Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR
STEPBYSTEP PLANS CUSTOMER COMPLETIONS Q & A
COMPANY INFO
Other RUGBUG BEAM ROBOT FLIGHT HISTORY RC ELECTRIC
PLANES
Welcome to ACESIM.COM Thanks for 10 great years!
Be sure to see the Customer Completion page (Ready Room)
You will not believe what builders are doing!
JoyRider with CH Flightstick Pro, Throttle and Rudder Pedals Installed
If you want to experience true virtual flight then you need motion. The
following howto articles represent my efforts into perfecting the least
expensive, easiest to build, most versatile motion simulator for home use.
The JoyRider is a two axis center stick flight motion simulator you can build without
the use of expensive hardware. It's VERY fast, and SMOOTH and best of all it can be
affordably constructed from readily available supplies with simple hand tools.
The "JOYRIDER"s design specs include;
* REAL FEEL responsiveness and balance
* Maximum motion range (positive G's only for now)
* Progressive stick resistance and stability
* Simple lowtech mechanical control activation
* Smooth ballbearing suspension
* Full motion range, figure "8" stick stir 2 SECONDS
* 24 degrees (12+12) of pitch and roll range
* Hands off stability with one finger sensitivity
* Weight range fully motion tested with a 210 pound pilot
* Can use a variety of display and controller options
With your favorite flight sim program loaded, the lights out under the hood, and the
sound system cranked up, total immersion occurs. The stick input induced inertia
fools your inner ear into thinking that you are continuing to move in the direction you
started even though you really don't. Instrument pilots know the feeling. What they
see on their artificial horizon is not necessarily what they feel in their head. They have
to trust their instruments or risk spinning in from following possible false sensations.
These same false sensations allow you to now "feel" everything from snap rolls to
loops to any other flight maneuver you can think of!
How (and why) to design a flight motion simulator chapters 14
See what our customers are building !
Complete stepbystep plans are still available!
(click pic to find out more about the plans)
PDF format EPLANS you can download at a reduced price!
Also check out the production model development site for the prebuilt aluminum
"Ultimate" JoyRider:
www.flightcontrolsimulator.com
ULTIMATE JOYRIDER VIDEO
AND IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BUILD SEE THEIR NEW
"DREAMFLYER" PRODUCTION MODEL HERE:
http://mydreamflyer.com/
Copyright © 19972007 Ace Sim RC All Rights Reserved
The Laymens Guide To
Virtual Reality Motion Flight
Simulators
Copyright © 1997 ‐ 2006 Ken Hill
CHAPTER ONE ‐ INTRODUCTION TO FLIGHT SIMULATORS
If you're a pilot, you may have used an instrument simulator during flight training. If
you're a computer owner, you may have a few flight games or simulators for it. If you
watch TV you may have seen the full blown mega dollar NASA or
Airline simulators that move with the yoke (or stick) input from the pilot and fully
immerse one into the sense of flight or have seen or experienced rides at theme parks
that move you along with the film you're watching.
Other simulators that let you experience the motion of flight include some arcade
games and the new generation of location based flight simulators that allow you to
dogfight against other players in a very realistic environment. These are rather
expensive to enjoy even if you live near one as they charge by the minute.
Flight motion simulations are either active or passive. The active type needs servo
drive motors and/or hydraulics or pneumatics to supply the motion to the "platform",
(read cockpit). The passive type moves directly in response to stick motions through
mechanical leverage and needs no external power. We'll deal with the passive type
here as it's the least technical and least expensive to build.
To truly experience the motions and sensations of flight here's what you'll need for
home use.
VISUAL The more you see the better, so use the biggest monitor possible with the
highest resolution or better still get a virtual reality head mounted display with head
tracking.
AUDIO Surround sound 3D sources and possibly transducers in the seat so you feel
the thunder as you explode from that heat seeking missile.
MOTION A platform you get in and ride that interacts to the stick or yoke inputs
that you use to fly an aircraft.
