Over the last months, as I was waiting for parts to come in and taking a little break from the flight sim, I decided to take a detour and build a fun new side project, a virtual pinball machine.
My Pinball “Sim” (aka Virtual Pinball or VPIN)
I had always wanted a real pinball machine. They’re fun to play, challenging, and they look cool with all the bright lights and sounds. But, real pinball machines have some drawbacks:
Real pins are very expensive. Current new release tables run around $6-8K.
You’re limited to just one game.
Real tables require maintenance over time. Eventually things wear out and parts need to be replaced.
Don’t get me wrong. I’d LOVE a real pinball table or two some day, but for now I decided a virtual table is a great way to have a similar experience.
What is a Virtual Pinball Machine?
A virtual pinball machine is a life-like recreation of a real pinball table running on a gaming computer and displayed on monitors within the body of a real-sized pinball machine frame. Various parts such as real buttons, a powerful sound system, solenoids to replicate flipper and bumper feeling, and LED lighting effects contribute to as close to a real experience as you can get.
A full-sized nicely-equipped virtual pinball machine will still set you back a good $3-7K USD. That’s cheaper than a real machine but not too far off. With a virtual pinball machine, though, you can literally play hundreds of community built tables without needing a different machine. The volunteer community regularly releases original and replica real tables for free, much like the sim community puts out freeware scenery, so you can continue to enjoy new releases for the foreseeable future.
Virtual pinball machines need minimal maintenance once set up since there aren’t many moving parts and replacement parts are fairly easy to come by should, say, a button or light go bad.
There are lots of things you can add to make your own table personalized such as custom graphics, vibration effects, addressable LED lights, beacons and strobe lights, complete “surround” system to simulate various effects around the table, and so much more. You really can get carried away “blinging” your table out.
Here are some of the features I added to my virtual pinball machine:
Replica Stern pinball frame
Replica plunger to launch the ball
Back-lit Launch Ball and Fire buttons
Real flipper buttons
2 sound systems: Main 2.1 sound system (2 speakers, 1 subwoofer), Surround Sound system under playfield to simulate sounds emanating from various areas of the playfield and the movement of the ball around the table
Real working coin mechanism
Addressable LED strips along the sides that light up and change color according to game play
5 RGB LED “beacon” lights at the rear that light up and change color according to game play
43″ 4K TV for main playfield
15″ LED Score Display screen
32″ 2K Backglass artwork monitor
Shaker motor that shakes the table during game play
10 solenoids strategically placed under the main playfield to add tactile feeling of the bumpers and flippers operating
Rotating beacon
Custom artwork
Hand-build Pinscape controller boards (had the PCB boards made and soldered everything per Pinscape guide)
Windows 10 OS on an AMD 5600X CPU, 16GB RAM, M.2 SSD, and EVGA 2080TI video card
Running Virtual Pinball X with Pinup Popper front end
Below are a few pictures of my pinball table progression. It is a blast to play!
If you want to learn more about Virtual Pinball, I’d suggest checking out the most popular community forums at vpforums.org or vpuniverse.com.
If you’d like to build your own table from scratch, there is no better reference than Mike’s virtual pinball bible, the Pinscape Build Guide. Everything you ever wanted to know about virtual pinball is spelled out to excruciating detail and is the guide I used to build mine.
Finally, a great place to buy a new, pre-built virtual pinball table is https://retro-play.com.au/ . Note, I was not paid to put this link here…they just make really cool tables!
It has been a while since I have posted an update. Not a lot has happened with the sim over the winter/spring. In the meantime I have been waiting for my real Boeing 737 Circuit Breaker panels and other miscellaneous parts to arrive. Fortunately, they recently came in so work has started on finishing out the rear bulkhead.
Boeing 737 Circuit Breaker (CB) Panels
First, if you’re not aware, behind the Captain and First Officer’s seats are the aircraft’s circuit breaker panels. These panels provide circuit breakers for most of the aircraft’s critical electrical systems.
Here’s a look at the real panels from a 737-800.
Behind Capt Seat, the P-18 Breaker PanelBehind the FO Seat, the P-6 Breaker Panel
CBs have little value-add for casual simmers. They are rarely, if ever, used by pilots unless it’s an absolute emergency. And, from what I understand, it’s usually in coordination with maintenance personnel.
However, some people like myself feel that CB panels still add a significant level of immersion to the cockpit, even if they are non-functional. Hence why I decided to put them in.
Considerations and Challenges
Here are some things to think about if you choose to create Circuit Breaker panels.
How do you make the panels? There are obviously a lot of circuit breakers. Some options could be:
Try to recreate them on a 3D printer. This can be quite tedious and time consuming. Not to mention if you want to make them functional.
Buy pre-made CB caps from a sim vendor to save you time. I’d say this is the best compromise between time and money.
Buy real Circuit Breakers. The ultimate in realism but this can get expensive depending on how many you want working.
Buy complete CB panels. Sourcing real panels and breakers in good condition is possible, but they’re difficult to find in complete and good shape. They might cost you a lot as well.
2. Do you want to make them functional? If so, be aware your avionics software needs to be able to interface with them. The avionics software I use, ProSim, supports them but only in their “Commercial” license which is significantly more expensive than the consumer version.
3. Wiring. If you want to make working CBs, then wiring them could be a good challenge. You’ll need a power supply to be able to pop the breakers. You’ll need relays to activate power to each breaker. And you’ll need an interface board to connect the relays to a computer. Plus, a lot of wire! Lots to think about.
Which Circuit Breaker Panel Path Did I Choose? Real or Simulated?
I originally set out to try and recreate the circuit breaker caps on a 3D printer. I quickly realized the amount of effort was more than I wanted to spend. So, I started looking for real panels. However, complete sets were very hard to find.
