Building a Real Life Flight Simulator

[@electrowizard2000]

Love this. Check out how full-size simulators work, they don't replicate the attitude of the plane, but instead more focus on the accelerations the pilot would be feeling. We can't feel slow rotation rates, so you can do fast moves, then wind the positions back over time.

[@wowLinh]

Right on the spot!

[@TheRamblingShepherd]

This is especially true because, as anyone who's looked out a window in a plane knows, you don't really feel the banks as a lateral tilt--at least not if the turns are properly coordinated. This is a big part of why artificial horizons are so important--because the plane's attitude is often NOT something you can feel, it's too muddled by inertial forces. I'm not sure how you'd calculate the accelleration vectors properly, though; it'd be ideal if you could get the accellerometer data without the gyros...

[@WhoIsTheEdman]

The name of the video that explains this (and I'm certain both you and I watched) is "How Flight Simulators Trick Your Brain" by the youtube channel FlyByMax.

[@TheMidnightmovies]

Yes thank you! It's always so frustrating to watch build like this.

[@hrmny_]

Don't you need more degrees of freedom (i.e. translation) for that to work properly? I mean moving back slowly definitely would help

[@FliteTest]

LETS GOO!!!!! haha Well done Michael, absolutely crushed it! Thanks for being awesome!

[@parkersleasman]

hey flitetest me anf my grandma wached you guys so much but sadly she passed away a few months ago. but keep making your fire vids!!!!!

[@ReadyMadeRC]

I read this in Stefan's voice. :D

[@noatreiman]

@@parkersleasmanthat’s really sweet

[@b326yr]

Go where?

[@parkersleasman]

@@b326yr ?

[@ValRC1]

Add headtracking to the FPV system so it'll be even more immersive! :)

[@davetelling]

I was just going to say that! The camera would be on a little servo system that would allow the pilot to look to the, side, up, and down!

[@ValRC1]

​@@davetelling for sure, that's exactly what I mean! The camera could be mounted to a gimbal actuated by two small servos, that moves according to a gyro on the goggles!

[@jennareynolds1403]

Maybe a 360 degree camera would be easier, but maybe that doesnt play well with fpv? idk if the servos are even slightly delayed that would make you sick. Lag in VR is nauseating...

[@gunnargu]

360 camera and let the pilot look around?

[@ValRC1]

@@jennareynolds1403 I think a 360 camera would have way more latency than a normal FPV camera with servos, as there is no 360 cam meant for FPV so you'd have to use a normal 360 camera and somehow output that video to an FPV system - most likely causing a ton of latency. It's also a lot easier to program the servos to move accordingly compared to hacking a 360 cam to use the inputs from the headtracker. Depending on the transmitter and receiver protocol the servos would probably only cause a few milliseconds (maybe 10-20ms if using expresslrs) of extra lag. would definitely be something worth testing out!

[@NicholasRehm]

Flying in this chair was NUTS and the amount of work Michael put into it to pull it off shouldn’t be understated! Such a crazy experience😅

[@jnicks]

7 months since your last upload... new vid soon?? :)

[@knight907]

Seconded! Always looking forward to seeing what you’re working on. 👍

[@jorisbonson386]

This is literally schoolboy 101 stuff 🤦‍♂

[@NicholasRehm]

@@jorisbonson386 Hey! You suck!!

[@TheButterZone]

Could your chopper be flown in this chair?

[@coriscotupi]

The girl's face at 0:35 was priceless, like _"some strange people come to these events."_

[@mrb2917]

looking like a snack

[@SuicideNeil]

Stefan speaks like he's constantly stoned/coked/drunk out of his mind, slurred speach and largely incoherant babbling...

[@73standard]

She looked angry.

[@samholdsworth420]

😂 Autistic girl sees autistic boy

[@danielsetzer3766]

she's got the dirtiest look ever lol 14:03

[@841577]

Insane. The knowledge to get all those electronics working is impressive.

[@joewoodchuck3824]

I've been in electronics all my life and even I'm impressed.

