Flight simulation is today both a hobby as well as a science; what started decades ago as a training aid for pilots grew to become a technological wonder that serves to advance knowledge and entertain thousands of hobbists. It is indeed, far more than just playing games on a home computer.

Not all flight simulation processes are created equal and the degree of realism in each one varies, but if you supplement your flight simulation software, even those that use a PC with some suitable hardware, the degree of fidelity of the simulation as well as the general sensation transmitted to the pilot grows exponentially. I know this because I have already built a simulator cockpit that attained such a degree of realism that it is currently being used to train real pilots.

That simulator was based on a real cockpit gotten from the junkyard; it belonged to a plane that crashed into a bridge, and that helps a lot. After all, what would give you more realism than an actual cockpit? However, as good as that one is, it is being used day and night to train pilots and being myself a pilot that owns a real plane that is different to that portrayed by the flight sim, I started to thinker with the concept of building another one and that is how Nerkabtu began its life.

The other simulator is amicably know as LV-MLF; there is a story behind that but for now it is enough to say that it simulates a Beechcraft B350m and it is quite good at that. However, Since my plane is a Piper Cub Special and it would be boring to make the same kind of cockpit, I decided to build something more akin to simulating a PA-11 plus, I wanted to run some simulated flights using Orbiter, a space flight simulator that I am especially fond of.

As time passed and I keep thinking about the construction of the new home cockpit, I concluded that being the PA-11 a very simple thing to simulate, as long as I kept the same general cockpit configuration – tandem – I would be able to satisfy both needs but being a spaceship a somewhat more complex thing, it would make more sense to design the cockpit for that primary use, leaving the mighty Cub on the back seat. Another reason was that since space ships are totally custom made down to their instruments and I already have a pretty good idea about what it takes to actually reproduce each existing gadget as opposed to creating new ones, it became apparent – or evident – that it would actually be far less expensive to build a spaceship cockpit, believe it or not. The reason is simple: There are no “steam” gauges to reproduce: instead, a full scale cockpit can be constructed using only some flat screens.

So, by means of this blog I hope to be able to convey some of my experiences with this new cockpit as well as the old. In reality I have already started to build Nerkabtu a couple of weeks ago but finally I have some time to start writing this. Maybe you can use all this for your own, better or cheaper home cockpit project.

Source: Pablo Edronkin

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Most surely the reader has already started to wonder what the heck is that word.

The term "Nerkabtu" is almost totally unknown even among specialists. There is virtually no mention to it online, neither there is much bibliography to back it up in any way, but its invention played a vital role in the development of human technology, The nerkabtu was the first chariot in history that moved on spiked wheels. The word is from the ancient Accadian language and describes the military chariots that where cutting-edge equipment thousands of years ago.

Nerkabtus were extremely expensive and available thus only to the very rich or to governments of the ancient world. Building spiked wheels was a costly and complicated task that rose most likely from the need to produce locally some sort of replacement to the kind of wheels that were used in the bronze age. These sturdy wheels made from wooden cuts or conveniently-shaped boards were imported into the Middle East. They were naturally costly and of strategic importance, so locals began trying to produce a replacement from materials found in a region where there are no trees and came out with a kind of wheel that requires less wood and surprisingly, proved far superior in terms of bulk and the speed that could be attained using them. Political and military leaders soon realised that they had attained a competitive advantage, and the development of the first military vehicle was soon a fact. These combat chariots were the equivalent of our present-day fighter bombers.

Oddly enough the development of the chariot precedes that of saddling. That is, people began to move on chariots before thy actually knew how to ride an individual horse. So, the essential thing about the nerkabtu is that it was the first tool that could move people faster than they could walk or run.

Every car, plane and spaceship that we know about owes something to the ancient and almost forgotten Accadian chariot, and its name seemed to me most appropriate to christen a flight sim cockpit that is not just destined to entertain a bit but to toy a little bit with some post-relativistic cosmological stuff.

Source: Pablo Edronkin

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One of the most delicate tasks in the construction of a home cockpit is to keep the budget controlled. Sim cockpits are not the most cheap thing to build but even so, it is possible to complete such a project making significant savings just by thinking every step twice before committing your wallet.

There are four fundamental ways to save money in the construction of a flight sim cockpit:

Build most of the components yourself instead of purchasing them: This will depend largely on the rapidity with which you would like to have your cockpit finished and working. In one extreme yo have complete kits and even turnkey systems that will have you flying in no time; they are generally good but inflexible regarding future adaptations and upgrades, and very expensive. Building most of your components yourself could easily reduce your investment to one third of what you would spend by purchasing commercial items.

Designing and building your home cockpit in such a way as to make future maintenance easier: If you plan to keep your cockpit for any length of time, it is likely that one day you will like to make upgrades or you will be forced to perform some repairs on different components. A typical case comes into being whenever you want to upgrade your sim software and then you have to change your graphics card or increase the RAM of your computer to handle the new stuff. If in order to reach those components you have to tear your whole cockpit apart, you will incur in additional costs and time expenses. So, everything that might need to be repaired or changed should be designed in such a way as to allow for easy maintenance and upgrading in the future.

Use standard components whenever possible: Use the leas amount and variety possible of every single type of screws, nails and similar things. Two or three different kinds and sizes would do in most cases. Design and your pieces, plaques, etc. in such a way as to make them compatible and interchangeable. You will save a lot of time and complications in this way, and bear in mind that time is what most hobbyists don't have.

In the case of purchased components, stay with those that are generic: There are many different sorts of special modules and hardware boards that let you connect all your actuators, potenciometers, servos, etc. to your computer and hence simulate the innards of a real cockpit. In the most simple way, a joystick does that, and you can even disassemble one and use this components to make your own pedals, levers and so on. There are some products that are highly specialised and designed to provide the highest possible performance while using some specific simulation software. These are of course, very nice, but only while they work; and let me explain: Unfortunately malfunctions can occur in any component and if by any chance, after your -say- one thousand dollar interface card burns up you find out that the manufacturer is out of business, you will be left with a very expensive, non-working sim for quite a long time because replacing interfacing cards in a home cockpit is like performing a heart transplant in a human being. Changing an interfacing paradigm of one manufacturer by another is no easy feat. Thus, for Nerkabtu I opted for the stuff made by the folks at Opencockpits.com. Their components are among the cheapest in the market and they not only provide you with the required interface cards, but the schematics and construction specifications as well. This adds a layer of security because even in the worst case scenario, I will still be able to duplicate the cards by making them myself or having them made at an electronics shop.

Author / Source / Credit: Pablo Edronkin

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