Motorized Joyrider

[531_Ghost]

Check this out! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXIZcWr_iNk)

[WIpilot]

That is awesome!!!!:D
:cheers:

[ruggbutt]

That's sweet! You notice that they used the best controllers available?

[531_Ghost]

That's why I posted it. ;)

[ruggbutt]

I like the software solution to determine how the motors react. I never liked how you'd tear apart a perfectly good FS and heavily mod it to make the motions. Besides, I'm a sidestick kinda guy.

[Konkussion]

Sick.

[Webtrekker]

Ghost..Thanks for posting my video. As for my controllers, I must say that I have been the owner of two Cougars, both of which gave me nothing but grief. The worst thing was the software instability. I can't tell you how many times I was in the pit and realized I had to leave the sim to cycle the USB connection, redownload the programming, or flash the firmware. Before I motorized the joyrider I was stuck with using the Cougar because I had to separate the handle from the joystick for things to work. With this new setup I was free to buy and use the CH joystick and throttle. So far I'm very happy with its performance. I must say I liked the metallic feel of the Cougar and the heavier duty springs, but they came at a price I was not willing to pay any longer.

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[531_Ghost]

Welcome to the Hangar Webtrekker! Great work!

[Boandlgramer]

Yes indeed, great work , Webtrekker.

[Webtrekker]

Thanks, guys.

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[Corsair8X]

This is brilliant Webtrekker, really. The software solution has answered two of my biggest complaints about the joyrider. First, I'm a sidestick guy. Second, the joyrider never really gave an accurate account of the motion. By having the software base it on the game itself rather than the controller movement, you have made it accurate now. That was most apparent when you were in a turn and reducing and applying power. It reacted to your aircraft, not your stick. It appeared that even on the runway at takeoff, it applied a little noseup to give you a sense of the gravity you would feel due to acceleration forces. Again, absolutely brilliant. Though it may be a while before I ever do this, for the first time you have actually made me consider this now as a viable addition to my own cockpit needs. Pure genius. Well done!

[Webtrekker]

Corsair- I'm glad my presentation resonated with you, and I hope some of the solutions I used can help your project. I must insist, however, that credit needs to be given where credit is due. The software that runs the Basic Stamp was written by Thanos. The software that captures the motion from Falcon AF and presents it back to the Basic Stamp to then be presented to the motor controllers was written by Ian Hopper. Your perception of the motion as seen on the video is correct. The rig really does nicely reflect what the fpm is doing in the sim..not what the joystick is doing at any particular moment. You really have to "fly" it.

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[Windturbin]

Holy moly, did you say windshield wiper motors?

The motion looks very accurate. That is truly amazing!

Any idea how much weight the joyrider can support? Could one possibly raise the monitor a tad and fasten an instument panel below? :idea:

[Corsair8X]

It's moving his projector and screen too, so there must be a fair amount of weight there anyways so that is a good sign.

Given that the motion is based on the FPM, I didn't see in the video if any of the turns were really hard. If you were to enter into a hard turn, would the unit raise the nose in order to simulate the gravity force. On second thought maybe it can't because the gravity would not be similar to acceleration pushing you back into the seat but would be more like weight pressing you down into the bottom of your seat. So what does this joyrider do in the hard turn scenario?

[Webtrekker]

I'm really sorry I haven't answered the last two posts in a more timely manner. Yes, they are windshield wiper motors and I really don't know how much weight they will bear. I weigh 150 lbs and I have not let anyone over about 180 lbs get into the rig.

My original thought was to put the pitch motor in the back so that I could have a clear field of view out of the front and continue to project a huge image on the wall, however Thanos and I discussed it and his thought was that that would put the weight of the rider on the motor side of the pitch fulcrum and might be too much for the motor. Perhaps doing that and putting some type of counterweight in the front would balance things..I was never good in physics. Someone'e going to have to help me on that one.

As far as hard turns go, I have to increase throttle and pull back on the stick when I make a bank turn or the nose will fall.

Finally, yes you can fit some instruments in, but things are pretty tight in there and there needs to be someplace to put your knees as well.

Last thing...What's the best way to program wheelbrake function for Falcon (key k) on the CH rudder pedals? I can't seem to get it right.

Thanks,

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[Webtrekker]

I think I got the brake thing worked out from checking old forum posts when Ghost showed Aragorn how to set things up. I first tried the CMS script and it appeared to work except it only applied the brakes when the pedals were released. I then tried the simpler approach without scripting, just putting in k and Null. I think that did it. I'll know next time I land.

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[Webtrekker]

One other point for Windturbin's question about raising the monitor (it's actually just a piece of white fibreboard that reflects the projected image quite well). I think there is a limit for how high you want the projected image (or the monitor if that's what you are using) to be. It really can't be too high or it causes neck discomfort from having to bend your head back to look up. I can tell you that even a little bit of neck bending quickly becomes uncomfortable. On a two hour flight it's just impossible. So, I lowered the screen and the image as much as I could. The problem on the other end is that the image has to be projected over your head and onto the screen w/o the light hitting the level of your head. Fortunately (look at the pics in the original post) I was able to angle the projector over my head and use the anti-keystoning function to undistort the image. It's "just right" now. I wouldn't mind the image being a bit larger, but it's still 26" which is enough.

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