Fortunately, I had a stroke of luck and happened to meet an aircraft salvager through a mutual friend. He just happened to be tearing apart a 737-700 that had a full complement of CB panels in fantastic shape. He was able to grab them for me, complete with all the working circuit breakers and original wiring. Even the CB collars to lock the CB from being used were there (see below). Talk about winning the lotto!
P-6 PanelsP-18 Panels
For now, I won’t make them functional. They will only be used for added visual interest and immersion, primarily because my avionics software version doesn’t support them. However, I always can make them functional in the future should I choose to.
Circuit Breaker Panel Installation
Once the panels arrived, next came the challenge of figuring out how to get them installed.
I have already been working on a roll-away rear bulkhead. This is so when I need to do cockpit maintenance I can just roll away the entire bulkhead, CBs and all, and the cockpit becomes completely open and accessible. It also means if I ever wire the CBs, the electronics can be self-contained within the bulkhead.
Roll-away Rear Bulkhead Design
To begin making the wood panels that will hold the CB panels, I used 1/2″ thick sanded plywood sheet. This created a frame strong enough to support the fairly heavy panels.
Then starting from the bottom panels and working my way up I traced each panel, then cut the hole. I used that panel as my reference for the start of the next panel. And so on. I used a large drill to make starter holes in the corners, then starting from those holes I used a power jigsaw to cut the rest of the opening.
Eventually all the panels were fit correctly and could swing down on their hinges as needed for later maintenance.
Fitting the panelsEnsuring the panels could swing openAll Panels MountedClearance Issues
You’ll note in the pictures above that many of the panels have a bracket that sticks rather far out. That created a clearance problem when I tried to mount the wood panel with fitted CBs to the bulkhead. The brackets ended up bumping into some of my bulkhead wood framework. To resolve this, I had to remove the brackets by drilling out the rivets. I then made some modifications to the bulkhead to ensure proper clearance of all the panel frames and Circuit Breaker mechanisms.
I also ran into an issue with the FDS shell once I started fitting the panels in their proper locations. The FDS shell has a 5 inch wide brace around the rear edge of the shell, used to stiffen the structure. You can see it in the image below. FDS’s idea is to mount their CB panels from the inside of the cockpit against the edge so in that case it wouldn’t interfere. Makes sense. But in my case, to accommodate the roll-up design the braces interfered.
Since I didn’t want to cut into the FDS bracing, I tweaked the wood frame supporting the CB panels to move the entire panel inward and down enough to clear the bracing.
5″ Edge at Back of FDS ShellTop CBs Partially Obscured by FDS FramePanels No Longer Obscured After Frame Modification
Once the panels were properly fitted I started building out the jump seat areas. I built the upper and lower cubby holes for the first observer jump seat (folds down into the aisle), and oxy panels/data loader panel. Then I closed up the space around the first second observer jump seat (behind the captain seat).
Framing First Observer AreaAdding panelingCompleting cubby holes for first observer fold-down seat (lower) and oxy panel/data loader (top)Behind the first observer panelsSecond Observer AreaClosed up with panelingAlmost finished
More to Come
There’s still a lot more work to do on the bulkhead. I need to sand and paint. Then either make or source the first observer fold-down jump seat. I also need to have seat cushions made. I’ll finally add some dummy oxygen panels, placards, hat hooks, and remaining details as needed.
I’m really looking forward to the end product which I think will look quite good. Not quite 100% accurate, but authentic enough that when you’re sitting in the pilot seats the additional realism will be significant.
One of the challenges when building a complex home flight simulator is finding good quality parts. You have two choices. Replica (or imitation) parts and real parts. What are the pros and cons of replica and real parts, what should you look out for, and where should you go to buy those simulator parts? Let’s find out.
Replica Aircraft Parts
Pros and Cons of Replica Parts
Replica aircraft parts are what you’ll most likely use to build most, if not all of your simulator, and it’s mostly what I have used to build mine. They usually look and function pretty close, if not exactly like the real thing.
Replica Mid-Priced Boeing 737 Throttle Quadrant by Jetmax
The great thing about replica parts is they are almost always plug-and-play these days. It’s a far cry from the early pioneers who had to figure it all out from scratch. My hat’s off to them! This means it’s much easier today to integrate replica parts into your simulator with a minimal amount of effort.
Replica parts “may” be less expensive than real parts, but that’s not always the case. However, it’s usually much easier to integrate replica parts into your sim than real ones.
Some cons are that replica parts are generally not built to the same robustness as their real counterparts which are meant to withstand heavy abuse. They also may or may not be as accurate looking or functioning depending on how much you spend, and they may be less reliable lacking the robustness of real parts. Since a home sim doesn’t typically experience the same abuse as a real aircraft that’s usually just fine.
Replica Parts Interfacing
Replica part interfacing is pretty straightforward. There are many types of interface boards you can buy that are USB or Ethernet based. They have associated driver software that allows the board to communicate with inputs and outputs to the board. Boards such as those from LeoBoadnar, FlightDeck Solutions, Pololu and Phidgets, for example, can take a physical input, such as flipping a switch, and have it trigger an event on your computer. Or, take an output from the computer to turn on an LED or move a gauge needle.
Other simulation software, like the Prosim Avionics Suite, have built-in drivers that support many different hardware interface boards. All you do is plug the board into your computer via USB and Prosim will recognize it. When you flip a switch connected to the interface board, Prosim will “see” the event and let you assign it to some action within in the software.
Where to Buy Replica Parts for your Home Flight Simulator
If you’re looking to buy replica simulator parts, I would say make sure you do your research. Often it’s harder to mix and match from different vendors due to compatibility issues. Therefore, I recommend you look for vendors with a large selection of parts at the quality you need. I’d also suggest looking for companies nearest to you. This way you can stop by and see the parts before you buy. Also having them close means their support is in your local time zone and language. It’s always hard having to wait a half day before you get an answer for an issue you’re facing.
Since my sim is mostly replica parts, I am pretty familiar with most of the big replica parts vendors. You can find a list on my Links page. Most of them are based out of Europe, and most do a decent job of replicating real parts.
