22 March 2018

FBW Flight Controller – project assumptions

Nowadays, flight simulators are more faithful to realism. Virtual reality on the screens of monitors is fast approaching what the real pilot sees. However, our perception of reality is not just the sense of sight. To feel like in the cockpit of an airplane, you need to engage the other senses. Therefore, simulators are used to train pilots – fully equipped cabins modeled on real aircraft, in which each button, or switch acts as real, rudder deflections cause inclination of the cabin, curved screens in front of the cabin, allow to “blend” into the virtual world. All this to fool the senses. Of course, hardly anyone can afford such a simulator. It is not only the issues of funds that matter, but even the place in the house for such a device the size of the whole room.

That is why virtual pilots are looking for solutions adapted to the available resources, which will allow to increase the so-called immersion – a sense of realism. They use several monitors to widen the field of view, tracking the movement of the head (TrackIR), gaming chairs, etc. But the element that has the greatest impact is the controller – the joystick. Generally available joysticks for players allow you to enter the world of simulation. But aviation enthusiasts will quickly notice the disadvantages. Even the location of such a device – a desk – and a completely uncomfortable position. So they are looking for something that will help them feel like in a real cockpit. On the “west”, controllers, rudders located on the floor platform are increasingly often found. The long lever of the rudder gives you greater leaning and precision, plus the T-bar pedals, or the well-thought-out “grip” – they argue that we no longer have a toy for the player. There is only one problem in our part of Europe. European prices – a controller for several thousand euros…

 

From our passion to fly in the virtual world a project was created: PR Devices Fly By Wire Flight Controller. The assumptions are simple, and their implementation, although not easy – possible:

  • floor controller with T-bar pedals and throttle (stroke lever)
  • maximum control precision without compromise
  • increased sense of realism – good quality grips, thought out in terms of ergonomics. Here it is worth noting that the use of, for example, the original rudder from a real aircraft (eg Mig-15 or helicopter Mi-2) will not work in the simulator. The virtual remote control must have at hand a much larger number of buttons on the controls than the real pilot. For example, a fighter pilot does not have to (can not :-)) use buttons to zoom the view. It has a whole bunch of buttons to operate the airplane systems in the cockpit – all around. We have a keyboard and joystick. Therefore, the latter must be better equipped.
  • occupying a reasonable amount of space – we do not build the entire cockpit. This is to be a mobile device for storing in the closet.
  • Polish product