It has come to a point where I have to start selling off the simulator. So, up for grabs first is the FlyEngravity 737ng CDU/FMS!

I pulled it out of the sim yesterday, and power tested it today! Looks fine! So if you are looking for a CDU for a discount, here is the auction!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160802902671&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

What do they say, good things come to those who wait?

Well, my first 737 Yoke arrived and it is nothing short of a beautiful piece of art!

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a yoke! It is a great engineered piece, that looks and feels quite real! Tell Ali Matt sent ya if you order one. It may take a few months to get one, but it’s worth the wait!

The finish is smooth and feels great in my hands! The tension is fantastic. It has the stab/trim switches on the left, as well as the a/p disconnect. On the back of each side there is a momentary rocker for keying up your mic/atc. The chart holder looks great and is very well designed. What a great yoke!!!

I did some simple setup in FSUIPC but haven’t flown with it yet. Hopefully tomorrow! The FO is next, sometime this summer!

WOW!

Here are a few quick photos!

Got my CockpitSonic B737 Clock with Interface in the mail today. I’ve finally replaced the PS1 Clock Screen, it just got to be a hassle as newer video cards are starting to be problematic with TV Out, updated Windows drivers are causing problems and most of the time you run into 3D/OpenGL issues with them. So, I bought a nice replica working clock that also interfaces USB with FSX.

The clock is very well built and looks really nice!! The pictures don’t do it justice! When I get power I will post some photos of it illuminated. I will have to order another for the FO side now!

Its amazing what $2.00 handles from the hardware store can do to your home cockpit!

Sometimes it’s good to save some money :)

Just upgraded my Sim Avionics license from a SSTD+ (Captain only) to a full DSTD+ (Captain / FO) license. Now I have the full FO side PFD/ND/CDU and can finally use the FO’s EFIS to control things independently.

Today I trial and errored through SIOC to get my OpenCockpit EGT, Cabin Climb and Duct Pressure gauges working! Fellow SimA and Builder Markus was kind enough to send me his scripts.

The thing about SIOC is that no two builders scripts will be a like. Its a programming language, one that I don’t understand much. I pretty much changed things one at a time until everything worked. :) Here’s a video showing the three gauges in action!

A couple of months ago when I did the SSD update in the FSX Sim PC, I was having intermitted functionality on my TQ’s start levers. Sometimes in idle detent they would not work, other times in cutoff they wouldn’t work. A few days ago I noticed that moving them on my real TQ did not move them in FSX.

There are a few posts out there about how to get them working. But with the interface card in the Revolution TQ, this was my solution.

Engine Start Lever 1, FSUIPC Buttons & Switches Tab. Control sent when button press “Mixture 1 Lean” / Parameter 0. Control sent when button released “Toggle Master Starter Switch” / Parameter 1

Engine Start Lever 2, FSUIPC Buttons & Switches Tab. Control sent when button press “Mixture 2 Lean” / Parameter 0. Control sent when button released “Toggle Master Starter Switch” / Parameter 2

Back when I had my Cessna Simulator I used a Matrox Triple Head to Go. When I started the 737 Sim, I moved away from that because I wanted a large screen, so I bought a projector and had a 5 foot screen on the wall.

But I never felt immersed in the sim, so using money I received over the holiday plus some extra I had for the sim, I bought 3 Samsung SyncMaster BX2431′s. These are 24″ 1080p LED flat screens. Super thin. I built a stand from 2×4′s for them to sit on and secured it to the FDS MIP monitor tray. Then I used 2″ industrial strength velcro to secure them to the backs of the upright 2×4′s.

These LED monitors have two HDMI connectors as well as a VGA. As my TH2G is the older “analog” one it’s only VGA. I only had 6 foot cables and some adapters so I tried using those. But after firing up the screens I had serious monitor ghosting. (Where you can see an “after image” of what is on the screen. I knew it was from interference from the adapters that were connecting the various VGA cables together. So back to the electronics store I went and got a good deal on a 50′ VGA cable. That did the trick, the screens are crisp and clear.

Yes I’m back to having the little bezels of the screens, but… the quality is far superior to what I had with the projector. Clouds look amazing! And I can again see the cars driving on the freeways. And finally… I do feel immersed in the sim in it’s current build. So much, that I did almost feel a little “air sick” haha. My end goal is to have 2 more screens that will cover the Captain and First Officer sides, at which point, I’ll start using WideView.

The 3 Opencockpit overhead gauges I ordered have arrived! I went to a local store after DHL dropped them off and bought some connector ends. Those will let me lengthen the wires so they can reach from the overhead to the interface card. I’ll probably work on these over the next several days.

A few days ago I ordered the first three gauges for the overhead from OpenCockpits. I went with OpenCockpits vs Flight Illusion because I already own three Opencockpit radios, and I also already own one of their USB interface cards which currently powers my flaps gauge. The gauges I ordered are the 737 Overhead Cabin Climb, 737 Overhead EGT and the 737 Overhead Duct Pressure.

I’ve placed my order for two of the best 737 Yokes currently on the market, from ACE’s site, found at www.737yoke.com! They are very popular right now and so I should see these beauties in the cockpit in about 8-12 weeks. But not bad considering the quality of these yokes! Definitely go check out these yokes, they are awsome looking! I also want to send a very special thank you to the owner, Ali, who has been great during my entire transaction with him. Thanks Ali!

They are in and working quite well!