Now I just need to begin working out rough drafts/dimensions of the cockpit. I think having the 8" display on a side panel 30-degree slant will be nice, maybe just above the TQS? Have to figure out how the twin 15" touches on each side of the yoke will fit in, and the 3 main view displays.

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