[@chriswilson746]

@@joewoodchuck3824 kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3y5aJmcet95sK8

[@stonebayrocker]

Idea: 14:27 Would be cool with a fan to give you a feeling of how fast your airspeed is! Woud maybe help towards the speed blindness! What do you all think about that?

[@Iamdumb-wk1ke]

Haha “cool” (get it cuz a fan and yeah I think you know xd)

[@thefantasyforge5015]

I'm a fan of the idea

[@Iamdumb-wk1ke]

@@thefantasyforge5015 me too though

[@Iamdumb-wk1ke]

@@thefantasyforge5015 maybe ever a shaker when landing

[@highenergyprotons]

I just got the same idea :)

[@sq3rjick]

Some ideas to explore: tilt to simulate G-forces instead of just relative position (or some mix-in). I think that's why the big room simulators are on hexapods instead of single point, so I don't know how feasible that is from a feedback control systems perspective. Definitely need a way to get vital information on the FPV feed: at least the current speed and throttle positions, but maybe try for artificial horizon as well? You may want to double your motors on each axis for counter balancing. As for interference, maybe look at dual-band or tri-band radio and set sane recovery defaults in case of loss of signal? Honestly, you could easily commercialize these and sell them as kits for DIYers or as fully-built chairs to people who don't want to build them. Hopefully that was part of the conversation with the Flite Test crew.

[@umi3017]

I think it would be easy to just have a gravity sensor and feed it's position to the 2-axis chair, rather than use gyro attitude.

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

The hexapod is a must. Having the thing balancing on a single point with rods holding it up is a recipe for someone getting hurt.

[@SkyDawg91]

@@whatilearnttoday5295 my thought as well. Those motor mounts are going to give out eventually once someone heavy enough persuades them to.

[@ddegn]

I think simulating G-forces is the only way to make this more than a (very fun) novelty. The way it works now doesn't provide useful feedback.

[@softdorothy]

Agree. That it *doesn't* do this makes the chair almost anti-useful. When turning and banking, the chair should be there to confirm that you are applying the right amount of rudder to keep the forces downward - the chair as programmed conflicts with that. The good news is that it's a minor addition to make that happen.

[@jaanikaapa6925]

You could add pedals for rudder control. If you mate it to a larger plane you could add lights, etc. Of course similarly you could add the loiter function into the buttons as well as trim. Can you run the altitude and speed from the GPS data to a layer on the FPV goggles? Similarly with the artificial horizon you might be able to get from the other sensors, etc on the sensors. Maybe create a layer for it in Unity, UE or some such? Lastly if and when you take it a lot further, you could change the FPV headset to an inside out tracking VR-headset and link that and the plane's camera together, use a camera that can rotate and tilt. This would allow you to turn your head while in flight. Ought to make flying easier too.

[@williamschultz298]

Yeah, it would be cool to see the concept expanded on.

[@pctrashtalk2069]

I think a foot rest would help with comfort and rudders could be added.

[@sidneyking11]

Love to see a tutorial on how to build the electronics.

[@christopherleveck6835]

I built one of these years ago using 12 volt car windshield wiper motors. I also had pedals for the yaw axis. I really enjoyed flying quads with rudder pedals because it isolated the yaw. You could make a pedal turn without affecting the throttle and vice versa. Makes for much smoother flying. The other thing that works really cool is using the chair as a joystick. It can be leaned to turn. If you mount large springs or shock absorbers exactly the opposite of each other the chair can self center.

[@gavinburlew3840]

Definitely next level RC flying

[@eliokreier522]

Very cool. For the absolute most immersive experience you should add an DJI O3 air unit and a head tracker with a pan and tilt gimbal.

[@emanuelmencks-meunier7911]

EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe add some rudder pedals, a head tracker and make it be able to do full 360s in all axes .(don't know if that last one's possible but its something i've always wanted to try myself). Keep up all the awesome work!! Seriously very inspiring

[@temporalmadness3756]

You've just taken rc flying to the next level.. with audio, a well tuned plane/chair response and a properly placed camera with 2DoF.. this would be uncoparable.. props to you..