The majority of parts in my sim come from the Canadian company Flightdeck Solutions, which does a very good job of replicating parts from the aircraft they model. I’m not being paid to say that nor receive any special compensation. I just speak from personal experience. I’d say they are 90-95% accurate visually and generally quite solidly built. Their support is usually very responsive and they’ve been around a long time, which is why I have stuck with them. Something that is very important in this hobby. But obviously there are many great replica companies all over the world.
Real Aircraft Parts
Figure 1 – Real Parts! A real fire panel at the top right alongside replica FlightDeck Solutions radios
Sometimes you need parts that are more robust than those made by a replica vendor. A good example is the Fire Panel on the Boeing 737 pedestal (see Figure 1). Replica parts may not hold up very long to hard pulls and twists on the handles. This is where real parts come in handy.
But where do you find real parts? And how do you get them to work with your simulator software? Therein lies the challenge with real parts.
First, the Price Dilemma
A big problem we have today is sim enthusiasts will often pay top dollar for real parts.
One reason is because buyers don’t know what the parts are worth, and are therefore easily scammed.
Figure 2 – More real parts! A real Transponder panel
Another cause is demand for real parts that has skyrocketed over the last decade. Newer generation aircraft are mostly still in service today, so when one is retired any parts not re-used get bought up quickly. This has led to a scarcity in high-value items like seats, yokes, and throttles. Something sellers have been able to capitalize on.
The price dilemma won’t be solved until simmers become more savvy about what parts should cost.
Keep in mind, an aircraft salvager has go through a lot of effort to get parts out of an aircraft. They have real costs to pay, and often significant manual labor is involved. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that certain parts will just cost more.
Next, Will it Fit in Your Simulator?
Real parts are usually much deeper than their replica counterparts. They are usually in rectangular housings to protect the interior parts. In Figure 2 you can see how deep a transponder panel goes.
Let me give you an example. Figure 3 shows a real ADIRU (IRS Panel) on the left and a replica on the right. Note the difference in depth. It turns out I didn’t have enough clearance in my FlightDeck Solutions cockpit shell overhead to accommodate it. I would have had to cut open the ceiling panel to make it fit, something I wasn’t willing to do. So I went with a replica part instead.
Real IRS panel for ultimate reality, but be careful that it might be too tall to fit your simReplica IRS panel front – notice it’s similar to the real part but not as tallReplica IRS panel back – aside from the switch height, this panel doesn’t require as much room to fit in your simulator Figure 3 – Real IRS panel on the left, simulated on the right
Real Part Interfacing
This is where it gets tricky. Real aircraft parts weren’t designed to be plug and play with your home flight simulator in the sense we know it. Avionics parts communicate using an aviation standard bus protocol such as ARINC 429 (Aeronautical Radio, Inc) .
Figure 4 – My Real Fire Panel Gutted and Rewired for USB Interfacing
Without going into a lot of detail, you normally can’t simply connect a real aircraft part to an interface board. Instead, you need specialized communication boards and software, like those from CockpitConcept, to interpret the ARINC commands into something the computer can understand.
You can also try to remove the internals and reconnect the switches, lamps, and dials to an interface board. I had someone experienced at doing this convert my real fire panel for use with USB (see Figure 4). He did a fantastic job and kept everything nice and neat inside the unit. It was a lot of work, however, so this route is not for the faint of heart!
Where to Buy Real Parts for your Home Flight Simulator
eBay is often one of the few places for us mere mortals to look. Builder forums like Cockpitbuilders.com or the Prosim Forums have “For Sale” sections that often have real parts for sale. Other sites, like the historical aviation site Once Aloft, offer salvaged parts for sale.
If you’re lucky, you know someone in the salvage industry who can hook you up with a good deal. That’s pretty rare.
Conclusion
Finding parts for your home flight simulator cockpit can be a daunting task. Most of us will start off buying replica components when building our sim. There are many suppliers, most located in Europe, who make replica parts. When it comes to at least the Boeing 737NG or Airbus A320, replica parts are plenty. See my Links page for a list of vendors.
However, if you’re looking to buy real aircraft parts for your simulator, keep in mind that they are often hard to find, difficult to convert, and may not always fit. eBay and builder forums are likely your best bet at finding them second-hand, but establishing a relationship with a good salvage yard will be the optimal path. And certainly, there’s nothing like the real thing!
I am now in the process of adding a rear bulkhead to fully enclose the cockpit and add that extra bit of realism with Circuit Breaker (CB) panels, dome lights, jump seat, etc. The rear bulkhead will eventually also contain all the PCs, the instructor station with touchscreen display, a printer, and some storage.
The Bulkhead Structure
The idea was to build a rear bulkhead section extending approximately 2 feet off the back of the shell, allowing me to close off the cockpit with rear circuit breaker walls and a cockpit door, at least one jump seat for a third person to observe (perhaps an instructor?), and also have a place to nicely store all the PCs and networking gear to run the sim. I also wanted it to be movable so it just rolls right up to the sim during normal flying, but could be rolled away for full access to the main cockpit or rear bulkhead during maintenance. This modular approach to the just sim makes a lot of things easier.
Using whatever reference pictures I could find, and MarkusPilot’s helpful cockpit measurements, I started to rough out some ideas on paper, then pieced it together a little more firmly in my Fusion360 CAD program. It wasn’t perfect and down to the smallest detail, but enough to give me a good roadmap to follow, and even though I had to make some adjustments on the fly the overall concept worked fairly well.
I generally went with 2″x6″ and 2″x4″ lumber, some thin plywood, and MDF doors (if you do doors, make sure you use 0.75″ MDF and not 0.5″ which I used…it’s too thin for doors). It’s probably overkill and heavy, but wood is easy to source and work with and more importantly, I have all the right tools. Despite the size and weight, though, it’s still quite easy to roll around.
