Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Let's Try That Again

In 2008, I started to build a replica Airbus A320 cockpit in my garage. It didn't get very far but I learned a lot. I eventually broke it down and disposed of the pieces. Part of my frustration was not being able to machine things precisely enough or create items that looked and behaved like the real thing.

Even though I got rid of it, I still had a desire to do it again  :)

This year several things happened.


  • 3D Printing became commonplace and cheap - many of the the things I would need could be 3D printed
  • all of my kids had left home, which left a rather large man-cave upstairs I could use, which was clean, dry and air-conditioned
  • I discovered a wonderfully eccentric and diverse geek community at the Perth Artifactory with a huge workshop and access to such amazing tools as laser cutters and CNC machines. This would enable me to produce realistic working cockpit pieces.

So I built my new A320. One of the mistakes I made last time was to begin the construction before getting it flying. My new cockpit is all computer-based. It runs on 2 PCs, 6 screens (plus an iPad) and is based on Microsoft FSX:Steam Edition.


The plan is to keep it flying but gradually replace the screens with replica panels.

Watch this space  :)

J

No comments: