This Winter, People Around the World are Building Home Flight Simulators

People around the world are building home flight simulators this winter. These guys find inexpensive materials at home improvement stores and build their own airplane cockpit at home.

January is BUILD MONTH

Why is January a great time to build a DIY (Do It Yourself) flight sim project? First of all, many people get new flight simulator software and computer equipment for Christmas and are ready to upgrade their home cockpit. Also, the holidays are over and now people are returning to their hobbies. Flight simulation is a great way to learn about aviation during the cold winter months. Consequently, I typically see an increase in DIY Flight Sim business and website traffic starting in January.

You don’t necessarily need a workshop for building home flight simulators, so many people build their project in an apartment or even a dorm room. You don’t need outside ventilation because no harsh chemicals, paints, or adhesives are used with these projects so you can build indoors. Let it snow!

 

Inexpensive Components and Materials

Is your home flight simulator nothing more than a desk with a few monitors and a joystick? You can make a more realistic airplane cockpit with inexpensive materials from a home improvement store. These guys build home flight sims with PVC pipes, lumber, and Styrofoam insulation panels. Notice they also painted their projects because painting is also inexpensive, easy, and gives the project a truly finished appearance.

We are fortunate to live in a time when we have so many affordable choices for computer equipment and flight controls. For example, it is now possible to use multiple high-definition HDTVs as displays for a flight simulator. In addition, computers and graphics cards are more powerful than ever. We have more choices than ever for flight sim control yokes, rudder pedals, throttle quadrants, switch panels, and more. Finally, the flight sim software of today is better than ever. Lockheed Prepar3D, X-Plane 11, FSX Steam, and Aerofly FS2 all boast improved performance and functionality.

Combine inexpensive building materials with affordable computer equipment and you can have a powerful and realistic flight simulator for your home.

Customizing and Building Home Flight Simulators

Builders modify their projects to match their needs and resources. For example, they can scale a frame to fit around 24″ monitors, or 27″, or 32″ or whatever. Also, they can use one large display, or multiple displays. Some builders add modified keyboards, additional lights, or even drink holders. Are you building in a spare room or just a spare closet? These guys can fit a fully functional flight sim just about anywhere. If you typically fly airplanes with a yoke and throttle quadrant, then that is what you will want to build. On the other hand, if you use a HOTAS joystick and throttle, then you will want a DIY frame that supports those flight controls. If you fly helicopters, there’s a helicopter collective project for you too. See all these examples of customized flight sim projects in the Customer Gallery.

Get Started!

The most difficult part of any building project is just getting started, so get going now. You may make some mistakes along the way, but they will be inconsequential because you’re using inexpensive materials. Get building and get done, so you can get flying!

 

Six Screen Home Flight Simulator
Six Screen Home Flight Simulator

 

Write a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.