Once it’s completely done, it will be painted in all white with Boeing Blue paint and stripes in the bottom half, and likely some Boeing 737 decals of some sort.
Circuit Breakers and More!
Now the fun part! My plan was not to have the CBs be functional since they’re rarely if ever used by the pilots, but rather be decorative to add to the overall cockpit feel/realism. So I was originally thinking of making the circuit breaker panels from scratch with 3D printed parts, printed labels, etc. Certainly very doable, but very time-consuming and tedious.
So I started searching around to see if I could find real-world panels for a reasonable price, which would save me a lot of time. But as you can imagine, a full set in good condition is very hard to come by. OnceAloft had an incomplete set of 737-500 panels which I was seriously considering, and then just filling in the missing panels with some scratch building.
However, I just happened to luck out with some really good fortune and timing. A close friend of mine knew someone who worked in aircraft salvage industry and put me in touch. Turns out he was getting ready to pull some parts from a 737-700 about to be scrapped, and he was able to pull a complete set of CB panels with ALL the associated breakers and wiring, along with some other goodies you see, and all are in fantastic shape. Talk about a great guy!
Once these arrive I’ll be having a field day! I’ll keep you posted.
Oh, and one last piece of eye-candy…
So, the same person, as luck would have it, was able to do me a solid and grab both control columns, the cross-bar, and related hardware out of that 737-700, also all in fantastic shape. I have been wanting to replace my standalone ACE yokes with a dual yoke setup and had been looking at SimuJabs as one affordable option. However, I was get these real columns, essentially complete, for significantly less.
Even better, these also have the elevator axis bearings, the bottom covers, and the stick shaker brackets which are impossible to find. No stick shakers, but I happen to have a couple sitting around waiting to go on.
The downside is I will have to now figure out the frame work and mechanics to support these, but I’m up to the challenge. Nothing a little welding and some potentiometers can’t resolve. Stay tuned!
At this point the sim is good shape and very flyable, so these last weeks I’ve been keeping busy by adding some little cockpit details to add some realism, and tying up some of those nagging loose ends.
Little details are starting to get completed now.
Adding Cockpit Seat Handles
Since I added car seat rails to allow my Weber seats to move forward/back and side to side (a cheap J-rail alternative), I noticed it was difficult to reach the two grab handles to activate the seat movement, even though I had bent the rail handles almost 90 degrees upward. The height of the seat plus the tight space just made it hard to lean over far enough to reach them.
To make the grab handles easier to reach I decided I’d add a knob attached to a rod, connected to the car seat grab handles with a clevis and pin. The clevis fits tight enough around the rubberized rail handles that the rod and knob stay in place pretty well.
The downside is that the knob/rod tends does tend to creep from vertical and sometimes you have to blindly search for the knob as you’re leaning over. That got me thinking that I needed some sort of bracket to keep the knob/rod in place.
The solution, at least for the side-to-side movement, was fairly easy. I created a simple bracket out of aluminum to keep the rod in place. Basically just some 1/8″ thick x 1.5″ wide aluminum flat bar from the local Home Depot, cut to size with a metal cutting hacksaw and bent to shape with a “brake”. Nothing fancy but it works. I didn’t even bother painting it, at least for now.
Simple aluminum bar bent to shape to support the seat movement lever.
The front lever, unfortunately, isn’t as easy a solution because of the way I have the car seat rails configured (one on top of the other, 90 degrees from each other). When the seat platform moves from side to side the front handle stays in place and doesn’t move with the platform. It DOES, however, move front to back with the fwd/aft rail. This means any bracket I mount to the seat platform will cause the knob/rod to tilt left or right as the seat moves from left to right. Not a big deal. It just means I have to make a bracket with an elongated hole that will allow the handle to tilt in the hole. It’s hard to explain in words, but when have pictures I’ll post them and it will make more sense.
In case you’re wondering, the two large holes in the seat platform are to allow for the Weber seat vertical supports which stick down a little below the seat bottom, and also allow the wires for the buttkickers to connect to the seats.
In case you’re interested, I got the handle knob and shaft from MSC Direct and the clevis rod end at the bottom from McMaster-Carr.
Feeling the Vibration – Buttkickers in the Seats
To add to the sensation of flying, I added some Buttkicker MiniLFE’s to the seats. If you don’t know what these are, they’re Tactile Transducers designed to vibrate whatever they’re connected to. They’re not speakers, in that they do not put out audio, but rather contain a small piston magnetically suspended inside that vibrates up and down during low frequency sound. That vibration translates to whatever it’s mounted to.
You’ll often see them added to home theater seats to add some “punch” to the subwoofers which makes you feel the sound effects of movies more.
For a simulator, it can help emphasize the rumble of the turbines, the bumps in a taxiway, turbulence effects, and even spoiler effects. If you’ve ever been on a commercial jet and they deploy the spoilers you can feel the shake of the plane.
The Buttkicker MiniLFE’s are small enough that they nicely fit in the back and bottom of the seats as you can see below.
I connected the transucers to a 50 Watt, 4 Ohm per channel automotive amplifier running off a 12V industrial power supply. I just connect the speaker output of my PC to the inputs on the amp and the MiniLFE’s to the outputs. Easy peasy.
Map Lights
I’m also working on adding some Grimes map lights a friend gave me. These match the ones used throughout the 737 cockpit. The part number is 34265-8. They’re 28V but you can replace the bulbs to get it down to a more reasonable 12V. You can find them come up on eBay from time to time. While they’re not wired up yet, they will be eventually.
Map Clips
I purchased these PSCCO 10CM binder clips on Amazon that closely match the side window panel clips found on the 737, just behind the window handle. I painted them with some Rustoleum semi-gloss black and they came out quite good.
PSCCO 10CM binder clips from Amazon
Side Panels, Side Vents and a Fake Ashtray
I wanted to add a little more detail to the interior sidewalls, just to add to the immersion a bit. The Flight Deck Solutions cockpit shell interior liner kit I’m using included some side panel cover pieces that I hadn’t gotten around to installing so I figured it was time.