An aircraft controls operate in 3 dimensions (six degrees of freedom) so the ultimate
simulator would allow;
1) Pitch (tilt forward/backward)
2) Roll (tilt left/right)
3) Yaw (rotate left/right)
Others motions acting on an aircraft include;
4) Move vertically up/down
5) Move horizontally left/right
6) Move longitudinally forward/backward
In general, an airplane pilot doesn't directly control these last motions, but reacts to
them with the first three based on throttle setting, lift, sink and turbulence. (However,
new thrust vectoring jets and 'copters do allow control of these.)
If you want all 6 motions, see NASA. For a much more cost effective motion platform
that you can build yourself that will allow you to fly anything from Cessnas to F18s,
we'll limit ourselves to 2 axis; Pitch and Roll. These are the most sensory convincing
motions of flight and your mind will add the others based on visual cues.
COMPUTER SIMS If you're already an avid computer flight sim pilot and just want
to add motion to your setup, you can skip ahead. But if you've always wanted to fly,
but for whatever reason can't or if you are a pilot and want more air time and other
aircraft to fly, then stay tuned.
BACKGROUND The first computer flying programs were little more than a moving
horizon line with a crosshair to fire your gun at the enemy. On a monochrome display
it was choppy and hardly a "simulator" by any stretch of the imagination. They did
give the computer 'pilot' a taste of the power of PC's for flight simulations to come.
It's been said that flight simulations are the one good reason to own a personal
computer.
SOFTWARE Todays sim programs rival state of the art military programs of only a
few years ago. Now for about $50 a pop you can fly into combat in the worlds newest
and fastest fighters, buzz Manhattan in a Lear jet, battle it out over Europe in a
Spitfire, or even refine your aerobatics in a Pitt Special. Best of all, all this can be
obtained in most cases with near photo realistic graphics, physics modeled flight
envelopes, CD quality 3D sound and with realistic aircraft controls.
COMPUTER With leading edge software pushing the envelope of hardware
demands, get the most powerful computer you can afford. For the current crop of hot
sims, get at least a 133 Pentium with multispeed CD ROM and 16 bit sound card. For
your monitor, there is currently some good deals on 17 inchers. Some video cards
allow output to your TV but resolution is limited. If you don't mind the blockyness of
the picture you can sit in front of a big screen or projector TV and really immerse
yourself.
INPUT DEVICES Controls on the market today include everything from force
feedback, realistic jet joysticks with programmable throttle/controls, rudder pedals
with toe brakes, to flight yokes for you Cessna drivers. Prices range from $10 for a
cheap 2 button joystick to hundreds for the topoftheline controllers. You may not
need the best, but don't scrimp on your controls. They are you only 'physical' link with
your sims and there's alot of cheap junk out there. When shopping for one, look for
good feel, comfort, heft and durability. When you've got a missile aimed at your
behind, you WILL abuse the controller in an attempt to avoid destruction.
ALL TOGETHER NOW Don't just think you can run right out, buy the hottest
computer, a truck load of sim programs, the trickest controllers, plug it all in and take
off. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way. True, the Windows 95 OS makes
hardware configurations easier, and programs designed to run on this system for the
most part do set up properly. However, there are many older DOS sims that are not
only very good programs, but can be found for next to nothing. These can be a real
bear to get operating properly, but with patience and maybe some tech support, you'll
be able to enjoy many hours of flying variety.
Another problem is simulator control consistency. For example, one manufacturer will
assign the 'G' key to 'GEAR' while another may make it 'GUN'. The programmable
throttles and joysticks help here as you can assign each programs functions to the
same control buttons. Since most modern simulators have a steep learning curve for
all the hightech systems on board, the last thing you want to do is memorize a
different set of controls for each program.
OK, you've paid your pilots dues, gone through the hoops and are ready to add the
magic missing sense; MOTION.
Virtual Reality Motion
Flight Simulators
Copyright © 1997 ‐ 2006 Ken Hill
CHAPTER TWO ‐ THE MOTION PLATFORM
WHY A MOTION PLATFORM
The first time you dodge some incoming triple A fire and darn near fall off your office
chair, you'll see the need for a motion platform.
Once you attempt your first carrier landing in a moving platform and experience the
adrenaline rush of excitement, and a load of other emotions that give you the famed
"pucker factor" of real flight, you'll realize that you've now found the missing link to
pure immersion flight simulation.
