Sean Cooley

Alright, here we are, creating my first post here about one of my personal projects!

So let’s get started. First things first, let’s talk about where the V1 is today. I’m calling it the V1 because I have some great ideas once I have completed this one, but more to come on that in the future! Currently, I have just a small bit of the project completed. The right and left sides have been constructed so far and have the HOTAS mounted, with the throttle on the left side panel and the stick mounted precariously between my legs. I am currently using a Next Level Racing Challenger chair as my seat. I would have preferred the Boeing military edition, but it simply wasn’t in my budget and I needed something to start with. I may upgrade to a better chair in the future, but for now that’s what we’re working with!

I have my first panel completed and functional. It’s my Landing Control panel and it’s currently mounted underneath the throttle on the left hand side. This panel has some key features and I tend to use it a lot while completing general tasks and flying around the ‘verse.

Other than that, I am currently in the process of fabricating the main console and the two angled wing segments. One of these is almost completed, but I need to order the remaining switches which unfortunately are adding up. The left segment has recently been worked on and currently has paint drying, but will likely see the panels mounted once I get the toggle switches in.

One thing that I did realize that I had messed up on was that I completely forgot to plan for a spot for a keyboard and mouse! I’m currently going through and laying out the panels in a different manner to accommodate for this, but I found it pretty funny that I forgot something so integral. Thankfully I caught it early!

So let’s set some goals for the month of September!! I would like to have the left segment of the front console completed, which will involve getting the remaining components and fabricating the trim pieces. I would also like to figure out how I am going to mount the center console and get that fabricated as well. Other than that, completing the panels for my eye tracker along with the tablet that will be mounted in the center console would be great to be able to wrap up, and hopefully start approaching the wiring and cable management side of the project.

Until next time!

o7

Sean