[@spyersecol0013]

With the GPS you should be able to have your ground-speed added to the FPV display to minimize low speed stalls.

[@johannnepgen9784]

Add rudder control and then you can fly 3-axis. Also the next stage is to get the chair to move much more quickly to match whet happens to the plane, as well as some form of speed feedback. When doing co-ordinated turns in 3-axis, gravity is always directly below the seat, so that the chair should only tilt, if the turn is slipping or sliding.

[@earthsciteach]

The volunteer who took you into the wilds of Malvern, OH is John Davis, an awesome dude! The data burst that the oil wells send out when operating are no joke. Lots of planes have fallen victim over the years.

[@UAVfutures]

this is so awesome. I wish i was smart enough to be able to do this. such a cool project

[@Bruce-Gisbon]

This is incredible! I swear, KZbin has been the most revolutionary platform in so many ways. The ability for anyone to put their talent, skills, creativity etc into the world, bypassing the old elite institutions of the ultra snobs, and giving a level playing field to really talented people across the planet, even in the remotest of regions. Bro, you rock. This is truly an incredible project. Also, next step would be a head tracking camera so the pilots head motions can also be implemented in the immersion process.

[@henrytheturnip]

Foot pedals for rudder, and head-tracking for the cockpit camera would be cool. Also with a few more motors you can make a 6DOF Stewart Platform, so you get yaw and heave motions for more immersion. Might need a bucket too though :)

[@dirtrider88]

13:43 the fact that plane made it to the ground is amazing

[@Cephalon_Shade]

This chair setup but with video games would be killer. DCS would be the best one I bet.

[@SkyDawg91]

Really though! This could be implemented in DCS pretty easily, I'd guess. We need some blueprints for DIY motion sims haha

[@josiahjackson3757]

The problem is that this isn't simulating what it would feel like in the aircraft. It would have to modified to simulate G force. otherwise it wouldn't feel realistic. It's still pretty awesome though.

[@medicwine]

also this video is so understated but perfect. Its not overproduced but its not boring, right as the pacing starts to round off its like surprise peter stripol feature (and didnt spoil it with the title).Really solid youtube video!!! But also a really solid invention too! I could see this taking off in FPV scene but also being a thing you can try at an amusement park or something also. This is incredible.

[@FarmerFpv]

You're my RC Hero! This was incredible! You are so gifted in engineering. I wish I had those skills. Stay awesome, Michael!

[@koos42]

Are you using the chair to mimic the pitch and roll of the plane based on telemetry, OR are you trying to tilt the chair on the two axes to simulate the acceleration that would be felt by a (very small) pilot in the plane? Basically, if I hit the throttle, does the chair lean back to simulate the feeling of acceleration pushing me back in the seat?

[@collincreeden2862]

It appears that the seat only goes back when you lift up

[@FrozenDozer]

0:42 girl in the background is like wtf

[@jnxyzi]

lol

[@FKFMM]

Lol

[@GeekDetour]

Wow! That was amazing. It is so tempting... I wish I had the time and money to make one myself. By the way, you mentioned nothing about the hardware you used, and the costs. I want to know about these details! Thanks man!

[@siumaaam]

You will be rich because this. Please sell this kit online

[@Alexdacat8]

50.000

[@crimson99-]

@@Alexdacat8nah, maybe about $1200

[@mshadowsa2847]

That was totally awesome! And the way you retrieved the plane in the woods was next level! Would love to see a rc car version of this!

[@TNT_FPV]

thats sick!

[@mikebergman1817]

You are such a G. You are putting out the coolest RC content on KZbin.

[@Whisper3621]

that's so damn cool, I love it

[@Scoobert24]

You should 100% sell these loads of rc enthusiasts would buy this bc it’s unique

[@ARES_HANTRIO]

Also give it a moveable camera so it feels more immersive..

[@omniphore4913]

Amazing stuff, great work. Have you considered adding a linear "Accelleration simulator" under the bottom of the chair? Moving slighly backwards when you accellerate gives you a more emersive feel for speed. Decelleration returns it to its orgininal position, or even moves it forward! This could be done with 2 electromotor pulling on cables that move the chair. Would be sick to see

[@c4ts_yt894]

Bro made a DCS setup look like a Nintendo Gameboy

[@NairolfFlo]

0:57 what´s the App ur using here called?

