Steve's A-10C pit build

I dont expect my pit to be exacting. Once its built, I think the small details arent gonna be a big deal for me when Im playing the sim. I have just finished my cad drawing for now. Actual construction will start early next year as soon as I can get a mitre saw.

Thanks for sharing this!

What are the dimensions?

The platform it sits on is 5ft x 5ft supported by 2x4. The sides and instrument panel will be made using 1/4" and 1/8" thick sheeting and the supporting structures are 1/2" square and 1" square hardwood. If you need more info send me pm.

I love the curved side enclosures. Looks very nice, like the body of the plane.

I also like your idea of putting the pit on wheels.

One question. Normally a pit with just the side panels is low enough to step into. With the curved sides, it looks too high to step over into the pit. How do you plan to get in? Make the seat slide out on tracks or make one side panel swing out sideways on a hinge?

Perhaps a step ladder like the real thing? ;)

Perhaps a step ladder like the real thing? ;)

Perfect! Get the wife to roll it up to the pit in the morning and help you get in, then roll it away, then roll it back when it's time for dinner.

Good idea about the step ladder, except that it takes up space.

Not sure about the remote wife control part. Usually the hubby is the remote control for the wife. don't think such a wife exists, unless she is one of those in the show iRobot.

One thing Ive been thinking about is rather than having a ladder, incorporating a step into one of the sides. Would detract from the looks but solve the problem without taking up additional space.

One thing Ive been thinking about is rather than having a ladder, incorporating a step into one of the sides. Would detract from the looks but solve the problem without taking up additional space.

You can put a hinged cover over the step's hole. Either let it just swing down by gravity, or you can spring load it a bit. It may not completely make up for the change in looks, but maybe you can get creative with whatever is painted on the side to camoflage it (ie. make a decal of the same dimensions as the step cover's outline).

Just make sure you engineer it so that it isn't pinching your foot/toes in there. Maybe make one that is spring loaded to two positions... down for step concealment, and up (inward, if there is room) for ingress/egress.

Alternatively, just make a removable plug to fit the hole. Leave it inserted when your not in the pit, to enhance its looks. Remove it when it is time to climb in. When you're in the pit, you won't be able to see the step hole any ways, so it's not much of a problem for it to be out then. That's probably the easier/safer approach. :)

WOW that is going to be big.

My tools came in Monday. Lotsa goodies including table saw, mitre saw, jig saw, sander, router, and a new lithium drill. My Simped pedals came in yesterday and of course had to try them out on Blackshark. Woot. Rudder control felt very smooth especially for those rocket launches. Today I priced out about $200 of wood that I will be picking up on Friday. Ill take some pics of it all this weekend before I make my first cut. Gettin excited. I got news yesterday as well of my ACES seat getting some final additions including movable ejection handles. I finished upgrading my Cougar stick and throttle with hall sensors (in case the new HOTAS never sees the light of day). I also won a Warthog mousepad that I received today from Fighterops.com. Im about $1000 in and almost ready to start.

which version of simped did you buy?

how much was it, and how was the shipping/delivery?

I purchased the F-16 USB version with toe brakes for just under $400 USD. Shipping was included but it did take about 2.5 weeks for delivery

All set up and ready to start.

wow, looking at the tools make me drool. Looking at hardware excites me more than girls nowadays. Oops! I need help!

Cool, can't wait to see some action...

After a few hours of work the base came out nicely.

looks like you mounted your wheels directly to the MFD.I would sugest you move the wheels to the solid wood area

Watch those fingers now! Good luck, nothing like getting new power tools especially when the plan is to build a cockpit simulator!

looks like you mounted your wheels directly to the MFD.I would sugest you move the wheels to the solid wood area

Actually the wheels are mounted on 4"x4" solid wood which is bolted to the mfd. I still havent received my ejection seat and Im hesitant to start building the sides until I can verify seat height.

With the weight of the cockpit and you i would suggest dispersing the load across your structural frame and not just across the 4x4 MFD has all most no load bearing properties. What do you need to know on the seat I have a real one in the office.

area

Actually the wheels are mounted on 4"x4" solid wood which is bolted to the mfd. I still havent received my ejection seat and Im hesitant to start building the sides until I can verify seat height.

deadman is right you want thoes wheels on the wood not the MFD. once you put wheight on it the wheels will just punch thrue. your going to have any where from 300lb to 500lb on that thing. I would also sujest that you put a wheel in the center where your direct wheight is going to be.

MDF guys, not MFD

Yeah I don't know about the whole platform on casters thing in general. I"m not trying to rain on your parade or anything, just thinking out loud really. I mean, I'm sure you have your reasons, but once you get that platform loaded up with weight, it's going to be an absolute bitch to move. Even more so if it's on carpet. Like others have said, you'll need support in the middle where all the weight will be concentrated, or you'll get some serious bending/breaking. I think the corner wheels will be ok actually, if you used 3/4" MDF, that's some pretty strong stuff. If it were me, I would have put the wheels directly on the framing though.

What's the point of being able to move the sim 10 ft on wheels anyway? It's not like you can get it through a doorway rolling on that thing, you might as well carry it in pieces if you need to move it. The materials for that platform could be used for the pit itself.

As I previously stated, the wheels are mounted on 2x4x4" hardwood. The same stuff i used for the framing which in turn is bolted to the particle board. As far as having wheels being pointless, I may not be able to move it out of the room without dismantle, but within the room it makes it much easier to move. I have so far installed the seat and sat in it, and started on the side panel framing. Ive played DCS on it for a month now and so far its been stable platform. I expect to have approximately 400-500 lbs on it but that weight is distributed across the entire thing. The heaviest parts are the chair and myself and it has no problem with me sitting on it.

Ive painted the platform, completed the aces seat, and currently half way through the side panels. I also have something in the works to modify my Cougar and extend the stick as it is in the real thing. Next up I will be painting the rest of whats installed and begin on the main instrument panel. While Im not working on construction, Im using my time at work to develop the hardware/software for integrating simulated instruments. I have decided that the instruments will be mostly stepper based and run on an RS-485 bus which will communicate with the main controller and transmit to the pc via usb.