17/05/15 Well 'NOTHING IS FOREVER' and the end of an era, so to speak.  Sold the sim to a colleague in Newcastle on Tyne and no looking back.  Been a long and enjoyable journey, learnt a lot, cried a lot, got frustrated a lot, but got there and it just did not challenge me anymore.  That's when the enjoyment ends.  Becomes a chore, a job even.   My thanks to everybody who mailed to see where I was at and of course to all the friends and colleagues I have made over the past 9 years.

But it doesn't end there, oh no sir.  I have gone over to the 'DARK SIDE'.  Got a clear workbench, some PC's lying around and toying with the idea of an A320.  Yes that's right an A320, sorry chaps.   Just playing around with JEEHEEL at the moment to see what we can do with it.  Like starting at the bottom again, so it's interesting and keeping me occupied.  Completely different set of rules, physics, and control structure.  So it's back to school to get a handle on how this aircraft works.    Want to get it all working on the workbench first before I start ploughing out the cash I got for the sim on hardware.

25/11/2014 Where have I been since beginning of June.  Well I've been 'press ganged' out of retirement by my old company on a fixed term contract to help them thru a very busy time.  I'm averaging 50 hours a week, so no time for anything else.   So, tidying up the workshop, I've got to make some space.   I have accumulated so much stuff over the years that it's time to find it a new home.   I also have a complete cockpit that I've been tasked with selling.  Might do a bit of Jiggery-Pokery and swap out some of my kit.
There's Input/Output cards, MIP Panels, Servo Gauges and coming up will be a 'shitload' of CPFlight Kit in 'as new condition', some Weber Seats, JRails, Yokes, an Overhead, an MIP, some FDS (new) CDU's.
I just need to find the time to photograph & catalog it.  Click the For Sale sign for whats ready now.

12/05/2014 I've just spent a week playing with FSX and P3D.  Got FSX running very stable and clean and it's giving me amazing frame rates on an i3 machine with an 'economy' GT630 card.   No bad habits or crashes, just working.  Sadly the Posky 737 just didn't 'cut the mustard' I'm afraid.  Nice visual model, but flew like a 'bitch on heat', just had no finesse at all.  So i've decided not to use it.  So on we went trying out the Jetstream models - HAPPY DAYS.   I've loaded the 737-700 and the 737-800.  But I have a major issue with the 700 series.   Just doesn't respond to VNAV.   Supposed to have been a VNAV fix in v1.3 - YEAH RIGHT :o)  So, it's 800 then....   
The next problem I had was the weather depiction.  FSX (and P3D) standard weather is notoriously bad bad bad.  So I've been experimenting with REX textures.   Only problem (after downloading a 10gb program) is it sucks !  Just doesn't do what I want it to do.   Much too 'hands on', no automatic weather injection (you have to set it up each time you want to load weather) and you have to wait a lifetime for it to load textures each time - BUMMER ! Ok pretty, but much too time consuming when you have 3 PC's to get running.  Cant use Active Sky because I would have to buy a licence for each machine and that's a f*****g lot of dosh man.    So, after experimenting with different solutions, what I settled for was to use Open Clouds.  It's a simple utility from FSOpen that injects Real World Weather into FSX with some amazing results.  Not stunning, but very, very acceptable. It's free to use at any UK airport (starting EG) and for whole world coverage, it's Just GB£5 yearly (about 6 euros) a year - BARGAIN, fits in with my free and cheap mentality :o)

09/05/2014 OK, i'm just a bitch :o)  I've gone PRO.   Got myself a CPFLIGHT MCP Pro and 2 x EFIS.   What a difference over the EL version :o)   Sold my existing MCP & EFIS to Aden Murcutt before I actually got these, so it was a straight swap because the cases are actually the same size.  Took one set out today and 'straight swapped' the new one's.... HAPPY DAYS.  Didn't have to do anything, new MCP just installed on the existing Comm port.

Backlighting is much more realistic, now I have a bank angle adjuster and dont you just love the solenoid actuated autothrottle disengage (makes a lovely 'clunk' sound).   Took it out for a short test flight around TIVAT, but today, i'm going to beat the living crap out of it from Manchester to Tenerife South to get the feel for it.   Yes, I broke my compass fitting it :o(

Two visitors in this week, Owen Kelly from Wrexham and Mike Bellis (He was a Star) from Chester.  Owen is the youngest visitor I've ever had at 13.    I dont usually have visitors this young as it all tends to get ahead of them and they loose a vision of what's happening.    But this young man was really up there.    He probably spends untold hours in his bedroom toying with the iFly or NGX.    A pleasure to fly with him.     And then uncle Mike..... knows absolutely nothing about aviation, but took it all in like a sponge and is ready for his ATPL test :o)
Bit going on in the background.   Considering going over to P3D.    Got a new 'state of the art' PC built and am in the process of migrating all my FSX Scenery over (what a f*****g laborious job).      The Jetstream is working in P3D, I also have a POSKY B738 working and over the weekend, I hope to get REX4 doing the business.  WTS !

