Beginner starting out

[br8v0_tw0_zer0]

Hi all I’m rick

Just starting out in the world of making my own portable cockpit. I hope I am allowed to post here and not in the wrong place.

So my project is to make my Cessna front panel portable that I can unplug it all fairly quickly and remove from desk.

Hardware wise I have two ardwino one normal type and one uno r3 I think it is called.

Two raspberry pies

My main pc will have 3 curved monitors leaving one port on pc.
My thinking would be to use the last port to add a 27” screen the i will take out of its housing and fixed to some mdf. Using some rotarys to turn dials on ect. So that would run of the desktop manger?

two smaller monitors that are actually touch screen hopefully running via the pi’s using the g1000s and alike. Also adding in rotarys like the knobster.

I understand each pi needs a license €30 each?
The main pc requires 1 manger license? Does the main need another license to run or does that come under the air manger version that I buy?

I hope I’ve explained it as best as I could just want to mak sure I’m in same page.

[Witzman]

Also new as well, but i can help.

You need a seperate Air Player licence for each Pi (2 in your case).
When the main PC is running the Panel and the Flightsim, you only need the Air Manager Licence for this PC - no additional Desktop Airplayer

[br8v0_tw0_zer0]

Hi witzman

Many thanks for replying and glad I’ve got the license part settled, I’m hoping to follow a chap idea I saw on YouTube of putting the monitor behind a panel that’s got the dials but out for them. I own a fleet of printers fdm and resin so can make most things for this project.

Just need to to order some multi rotaries like the knobs tees now and should be good to get going.

[Sling]

Hi Rick,

Welcome to the forum.

If I may just scupper your plan slightly before you go too far and realise you can’t have what you think. You will not get the G1000 or any other instrument that currently needs a pop out from the sim to run on a Rpi. These type of instruments can only run on the machine that is running the sim.

Also be very careful with the Rpi and touch screen operation as it can be a bit hit and miss as to what displays will work. It’s best to confirm with someone who has a certain combination working before buying if you must have touch for the Rpi displays.

This forum is a great resource for Air Manager related queries so ask away if you get stuck with anything.

Tony

[br8v0_tw0_zer0]

Hi tony

Thanks for those valid pointers and makes sense to what your saying, so in my idea of madness is to make the 4th monitor(main pc with ms2020 on) universal with fronts being changeable dependent on what I’m flying which is mostly Cessna as still learning.

regarding the raspberry pi’s not quite sure where I’m going with those but as I have a few and some touchscreens to hand I’m not that bothered if I can’t get touch to work as would prefer knobs andbuttons. I just have these touchscreens to hand 21 inch sat doing nothing.

maybe the radio stack and alike on those like I’ve seen from sim innovation tutorial I seen when explaining the uno. Put some faceplates on front I can print?

I’m constantly reading as I go on this and reading through the forum here is really resourceful too.

Firstly want to get the main 4th screen running and built first tho on main pc first. Get a faceplate cut out and rotaries installed.

I hope I’m going in right direction and won’t purchase more licenses till I know it will work.

[Sling]

Sounds like a sensible approach. I personally use 2 touch screens and a knobster so i don't need dedicated encoders for each function. The benefit of this aproach for me is it makes the instrument panel very flexible. I can switch aircraft as quickly as it takes the sim to load that aircraft and i'm ready to fly. If you only plan to fly a very low number of aircraft types then having physical hardware for each dial in each cockpit will be a nice solution but it will obviously require the manufacture of a panel to sit in front of the screen for each layout. Either way Air Manager makes the journey easier.