3D Printed F/A-18C Cockpit for DCS World VR / Mixed Reality - 2023 Update

[@danterusso6354]

As a former A10 pilot in the USAF I am both seriously impressed and jealous of your accomplishment. Your instrumentation and replicated avionics are a work of art. I would be your wingman anytime!!

[@krsanth-4142]

You should search "The Warthog Project"

[@juleswoodbury58]

I thought the phrase "I'd be your wingman anytime" is code for gay buttsex in the navy.

[@fjn667]

Would love a A10 simulator at home. Coolest aircraft in existence

[@IFR_HeliToursVR]

As someone who flys the A-10C solely. I need an A-10 version but I want it full size. If someone knows or can 'goto work and measure it', that'd be fuckin super! If you ever need CAS, hmu

[@fly2012able]

Come on man you just wanted to say you are a former A10 pilot. That’s ridiculous. Who cares

[@TinyTeeth437]

I literally got the DCS F/A-18C a few days ago, and am in the painful process of learning the whole plane. Such a cool setup

[@jadenantal1652]

Same here but f16, it is cool to see that you actually need to know all of the systems at least at a basic understanding to use effectively

[@Towbie442]

You are rocking it sir. This is the way!

[@flench1901]

Took me around 6 months to figure the F-18 out with the Orion and Wingwing stick . Just like the old war birds better .

[@mainepolen7909]

After im seen the price of all stuff, HOTAS, H.T/VR and module prices im haved fucking stroke and instantly shut off pc and then go play some fcking lego or stuff bc it like prise of god damn eleron of Boeing's wing.

[@tbmm2]

@@flench1901it took me a week lol

[@cruachanx]

This is great John! Nice job. I do hope for you that mixed reality becomes a reality. Imagine if the cockpit was actually mapped correctly in VR to your hardware... and when your arm reaches out, it's 'aligned'. Keep up the good work!

[@glenncheung6737]

vr gloves + mixed reality = awesome. vr gloves + mixed reality + yaw2 movement = HEAVEN

[@DCSTex]

I think I could build it again for $4-$5k not including PC and sound system (most of that is the manufactured components (Virpil, WinWing, and Thrustmaster.) The electronics are fairly cheap and the wiring I would say is above beginner level, but not too difficult. I used a 3d printer, a laser engraver and some basic wood working hand tools. Check out the warthog project, he has some good tutorials on his build. Also google- build an arduino button box

[@cecielhelder5923]

With mixed reality and a full sim pit you don’t need vr gloves. It’s available today with the Varjo XR-3. At the eye watering price of almost $6495, plus service subscription for $1495 per year.@@glenncheung6737

[@TheMrRusti]

I have decided to try to recreate your simpit myself about two weeks ago. I have had a pretty similar setup as you had before this update, meaning the three Cougar MFDs and the Reverb G2, along with my HOTAS. I am starting with the front panel now. Thank you so much for sharing the files and giving us a chance to recreate this amazing cockpit!

[@faziolifairmont8125]

how are you coping with the fact that the reverb G2 is now no longer supported in windows?

[@TheMrRusti]

@@faziolifairmont8125 As of today, it is still running (I am using Windows 10). I'll cross that bridge when we get there.

[@bret9741]

I wish I was smart and talented enough to make a cockpit like yours. That is amazing

[@FCA1962]

Well done !!!! It’s an amazing setup!!! Good job bro!!

[@ILruffian]

Very well done. Perfect personification of the phrase "attention to detail."

[@Ed-oq7ot]

WoW!!! I never seen anything like this before, I’m super impressed and I would love to try it out. I think I might have a new hobby!!! 😊

[@zaaltchkuaseli4439]

What to say... mastership, craftsmanship, professionalism, passion and all in full swing. Bravo!

[@jester3265]

Just bloody fantastic, your immersion must be intense! 😍😍😍 The work that has gone into your rig is incredible, absolutely incredible!!

[@makealready]

Awesome rig! I see the inline fab mount in the back! Must be a man of reloading, love to see it

[@DCSTex]

yep and a Dillon XL650 under blue cover :)

[@jonezen420]

Unbelievable. There must be a insane amount of money sunk into this. This thing is amazing

[@alexmiller8644]

I understood nothing but your setup is fricking AWESOME!!!

[@mcdjay]

The Quest 3 even has a mixed reality app now i seen someone demonstrate it in MSFS and its wild. Another year, not even, and you will be golden. What a beauty setup man.

[@evanvanhavel]

this deserves 2 comments that is just so cool, i only flight sim in vr sadly no rig, but my good sir this is the dream

[@steveseamans9048]

That is the coolest setup I’ve ever seen. I don’t know what you do for a living but hopefully it’s engineering of some type. Also your wiring harness work is military grade.

[@flyboy38a]

I remember the Top Hatters when they flew the F-14 off of the Kennedy while I flew the E-2C Hawkeye. That was a life time ago for me.

