P-51D cockpit build

Arguably the finest fighter aircraft of World War II.
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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Hi guys

Since my last update I've been fighting gremlins and control setup issues. Right now I'm down to 3 controls that are not setup correctly; the flaps and 2 ram air controls. The flaps need 6 positions/detentes and will be setup in FSUIPC and the air controls just need the right L:VARS to work.

In the pics below I’m temporarily using a 32” monitor instead of the 46” so I have access under the hood while I trouble shoot the issues. The first pic is using an LED floor light so some details are washed out. You can see my TrackIR camera in the upper left (2 yellow dots on a slant) sitting on the cowl held in place with its magnetic base. The landing gear and lights are finally working and you can see the lights are inverted to reflect a tail dragger.

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For the second pic I turned off the floor lamp so the pic is a little blurry but you can now see that the MIP is lighted by the two dash lights mounted under the shroud. These are 120V chandelier bulbs in a housing I made from PVC pipe and the lights are controlled by 2 dimmers, one on each side of the pit.

Thanks for looking
Ed


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If at first you do succeed, try not to look too surprised!

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Tug002
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Tug002 »

Looks great, won't be long before you have it all up and running.

Keep smiling
Tug :)

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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Thanks Tug!

I have really enjoyed the test flights and can't wait to get the larger screen in place and everything buttoned up.

The first thing I noticed was the full size stick allows for more precise control than a standard height PC joystick. I can keep a light touch on the grip and not over control the plane. Most real planes I have flown had yokes but the SIAI Marchetti 260 I flew with Air Combat USA had a stick and was a joy to fly. The P-51 style foot rests I added to the rudder pedals are really comfortable and I can fly with the ball of my foot resting on the curved section instead of completely on the pedals.

Take care
Ed
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If at first you do succeed, try not to look too surprised!

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Lewis - A2A
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Lewis - A2A »

Look great as ever Ed, superb work! 8)
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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Thanks Lewis!
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If at first you do succeed, try not to look too surprised!

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Piper_EEWL
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Piper_EEWL »

Very nice Ed as usual!

And you flew with Air Combaf USA :shock: A friend of me and I were looking at it the other day and thought it was so awesome! I'm sure you had the best time. Those Siai's are such sleek airplanes. I wish I could do it one day.

Happy flying
B377&COTS, J3 Cub, B-17G, Spitfire, P-40, P-51D, C172, C182, Pa28, Pa24, T-6 Texan, L-049&COTS, Bonanza V35B

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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Thanks Piper!

AC USA was an early Christmas present from my wife and the experience was real a treat! I am not a licensed pilot but have flown many times with a friend that was a CFI and he was the one I flew against. As we passed head to head at the beginning of the first fight my buddy, being a certified pilot, was very gentile as he tried to get on my six. Now me, I had a lot of time in sims and knowing these planes were built to take the stress I pulled the stick back and kicked the rudder and was quickly on his tail then I pulled the trigger and he started smoking. You can hear him on the radio saying "WTF just happened?" My pilot was laughing at his counter part in the other plane.

After our 6 dogfights my buddy asked if he could do a stall and when they said yes I asked if I could follow and get it on the gun camera and we were off. We were at 8,000 feet and my buddy put his plane into a stall and I followed him over. I watched him come out of the dive and thought UH OH and as I started to pull up you can hear my pilot say "here come the G's". As we pulled 5.6 G's you can hear me grunt "Oh SH*t" but I completed the maneuver. I had tunnel vision for the first time and that feeling when I pulled out of the dive gave me a new respect for the real pilots!

They had an open slot in the next flight so they offered my wife a deal if she wanted to fly. She was tempted but declined because she said she had never seen anyone with a face as green/gray as mine when I climbed out of the cockpit. No air sickness bags were used but I remember looking in their general direction once or twice! :oops:

Take care everyone
Ed
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If at first you do succeed, try not to look too surprised!

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Piper_EEWL
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Piper_EEWL »

Man that sounds like loads of fun. I've watched a couple of videos of AC USA and it looks so cool. What a great Christmas present.

Thanks for sharing the story!

PS: I'm sure I would have to look at those airsickness bags too :lol:
B377&COTS, J3 Cub, B-17G, Spitfire, P-40, P-51D, C172, C182, Pa28, Pa24, T-6 Texan, L-049&COTS, Bonanza V35B

PH-JKL
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by PH-JKL »

Hi Ed,

Just a little question, I'm working on the switches using Lvars now and I can't get the fuel booster to work.
Which Lvar did you used? I tried all of them that has both 'fuel', 'booster' and 'switch' in them, but I can't make it work.
I've got the battery, generator, primer, and starter working, but I might miss one in the large list of codes.

Thanks in advance!
Any landing you can walk away from is a good one!

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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

HI PH-JKL

For some reason I used the FSX Fuel Pump command and it seems to work.

But I do see L:FuelBoosterOn= and L:Eng1_FuelBoostSwitch= in the L:VAR list and will probably change to one of them.

Ed
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Killratio
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Killratio »

Love the new shots Ed. Fantastic work all around!
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PH-JKL
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by PH-JKL »

Hello Ed,

I tried the L:FuelBoosterOn= and L:Eng1_FuelBoostSwitch= and none of them worked, I'll give the standard Fuelpump switch a try.

Thank you.

Jeroen.
Any landing you can walk away from is a good one!

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Raceguy
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by Raceguy »

Jeroen, I think I had the same issue and that is why I used the FSX Fuel Pump command.

Ed
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If at first you do succeed, try not to look too surprised!

PH-JKL
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Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by PH-JKL »

Weird, in my opinion it should work, on the other hand it's a computer, and the PC Lord works in mysterious ways I guess...

Currently I have to work on the next issue: FSUIPC stopped working and causes FSX to crash.

Jeroen
Any landing you can walk away from is a good one!

PH-JKL
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Location: the Netherlands

Re: P-51D cockpit build

Post by PH-JKL »

PH-JKL wrote: Currently I have to work on the next issue: FSUIPC stopped working and causes FSX to crash.

Jeroen

INSTANT UPDATE:

For some reason FSUIPC start working again. I got some "flight simulator has detected a problem with a third-party software program fsuipc" warning, clicked "yes" this time, and it worked again, where it stopped FSX the last time.
Any landing you can walk away from is a good one!

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