IKEA Chair Pit

Built my first "armchair cockpit" about 5 years ago using an old wicker seat from the living room. Served me well over the years, and was super comfy. Started out first with a Logitech Wingman stick and X52 throttle, then a Cougar stick with FSSB, and finally the Warthog unit.

Phase 1, circa 2008.

Just last week I got a nice comfy armchair from IKEA, and figured it was time to retire the old one. My design was simple, an L-shaped piece of wood that would be sandwiched between the plate the cushion rested on and the cushion itself, and drive the mounting bolts through it. After a good sanding, I gave it 2 coats of matte black spray paint then 2 coats of matte clear coat, and the end result was beautiful. The stick mount was made from 2 4" PVC end caps which are a perfect match for the Warthog stick base, and the 2 end caps were held together by a 4" coupler, all painted black as well. The end result mounted the stick at just the right height to make my forearm level while grasping it. The throttle on the side I used an extra plate to give me more mounting surface, this was salvaged from my old chair. It is slightly canted outward too to match the angle of my arm from the seat.

The best thing about this chair is the portability and comfort. It's no fancy-shmancy F-16 cockpit, but it gets the job done in style. :)

the granma chair? :)

Nice work, though I wish you had not posted this right after I abandoned my office chair for a much more expensive alternative. :P

the granma chair? :)

Say what you want, it's comfortable and functional. :P

Thats very cool. Simple, functional, non-cluttered. I like it.

Regards,

Milli

Really nice, plus, you have a central joystick so you get my vote for that!! :p

Blaze, do you have the product code for the chair from Ikea, loving the design and I've been after a comfy chair for a long time.

Cheers,

Chris.

MALKOLM Swivel Chair, product code 101.968.03.

Blaze, do you have the product code for the chair from Ikea, loving the design and I've been after a comfy chair for a long time.

 

Cheers,

Chris.

Never thought I, a Swede, would ever see people exchange IKEA product tips on these forums :P

I used to run this chair (or something very similar, it was IKEA anyway :P ) for my cockpit:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30212487/

Cheers Blaze

Lol Janko, most of my bedroom furniture is from Ikea and I'm in London ;)

£80 here and a different code in the UK - 301.967.98

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/40196811/?query=malkolm#/30196798

Well Ells228 don't get me wrong, I don't doubt that there are people on the forum who purchase products from IKEA. But it's first time I witness someone actually making some commercial for IKEA's products.

Just keep it up :D

I love IKEA. I used to go there all the time for the raspberry Singoalla cookies, but then they stopped carrying them. Now I have to go to Big Lots for those. :D

That's great.

Thinking loud: "I'd love to do that. But how about the rudder pedals? Hmmm. I can apply this to a chair without wheels."

Thanks for idea, man!. :)

It hardly swivels at all when kicking the rudder pedals, surprisingly. And the wheels on the carpet barely budge when using the rudders, it takes a lot to roll the chair when sitting in it, and the weight of the Warthog helps considerably.

cough cough...and the weight of the pilot...cough cough

LMAO ;)

I have to admit that when I was using a similar chair, I never noticed the swivel at all. For the rolling issue I had a small section of thick pile carpet to keep the wheels in place.

I only weigh about 135lbs, btw. ;)

 

I only weigh about 135lbs, btw. ;)

Wow, you are a lil guy, I'm 205, but I'm also 6'2". My chair doesn't swivel either.

Wow, you are a lil guy, ...

Only 5'8", but I'm feisty!! :P

...and the term is compact!:D

This is very nice and something that I've always wanted to do. The problems I had when attempting this was:

1. I couldn't quite figure out how to securely bold the board and seat to the chair mount. Did you just drill holes through the board, and get longer screws to go through the chair mount, through the board, and into the seat?

2. I did have it mocked up at one point but always found the throttle is just too low compared to the arm rest, and sits almost directly to the side of my hip instead of more forward.

3. The usb cables. I am always concerned I am going to rip one off the unit, be it throttle or joystick, with my legs entering the seat or leaving..

Do you have any other pictures or mind saying what board(s), size(s) you used?

3. The usb cables. I am always concerned I am going to rip one off the unit, be it throttle or joystick, with my legs entering the seat or leaving..

 

Your experience with computers is incomplete if you have not completely destroyed something by entangling yourself in, or accidentally pulling on, a cable. :D

This is very nice and something that I've always wanted to do. The problems I had when attempting this was:

 

1. I couldn't quite figure out how to securely bold the board and seat to the chair mount. Did you just drill holes through the board, and get longer screws to go through the chair mount, through the board, and into the seat?

Yes, got bolts twice the length at the hardware store and drilled holes through the board.

2. I did have it mocked up at one point but always found the throttle is just too low compared to the arm rest, and sits almost directly to the side of my hip instead of more forward.

This is true, but it's something you get used to fairly quickly, and after a short while you don't notice it anymore.

3. The usb cables. I am always concerned I am going to rip one off the unit, be it throttle or joystick, with my legs entering the seat or leaving..

I have both the stick and throttle plug into a usb hub mounted on the bottom of the chair, and I have a USB extension cable that runs from the back of my pc to the front of my desk. When I want to fly I just plug the cable from the USB hub into the extension cable. This also acts as a break-away point in case the chair spins around all the way or I pull it out with my foot. No broken or ripped out cables this way.

Do you have any other pictures or mind saying what board(s), size(s) you used?

Here's a quick plan I drew on my Galaxy Note II. :P

Your experience with computers is incomplete if you have not completely destroyed something by entangling yourself in, or accidentally pulling on, a cable. :D

Oh, I have...multiple times...I just didn't want to do it to a $500 hotas :joystick::pilotfly:

I was thinking a usb extension cable to give it plenty of slack and it could always break off at the extension plugin rather than rip outta the pc.

EDIT: Thanks blaze, responded when I did so just read your post. Basically what I thought, I'll look into possibly doing this myself then. Appreciate it!

Your experience with computers is incomplete if you have not completely destroyed something by entangling yourself in, or accidentally pulling on, a cable. :D

I can relate. I trashed my USB ports on the front of my HAF-X case yesterday by tripping over a USB cable. :music_whistling:

As soon as I saw the word "Ikea", I thought of the following song. And so I salute you such: