Simulator

For those that have an interest, I have put together these few pages of pictures to help show the ever changing process of building a home based helicopter simulator. The simulator is set up in my computer repair shop, so it gets commented on frequently by my customers. Just for the record, and I'll put this up front, this simulator has been built for less than $1,500 (Canadian). If you are asking how, then I will say that most of the computer related components were recycled and/or repaired from either equipment that was left behind by customers, or from my computer business sources. All of the original flight controls were "homemade" and were built from pieces of scrap aluminum, steel, wood, and "junk" that had been laying around the shop.

A lot of time has past since this site was first started and I have continued to "refine" the flight controls. The simulator is also used for testing new flightsim software and hardware, and as a result, I have been able to incorporate some of the prototypes of my new flight controls as you will see in the photos below.

This website is really not a "how to" site, but more of a collection of ideas, some mine and some from others, that may give other helicopter simulator builders some ideas on getting started or to expand on.

The Bell 206B JetRanger cockpit was salvaged from an accident that had caused some damage to the helicopter's left side. I was lucky enough to receive the cockpit from some very generous folks at a Bell Helicopter repair facility near me. All the flight controls, instruments, gauges, doors, seats, and windscreens had been removed before I acquired the cockpit. The floor pan had also been removed, so I used 3/4" plywood for the base and floor, and to stiffen the cockpit at the back. I fabricated a few aluminum panels for the inner and outer bottom door sills and repaired the left side damage somewhat with fiberglass cloth and resin.

The simulator is used with this LCD monitor or with a projector and large screen (shown behind).

The LCD is used quite a bit because it's more practical for repeated testing of new software.

Three fold down casters were added to help move the simulator around the shop and make trailer loading easier.

The collective shown here is the first "all aluminum" prototype for the collectives that I have been making for other simulator builders.

This collective has a working twist grip throttle and mechanical idle release detent button, for realistic simulated 206 helicopter startup and shutdown procedures,

when using the FS9 Dodosim Advanced 206 and the Dodosim 206 FSX helicopter software.

For now, I'm still using my original collective base which uses plastic gears to increase potentiometer arc travel. This base is simply a couple of 3/16" thick angle iron pieces and a 1/2" bolt, with a little welding thrown in. The gears are "recycled" from an old printer. The potentiometer is mounted to a swing arm and the spring keeps the gears meshed without any noticeable backlash.

The black knob is used for the collective friction adjustment. Although not shown in this picture, the collective base incorporates a spring to counteract the weight of the switch head and collective lever to give the collective system a balanced effect. This means the collective will stay at any position you leave it without falling and the friction control is used only for a personal preference of "linkage control feel".

For information on latest collectives

This used real Bell 206 cyclic grip and stick from another 206 helicopter was "recycled" into this project.

The cyclic controller is machined from 6061-T6 aluminum and is secured to the floor under the seat base.

This cyclic controller uses two precision inductive plastic potentiometers for pitch and roll axis control. The potentiometers are driven with a small timing pulley, 1/4" wide cog timing belt, and a 4" aluminum drive disc. By using the belt and pulley setup the relatively short throw of the cyclic control stick is converted to significantly more arc travel of the potentiometer, resulting in a smoother and more sensitive controller with no backlash. The potentiometers and the two cyclic grip switches are wired directly to a Plasma-Lite V2 USB controller interface to the computer.

This cyclic controller is a "weight-balanced system", there are no springs used for a centering effect, which means the controller grip will stay where you put it. A machined Delrin friction brake is added for personal "feel" preference of cyclic pitch action and for standard 206 checklist procedures. It can be set for no friction at all or completely lock the controller by turning the black knob just in front of the seat base. A little friction also helps give the control a slight resistance as if the stick was hooked to actual control rod linkages. The roll axis friction is also adjustable and can be changed by a knob on the bottom of the controller.

The pedals shown here are made from 6061-T6 aluminum and were my first self-contained (potentiometer and drive) prototype.

The standard Bell 206B instrument panels are simple and compact. This makes it easy to display on a single LCD monitor.

Some of the buttons and switches on a real JetRanger used for startup and flight are located on the main instrument panel. Since I am using a LCD monitor for my gauges and instrument panel, and not a real panel, I tried to position the main fuel valve switch, warning horn mute button, caution light test button, and TOT light test button to locations near their original respective locations on a real panel. (The real buttons and switches located above and below the LCD main instrument panel)

These are working switches, wired to a Plasma-Lite controller, and are important functioning switches used in the "by the book" startup and shutdown procedures for a 206B helicopter.

It's possible to change from the general flight panel (above) to this IFR panel (below) with the touch of a single button.

7" LCD GPS screen, GPS Switch Panel (GoFlight RP48), GoFlight Push Buttons (GF-P8), GoFlight Radios (GF-166)

This working GPS LCD screen is from a portable 7" DVD player with a "video in" jack feature. The GPS screen is connected to a second video adaptor in the sims computer and displays the FS9 and FSX GPS gauge panel. The GPS functions are controlled with the GoFlight RP48 push buttons and rotary switches that are just below the screen.

Center console mounted switches for hydraulics, anti-icing, and caution light brightness control.

All of the switches needed for startup and operation of the 206 helicopter are operational and work just like the real thing.

This is possible by using Flight Simulator 10, the Dodosim 206 FSX helicopter software, and a registered copy of FSUIPC4.

This Plasma-Lite V2 and Ace-4X expansion card handles all of the functional overhead switch and breaker inputs.

The power supply in the above photo (upper left) runs two 12 volt vibrating motors. Imitated vibration really adds to the "realism factor" especially when using the sim with the projector and screen. One small electric motor (mounted to, and under the seat) starts when fuel is introduced to the engine for ignition, this is triggered by the throttle twist grip detent position and a microswitch in the collective switch head. Another slightly larger vibrating motor on the cockpit roof starts when you raise the collective to pull pitch, and this one is triggered by another microswitch at the base of the collective. You can just see the white push button in the center of the left hole, in the front of the seat base, which controls that power supply. There are times when I'm testing new software or controls when I do not need or want the vibration, hence the override switch.

The next three photos show the "new" doors that have been fitted. The doors are used when operating the simulator with a projector and screen. Blocking out the side windows helps keep the operator focussed forward on the screen, which helps with the total immersion of operating and "flying" the aircraft. The doors are easy to put on and take off by removing the two hinge pins.

The real Bell 206 right side door (shown on the right) was salvaged from another wrecked 206. The door was damaged and had to be repaired and painted to match the cockpit. A solid 1/8" white Masonite panel was used to replace the broken window.

Due to the curves involved, the left side door was fabricated with piece of 1/8" hard Masonite, bent and glued to oak hardwood strips. A homemade sliding door latch and fabricated Bell type hinges keeps the door in place.

All of my "homemade" controls (cyclic, pedals, and collective) were mounted at a desk until the cockpit came along. Since I've acquired the JetRanger cockpit, the simulator now has all the functioning real buttons and switches needed for a realistic 206 turbine engine start and warmup, complete with realistic associated sounds, accurate flight characteristics, and shutdown procedures. The simulator can now be used effectively for 206 turbine transition training and IFR flight training as well as general familiarization with helicopter flight and procedures.

For the most part this has been made possible by the advanced 206 helicopter simulator software from Dodosim Flight Simulation. (www.dodosim.com)