OK, it's big, bulky, ugly and hard to get into. But being able to fool your mind into
thinking you're really doing those snap rolls makes it all worth it. After all you've
always wanted your own personal 'ride' ever since you were a kid, right?
If you only want beauty, set up a static replica cockpit with blinky lights, slick decals
and such and impress your friends with your good taste. "STIMBOX"
For the real flight experience, turn out the lights, hop into a JoyRider, crank up the
volume, and let the vertigo begin. "JOYRIDER"
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS ‐ HOW IT WORKS
Based on a balanced gimbal system along the center of gravity axis for pitch and roll,
the JoyRider suspends the pilot and cockpit high enough to clear the stand, and allow
enough room for the ranges of motion.
You may be saying; "Hey I already have an office chair that tilts forward and
backward and have even mounted my joystick and throttle to the arms so it all moves
together. It even rotates for yaw. Can't I just make it rock side to side and not have it
be so big?"
Yes you can but not without lots of design problems. What you would be trying to do
is put your mass OVER a pivot. This makes you want to tip over. That's why office
chairs have that big spring underneath. To make this type of design you need to add a
floor with heavy counterweights to balance the pilots topheaviness. See "FLYIT"
for this type of platform, and even it has it's pivots above the base.
More weight increases mass so to have a responsive platform, one must design it as
light as possible. To support the human body plus any additional hardware requires
certain structural considerations. Learning from aircraft design which requires light
weight and strength, one could come up with a molded composite structure, but this
isn't simple or inexpensive for the homebuilder, nor can it be easily torn down to a
reasonable size for transport or storage.
MATERIALS
PVC CONSTRUCTION
Our prototype is made of PVC pipe that's relativity light, cheap and available. Fittings
are numerous so little custom fabrication is required. To easily make design changes,
we used screws and bolts to hold it all together. A finalized design could be glued
except for disassembly points and would look a little cleaner. For strength only use
schedule 40 thickness tubing in large enough diameters that will support the required
weight.
WOOD CONSTRUCTION
If you are a woodworker, you may wish to make your platform out of wood. We toyed
with this idea but realized that to adjust the design we'd have to remake a lot of parts.
Try to use box structures where possible for weight reduction, and think adjustable
and expandable in your design.
METAL CONSTRUCTION
Metalworkers may choose steel or aluminum. Use thin wall tubing if steel, and choose
large enough diameters that won't deflect much when you get excited and start
bouncing around in the seat. A little flex adds to the excitement however!
COMPONENTS‐ Minimum Requirements
COCKPIT You should design it from the inside out. Start with a seat, aluminum lawn
chair, gocart, PVC yard chair, etc. Think LIGHT and WIDE! You want enough room
between your legs for control stick movement range.
Figure out appropriate attach points for the seat frame side rails. The rails must
support your weight from the pitch pivot points without much deflection. Remember
that not only must the rails support your weight downward but also at the different
angles of motion. To test material strength, place both rails between saw horses at the
seat attach points and put all your weight at the estimated distance for the pitch pivot
point. You can generally figure that the human body's center of gravity (CG) is about
at the navel if viewed from the side. The seat frame should at least be attached to the
seat in four places and have a footrest.
GIMBAL FRAME‐ The gimbal frame consists of a rectangular frame, outside of the
cockpit frame that attaches to it at the pitch pivot points. It also connects to the base
at the roll pivot points. Leave enough room on the inside for the bearings (see
hardware below) to be attached to the outside of the cockpit.
To test your choice of materials for strength, support the ends of one of the long
members on sawhorses and put all your weight in the middle. Some flex is OK since
you will be dividing the load between two lengths. Remember that in reality the
gimbal frame must support the entire cockpit, all its accessories like throttle, rudder
pedals, display, etc. PLUS yourself.
BASE‐ Possible layouts depending on materials and tools.
To test your base design for strength, put all your weight on one end post or end
panel with the base flat on the floor and unsupported. There should be no flex or
play in any direction.
HARDWARE‐ Ball bearing pivots are highly recommended but metal bushings could
work if designed right. We used heavy duty caster bearings by removing the wheels
and opening the forks in a vice. NOTE ‐ Only get casters that have a torsion race for
this use. Since you will be using them vertically instead of horizontally as they were
designed, the extra torsion bearing race takes the twisting load you'll be applying. Do
NOT even TRY the single race type. They'll wear out overnight!
The correct type to find have the normal bearings sandwiched between the mounting
flange and the wheel fork bracket plus a second race between the wheel fork bracket
and another plate on the wheel side of the bracket. Just look up under the wheel. If
you only see a rivet, then don't get it. The type you need has what looks like a large,
fat washer under the rivet that's slightly concaved. You can't see them, but the second
set of bearings are in there.
The trick setup would be to attach bearing races into the gimbal and cockpit frames
and use jack shaft type roller or ball bearings specifically designed for this type of
loading. Much more spendy and complicated, and really not necessary as we've
logged hundreds of hours on our JoyRider with the above described type of caster
bearings with no noticeable wear. Just be sure to get the correct kind!
MOTION LIMITS‐ The cockpit will only be able to move side‐to‐side as far as you have
room between your legs for the stick to move. Forward and back stick movement
should be limited with mechanical stops on the cockpit frame to gimbal frame. Don't
try to place limits on the stick as the leverage can get great enough to bend it under
the right conditions.
The down stop is needed for the cockpit when it is unoccupied as most of it's weight is
forward when empty. The up stop is needed so that at full aft stick, it doesn't hit the
seat front (or worse if you have a really short seat!) We accomplished both needs by
putting a foam padded U shaped bar around the outside of the gimbal frame sides and
connected them to the cockpit frame.
CONTROLS‐ If you are an electronics, hydraulics, and or pneumatic engineer and
have access to parts, by all means consider a powered platform. Driver boards can be
used to drive stepper motors or hydraulics to move the cockpit from stick inputs just
like the big boys.
For our cheap and easy passive platform however, we'll simply attach one end of the
center stick to the cockpit, pivot the center of the stick on the stationary base frame,
and move it all around by hand from the top of the stick.
Having a nicely balanced platform is a MUST as too much self centering causes
excessive stick pressure. The location of the sticks pivot point and section length can
be adjusted to supply some leverage to help this condition, but the space shortage
between your legs limits how much you can get.
To compensate for the sticks offset forward from the center of the pitch axis, it's
necessary to allow the sticks center pivot to change location relative to stick position.
Simply put, the sticks center pivot support frame that connects it to the base needs to
rock up and down slightly. Hinge or bearing it to the base frame at both sides. This
support needs to be as solid as possible in side to side strength.
CONTROL STICK Aluminum tubing is a minimum here as leverage bending loads
are high. Use 7/8" .049 wall or better. Use aluminum or steel channel that fits the
exterior of the tubing for fittings. You'll need one for the cockpit connection (stick
bottom) and one for the center pivot (middle connection to base).
We oversized the brackets a bit to allow room for washers between the channel inside
and tubing outside to prevent wear. Drill very precise holes to prevent binding and
don't allow the bit to oval the holes. You want a slop free pivot that'll move freely but
with no excess play in any direction. Bushings in the tubing will increase longevity as
this seems to be the platforms weak link if using too thin a wall tubing.
The Laymens Guide To
Virtual Reality Motion
Flight Simulators
Copyright © 1997 ‐ 2006 Ken Hill
CHAPTER THREE ‐ THE COMPUTER CONNECTION
COMPONENTS
The components needed to effectively integrate your JoyRider motion platform with
your computer flight simulations are as follows:
Joystick Motion
Integrate joystick potentiometers with motion of cockpit to send data stream to
computer.
Joystick buttons/controls
Integrate the grip of your joystick onto the control stick of the platform and extend
wires to reconnect to joystick base and then on to the computer connections.
Rudder pedals
Mount offtheshelf unit to foot rest of platform extend cockpit framing for support
if necessary.
Throttle
Mount to cockpit side Be sure to allow maximum width between knees for stick roll
movement.
CONTROL CONNECTION
To avoid confusion, we'll refer to a joystick as joystick and the control stick in the
JoyRider cockpit as the control stick. Joystick base is a joystick without it's handle,
and handle is the joysticks grip complete with buttons, triggers, etc. removed from the
joystick. "Pot" is short for potentiometer, a volume control type electronic component
inside a joysticks base that changes its electronic signal to the computer to determine
joystick position. You will also hear them called variometers.
The idea for the pitch and roll controls is to have the cockpit motion move joystick
pots in the same way as the stick on your standard joystick does to the pots in its
joysticks base.
If you are a mechanical wiz, you could rig pots directly to mechanical linkage to a
number of locations on the platform; at the bearings, at the control stick, to the seat,
etc. For that matter, you could make your own rudder pedals and throttle the same
way. Plans are available on our host site FINAL APPROACH (Note: Don't use the link
to this site from Final Approach as it has long ago been abandoned.)
If you want to keep it simple, either find an old joystick that works good or buy a
decent one just for the base. We adapted two old sticks. We used one that was shot
just for the grip, and one that worked but was only a one button model with a stubby
stick for the base. Don't just cut off the handle, disassemble it and keep the parts
intact. Each joystick is different in construction, but generally the handle comes off in
two halves. These can be carved out if needed to accept a larger post which can then
fit in the control tube and be secured.
The logical place to mount the joystick base seemed at first near the control stick
center where it pivots. This posed a number of problems with shortage of space,
necessary linkages, etc.
We found that it was MUCH easier to mount the joystick base backward under the
seat on the control stick support frame and connect it with light weight bungees or
heavy elastic cord to the bottom of the seat bottom in four opposing directions. This
type connection takes care of any excessive movement the cockpit does that the
joystick mechanism can't follow without maxing out. It also has the advantage of
compensating for the swing arc of the seat away from the stick base plane. This also
reduces stick sensitivity at the extremes making for a well mannered control while
still letting you get wild with the control stick. Actually, with the right tension bungee
or elastic cord, you can just use two directions, side to side, with extension posts
extending down from the sides of the seat. This allows up/down movement from the
equal pulling of the side elastics on the stick post.
With the correct joystick base location, you can set trim, center and even a null zone
by just adjusting the bungee tensions. You will need to extend the joystick base
control post (if you've removed the handle). Experiment with its length to achieve full
throw just before full movement of the platform. Adjust the bungees tight enough so
at center all are even with just very slight tension.
WIRING
If you started with only one joystick and removed the handle, you can lengthen the
wires from the buttons, triggers, etc. and run them down through the control stick tube
and out the bottom. Leave extra slack for control stick movement and bundle and
route them back to the joystick base under the seat. Reconnect them to the same
locations they came from and you're in business. You may need to get a joystick
extension cable to make it reach the computer.
If you used the handle from one stick and another joystick for the base, then another
option is to wire an adaptor plug that connects to the base joystick and intercepts the
control button connections and exits to a standard joystick plug. No modifications are
necessary to this joystick at all except the bungee connection and hold down straps or
attachments.
DISPLAYS AND SUCH
Our prototype cockpit had additional framework for a monitor and keyboard.
Monitor
Advantages
· Put extra old monitor to use.
· Keyboard handy for systems functions, set‐ups and calibration.
Disadvantages ‐
· 30 plus pound monitor swinging around at break‐neck speeds.
· Not much immersion factor from small screen.
· Best with lights out.
Head Mounted Display (HMD)
Advantages
· VR headset is best choice for immersion.
· Blocks out all outside stimulus.
· 3D display with right software running.
· Head tracking.
Disadvantages ‐
· Expensive.
· Can't use a keyboard without lifting visor.
· Low res display.
· Program incompatibilities.
· May need additional drivers to be loaded.
Forte makes a reasonably priced HMD that has many supported programs.
Projection
Advantages
· Big screen with high res display.
· Can still use keyboard if needed.
· Projector can be mounted above and behind pilots head to help CG problems.
Disadvantages ‐
· Expensive.
· Needs large blank wall since projector moves with cockpit.
· Or screen needs to be mounted on cockpit.
· Needs light out.
· Needs VGA to TV convertor unless using LCD computer projector then VERY
expensive.
Sony makes a lightweight TV projector that looks perfect. ATI makes video cards that
have TV output (no SVGA though). It's not known how bright the projector's output
is however.
