Hope you find this of interest.
Cheers,
Martin
Spitfire VR Cockpit
Moderators: Guru's, The Ministry
Spitfire VR Cockpit
Back on Spitfires now and for the last three weeks we have been building a VR Spitfire cockpit with Occulus Rift for a customer in America. Instead of buying commercially available controls we are building our own and so far we have produced so far a lovely Spitfire control column, throttle box and undercarriage lever. All connects up through a junction box and then with USB cables connects to a standard PC. Cockpit is built to the same standards as our other replicas, the budding pilot climbs in, and then complete with Mae West places on the VR helmet and sees again the cockpit, but this time with wings.
Hope you find this of interest.
Cheers,
Martin
Hope you find this of interest.
Cheers,
Martin
Last edited by T6flyer on 04 Jun 2017, 10:26, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Spitfire VR Cockpit
Very cool! 
I hope the "customer in America" lives close to me, I'd love to have a go with this sim. 
Brian
I hope the "customer in America" lives close to me, I'd love to have a go with this sim. Brian
Re: Spitfire VR Cockpit
It is going first to Los Angeles and then we believe touring the country to promote a certain film about a certain French port!
Today, it's looking even better and will post some more progress photos in due course. PC goes on a shelf at the back with room above for a keyboard and small monitor to watch what the 'pilot' is doing. Wouldn't mind one myself, but it won't fit through the front door! 2nd one for ourselves and to act as demonstrator will be started as soon as this one leaves.
Martin
Today, it's looking even better and will post some more progress photos in due course. PC goes on a shelf at the back with room above for a keyboard and small monitor to watch what the 'pilot' is doing. Wouldn't mind one myself, but it won't fit through the front door! 2nd one for ourselves and to act as demonstrator will be started as soon as this one leaves.
Martin
Re: Spitfire VR Cockpit
Thanks for the info, Martin. 
I'll be watching for your sim. Hopefully it will visit Dallas during its travels.
Brian
I'll be watching for your sim. Hopefully it will visit Dallas during its travels. Brian
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Re: Spitfire VR Cockpit
Of interest? What makes you think that?
Fabulous, Martin! 
Just the sort of thing that's been buzzing round my head for years.
Oculus Rift has completely overtaken my attempts to learn how step motors would be used to move home made dial needles.
My partially made "broken stick" has a bike sprocket and chain, but yours only needs to do the action; as you say, the goggles take over once you're strapped in.
If you have any bits that don't work out fully, my address is : 9 @#$%^^&& Australia
Fabulous, Martin!
Just the sort of thing that's been buzzing round my head for years.
Oculus Rift has completely overtaken my attempts to learn how step motors would be used to move home made dial needles.
My partially made "broken stick" has a bike sprocket and chain, but yours only needs to do the action; as you say, the goggles take over once you're strapped in.
If you have any bits that don't work out fully, my address is : 9 @#$%^^&& Australia
Re: Spitfire VR Cockpit
Big day tomorrow, to see if it all works. Still some work to do on the airframe itself - instrument panel and internal fittings and then the fitting of the PC etc etc.
I gave up on home simming after the release of the A2A T-6, but now am doing it at work. We have a wonderful up to date system with DCS World and Aerofly2. The latter is superb with the Rift and we look forward to it's ongoing development. Flight models are good and I believe Orbx is creating software for it. An added bonus. Seriously thinking of adding P3Dv4 now and then maybe I will go back to the T-6. Who knows?
Martin
I gave up on home simming after the release of the A2A T-6, but now am doing it at work. We have a wonderful up to date system with DCS World and Aerofly2. The latter is superb with the Rift and we look forward to it's ongoing development. Flight models are good and I believe Orbx is creating software for it. An added bonus. Seriously thinking of adding P3Dv4 now and then maybe I will go back to the T-6. Who knows?
Martin
Re: Spitfire VR Cockpit
Good luck with the test, Martin.
Brian
Brian
Re: Spitfire VR Cockpit
Now that is something I could do with when flying Cliffs of Dover!!
Regards
Nigel.
Ummm, Martin I live a lot closer to you than Mike so to save your postage..........!!!If you have any bits that don't work out fully, my address is : 9 @#$%^^&& Australia
Regards
Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.
Re: Spitfire VR Cockpit
At the moment we are using DCS World, but will look at other software packages when they have dedicated VR support. The more the merrier.
On our test rig we are using Aerofly2 and although many people seem disinterested in it as a simulator, it really is a superb piece of software for £30 and so immersive, with 16 aircraft to 'play' with, including a superb Corsair and a Lightning (both prop versions of course). We look forward to it's development and at the moment consider it the top VR sim. Long may it continue.
Work at the moment is concentrating on the completion of the cockpit section, all the controls have successfully passed their tests with flying colours. We have mounted a door with vents at the back as its going to a hot new home and also cut out a section in the floor, directly beneath the PC too. Hopefully this will suffice.
Now, as to DCS World. We are using the Spitfire 9 as that is all that we have, and Warner Bros know this. The cannon will be discarded, but we would like to repaint the wings of the Spitfire to somehow mirror a Spitfire 1 colour scheme. We realise that there is no paintkit for her, but people have created new schemes, so the question is, can we repaint the wings to show the earlier brown and green colours and then add the gaudy roundels?
Matt Wynn has very kindly painted the 109 to represent the Buchons used in the film, so some form of conformity there, but we need the Spitfire done too. Any ideas people?
Will try and post some more photos this week.
Best wishes to all,
Martin
On our test rig we are using Aerofly2 and although many people seem disinterested in it as a simulator, it really is a superb piece of software for £30 and so immersive, with 16 aircraft to 'play' with, including a superb Corsair and a Lightning (both prop versions of course). We look forward to it's development and at the moment consider it the top VR sim. Long may it continue.
Work at the moment is concentrating on the completion of the cockpit section, all the controls have successfully passed their tests with flying colours. We have mounted a door with vents at the back as its going to a hot new home and also cut out a section in the floor, directly beneath the PC too. Hopefully this will suffice.
Now, as to DCS World. We are using the Spitfire 9 as that is all that we have, and Warner Bros know this. The cannon will be discarded, but we would like to repaint the wings of the Spitfire to somehow mirror a Spitfire 1 colour scheme. We realise that there is no paintkit for her, but people have created new schemes, so the question is, can we repaint the wings to show the earlier brown and green colours and then add the gaudy roundels?
Matt Wynn has very kindly painted the 109 to represent the Buchons used in the film, so some form of conformity there, but we need the Spitfire done too. Any ideas people?
Will try and post some more photos this week.
Best wishes to all,
Martin
Re: Spitfire VR Cockpit
All is going well and she should be leaving us by the end of the week - that is if we stop detailing the airframe and stop 'playing' at being Spitfire Aces (I've yet to make a few holes in a 109, let alone shoot one down!).
The controls have all been finished and are awaiting final placement, canopy, rearview mirror and gunsight go in this evening, and then tomorrow, fingers crossed, everything else is being added.
And after this, we start all over again as we have another on order and then options on 4 more. Not that we have anything else to do as the Mustang needs to be completed, a Hurricane needs new wings and 4 Spitfires need to be created. Never a dull moment here!
Martin
The controls have all been finished and are awaiting final placement, canopy, rearview mirror and gunsight go in this evening, and then tomorrow, fingers crossed, everything else is being added.
And after this, we start all over again as we have another on order and then options on 4 more. Not that we have anything else to do as the Mustang needs to be completed, a Hurricane needs new wings and 4 Spitfires need to be created. Never a dull moment here!
Martin