While the interior kit included a fake vent louver, it was flat and not realistic looking. That’s understandable since it’s not a critical piece of the cockpit that you spend a lot of time looking at, but for the fun of it I decided to make my own 3D printed louvers in Fusion360 so they look more similar to the real aircraft. They are even linked, so moving one moves the rest in sync.
I also added a fake ashtray I made in Fusion360 and 3D printed because I just couldn’t find any real ashtrays that matched the 737-800 ones. Maybe one day I’ll get my hands on the real shiny chrome ones but for now this will do.
Cockpit Ambient Lighting
A project I had been thinking about for a long time was how to brighten up the cockpit interior when flying the sim, relative to the outside view. In the real world, on a sunny day normally a cockpit is bright inside, but at night it’s dark. How can you recreate that in the sim?
Recently I came across some guys who were experimenting with Philips Hue color LED strips that can color change depending on what appears on the screen. Here’s the link. It’s quite interesting.
So I decided to give it a try, with just one LED strip mounted in the back of the cockpit which you can see below.
Basically you install a Windows app on the PC you’re wanting to use as your source for the ambient lighting color and brightness, and then the software communicates the colors and brightness to the LED strip. It’s a pretty cool idea.
My testing is ongoing but I’ll post more later on my findings and results.
What’s Left to do?
I still have a lot of things I’d like to get around to eventually. Like…
Wiring the map lights
Adding a swing-out rear bulkhead with faux circuit breaker panel on the inside and bookshelf on the outside
Add working Grimes Circuit Breaker sidewall lights
Add a linked yoke setup
Add linked F/O rudder pedals
Add force-feedback to the flight controls
Replace the TQ
Pretty up the outside of the sim so it looks more professional and enclosed
Always tweak the sim software and how it operates from a central instructor station
And lots more, no doubt! All it takes it time and money, usually lots of both!
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I love my 3D printer. I use it regularly to quickly make small parts I need using just a little imagination and creativity.
A part I’ve been wanting to make for a while is the Boeing 737 Map/Chart Light knobs on the forward sidewalls. No one seems to make them correctly so I decided to try and make them myself.
Oddly enough, the N1 SPD REF knobs aren’t found properly made anywhere either (the center knob is thinner and longer than the average dual concentric knobs), so I’m going to make some of those too following the same steps I lay out here.
Boeing 737 Map/Chart Light Knobs
Designing the Knobs
I was able to get some accurate measurements and photos of the real Map/Chart Light knobs from a friend. From those I was then able to re-create the knob fairly closely in my CAD program, Fusion360.
Actual Map Light Knob
Fusion360 CAD Drawing
3D Printing the Knobs
Once I created the 3D CAD file I was able to print out the replicas on my Creality Ender 3 printer. I used a .2 mm layer height which still leaves some obvious lines that will have to be sanded smooth, a down-side in general to 3D PLA filament printing. I’ve tried going to a .1 mm layer height which would reduce the visible layers, but haven’t quite got that perfected yet so this will have to do for now.
3D Printed Knobs. The print lines are visible and will need to be sanded smooth.
Sanding
Next step was to sand the knobs smooth to remove the 3D printing lines. I started with 120 Grit sandpaper to roughly remove any print lines, then a finer 320 Grit, and lastly 2000 Grit to really smooth the surface. I usually wet sand under a slow running sink faucet, which I think gives me a little smoother finish and reduces dust, but it’s not necessary. Wet or dry works fine.
Priming
Once sanded smooth, I primed the surface with around 10-12 coats of Rust-Oleum Automotive spray Filler Primer to fill in any remaining imperfections. I have also used Dupli-Color Automotive Primer Filler which works great too. It usually takes a LOT of coats of primer to get rid of most of the 3D print imperfections, but this primer dries very quick so you can lay down a lot of coats pretty fast. Make sure you buy several cans.
RUST-OLEUM Automative Filler Primer
Dupli-Color Automotive Primer Filler
Below is what the primed parts look like, ready for final painting:
Primed Map Light Knobs
Note, in my CAD drawing I added 3mm threaded holes so they were “pre-threaded”. In theory it should work, but because these are small holes and 3D printing sometimes has trouble with small holes the threads didn’t turn out quite perfect. So, I made sure to screw some grub screws into the holes to make sure they were properly threaded before final painting.You could probably also just drill a hole, or use CAD to make a perfectly round hole and once you run a grub screw through the hole it will self-tap. Either way works.
Adding the Final Paint Color
I applied several coats of gray Tamiya hobby Acrylic paint. I couldn’t find an exact match for the original gray so mine came out a little more on the tan side. I probably could have spent more time mixing some different grays to come out a little closer, but eh, it was close enough. Sorry, I don’t have a picture of the painted knobs at this point, but you’ll see the overall final result below.
Adding the Markings
I still needed to add the markings to the top of the knob. I debated masking the lines and painting by hand, but I knew I’d never get it quite perfect. I also thought about buying some wet transfer decal paper (like you find in plastic models) and printing on that, then transferring to the knob using typical modeling techniques. But I would have had to order the paper and it would have taken time, so…
I happened to have some white Vinyl sticker paper lying around and decided to see if I could get that to work. Bingo! First, I created a drawing in Photoshop with a bunch of circles of the exact millimeter diameter of the knob. I then approximated how the lines should look in Photoshop based on the actual photos. And here’s what I ended up with:
Photoshop Graphic Used to Print the Line Markings
I printed that onto my Vinyl sticker paper using my InkJet printer, then used a ruler and an X-Acto knife to perfectly cut around the outer rectangular indicator line so that I ended up with a small rectangle with a white center and black border. I then stuck this in the right location on the knob head and Voila! Again, sorry, no picture, but you get the idea (I hope).
Sealing Coat
To prevent the sticker from coming off over time the knob now has to be sealed with a clear coat sealer.