NEXT : Chapter 4 ‐ Conclusion
The Laymens Guide To
Virtual Reality Motion Flight
Simulators
Copyright © 1997 ‐ 2006 Ken Hill
CHAPTER FOUR ‐ CONCLUSION
OK, everyone got their JoyRider flying? If not go back and get busy. The next
sections are devoted to finetuning the platform and optimizing it for your sims.
BALANCE
Without the pilot in the seat and with all accessories installed, the cockpit ideally will
balance itself neutrally at the center of the pitch range. With the pilot in the seat,
balance should be unchanged. This way different weight pilots will not affect the trim
of the cockpit as the pilots center of gravity is right at the cockpits CG and also at the
pitch pivot point. Without counterweights at the rear of the cockpit, this becomes hard
to achieve as the majority of our cockpits mass is in front of the balance point. With
rudder pedals, throttle, keyboard and especially a monitor, it gets worse fast.
We elected to add bungees to hold down the rear instead of weights when we
originally had a monitor mounted. This effectively helped counter balance the
cockpits' nose heaviness when empty but added some pitch pressure to the pilot in
flight. Without the monitor, the pitch pivot points can be located almost at the pilots
CG so any weight pilot can fly without having to change the trim. We used brackets
that clamped the pitch bearings to the cockpit tubes so they could be loosened and slid
to different balance points easily.
FLIGHT REALISM
It's all in the program. Each flight sim handles differently. Not just different planes,
but the same planes from different programmers. Some good programs allow custom
modifications to joystick response, null zones, etc. This helps when fine tuning your
JoyRider to fly in harmony with the visual "feel" of the planes handling
characteristics. Some sims fly more like an arcade game and others like a real plane.
Most of the rest of the sims are somewhere in between. One program has so little
control damping that it causes so much overcontrol that it's nearly impossible to fly in
the 'Rider. Lag time can also be a problem, but these sims are rare. The only time the
screen shouldn't match what the 'Rider is doing is during a stall or spin and then as in
real life, once you regain control of the craft, everything's back to normal. Of course,
in a loop or roll, the screen will continue in the direction the platform is moving but
won't match again until you cancel the maneuver.
CALIBRATION
To calibrate the cockpit, just think of it as another joystick. Be sure you are relaxed
and centered in the pitch and roll range, and the joystick in the base is centered as
well. It may be hard to see it, so get a helper to look for the first time. Be sure it's
trims are centered as well, since you won't be able to reach them in flight. Next just
follow the "move stick to ***** and click button" instructions in the program and
you're set.
FLIGHT
Most pilots go crazy the first time in the cockpit. They overcontrol, complaining that
it won't react as fast as they are used to. Actually, once you get used to it and stop
trying to slam the stick like you unrealistically did on your desktop joystick, you'll
settle in and relax and find that suddenly you're really just starting to learn to fly. Let's
face it, could you physically really pull those 10+G turns in that F16? You won't pull
any down Gs in the JoyRider, but you will experience pitch and roll inertia loads and
you'll have to adapt.
ALTERNATE CONTROL METHOD
Besides the control method described in the last chapter, we also tried another option
you should know about. There are a couple of wireless joysticks on the market that
can be attached to the control stick directly so that no other connections need to be
made! If you happen to have one of these sticks, by all means use it. The catch is that
the control range of the wireless stick may be limited by the motion range of the
control stick. The up side is that they (at least the VIR1 model we have) allows
response programming. This lets you increase the joysticks response to max out
sooner so the limited range is minimized. It takes some tweaking and fiddling, but it
does work. These digital controllers seem too unfeeling for my taste, but hey, give it a
try!
CONCLUSION
Just as in the general aircraft market as pilots became designers in the homebuilt
movement, sim pilots can also hand craft their "flying" machine. This way they can
balance the flight characteristics they prefer and not be forced to fly a platform that is
too expensive or something that someone else thinks is the best design. You've seen
some of the store bought models available from the picture links in the other pages.
We don't say we have the best design. It's sure not the best looking, but so far it's the
least expensive we've found, works well, and is adaptable to multiple configurations.
AVAILABLE NOW ‐ COMPLETE STEP‐BY‐STEP PLANS