Slashdot Mirror
Build Your Own Boeing 737 Simulator
crux6rind writes "This guy built his own Boeing 737-700 simulator in his garage. The simulator uses elements of a retired Continental B-737-100 along with other genuine Boeing 737 avionics and system components. The simulator will be of the fixed-base variety (no motion, just outside visuals), using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000, interfaced with R&R Electronics' EPIC system. This system allows you to interface switches, lights, buzzers, gauges, digital readouts with virtually any PC flight simulator out there."
So who'd rather fly a boat than a sexy Stealth?
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
He paid 25,000 - 30,000 USD for the stuff currently. I figure thats about how much this slashdotting will cost him in bandwidth.
Ready....Aim....SLASHDOT
but this is uber cool anyway. I had a difficult time understanding the timeline of the pictures, but still, very cool. As an avid Sim Pilot and a student pilot, this is the holy grail of sim-ers.
--sig fault--
I use my garage for something better than that...
I park my car in it!
You think that I'm crazy, you should see this guy!
boy that /. effect is no sim...
--
Build Your Own Boeing 737 Simulator - if you happen to have a spare 737 lying around to build it from!
-
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
is that he can fit it in his garage.
Does the simulator keep track of how fast the virtual airline is burning up cash, and how long before they go bankrupt?
And, of course, no airplane cockpit is complete, these days, without a Breathalyzer.
OT: The parent is yet another reason to elim AC's altogether. Pfffffttttt..........
"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand". -Milton F.
he couldn't build a Beowolf Simulator to keep his site from getting /.ed
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Smithers, I've designed a new plane. I call it the Spruce Moose, and it will carry 200 passengers from the New Yorkâ(TM)s Idlewild airport to the Belgium Congo in 17 minutes!
668: Neighbour of the Beast
A Continental jet cockpit? How ironically funny if he could make it Linux-powered...
- One from OZ built into a Ford chassis
- An F/A 18 Hornet simulator made from wood, also in OZ
- A Boeing 767 in London that "flies" around the world
- A "multi-mission simulator" by an avionics engineer in the US
- An F-15 in Washington
You're welcome.Let's try not to Slashdot 'em too badly.
Ever dream you could fly? Get up from the Flight Sim. I Fly
Well I was going to post me building my own 1 for 1 scale model of mars for testing habitation without actually going there... but obviously it was rediculous and I kept screwing up the tides.
"There's no air in space."
Homer: "Then why's there an Air In Space Museum?"
You should submit an Ask Slashdot about this, there's obviously plenty of people here that have tried such a thing before
So how long do we give the Feds to come in and determine that it is in National Security interests to confiscate the hole thing.
It is said that a child learns wisdom from the parent,
but the truly wise parent learns joy from the child
Yeah, but if the flight simulator crashes as well as his web server, we don't really need to worry...
Slashdot: Turning expensive hardware into smoking goo since...
--That's the point of being root, you can do anything you want, even if it's stupid.
to practice how to land.
As long as they don't touch my car...
You think that I'm crazy, you should see this guy!
Iwas just over a year ago /. had another article just like this about a guy who built a 747 cockpit.
Check it out.
There are some 200 people (over a dozen using real aircraft fuselages) who are building home built simulators of aircraft and other things. I am helping to build a F-15C simulator, for more information see the July issue of "Smithsonian Air and Space". The task is really quite involved many of the people within the /. community would find that this is a very engaging hobby. One that involves every skill they ever learned and forces them to learn new skills as well. The very idea that these people are doing case mods that look like aircraft to run some of instruments would interest the /. community.
A 737 is a cute little plane... Remember when Slashdot covered this guy's 747 Simulator?
Now they can learn to crash planes in the comfort of their computer chairs, just like seven year olds with computers have been doing for years.
-- Seq
I plan on pumping some fat unix administrator full of helium and tethering him above my computer.
http://www.x-plane.com
...
This program has FAA endorsement, unlike that other toy I used to use
http://www.x-plane.com/ 'nuff said.
Save time now so you can waste it later
Well, this would be useful for increasing flight sim realism, which is what this guy is doing. As for the aircraft carrier, I guess that if you could afford one, it wouldn't make a half-bad yacht...and home for your private plane.
I can buy you a gem of a Piper Cherokee for that, then you would be flying for real.
*shrugs* That's about how much I have spent on all my flying minus the money I made by doing a little instruction and commercial flying.
That made me laugh! Thanks!
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Instead of the lame little (even at 21inch) CRT, why not get a reasonable LCD projector and a screen a few feet in front of the beast and look out the windscreen at it? Like they do with some real simulators...
--
"we live in a post-ideological world..." - Billy Bragg.
Look at the lenghts he had to go to in order to avoid giving $50 to MS!
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Lybia, Syria, Iran, the Philippines, et al can just buy a commercial aircraft.
;)
They could also buy fighter jets (whoo scary).
The irony is that we sell them to them
Hammer of Truth
This isn't any more of a full blown simulator than any of the other cockpit building projects. Flight sim enthusiasts have been building their own cockpits using EPIC cards for years- one person even used an old F-15 nose section that was rotting away at a museum and refurbished it completely.
e .earthlink.net/~bluumax/o m/
Building F-16 cockpits is pretty popular, interfaced with Falcon 4.0 which is easily the most realistic combat sim all around (yes, Flanker 2.5 and Il-2 probably have better flight models). Here are some current F-16 cockpit projects:
http://www.f16cockpit.net/
http://hom
http://virtualf16.20m.c
One convenient thing about building an F-16 cockpit is the Thrustmaster Cougar HOTAS joystick & throttle, which are exact replicas of the HOTAS system used in the F-16; all metal and accurate down to the lettering next to the buttons.
Again, this is not an uncommon thing in the flight sim world. Some go as far as purchasing flight suits and helmets to wear while flying in their virtual worlds.
Didn't I see this here about a year ago? Or am I remember ign things about the XPlane project that this guy happened to be linked to?
As I walk through the valley of death I fear no one, for I am the meanest sonova bitch in the valley!
Well, Fine! I'll go build my own simulator.
With Black-jack...and hookers.
In fact, forget the Black-jack!
Awe, screw the whole thing.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020605233123/http://w ww.737sim.com/
C'mon man, they'll be learning off of a sim using microsoft flight simulator, it'll teach them how the plane can crash itself.
Build one of these and stick it in the front of this
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
"I think maybe people plant these kinds of things just to see if terrorist really will try to use them. "
Because as we all know, 9/11 didn't happen. Whats that? They can crash planes into buildings without simulators? wow.
Better recall Quake2/3, because as soon as ossama rigs up a railgun, he's going to make all the taliban stay up for some good old fashioned deathmatching.
Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
it will run on linux, mac, and of course the hated and feared os ms windows. it is free to d/l but is 23$ a disk for a copy of all the variations, documentation, and as much north american sceenery as possible. $15 for one of the sceenery disks and $70 for the set of 8
mirror
More interestin info can be found at this interesting /. thread about a "guy building a 747 simulator in his backyard!"
A beginners' guide to Portland, OR?
Home-built 747 Simulator, and we all know that 747's are the real bad boys of the sky.
Tierce
Tierce
Who sponsors your feelings?
...is that his wife/girlfriend/mom lets him keep it.
A friend and I had an opportunity to do the same thing with an A-7 Corsair cockpit, but his wife nixed the idea of having a 7'x4'x12' perennial project in "her" garage.
"You done taken a wrong turn."
-Bill McKinney, in Deliverance
I suspect he'll be 'detained for questioning' any day now by the feds.
I work in the flight sim business developing software. I was in the commercial side of things (Lear, Cessna, 777, etc) for a couple of years and most of the host software is written in Fortran. Now I am in the military side of things (Apache, Commanche, F18, etc.) Fortran and Ada form the basis for much of the host code. It is an ugly depressing world down in the bowels of the host code for these high tech sims. The Visuals, networking (HLA), and newer systems are starting to propogate towards newer code. It is interesting to see the mish-mash build for such huge projects. CGF (computer generated forces), SAF, IOS (instructor operating staions), are typically of a more modern paradigm, but they interface with Ada and Fortran code that drives the host simulation. You have never seen so many global variables in you life. GOTO's abound. It is a wonder to me at times how the systems work at all. But diligence and hours and hours of trainer time seem to work out most of the bugs. I usually get 10 or so hours a week on a trainer and most of the time don't even fire up the engines and fly it around. At first it is the ultimate video game, but after a while, it is just a job and deadlines have to be met and my code must work. Flight Sims are amazing engineering projects involving hundred of engineers and millions of lines of code. It is imposible for one engineer to know the inner working of all the systems (although I think my cubie might). It is definately an exciting and satisfying industry to get into as a young engineer or software geek, but be prepared to get out that old FORTRAN book from your freshman year in college because you will need it. Oh yeah, and brush up on your Ada. And you better know Unix/Linux. Windows don't play in the real time sim world. All of our systems are progressing from proprietary Unix systems (SGI-IRIX) and the like to Linux (RedHat). Host, visual, IG, networking. All of it eventually will be Linux based PC systems. The cost savings are too important to ignore. And we have the inhouse know-how to run on any system. Why not the cheapest?
You do have a point, and the same thing occurred to me just after reading about this. The thing is, technology is becoming easier to work with for everybody, for better and for worse.
I just recently heard about a guy (I believe here in Australia) who is building his very own long range cruise missile in his garage. Why he's doing it? To prove that if he can do it, so could people with an interest in doing some real damage.
I'm not sure what his point is beyond that; what he thinks the government should do given when it comes to the realisation that people can do some seriously dangerous shit in their own backyards. Personally, I'm inclined to say that terrorism has to be attacked from the other side of the spectrum, remove the frustration that leads to it.
Terrorism doesn't have reason. It can't be justified, understood or explained, but what we have to understand is the frustration and hopelessness of the oppressed palestinian people and the poverty and misery in wartorn countries like Afghanistan that leads them to the societal suicide that terrorism is.
I for one welcome our new SCOviet Russian overlords to whom all our base are belong.
I was watching the Discovery channel, and saw a show about pilot training or something, and it compared the American training sims (with real cockpit controls, digital displays surrounding the pilot, etc) and Soviet ones (where the viewable area around the pilot was broken down into 6 or so sections where the picture on each section was actually printed on a roll, and the rolls would all scroll back and forth with the pilots movements to try and provide a realistic setting for the aircrafts movements).
The show mention that as the Russian technology/funding improved, and they were able to build better simulators, they auctioned off their old ones, many of which went to nations with hand-me-down militaries, like Afghanistan.
Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I'd really like to look into buying one just as a keepsake, although they probably belong in museums =)
In my six years at Boeing (and I'm told that, given the layoffs, I did well to last that long), I was fortunate enough to be able to 'fly' the full-motion 747 sim, as well as the fixed-base 737 NextGen.
Although the full-motion is definitely what I'd class as a "wild ride" in terms of convincing one's senses (ever try to land a 747 on only two engines?), I found that (much to my surprise) the fixed-base sims can produce many of the same sensations, simply by the projected movement on the window displays.
In other words: When I went into a climb in the fixed-base unit, it still felt like I was tilting up despite the fact that there were no motion components to move the cab around. Same thing when I went into a turn. I caught myself leaning into it, and feeling like it was really happening, just as I did during my private pilot training.
While fixed-base may not provide the full experience, it most definitely provides enough to effectively fool the senses if it's done right. And it sounds like this fellow did it right.
Bruce Lane, KC7GR,
Blue Feather Technologies
You are lagging. Osama was last year's propaganda. This year Saddam Hussein is the mastermind behind the WTC attacks.
... cruise missile.
...
With wonderful plans like this around, I guess terrorists-in-training won't no need to use the flightsim to work out how to crash into the Statue of Liberty any more
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
to attack Slashdot
The solution to the hijacking and using the plane as a missile problem isn't to clamp down on general aviation or to impose stricter regulations on flight schools. The solution is to increase in-airport and in-aircraft security. You also assume that the terrorist has no previous flying skills. What if they recruit a disgruntled airline pilot? Then all the identity checks at flight schools in the world won't help you.
If your first thougt is about terrorist use, you are already terrorized. Your same reasoning counts for model rocketry, home-made UAV's and bread-knives.
"It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
... on how much he contributes to CREEP 2K4...
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
what can an oil baron with $2M to throw at it create?
Oil doesn't fund terrorists. Drugs do.
noooooooo no it doesn't. I went to the link immediately afterward and it does not contain a trojan horse, it contains the best consumer/prosumer flight sim available. Which has been FAA certified to get instrument, commercial, and air transport certificates.
Save time now so you can waste it later
You can buy your own simulator here. The "Tropos" system even uses a custom ATI Chipset.
Austin (who writes X-Plane- yeah, one Stallman-esque virtuoso lone hacker) has been creating spaceship sims too- the guy is amazing. One look at x-plane.com and all the information about real-life planes being designed using X-Plane modelling as an unofficial computer aid, the images of the light plane with all the lift and force vectors for each blade element drawn in- this is nerd candy, it's just too cool to live.
And yes, it's the same sim engine that can be used for an airline air transport cert. A few other sims can be used for an instrument rating.
MS Flight Simulator cannot be used for ANY of these things, because it is a bloated and pointless toy, and as an aero geek I get quietly pissed off even _seeing_ it touted on slashdot, even indirectly. *g* which is ok- but geez, guys, recognize your kindred spirits when you see them.
My father has X-plane, bought it at version 6, bought 7 as well (which is still in Beta...).
:)
He likes the program; and I like the programmer/developer.
Austin is hilarious. The guy seems to always be hyper when sending out notes and updates about what is going on of potential interest.
I get the impression from him that if you made a 'reasonable' requet for add-on for X-plane that he could seriously consider either making it; or supplying an API interface of some sort to do it. As long as it was cool enough.
Feasable doesn't necessarily seem to be a requirement.
Boeing itself is cross subsidised by military contracts, although this is winding down a little now - but so is subsidy of Airbus (for example launch aid for the A380 is being strictly limited by the US-EU agreement on such things).
Pilots may not have common ratings accross the line, but the training time to transfer can appropriatly be determined as 'non existant' - the rules however mean that you cannot be rated on more than a couple at once. The FBW system means that they all handle in the same way.
The A380 and the A3XX are the same thing - the A3XX was the name for the A3XX whilst in concept stage. Configuration is pretty much final now, and in max capacity configuration (A380-300 or -400, I forget) for the Japanese market it will actually have in excess of 900 seats - not that you would want such a thing for transatlantic flights!
Beep beep.
Try this site, and see what you think then:
. htm
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blwingdings
In 2002, Airbus has delivered more aircraft than Boeing.
Airbus gets loan guaranties from the states, not direct funding. And the latest "leasing" deal that boeing got on tankers is not merely a "generous military contract". It is a rip-off of US taxpayers that would have made proud an Enron accountant.
I have some friends who have been flight crews on Airbus planes. They tell me that they do not like the software controlling the plane. They say it has a poor reliabilty record. You sound like you have the experiance and the mature perspective to comment on this with authority. What's up with this?
Don't mind me, I have more fun this way!
I totally agree with that, except that I've asked several times for a time-speedup or distance-compression feature. Currently to make an 8 hour cross-country haul, you have to actually have the sim run for 8 hours. Of coruse you can put it on autopilot and walk away..... But Austin did not want to add anything like that to the sim. *shrug*, I can understand that, I'm just playing it as a game but it's *most* useful as an aerodynamic modeler, or in cases like logging time where you don't WANT to speed it up. Can we get a mod to mod down the "mod parent down" post please?
Save time now so you can waste it later
This guy built a replica space shuttle cockpit, complete with missions to run.
This post expresses my opinion, not that of my employer. And yes, IAAL.