With some clear gloss Tamiya acrylic hobby paint spray, I sprayed the knobs with multiple coats to seal the paint and markings, and give the knobs a glossier appearance. The final result is below. Not bad.
Final Thoughts
If you have the skill (or are willing to learn it), 3D printing is a great way to quickly make small parts that are hard to find or will take too long to get. The downside to 3D printing with PLA filament is that you’ll notice visible layering as this is an additive process (each layer builds on the layers below it). This means there’s quite a bit of finishing work that still has to happen (mostly sanding and a lot of priming) before the final product.
My next endeavor might be to experiment with Resins by making a rubber mold of the sanded 3D printed parts, then create the knobs by pouring in liquid resin to molds. You would need to drill the holes as there isn’t an easy way to make them with a resin cast, but the final product will come out smoother, from what I’ve seen. There are also affordable Resin 3D printing machines now available as well, something that may be worth looking into at some point.
I have to say, I’m really enjoying my 3D printer. For less than $300 for a Creality Ender 3 printer, coupled with Autodesk Fusion360, I’m able to make just about any component I need on a small scale. Comes in really handy when you’re willing to put in a little extra money and time to save a few dollars out of pocket. It’s also nice because I can put more detail and make my parts more realistic than many of the off-the-shelf components.
Wet Compass
I just finished designing a replica working Boeing 737 wet compass to add that nice “finished” touch above the instrument panel. Note the compass deviation card on the window post behind it Just a simple 3D-printed holder and a laminated card. Together, it all adds just another level of immersion.
My final Wet Compass design installed above the Instrument Panel
Creating the Compass
In order to create a fairly accurate wet compass, I borrowed a real Airpath wet compass from a friend of mine. These are used in older 737’s but it’s close enough. There are a number of variations of wet compasses used in these aircraft. The newer 737’s have a round bezel that curves inward with an adjustment knob on the front as seen in this photo.
Real Airpath Wet Compass used as a reference.
Using a Micrometer I measured all dimensions and translated them to a Fusion 360 model. It takes time and patience but once you get the hang of it, it’s not too hard.
Fusion 360 drawings of my Wet Compass and Internal Components
You’ll notice I used a LCD screen rather than an internal rotating mechanism. I did this because it’s simpler…no motor, gears, lighting, driver board, or custom programming. The Prosim avionics software already has a functional Wet Compass display output which makes it easy to throw the image on a LCD.
The challenge, though, was finding a color LCD screen small enough and bright/clear enough to use. I settled on a 2.5″ LCD and driver from Adafruit (https://www.adafruit.com/product/912) which was about as good as i could find at the time, then designed the frame around it to support the LCD and associated driver board mounted behind the LCD and within the barrel of the compass to keep things nice and concealed.
I then purchased a MINI HDMI to RCA signal converter (just search Google for AV2HDMI) to connect my computer’s HDMI display output to the RCA jack on the LCD.
The only downside is the LCD is set back a bit since it’s not small enough to fit within the bezel, but in the end it still looks pretty good.
Final Product
Here’s what the final product ended up looking like. I later realized the NG’s have a gray bezel, not a black one, so you’ll also see the updated re-painted version below. I also designed a 3D-printed mount with slots/channels near the top to allow the entire thing to slide into the gap in the Flightdeck Solutions frame without the need for bolts or screws. Easy to remove later if needed but nice and solidly mounted otherwise.
Miscellaneous Parts
I’m in the process of adding some other 3D-printed parts to finish out the sidewalls a bit more. A cup holder, map holder, and some window handles as you can see. After a lot of coats of primer and some airbrushing these are going to look great!
I can’t take credit for these models as I got them for free from Thingverse. They’re made by the talented Mr. Karl Clarke from 737DIYSIM, so props to him for making us a bunch of cool (and free) models to use!
I am, however, working on a sidewall vent that is a bit more accurate than any I have seen so far. Stay tuned for more!
Last Words
So, is any of it absolutely perfect and 100% accurate? No, of course not. Home sims often have to compromise a bit, usually due to lack of good real-world reference material and measurements, material costs, parts availability, and skills of the builder. So we approximate as best we can.
My end goal has always to be to get things as close as I can, within reason (and for everyone it’s different) so that I can sit in the cockpit and it looks and feels about right. And that’s not a bad thing.
I’m starting to work on smaller details of my sim now that most of the major things (at least, those I can afford) are mostly complete. One of the areas I wanted to enhance was cockpit placards (or decals, stickers, whatever you want to call them).
I looked around on the Internet and there were a few folks I found selling pre-printed, pre-cut sticker sheets. None of them had the stickers I really wanted on them, so being a hobbyist and knowing enough how to use a photo editor I figured, hey, I can just make them myself! But where to begin?! How do I make those perfectly cut sticker sheets?
Home-made stickers are quite popular in the craft world, so there’s fortunately a lot of information online on how to make them. None, of course, were tailored to the simulation enthusiast, but the concept is the same.
Vinyl Sticker Paper
The first step is to find the right sticker paper. After some research online, it seems Vinyl sticker paper is the most popular paper to use for this purpose. So I went down to the local office supply store and bought some vinyl sticker inkjet paper in standard 8.5″x11″ letter size. All my store had was Matte (no shine) vinyl paper, which is ok, but ideally from what I’ve read, a gloss finish is better in terms of the quality of print you’ll get since it doesn’t absorb the ink and dull the finished product as much.
You can find vinyl sticker paper aplenty on Amazon if you do a search for “Vinyl Sticker Paper”. However, my Matte finish paper still worked out just fine as far as I’m concerned.
Creating the Placards in Photoshop
Next, using Photoshop I designed the placards I wanted on a 8.5″ x 11″ sized background using references from online photos at Airliners.net and other sources I have to approximate the size, shape, and lettering. This will take some trial and error, of course. I have not found a source for exact dimensions of the placards. Even the Boeing references I have seen only provide the verbiage and placement of the placards, not the actual dimensions. So unless you know someone who has regular access to the cockpit you’re trying to replicate, you’ll have to settle with approximations.
