Accessories

559: My Cockpit Rev #09 – Modified Parking Brake

| Tom Tsui

The picture on the right is a parking brake module I bought from Desktop Aviator many years ago.  It didn’t even come with a decent brake handle. The device was kept in the storage until I “discovered” it when I was looking for something else.

Although it is trivial, I told myself that it should add fun to my system — I finally recalled that was the idea I bought it originally.
But then I found it too big to fit into the location under my yoke.  So I opened the case to check out if it could be modified.

Luckily it is possible since the housing is wasting an awfully lot of space with just one tiny circuit board and a pull-push knob inside.

After some searching, I eventually picked a dental floss picks plastic box as the new case for it. Continue reading →

519: Now I Fly 3D Occasionally

| Tom Tsui

After the cataract surgeries last month, the vision of my eyes suffers from slight splitting when looking at lighted objects, among which the computer display is the worst of all (similar as shown in the image but not as serious).

The doctor says the side-effect is normal, and the brain needs times to adapt to the artificial lenses newly implanted — thanks goodness, it is getting better now.

So in the first two weeks after the surgery, my main pastime was watching TV, in order to give my eyes some rests as well as training to adapt to the new lenses.

One day while turning on the TV, I spotted there is a Continue reading →

501: VRInsight Flight Master TPM Review

| Tom Tsui

I have to admit that I am obsessed with TPM to some extent.   So when I find out VRInsight had released a standalone TPM recently, I ordered one without much hesitation, even though I just had purchased a GoFlight GF-TPM not too long ago.

It took about 2 weeks to receive the Flight Master TPM from the company directly.

The Body

Like its bigger brothers Flight Master Yoke-II I reviewed last August, the unit is Continue reading →

481: GoFlight GF-TPM Review

| Tom Tsui

Last month, I bought a GoFlight GF-TPM because the Saitek TPM I’ve been using for years is too big for the new cockpit I am building.

Frankly, the GoFlight TPM wasn’t my preferred choice in the beginning due to its relatively high price ($169) and lack of extra features compared to the Saitek one.

However, there aren’t much choice on the market.  And most importantly, its size does fit nicely to my layout requirements.   So I ordered one.

The following is a review after using it for a few weeks. Continue reading →

478: A Quick Buttkicker Gamer 2 Review

| Tom Tsui

Regarding the Buttkicker Gamer 2 mentioned in 48RE’s cockpit, David Marsden sent in his quick reivew about the device as follows:

The Buttkicker Gamer 2 is a device that takes the bass from your sound output and converts it into vibrations.  You can attach the actual Buttkicker to your chair as shown below.

The lead from this connects to the amplifier (again a picture is below). The amplifier also has a remote that connects to it. Continue reading →

459: My Cockpit Rev #06 – Colored Switches

| Tom Tsui


My Post 111 described the swapping of toggle switches on the Saitek Panel to make them easier to be identified in a dim environment.   On my new Yoke, I have the toggle switches “color-coded” with heat shrinkable tubes.

The modification is a lot simpler and meet the same purpose.   And it prevents, or to the least covers up, oxidation on the switch handles.   Also, they are cheap and easy to replace if worn out. Continue reading →

450: VRInsight Flight Master Yoke-II Review

| Tom Tsui

My new cockpit is still far from complete but it is operable now with the “new” VRInsight Flight Master Yoke-II (the Yoke) is in position.

Actually, I bought the Yoke nearly three years ago in October 2014, at which I had an intention to have it to replace my long-used Saitek Cessna Yoke and the Switch Panel altogether, because the VRInsight Yoke has already integrated most of the key switches found on the Switch Panel.

Unfortunately, the plan didn’t work out because I had mis-calculated (or more precisely confused by) the Yoke’s published dimensions.  With 26 inches or 66 centimeters in depth (the company uses Width), the Yoke was far too deeper than my old work-bench could accommodate.  So, it has been kept in the storage for the last three years until I finally get a bigger table to be able to use it now.

What a coincidence that VRInsight has just announced their Yoke-III.   Therefore, a review for the older Yoke-II, I believe, should still shed some light for those who are interested in the new one.   In particular their specifications are almost the same, except the new model has just further included a push-pull Throttle, a Trim Lever (not trim wheel), and a few pounds in weight. Continue reading →

445: SIMAV8 CNT1 COM/NAV Radio Review

| Tom Tsui

In any construction of a realistic cockpit, high-performance avionic instruments can be said the next most important equipment next to the control stick, rudder pedals and gauges.  However, choices available on the market are limited, especially to those designed for general aviation simulation purposes.

The CNT1 COM/NAV Radio by SIMAV8 is a new avionic equipment that is designed and built with this intention in mind.

Layout

In contrast to the bulky Saitek Radio Panel I have been using since 2000, the CNT1 Radio has an appearance of a real replica of a true-to-scale Bendix King Radio unit commonly found on most general light aircraft. Continue reading →

406: Saitek Driver Toggler

| Tom Tsui

As mentioned in my Post 380 back in mid-September last year, I was working on a utility that would allow the toggling of the ON/OFF status of the Saitek Driver because SPAD.neXt requires the Saitek Driver to be removed (or unloaded) from the system in order to run properly.

Here it comes at last and I call the utility “SToggler” (abbr for fsx_times_saitektoggler“Saitek Driver Toggler“).  Edit: The utility has been updated and renamed as FIP Driver Toggler.   It is compatible with either Saitek or Logitech FIP drivers now.

The utility was designed to serve my needs to keep both Saitek and SPAD.neXt drivers on my system and at the same time could be selectively used when either of them was called up without interfering the other.

What the utility does when executes: Continue reading →