Cherokee 180 using Baskins' N6316J Paint?

[LarryCFII]

The video is fantastic... something I have done many times with "Juliet" ... you have taken me back to a virtual reality that is soooooo similar to things I have done with her for many years. I cannot thank you enough... Larry ... Truly wonderful.

[LarryCFII]

Stefan..... I am stunned at what a wonderful flight you have created ... this is AMAZING!!!!!... I must ask how you control your view so quickly, naturally, and accurately... What equipment are you using to do this... I currently only have the Saitek yoke, rudder pedals, and throttle quadrant. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!! I am completely blown away by the realism of your sim and the video... thank you so much... Larry

[shortspecialbus]

Hi Larry,

I'm really thrilled to hear that you're enjoying these. Even when flying on VATSIM, this is usually a fairly solitary hobby, so having the opportunity to actually do something nice for someone is pretty special.

The view movement comes from TrackIR. I have a TrackIR 5, and currently I have a TrackHat Clip Plus. TrackIR 5 is an infrared camera that detects your head motion via either some reflectors that you put on a hat, or via a clip device that you attach to a headset. You can see the TrackHat Clip Plus attached to the side of my headset in this picture:



There are also homemade cheaper versions of this available, but honestly, unless you know what you're doing, you would be much better off just buying from TrackIR for the camera. As far as the option for the reflectors on the hat or the clip for the headset, there's a couple things to think about. If you have a light source or anything reflective (picture frame, etc) behind you, you're definitely going to want one of the clips because the camera will detect all sorts of false positives from the lights. Even with the clip you probably can't have a window with the sun directly behind you unless you pull a shade down. The reason it makes more of a difference, is that with the reflectors, they just reflect light that the camera projects. The clips produce their own infrared light, which I find to be much more accurate.

That said, if you don't want to wear a headset and would prefer a hat, TrackHat also makes a hat that contains LEDs, so I would recommend that. The reason I purchased the clip from TrackHat is because 1.) I wanted wireless to go with my new wireless headset, and 2.) the clip that TrackIR sells is extremely flimsy and falls apart if you look at it funny. My first one was held together by electrical tape until I got fed up and ended up replacing it.

Here's some useful links for you:

TrackIR: http://naturalpoint.com/trackir/ I'll recommend the TrackIR 5. It works slightly better than the TrackIR 4
TrackHat Plus (the wireless one): http://www.trackhat.org/#!trackhat-plus/c2qn
TrackHat Clip Plus: http://www.trackhat.org/#!trackhat-clip-plus/cvhw

There are wired versions of both the clip and the hat from TrackHat that will save you a couple bucks if you don't care about wireless. The battery life on the TrackHat Clip Plus is not fantastic but not terrible either, and in a pinch you could hook a cable up to charge it while you wear it I think. It probably lasts about 3 hours. On long flights I either turn it off for some time or go so far as to turn it off and charge it for a bit. I am having an issue with mine where the charging port came loose, and TrackHat support has been amazing - they got back to me within a few minutes with some options. It still works, so I want to do the advanced RMA, but I need to wait a bit to have some extra cash before I can do so. But they seem a good company, and shipping from England didn't take crazy long.

I hope that answers some of your questions! I'm happy to answer more. I can't get a PPL due to medications I have to take for a chronic back injury, so simming is what I'm stuck with, and I do my best to go as decent as I can within my budget. Again, I'm really really happy that you're enjoying these. I'm glad I took the opportunity

-stefan

Edit: Equipment list, for what it's worth

Used with the Cherokee:
TrackIR
PFC Boeing Yoke
CH Rudder Pedals (I ordered MFG Crosswind Pedals a bit ago and am just waiting for them to ship)
Saitek Switch Panel
Saitek Trim Wheel
Saitek TPM
GoFlight LGT-II (used for fuel selector, flaps, and rudder trim on the Cherokee)

Not used with Cherokee:
GoFlight TQ6-ADV (I've been debating about using the spoiler handle as a flap handle to add a bit of realism, but I dunno)
GoFlight MCP Pro (well, I do use the heading and course bugs with the Cherokee)
GoFlight EFIS
Saitek Radio Panel (appears to be broken, hasn't worked in a while but it's holding up other stuff so I have to leave it, haha)

The TQ6-ADV, Trim Wheel, and LGT-II are in a custom designed throttle stand that I built. The TQ6-ADV mainly gets used with PMDG planes, although I've been fixated on GA lately so it's not gotten a lot of use.

I also have a modded Thrustmaster Cougar that I used to use for Falcon 4.0 - I modded the throttle to reduce static friction (worked great, highly recommend) and also modded the stick to be "force sensitive." Not the Jedi kind. But the stick itself barely moves, and how hard you pull on it is what matters. Very realistic for an F-16, but not so much for anything else and it requires the joystick to be very firmly mounted. I haven't used it in some time because I don't do combat sims these days and a force sensitive stick makes effectively zero sense for civilian planes.

[shortspecialbus]

Sorry I haven't done any flights lately - we've had good weather so I've been outside a lot. I might try to squeeze one in today or more likely tonight after sundown.

I'm planning on taking the plane somewhere where I have nicer scenery.

Larry, any preference out of the following locations? Really anywhere on this map that's inside one of the highlighted areas, such as New Zealand, most of the western US, etc.

https://fullterrain.com/locations

I also have nice scenery for American Samoa and Papua New Guinea.

That said, if you'd prefer to see places where you've actually been with it, feel free to make some suggestions for that too! The scenery just won't be quite as nice

-stefan

[LarryCFII]

Stephan..... helllloooooooooooo.... thank you so much for the updates and the information. Regarding possible a possible future flight, my brother in law once flew from Bakersfield, CA to Las Vegas NV in his Piper Archer and I have often wondered what he encountered in terms of terrain along that route of flight. So, that would a great trip to do in "Juliet."

Thanks so much for the equipment list.. I will check into these things sometime soon. I have also been gone. this past week I was in Houston TX and was not online at all, visiting with my family there.

Great to share a hobby with you. I wish you all the best.... take care and blue skies always... Larry

[shortspecialbus]

Ok - that's definitely a flight I can do. If the weather ever stops being "literally perfect" around here I'll do it.

-stefan

[bobsk8]

This repaint is the only Cherokee I fly now. I love the wood grain on the panel.