As I designed my sticker sheet I made sure to leave left plenty of space around each decal for cutting ease, and laid things out to make the best use of the paper for the decals I wanted to print. It ended up looking like the following:
The Photoshop Placards Ready for Printing
Printing the Placards
I have a simple Brother Multifunction Inkjet printer. First, I printed the sticker sheet on plain copy paper in draft printer settings as to not waste ink while I made sure everything came out sized and looking right.
Once I was satisfied, I printed the placards on the sticker paper using my printers Photo quality setting and they ended up coming out perfectly.
NOTE: Make sure you test your print first on plain paper to ensure your Inkjet doesn’t leave lines or gaps due to blocked printer heads. I had to clean my printer heads several times before it was ready to print perfectly.
The final result on the sticker paper came out quite nice, and the matte paper, in my opinion, looks quite good:
The Printed Placards on Vinyl Inkjet Sticker Paper
Cutting the Placards – By Hand or Machine?
At first I tried cutting these placards by hand. I used a straight cutter for the straight lines, but even with a modelers knife I could never get the rounded corners and circles just right to where it looked good. And hand cutting all these stickers one by one was tedious. Perhaps you have a steadier hand, but being “obsessive” as I am, that wasn’t good enough for me.
I decided, instead, that I wanted to have each placard perfectly cut like you see on most commercial sticker sheets. This way I could peel the pre-cut stickers right off the backing. To do this, however, requires a dedicated robotic cutting machine.
Researching online and watching some more YouTube videos, there seemed to be two major players in the craft machine cutter world: Cricut (pronounced Cricket) and Silhouette Cameo. Neither is cheap, running around $250-300 USD, but I figured my wife could use it for making her own custom crafts so it was a win-win! (keeping your significant other happy is critical to our success in this hobby!)
The Silhouette Cameo 4, shown below, was my choice as the included software seemed much better for my purposes.
Silhouette Cameo 4 Robotic Cutter
I won’t go into detail on how I used the software as there are plenty of tutorials online on how to do it. But essentially you import your image file into the software and it will allow you to quickly identify all the outlines of what you want to cut. You then print the image from the software and it will add some additional alignment markings. Then, you load the previously printed sticker paper into the machine and using the alignment markings the printer knows exactly where to cut the shapes, allowing you to peel the perfectly printed and cut stickers right off the backing! Very cool!
Final Result
The final result is exactly what I was hoping for. I am now able to print custom placards for any purpose easily. While the overall cost is a lot more than perhaps buying a sheet or two of pre-printed decals from an online flight simulation store/hobbyist, I am now at liberty to create exactly what I need when I need it, and the cutter will be used for other crafts as well, so I feel it was a good investment for me personally. Perhaps I’ll even make a business selling stickers in the future, we’ll see đŸ™‚
DISCLAIMER: I am going to start with this…I’m not an Electrical Engineer nor an Electrician. So what I’m posting here is what I’ve found works for me. It may not be the best way, or even the right way. Therefore, I am not responsible for any consequences as a result of using what is mentioned here. As always, do your own research!
Introduction
Power. It’s the life-blood of any sim. Not enough and you’ll end up with random disconnects, brown-outs, and potentially damaged electronics. Put too much in and you’ll fry your electronics. Worst case, you’ll start a fire.
5V, 12V and 28V power supplies feeding power to my overheads
As you build your sim, always keep in mind how you’re going to provide power. Try to plan your power needs in advance, if possible, and make sure you have a good understanding of Volts, Amps, and Current as your power requirements grow.
Typically, a home-built simulator requires plain old 5 Volt and 12 Volt Direct Current (DC). If you’re using real aircraft parts you might find you need 24-28 Volts DC, and possibly even Alternating Current (AC) at 400Hz. And of course, if you’re building a full motion platform, you may see even higher power demands in the neighborhood of 240V and more than one phase.
The number of Amps, or current draw, is based on the load. If you have a 40A (40 Amp) rated power supply, but your connected devices only require 2A, then 2A is all that power supply will output. As the demand increases, it will increase its output up to 40A. However, if your system is trying to draw 10A and you only have a 5A power supply, then the power supply won’t be able to deliver what you need and you’ll run into problems, so I typically try to buy power supplies that will have plenty of headroom for the things I’m connecting to it so there’s never a shortage of power. Having more Amps than you need it better than not having enough.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Be careful with variable loads such as adjustable back-lighting or using high Amp loads. For example, increasing the brightness of back-lighting using a variable resistor (like a knob) causes more current to be drawn from the power-supply. If you happen to have any other devices connected to that same power supply, then they would also receive the higher current, potentially burning the device out. You'll therefore need make sure you have a resistor for attached items that have a maximum amperage rating so you don't overload them. OR, you could use separate power supplies based on load types.
Power Supply Options
Starting with a good power supply is essential. There are many affordable options out there where you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars.
Using a Converted PC Power Supply
If you have a spare computer power supply lying around, you can convert it for sim use which will give you 5 and 12 Volt outputs. There are many videos on YouTube that explain how to “Convert a PC power supply” that will work just fine for simulator use. In fact, I have done that for my Main Instrument Panel and Center Pedestal power and it works just fine.
PC Power supplies also have built in short protection so they should automatically disable power output if there is a short. When the short is removed, they’ll resume power output automatically. A nice feature you should always make sure your power supplies have.
Custom connectors for 5V and 12V on a PC power supply
Wiring the custom connectors inside the PC power supply
A PC power supply nestled under the Main Instrument Panel (note the fan) and broken out to multiple distribution blocks
Using Dedicated Power Supplies
Over time, I have found it’s easier to buy power supplies specifically designed for industrial applications and such. eBay usually has a wide assortment, but you can get them almost anywhere with varying voltages and amperage ratings. Below is a sample of some industrial style power supplies, which I’m sure you’ve seen before.