[@cateye6098]

Great Work Mister. 👌 I build the same cockpit in the first version like yours. The only difference is that I already have the complete NexLevel Simpit and I upgraded it with your 3D printed files. From today I also make a upgrade and will go to the OpenHornet 1:1 rebuild of a F-18C cockpit.

[@errol6788]

My goodness !!!! No way! Certainly a passionate about this sim. Some of us can only wish we could. One day God willing. One day! I bet you learned so much more about the build process, the sim itself and a deeper appreciation for the F18 whilst dedicating your time and effort into your creation. This certainly your baby! Excellent work mate! True work of art! I am interested as to what your background is, most of these sim builds I see these guys are not your ordinary blokes. Some are engineers, pilots, computer programmers or developers and such. Truly awesome Inspiring nonetheless. You have got my sub sir!

[@AlbaAdventures]

This is incredible - big upgrade in these last couple of years.

[@scopex2749]

I would put a BIG spring under that ejection seat for reality! so if you get a flame out you can punch out into your upstairs bedroom!😉 SUPERB BUILD. Im an Air Force vet, aircraft engineer and you have done a top job on this! I want to be building myself something like this with a limited motion hydraulics frame. So basic elevator and aileron motion. Not sure how ot sync this up yet. We used to service full size sims so I'll get some ideas from them!

[@Bryan-cd9cl]

Really good job.. when i Saw all This cable 😮... This is excactly when passion lead our mental ❤

[@glenlangley3859]

Saw the tophatter stickers. I retired in Oct. 1995 from the squadron before they transitioned. Was a jet mech. and was the acting squadron safety p.o. upon departure.

[@frankknoll2064]

[@gabrielsuarez3137]

This is amazing, if I had the money, time, and most important, the space, I'd want this for my house.

[@johnr.timmers2297]

Holy crap, I saw him using it in a DCS flight video. Had no idea he built it himself. Incredible

[@Raptic556]

That looks very good, I have to say I'm a bit jealous!

[@BluestBoi]

super cool! you really know your stuff!

[@Raggistheguy]

I also have the boeing seat and the MIP and was trying to figure out a way to use aluminium rails to attach to the seat and I love how you managed to do exactly that. Couls you please share or describe how the aluminium railings are attached to the seat and what sizes for the rails you have used. I would love to try and copy your design 😊

[@02stampede]

This looks like a ridiculous amount of fun! I have a racing rig and my better half would probably kill me if I built another for flying haha.

[@DCS-SIM]

Outstanding to say the least

[@jantimmer5558]

fantastic simpit, something like this is a dream of mine

[@HevyGee]

I am zinc-chromate green with envy... wonderful outcome Comrade!

[@StillBigWill44]

Good god. That’s incredible

[@jamilayahyaoui101]

U did an insane work 😮😮😮😮....no matter where is it bro

[@Deano084]

That's unbelievable! 😮

[@dylanmccallister1888]

Greenscreen overlay. That is how i have seen mixed reality done. Basically everything you dont want to see use green screen cloth and paint to cover it up. You could make multiple cockpits and switch them like controllers out of the green screen space you build. I have seen it done with car simulators. Different wheel, seat, pedal setups that can be swapped out. The interior of the car and everything outside is VR, but the seat, stick shift pedals and wheel are real.

[@robertkerr4022]

omg this is sick thank you for making this video

[@noclass2gun342]

that dillon reloading press is definitely nice... also very jealous of the setup... id love to get into DCS

[@mutofv]

my right ear loved this video

[@flovvinq]

Absolutely Legendary

[@callmethreeone]

Wow, you did a great job with the!

[@glenncheung6737]

great work, your definitely a doer.. 2 thumbs up, add some thin panels that over hang the 2 MFD'S and the UPC, for people like us, it's a life size model and this will create a better illusion. Stunning work, thank you for you artistry

[@catsooey]

This is an amazing build! I’d love to do something like this but it’s way out of my league! Lol I love the laser engraving/backlighting combo that you created. I’m thinking of getting a pit too. Monster Tech has a lot of good reviews but their kits are a little too pricey. I think SimFab’s DCS edition might be the best choice for the money.

[@siCsavage]

uuuh this is so nice! i would spend weeks if not even months in that

[@richardainsworth9265]

Great job mate…..we’ll done

[@genx-sim-scene]

So much Awesome Sauce! Hats off to you!

[@andrelanglois4474]

Incredible look

[@petemitchell9996]

Great setup can even be adjusted to be used without VR. Just need to add a monitor above you and maybe a couple of cheaper ones for the sides and close the setup. It'd be like inside of a real fighter jet.

[@karnyzelijus]

Your "family mission editing" PC is a better setup than my main PC lol.

[@ju2705s]

Wow so impressive 👍 great cockpit with love to details 😍

[@DreadnautVS]

This is so epic, great work John!! Would be great to have one of these in my office =)

[@DonHuff]

Nice setup, Tex! -Hitman

[@kylehall7676]

Amazing Truly amazing

[@krob777]

Thats pretty awesome.

