Beechcraft B200 King Air - Systems Simulator

[meistereder]

Hello from Vienna!

I have not yet had chances to use cards from Opencockpits, so SIOC is a new world to me. I am using I/O Cards that can not talk SIOC but can use mouse macros, Keyboard shortcuts and native FSX functions. I can allign Keyboard-commands to all my physical buttons, so that would be great to apply those to all functions in your software - making it easy controlable with any way of physical hardware buttons... (just dreaming )

As it concerns the soft-gauges it is quite easy to get your hands on 5, 7 or 10 Inch tfts that can display several gauges and digital annunciators at the same time. The best gauges at my opinion are those from thegaugesfactory (Freeware - but not accessible any more). They run smooth and look just thrilling good. I have adapted some for the use in a King Air, they connect with wideFS with a charme and were the reason for me to start building a panel. The EHSI and EADI are really good. Another EHSI/EADI freely available to play around with is from http://www.flightdecksoft.com/.

So it is exciting to hear that you have soft gauges and maybe soft-annunciators also on your roadmap!

My overhead is now working pretty fine, all knobs are accessible vie LUA scripts. But it is kind of poor to have an Inverter in the Carenado B200 that has absolut now function in the flight model. So I have at least put some sound into the LUA to get at least some response when operating the switch according to the checklist. This is somehow poor and shows how interested I would be to have something running that you are programming! :)

As always pls keep up the good work!
Best, Alfred

[meistereder]

Hi again,

I just figured out how to upload pictures here and here they are: First 3 ones with the overhead - you see even in daylight the annunciators just look like the real thing - there is just a white box showing under 3 layers of printed sheets on transparent paper.

The last 3 show earlier stages when I was still keen on the Beech Baron! Here you see the gaugesfactory in detail - with such gauges at my opinion there is no need for physical ones (of course they are much more realistic - but I can get a 3 screens and one computer for the price of one physical unit - so it is a clear approach for me then!)

Best, Alfred

[meistereder]

Hi! Just wanted to ask if you got any further in the meantime and wanted to wish you and of course all others in the forum a happy new year!
Best from Vienna
Alfred

[capetonian]

Hi there, .... still working away at the software but I have also started on my first prototype of the throttle and panel. I'll post an update soon!

[capetonian]

A quick question to you all?

Apart from Open Cockpits, what other interfacing cards do you use, although I encourage everyone to answer, my first priority will be to see what the current King Air builders are using. Being now involved in the process of interfacing the software to hardware I want to see if I can add the other cards in there too or at least leave some 'space' in the code to incorporate other cards when the time comes.

Please feel free to reply in this post with the type of cards you are using. As far as I know OC, Phidgets and Leo Bodnars cards seem the most common, Arduino seems to be making a lot of progress in the flightsim world too

Cheers and and always, thanks for reading this.

[meistereder]

Hi!
Did this time not get a notifaction of a new post, so quite a late reply:
I have been using self designed I/O cards of a friend of mine - the new setup (now as I got my real Piper shell!) is Leo Bodnar.
To my opinion - you mentioned the major - currently available - i/o cards, so considering them should be just perfect!
Do you have any progress that you can post on this stage - would be great to find out!
Best, Alfred

[capetonian]

Hi Alfred and others :-)

Sorry, I have been really really bust the past weeks. I will post an update as soon as I have more stuff to show, at the moment I am working on the engines and how they perform, So it is effectively all stuff that is 'under the hood' and there is nothing new to really see.

What I do know is that I will be in Vienna from 22 to 26 of September, maybe we can meet for coffee Alfred?

[meistereder]

Good morning Capetonian,

good to hear that you are busy with your project - I have found on other forums already 2 posts of King Air Cockpit Builders that mentioned your project and said "hopefully there will be a solution from the guy in the netherlands" :)

You are welcome for a Coffee and a flight in the King Air in September here in Vienna. Until then you may see already more of the current development of my new Pro Line 21 build that I am currently busy with. As everything has to be fitted in the real piper shell I have recently purchased it has to be squeezed - but I got comfortable in generating Corel Draw vector based designs and now start to learn CNC and laser usage. If you go for your own build maybe this knowledge can support your design one day if you need it.

By the way I have been some 10 years ago to Capetown - loved it there.

So as the Collins Pro Line 21 software from Flightlinesimulations will be finished this year I do not want to wait for it - so I design everything now for Project Magenta PMRJ. When designing the switches of the panels it keeps me thinking regularly of your project as it is still sad how many buttons I could leave out as they are not simulated. for example the various anti-icing switches, or should I implement them for a possible usage with your systems simulation? If you know already which systems - thus switches - you will not be simulating then it would be good to know - so I can leave them out.

So be sure that many of us are following your efforts and best wishes to the Netherlands!
Alfred

[capetonian]

Hi All!

Alfred, those are some interesting screenshots you have there. I have found the Flightlinesimulations website before but was dissappointed that there were not more pictures of their panels or screenshot of their software.

As far as the switch functions are concerned, I have already Incorporated all the physical switches on the sub panels and the overhead into my software. All the fuel panel switches are there too. I plan to include all the functions that you have mentioned It is a long road for me as I am writing the software and learning at the same time, it is sometimes a question of trial and error. I also travel a lot for my job and often days, sometimes even weeks, go by without me being able to sit down and program. But I am working on it, bit by bit and I will get there in the end!!

Interesting to know that the project is being talked about, can you maybe pm me the links to the threads? Maybe I can post some screenshots there too.

Alfred, thanks for the invite, I'll let you know a little closer to time and then we can make a plan and get together.

Thanks all for following this thread.

[meistereder]

Good afternoon!

I personally do think that a digital version of the Kind Air Cockpit on the one hand side looks more interesting (this is personal taste of course - but it is a little jet-like) and on the other hand side it is simply cheaper. Because putting digital gauges behind some bezels is nice, but it is still not the real thing. Buying them for thousands of euros from e.g. FI is just to expensive for me - but would be looking very realistic. So why not using LCD screens as here there is just the need to make or buy a frame and it will look quite realistic. That's my approach... Flightlinesimulations might still take very long on the other hand side and Project Magenta ist maybe out of business (I wrote them 1 week ago that I want to buy their product and did not get an reply nor an invoice - that is strange)...

Please - there is no need for you to explain that you need time learning and experimenting - of course it can take as long as it needs - but having seen your first videos in this tread was very much promising and it is somehow a reason to implement more switches as there is at least hope to get them run one day through a software maybe from you:)

The King Air thread I was mentioning is easy to be found - just search for the 3 words King Air Style and you find a german thread of a german homecockpit builder - not joined by others that are doing real intersting stuff. In this form (flightx) I have found posts not just in the thread mentioned above about people hoping to get their hands one day on your software.

All the best and see you in September!
Alfred