This weekend saw a new video about creating a helicopter cyclic control for MSFS 2020. (In reality, it's just a joystick and can be used on many different platforms.)
As a Helicopter engineer for many years, I have always wanted to do this. But my time has always been taken up with the 737.
I have two sections of the 737 remaining, one of which is the MIP. This section will soon be dismantled and will break my heart. (the amount of effort I put into rewiring and updating the whole thing before I left was immense. The whole MIP was redone to v4 standards, and each part was completely modular and a self-contained unit with backlighting. It's too big to fit anywhere in our new house. I am not stopping the 737 but will use the parts to create a single-seat 737 designed for small places. Again, modular sections can be added if you have the space, such as a single side wall or central pedestal unit. More on that later as the plans come together.
Back to the cyclic build, I moved away from the single long 40-minute video to shorter build-along videos. This was to so how much effort goes into one design and the many revisions and rebuilds that go along with each one. However, in this design, the basic idea worked the first time! Using the steppers as mag brakes and parallel actuators has now been proven to handle the forces. What's more, I'm only running them at two amps, so there's much more force available if people want more robust feeling cyclic controls. This has put a massive smile on my face.
Now, it's time to look at the second version and get the buttons into the cyclic, adding some pots or hall sensors.
Catch up with you all soon.
Kind Regards, Karl.