[@paperswan]

Simply amazing

[@craigh1790]

Epic, bro...but you need a motion rig. Just got a DOF Reality P3. Like VR, it is another giant revolutionary leap forward in immersion.

[@clouddweller91]

year later i salute you nice build my friend

[@Timbo868]

AWESOME SETUP 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪

[@elvoandro7087]

This is so awesome.

[@JPsTechReviews]

Very nice setup John, I just finished setting up my top gun mip, it definitely takes time. I have that same MSI 4090 nice card. Can’t wait to get everything all synced up. I find the Simapp Pro a little challenging. Again great job.

[@JBBost]

You can do the mixed reality right now. It would be easier if you had the rig in a room that was a certain color -- ie, green -- so you could key it, but the mixed reality you would need is only on par with like Beatsaber.

[@PamSesheta]

Amazing video, thanks for sharing!

[@jabberjawgreg]

Impressive setup.

[@DerekCrosby]

Very Cool setup, I just got into laser engraving, I suspect you used some kind of dual layer plastic with black on top and white in the middle... also really cool. Great Job!

[@DCSTex]

white acrylic panels painted black, then engrave just deep enough to remove paint.

[@DizzyBob1]

Wife wanted a kitchen island, got a Cockpit instead :) Jokes aside, sick setup! Well done!

[@hassanalielkilany]

very nice set up.

[@robihobby9490]

😃👍 Cool Cockpit !

[@InThisStyleGMinor]

This is exactly how this should be done, bravo, Function and form 9/10, look 1/10 because youre in VR, who cares. Bravo, Bravo

[@InThisStyleGMinor]

Watching more, this is much higher on the look specturm as well, well done!

[@SecondProfessor]

The legend returns 👍👌

[@Cheezsus]

Man this is awesome!

[@chaadlosan]

You are right on mixed reality being 2 years plus away.

[@Chuckt961]

You, Sir, are a steely eyed simulated missile man! Helluva rig.

[@rightrudderleftstick]

Looks great!

[@hasole9669]

Very nice pit

[@hobbytechgearID69]

Great work did mine 2 years ago for VR yours much more finesed and mine dont have active display 😅

[@rlimagon]

Amazing work!

[@jamesthompson4062]

very impressive stuff 😎

[@hammeringhutch9613]

Amazing Job!

[@Gunshinzero]

I saw a recent video where Varjo has a headset when you can do a cut out of VR into the real work. It may be closer than you think.

[@graffix3001]

I'm not a flight sim guy but that's pretty damn cool.

[@cuttheloop]

this is nuts...

[@tkampinelli307]

My god this is so impressive. I’ve always wanted something like this…I don’t have a 3-D printer or anything like that, but where does someone begin to build a Hornet cockpit like this? Is there a place that sells all the panels and displays??

[@marcussquintess]

Nice setup! Beyond AR/VR, it would be nice if DCS would be able to uncouple the HMDS. That way, if you have a 270 degree screen, like Warthog Project, you wouldn't need the VR headset and just use something like TrackIR to look around and target off-axis. But, let me worry about getting a house where I can build my pit first. :P

[@SDlETRICH]

Very cool man.

[@20b3rdgen]

I see the reloading equipment 👍

[@Metz_Bomb]

You can use pass through where it only shows your hands while your still in full VR.

[@MsTheCops]

I must say Brother ...THAT rig is the best I've seen. I am completely amazed & impressed. I'm building a hybrid ...part F-18 ...part AH64 ...for DCS. But no 3D printing unfortunately ...just old-fashioned woodwork. Have you considered marketing these components?

[@RE-zz7tr]

As someone who uses a Rhino FFB, can’t recommend it enough

[@AIRWARFAREGROUP]

Still looking good, Jon

[@mjfw10]

Sweet!

[@dotnetdevni]

Is that the wing wing ones i love how they have manager to get the right match of screens a see some people use odd size of screens and leaving it out does it work same way though u need to pop out the screens.

[@25_26]

Perfect

[@cristiangonzalez761]

Very nice men!

[@jijjij5]

Yea I really want to buy that

[@speakinginsilver04]

This is simply awesome! I built a much simpler cockpit made of wood, now seriously thinking of designing a new one inspired by your amazing work. May I ask for some details on the laser engraving? How did you manage to add white / translucent labels? And how did you print transparent buttons such as Fire warning? Thanks a million for sharing you passion! EDIT: found related comment below, using white acrylic painted black and engraving just the top painted layer. I did't expect white acrylic to be so translucent. What about butons, 3D printed with white filament then painted black and then engraved? Thanks again!

[@seanwilson9115]

Very cool

[@couco9000]

Amazin!

[@gregmilam2328]

Beautiful cockpit. Do the Winwing MFDs cause an un-pure client (fail an integrity check) string when you try to log onto a PVP or PVE multiplayer server like Growling Sidewinder?

[@martinlaubner]

Did you try the Quest 3 yet? Mixed Reality now seems to come much sooner to consumers than I thought. Also the new Varjo XR-4, which is probably the new king of MR, will also be available for consumers for "only" 4000.