Welp, the arrival of MSFS has finally pushed me to get into gear with the evolution of my simpit, which currently Is an obutto Revolution setup for a combination of combat style center-stick, left throttle / Mouse and KB gaming. The problem with the Revolution though, is that it’s center ‘spine’ is not ideal for mounting a yoke too, as it sits too high relative the seat (and at 5’8”, I’m not the tallest guy on the block, but not short either). Plus, I don’t want to have to deal with a small project every time I go from combat to civil (ie yoke based) simming, with assembling/disassembling the rig.
This wish to expand my sim setup also comes at a time where COVID has my wife working from home a lot (she’s a teacher), and she’d like a more dedicated desk to work from.
So, the idea I have is that most, or all, of the wall my Obutto sits against (About 14 feet) will be turned into one long wall mounted desk. The layout would be like this:
Since modern science still hasn’t found a way to decipher my hand writing, I’ll explain. From left to right, there will be the “Civilian/Heavy” sim desk, with a yoke and rudder pedals. To it’s immediate right will be a centralized shared throttle module (more on that later). Right of that is the obutto with center mounted stick. Moving down the line will be a work station/ general mouse and keyboard gaming area. Finally, we come to my wifes work area, which will be ‘isolated’ from the other sations in that she has her own laptop.
A keystone feature here will be a rail system that allows my 32’ 4K monitor to slide between the three work stations. Still mulling about best way to do that, but I have some ideas will expand upon in a dedicated post later on).
Another feature I alluded to earlier, is the shared centralized throttle-and-systems (working title), which will house a throttle quad (hoping to snag a honeycomb, like everyone else on the planet, apparently), my WH throttle, and assorted to-be-built-over-time button boxes and knobs and bits. It will also likely be a place for the mouse to go when in civilian mode, and the keyboard when it civ or combat modes. This allows for classic civilian style “throttles on the right” when at civ position, and to keep hotas on the left for combat. It also allows either mode to share axis and buttons, so for example, in BoX I’ll use the WH as primary throttles, but then use the quad for additional axis (rad, cowl flaps, mixture, etc.). The Central module will also be the ‘nexus’ of flight control USB connections, and have a read-to-access switched/powered USB hub “bus” so I can actively enable/disable relevant controllers as needed.
Another ‘feature’ of this setup overall, is that it allows my toddler aged daughter to be a ‘co pilot’ in either mode, and occupy the other seat and be a ‘helper’ by pressing the buttons daddy tells her to. Except the shiny red on, don’t touch that one. OK, touch that one, but only once. Ok, knock yourself out, press it as much as you want princess…
Budget is about $1k all in, inclusive of the Honeycomb gear, so it’ll be a tight squeeze, but possiblly workable as I have a decent amount of scrap wood laying around, and all the woodworking tools I should need (router, table and miter saws). Most expensive will likely be the several sheets of plywood needed. Might stretch to 1.2k, as the central unit might be framed in 80/20 AU for future mod-ability.
More to come as I work through things, but one question I do have right now: can any recommend a good “Obutto style” seat (just the seat portion) that doesn’t break the bank (figure $200 ish shipped or less)?
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