01/05/2014 Did a flight into DUBAI yesterday and took some screenshots.  This has got to be the best scenery package I've bought for a long, long time.   Very detailed city and surrounding area.   Real eye candy on the approach.  Tons of buildings and just about every tree.        Airport also very detailed and it's AES compatible so we have the service fleet.   My only criticism is there is no static traffic parked at the gates nor animated traffic on the airport itself.   But on a scale of 1 to 10, it's gotta score a 9 :o)

30/04/2014 Chris Rigby mailed me this morning and he's got a complete 747 simulator for sale.   It's an original Boeing Simulator which is ex-Aer Lingus 200 Series Simulator that has been converted to fully functioning 400 series avionics Glass Cockpit.  150 degree wrap around visuals off 3 Benq projectors running Prepar3D and Project Magenta.    Original Boeing genuine Parts.     Complete in its own 'box' and has a 3 person cabin which would make it great for an entertainment package.  Click on the 'datasheet' image for more details or contact Chris Rigby HERE.

27/04/2014 Busy week last week so not a lot of time to get 'stuff' done.  Two days out of my week and having to fit that all around my visits to the Hospital to see my father-in law, dont leave a lot of space.  But the end is in sight.    Had Ollie Hall and Josh Coles here for a bit of 'multi-crew' practise. They were most insistent on wearing the belts (?)  Engine failures, Electrical Failures, Go-Arounds, they really took it to the limit - trust me.
Then Wednesday my pleasure to welcome Edd Davies in from Shrewsbury for a 'hands on' flight from Gatwick to Edinburgh. Edd's a Paramedic who gets seconded to Dubai for Search & Rescue Duty and he got me thinking about expanding my horizons.    So I bought the FlyTampa OMDB Dubai Scenery :o)    Very high detail and quality.  Just done a couple of flights in there and I have to say it's one of the best scenery packages I've seen and frame rate friendly.    Screenshots to follow.

22/04/2014 BOURNS Slide Potentiometer PTB0143-2010BP-B103 (that's a mouthfull isn't it). FARNELL in the UK have them HERE at £4.88 (about 5.86euro) Well I have had to replace both the slide potentiometers in my Revolution Simproducts TQ for the third time, as there seems to be a problem with the range of the lever driver arms being greater than the travel of the potentiometer.  So what happens is the levers drive the pot levers constantly up against the end stops and eventually the metal tabs break off rendering the pot useless.  So, I have added some 'stops' to prevent this from happening.   And on top of that couple of visitors Saturday who managed to break my Gear Lever :o(   So a week of doing repairs !!

14/04/2014 You can tell the warm weather is coming, been spending some time in the workshop.    Recently I have been reading a couple of posts in forums about the yoke design using gas struts.    I originally used Gas Struts to give me a 'fluid' movement as opposed to springs, but there was no FEEL to it..   But I was messing about with the Footlift on an Industrial Sewing Machine and I had a 'light bulb moment'.   Why not use Air Cylinders?    You see a Double Action Air Cylinder has an internal piston/seal and can be fed with pressure from both ends which will cause the rod to move as the pressure rises behind the piston.   So, you may be conversant with the term 'For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction'.   What if we centre the rod and use two plugs to seal the IN/OUT Ports on either end of the cylinder... Hmmm.
Well if you push the rod in one direction, it create a pressure in that end of the cylinder and a vacuum in the other end. When released, the pressure will push the piston back and the vacuum will suck it.   It then follows that whichever way you push or pull the rod, the same rule applies, pressure in one end and vacuum in the other and a centreing will result when released.
Got to make a prototype and see how it works.  Bigger the bore of the cylinder, the more pressure/vacuum and the more force.
The other variable I see is that I will need to use a cylinder which will use up as much of the stroke as possible.  Watch this space.