You’ll notice the top power supply in the above picture has outputs for 5V, 12V and even 24V all on the same power supply. That is very convenient as those are all the typical voltages needed in a sim, so you can minimize the number of different power supplies you need.
These power supplies are usually quite affordable, anywhere between $20USD to $50-60 USD. I would always make sure you look for power supplies with circuit protection so if you do happen to have a short it’ll cut the power automatically, preventing a fire.
Bench Power Supplies
I have a couple of bench power supplies I purchased for testing purposes that allow me to adjust voltage and amperage based on what I need to test. This is nice to have available while you’re building components and need to test something with a specific voltage. Like LEDs, magnetic switches, etc. There are tons of options out there and most will work perfectly.
Source Power – How Much do you Need/How Much are you Drawing?
Remember that all of these power supplies have to draw power from somewhere. Usually it’s your power outlets in your house. Most modern houses in the United States typically allow a draw of 20 Amps per circuit (sometimes less), and you can easily have many outlets on one circuit. So as you’re adding more and more power draw to your sim keep an eye on your circuit breakers. While things are running, feel how hot the circuit breakers are getting. If they’re warm, there’s a good chance you’re starting to overload them.
I purchased a power meter called a Clamp Meter that is designed to measure power draw by running a power cable through a ring on the meter. The meter senses the current running through the ring and can tell you how much you’re drawing. There’s also something called a Kill-0-Watt which plugs into your wall outlet, then you plug your device(s) into it and it tells you what you’re drawing. All useful tools to help you determine how much overall power you’re drawing.
In my case, my simulator is in my garage and there was one 20 Amp circuit for the entire garage. With 5 PCs drawing power, a dozen or so monitors all powered up, and all the LEDS, lamps and circuit boards, I was starting to blow the fuse regularly, especially if I needed to operate a power tool at the same time. That’s when I had to hire an electrician to break out the plugs in the garage to four separate 20 Amp circuits, allowing me to distribute the sim across three circuits, and still have a fourth circuit for other garage functions. Since then I haven’t had any issues with power. Something to think about, especially if you’re building a house with plans to have a dedicated sim room.
Some Final Things to Consider
As you work with adding power to your sim here are some other things to keep in mind.
When using multiple power supplies, I would make sure all connected components share the same ground of the power supply they are using. I would not create a common ground across all power supplies. While you would think a ground is a ground, if I recall it can set up the potential for noise to enter the system or shorts to affect multiple power supplies. That’s what I remember reading, but your mileage may vary so make sure to research this.
You’ll also need properly sized wire to carry your power. Too narrow a gauge and you run the risk of melting the wire or starting a fire. Too large a gauge and you’ll waste money and end up with thick, unwieldy and inflexible wire. Typical wire for smaller components is 22-24 Gauge. For main power arteries, like from a power supply to a distribution bus bar, you’ll want a thicker wire, like 16 Gauge.
For reference, the lower the Gauge number the thicker the wire and therefore the more current it can carry. Also, keep in mind if you’re running voltage across a longer distance you’ll want to use a thicker wire to prevent loss of power over that distance. So, for example, if you’re running from a power supply behind the Instrument Panel to your overhead, use thicker wire to carry it there.
Lastly, make sure you solder all your connections to prevent them from coming lose and maintaining a solid connection. Use shrink tube to insulate the wire connections where possible to prevent shorts. And make sure you’re using good terminators such as spade connectors, wire ferrules, etc. That will ensure a solid connection to your components. The last thing you want is any wire touching a metal surface or another wire and arcing or short circuiting.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: ALWAYS have a fire extinguisher close by. As your sim gets larger and requires more power, the greater the chance of a short or potential fire and you definitely don’t want that. And if you EVER smell electrical burning, unplug everything immediately and figure out where the problem is. There’s a good chance a fire is about to start, if it hasn’t already!
The traditional 12V LED light strips I used for my Main Instrument Panel (MIP) lighting were starting to go out. Sections of 3 LEDs were starting to regularly flicker and it was slowly getting worse, driving me crazy.
As I was looking to buy replacements on Amazon I came across some LED light strips called COB (or Chip On Board) LED light strips. I had never heard of them before. Rather than a light source every inch or so with traditional strips, COB LED strips have a light source at much smaller intervals. In my case, every 1/10th of an inch! That really piqued my interest so I decided to give one a try. Wow, they’re way better.
Traditional LED Light Strip
COB LED Strips have much more continuous light with LEDs every 1/10th of an inch rather than every inch compare to traditional LED strips.
You can really see how nice these COB LED strips are by looking just above the MCP at the top of the dash. It looks like one continuous light.
These LED strips come in various voltages and color temperatures but I went with 12V and 2700K temperature. That worked out perfectly, even if the color still wasn’t quite as warm as I was expecting.
The lighting is uniform and even. They cut in sections just like the traditional strips and you solder wire to them the same way. They also dim down well without any noticeable flicker and get very bright. Plus, they look great, too, since you now have one solid strip of light like the real aircraft.
If you’re looking for great under-dash lighting consider taking a look at these COB strips. Note, they’re a bit more expensive (2 to 3 times the cost), but worth the money based on my experience so far.
I created this site for enthusiasts to buy and sell their simulator parts for free. No gimmicks, no tricks, it's just easy. Visit https://www.ineedsimparts.com
Flight Simulation Association (FSA) is an association of flight simulation pilots, virtual air traffic controllers, and developers and content creators. By joining, members get access to exclusive product discounts, webinars, guides, and the ability to search for and find nearby simmers. Learn more and subscribe at www.flightsimassociation.com!
North America’s community-driven flight simulation conference. Learn more at www.flightsimexpo.com.
Hi Rod, much appreciated! Unfortunately I don't know of anyone who can make custom panels off-hand, though I'm certain there's…