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Glass Cockpit

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12 years 11 months ago - 12 years 11 months ago #1059 by haiqu
Glass Cockpit was created by haiqu
Looking over new part costings for the instruments used in the original Quickie, it seems to me that there's a case for the design of a modern Glass Cockpit. Such things are around and cheap enough, it's just a matter of choosing one that fits the panel space and isn't too complex to use. Here is the standard issue list with AS&S prices as at 2009:

Airspeed $181.95
Altimeter $149.95
Ammeter $28.95
Cyl Temp $53.95
Oil Temp $30.25
Oil Press $59.75
Tacho $97.19
Voltmeter $23.65
[Slip Indicator $78.65 (optional, not included)]

Budget $625.64

The Compass at $127.95 should be a standard device for safety. In an emergency you can pretty much do without anything else. In addition a handheld GPS at about $50 or so would give absolute location, speed and altitude.

As a bonus, adding an attitude indicator, VSI or EGT to the new panel would be at very little extra cost compared to normal gauges. The cost of shipping — and carrying — all this extra weight could also be avoided. And as if we needed any more reason, a Star Wars inspired X-Plane like the Quickie should have modern looking instruments, not steam gauges.

Here's an example, the Stratomaster . I'm sure there are more aesthetic products around, but the price is right.
Last edit: 12 years 11 months ago by haiqu.

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12 years 11 months ago - 12 years 11 months ago #1060 by haiqu
Replied by haiqu on topic Re:Glass Cockpit
Looking at the commercially available EFIS packages I'm seeing lots of "feature overkill" in something that should be SIMPLE for ease of use. Being an electronics engineer and programmer, I may just design my own. It would make a good magazine project for someone like Silicon Chip or Elektor to publish.

Apart from the abovementioned features, it should have the following attributes:

1. Run on a cheaply available colour touchscreen tablet.
2. Require no expensive optional external sensors.
3. Cater for up to 2 engines.
4. User-defined instrument ranges with backup memory.
5. Realtime clock and trip calculator.
6. User-defined alarms.
7. Password protected Hobbs meter.
8. Inbuilt GPS (if possible).

Hmmm, this has me thinking now.
Last edit: 12 years 11 months ago by haiqu.

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12 years 11 months ago - 12 years 11 months ago #1061 by haiqu
Replied by haiqu on topic Re:Glass Cockpit
A little more research done. The cheapo 7", 8" or 10" Google Android ePad might just be the right hardware platform. It starts from about $85.00 and has wi-fi and a camera built in. USB, ethernet, SD card slot, brilliant!

Can only get cheaper, they're making millions of them.
Last edit: 12 years 11 months ago by haiqu.

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12 years 11 months ago #1062 by haiqu
Replied by haiqu on topic Re:Glass Cockpit
Damn, just read that Google closed source for Android. Bastards. Oh well ... it was a good idea while it lasted. Next!

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12 years 11 months ago #1063 by haiqu
Replied by haiqu on topic Re:Glass Cockpit
This guy seems to have it nailed:

Al Wick's Glass Cockpit . Pity it runs on a laptop, that's dinosaur technology.

There used to be a Yahoo! group called MyGlassCockpit too, but they seem to have evaporated. Nothing much got done anyhow, I monitored it for months.

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12 years 11 months ago - 12 years 11 months ago #1064 by haiqu
Replied by haiqu on topic Re:Glass Cockpit
Associated ideas include this guy's GPS system for aircraft. The price is right!
Last edit: 12 years 11 months ago by haiqu.

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