12/04/2014 Saturday, another visitor Carl Sanders from Runcorn was in on a 'covert' visit organised by his partner for his birthday.  Another very enthusiastic visitor who wanted to hand fly as much as possible on his way from Manchester to Alicante.   He was amazed that us chaps build thing like this in our homes and wants to come back again, so I guess he had a good time :o)

09/04/2014 Never rains, but it pours.  What a shit year 2014 has been so far.   Sadly third week of February we lost our best friend AMBER which totally devastated the Bride.  Staffy crossbreed, real smart dog and a real character.  Part of our lives for 14 years.    So having to be supportive of the wife.  And then f**k me my father in law has his 3rd stroke which has left him hospitalised.  So our time has been spent dashing back and forth to Chester for the past 7 weeks.      But Spring is here and with the weather warming up, enthusiasm is starting to return and visitors are starting to come in.
Highlight this week was Warren (FSAVIATOR) Soeldner was here with his daughters who fitted in a visit to Oswestry on their Lightning Tour of the UK.  Originally from Colorado, Warren is in the Military and is stationed in Germany right now.   So we did a Frankfurt to Gatwick route with a missed approach so he could hand fly it round the circuit for a 'Greaser' of a landing 26L.    Lovely people, enjoyed their visit and I hope it wont be the last we see of them.

24/02/2014 Just no time for anything lately.  I have been so busy for over a year on projects for other people that sadly my own cockpit is 1. not getting used like it should and 2. not getting the attention it deserves.  Aha, but all that's changed :o)   I now have a clear workbench and I'm not taking on any more until the summer.

So, what do you do with time on your hands?  Disappear into the workshop and start 'pissing about', that's what you do.
The idea of the gauges got me thinking. After making the Prototypes, I bought a couple of proper engraved gauge plates off Sam at Cockpitsimparts and 'Way To Go'.  Just using the basic idea.  The .pdf 'How To' file is HERE. Just click on the You Tube Image to see how smooth and accurate the end result is - HAPPY DAYS.
So, we've got the whole 'Shooting Works'.  Now All I've got to do now is find the time to get on with all my upgrades.  By the way, the 2013 News Page is HERE NOW

25/01/2014 Maybe of some use to somebody..... Having being building overheads for over a year now, I have come across several avenues of supply for those 'awkward' to find switches.  First up is the 45 degree rotary (C&K Part No. A12505RNZQ).  Geremy from GLB was here recently and he's told me he is now stocking these.   Very hard to find, the 90 degree rotary for the Crossfeed (ALPHA Part No.  SR2613F-104).   MOUSER have them.   And as a bonus, I found 737 Type Toggle Switches being made by Honeywell.  Click the Datasheet Image for more information.

07/01/2014 Right, another successful & extremely busy year in 2013, yes sir.  My Thanks to everybody who came over to fly the sim a total 41 visitors in 2013.  I just dont know where I find the time :o)   Interested in Cockpit Building or Just want to see what it's all about, drop me a mail and we'll see what we can do to get you a flight.

We learned to make gauges and drive them in Prosim with the POLOLU Maestro card.  We refurbished and replaced all of the knobs in the pit.  Installed 2 x FDS CDU's in the sim which I can only describe as awesome.  But I've been sidetracked over the last 12 months by Panel Building for colleagues.   Total for the year is 7 forward and  4 rear overhead panels and I've just got another arrive.   The other thing we've been doing is getting servo driven Poldragonet TQ's Running in Prosim using the Pololu card.  They work quite well actually.  I've had 3 in recently and all converted fine.   Just a little bit of 'playing around' with the sliders in Prosim for the lever positions, but once you get that right, a very acceptable performance.

22/12/2013 Right, Overhead and TQ gone from the workshop, so I've now had chance to Detail Andrew Pringle's Overhead he has FOR SALE.   Please contact Andrew pringleno1@hotmail.com  for Pricing and Availability.   All The details are contained within the .pdf file.   Click the image on the right for more info.

09/12/2013 Past two weeks I've had another overhead in for wiring and I've still got two more to do.  But I was falling about yesterday because my wife cant get her head round how one little boy can make so much mess.   She reckons it's a skill I have, a talent even.

07/12/2013 Well whats this then :o)  My old matey Steve Everson has finally got up and running with his new venture.  This has been 2 years in the making.  I remember talking to Steve at Lelystad where he was very enthusiastic about setting up his new company.
Based in Stackstead Nr. Manchester, it now gives us 'Northern Types' the chance to experience a Sim.     He's doing Corporate, Stag Parties, One on One and all sorts of fun stuff.  Click on the image for more Info.

The 2013 News Page is Now HERE