Collaborate Disseminate
We have seen quite a few DIY joystick designs that use Hall effect sensors, but [Akaki]’s controller designs (YouTube video, embedded below) really make the most of 3D printing to avoid the need for any other type of fabrication. He’s been busy using them to enhance his Microsoft Flight Simulator …read more
The OpenStreetMap project is an excellent example of how powerful crowdsourced data can be, but that’s not to say the system is perfect. Invalid data, added intentionally or otherwise, can sometimes slip through the cracks and lead to some interesting problems. A fact that developers Asobo Studio are becoming keenly …read more
One of the more interesting ideas being experimented with in VR is 1:1 mapping of virtual and real-world objects, so that virtual representations can have physically interaction in a normal way. Tinker Pilot is a VR spaceship simulator project by [LLUÍS and JAVI] that takes this idea and runs with …read more
Continue reading Tinker Pilot Project Cranks Cockpit Immersion To 11
This story started all the way back in September 12, 1981, when an F-15C aircraft’s landing attempt at Soesterberg Airbase during an airshow went completely FUBAR and the airframe was scrapped. The forward fuselage section was sold and eventually ended up with [Gene Buckle] who began work on creating a …read more
Many people enjoy playing flight simulators or making the occasional orbit in Kerbal Space Program, but most are stuck controlling the onscreen action with nothing more exotic than a keyboard and mouse. A nice compromise for those that don’t have the space (or NASA-sized budget) to build a full simulator …read more
Continue reading Sim Panel Proves You Can Always Use More Buttons
Many people enjoy playing flight simulators or making the occasional orbit in Kerbal Space Program, but most are stuck controlling the onscreen action with nothing more exotic than a keyboard and mouse. A nice compromise for those that don’t have the space (or NASA-sized budget) to build a full simulator …read more
Continue reading Sim Panel Proves You Can Always Use More Buttons
If you happen to live near Phoenix, Arizona, have a spare US$10,000 or so kicking around, and have always fancied your own true-to-life commercial flight simulator, today is your lucky day. With just over a week to go on the auction, you can bid on a used flight simulator for a Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet airliner.
The CRJ200 jet was produced between 1991 and 2006, first being introduced in 1992 by Lufthansa. It’s a twin-engine design, with about 50 seats for passengers. With a length of more than 26 meters, 12,500 km (41000ft) ceiling, 785 km/h (487mph) cruising speed and …read more
Continue reading Buy Your Very Own Commercial Flight Simulator
Classes are over at Cornell, and that means one thing: the students in [Bruce Land]’s microcontroller design course have submitted their final projects, many of which, like this flight control system for Google Earth’s flight simulator, find their way to the Hackaday tips line.
We actually got this tip several days ago, but since it revealed to us the previously unknown fact that Google Earth has a flight simulator mode, we’ve been somewhat distracted. Normally controlled by mouse and keyboard, [Sheila Balu] decided to give the sim a full set of flight controls to make it more realistic. The controls …read more
Continue reading Microcontroller and IMU Team Up for Simple Flight Sim Controls
Virtual Reality (VR) and actual reality often don’t mix: watch someone play a VR game without seeing what they see and you see a lot of pointless-looking flailing around. [Nerdaxic] may have found a balance that works in this flight sim setup that mixes VR and AR, though. He did this by combining the virtual cockpit controls of his fight simulator with real buttons, knobs, and dials. He uses an HTC Vive headset and a beefy PC to create the virtual side, which is mirrored with a real-world version. So, the virtual yoke is matched with a real one. The …read more
Continue reading Home Built Flight Sim Combines Virtual and Actual Reality
Breaking into the world of auto racing is easy. Step 1: Buy an expensive car. Step 2: Learn how to drive it without crashing. If you’re stuck at step 1, and things aren’t looking great for step 2 either, you might want to consider going with a virtual Porsche or Ferrari and spending your evenings driving virtual laps rather than real ones.
The trouble is, that can get a bit boring after a while, which is what this DIY motion simulator platform is meant to address. In a long series of posts with a load of build details, [pmvcda] goes …read more
Continue reading Homebrew Linear Actuators Put The Moves On This Motion Simulator