[@michael.8440]

If you crash, you actually die.

[@beacon980]

Hardcore mode

[@vladimirkornev2668]

Yep, because owner of the plane has a gun 😅

[@beacon980]

@@vladimirkornev2668 he hold the guy at gun piont

[@wyatt9739]

This is so cool! I bet this ride is better than most amusement parks. Watch out for the pinch points on those cams. If they can move a whole person, they can definitely lop off a finger!

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

Amusement park rides are a little more safe. Not much more safe.

[@JoeParkerAndThePower]

Rudder pedals! Awesome. I love the way the pilots' head movements so quickly look natural as they bank

[@axelfpv1983]

Oh snap! You gone and done what's been in my head for decades. Just goes to show that you wanted it more and had the brainpan and tech skills to pull it off! Great work man!

[@ThomasGrillo]

Three things would greatly enhance this machine. Foot rests, and a 360 degree camera, and a true VR headset, to allow pilots to actually look around their aerial environment. As a kid, I often wondered how something like this could be done. You actually did, some 45 years later. LOL Thanks for the video. :)

[@Anonymous-s4q]

You could add something like a few numbers which tell you how fast you're going based off of the camera or GPS or whatever is in the plane to tell you how fast you're going, as well as probably adding something to slow down or speed up if there already isn't. You could have a microphone on board of the plane, and get it to transmit the sound to some headphones or something. Head tracking to look around would be cool too. You could also add flaps or something to help with maneuverability if possible or if you want, and a cockpit made of glass or clear, transparent / translucent plastic to protect the technology inside the plane and still allow the pilot in the chair to see outside of the plane.

[@FunTimeaBoysAndGirls]

Can I buy it 😂😂

[@Anonymous-s4q]

@@FunTimeaBoysAndGirls maybe

[@iloveyoutube23425]

One way to significantly improve this is to use principles in real full motion flight simulators. Real full motion simulators don't read the exact pitch and roll, but rather tilt with changes to those values to simulate the relevant g-forces (you can feel normal gs while even flying inverted, hence why artificial horizons exist to prevent disorientation). Nonetheless, very fun and well done project

[@royetter1777]

That was really cool - nicely done! Looking forward to seeing what comes next! I'm sure you have your own ideas... but the directions I'd want to expand into are adding rudder pedals (or at least a footrest) and adding "virtual gauges" to to FPV headset. If you had airspeed and an attitude indicator visible in the headset, I bet that would make control easier. Rudder pedals are certainly easier since I'm not sure how much control you have with overlaying telemetry data on the video feed.

[@OpsPt5]

Love it! I’d definitely like to try that out. However, may I make a couple of recommendations? I’d switch out the attitude signal for a directional g force signal. In full motion flight simulators they use gravity to help make the pilot feel like it is accelerating. Additionally, if the pilot is in a fully coordinated turn, the g force will be straight down and you won’t feel like you are leaning but rather straight and level. For accelerating the simulators tilt up pushing the pilot into the chair like accelerating and when decelerating it tilts forward. I’d also recommend adding rudder pedals to keep the legs from dangling and to give an additional method of control. And lastly, maybe add an fpv head tracker and camera to allow for the pilot to literally look left and right while flying. No matter, it still is awesome and I’d love to see this in action and more of your builds.

[@ReadyMadeRC]

Great use of the Stratosurfer, and great project! Tip for hand launching planes: Running rarely ever works. Give it a nice strong throw at about a 15 degree up angle while using about 3/4 throttle on the aircraft.

[@Adam-oq2lq]

Awesome! I'd also use velocity to control the speed of a large fan in front of the chair. That might be even more fun.

[@eamonia]

I theorized this back in the mid 90s when I was a kid. Watching this is like a dream come true. The technology didn't even exist yet.

[@zoe..d]

Even if you don't add rudder pedals to control, just a platform for people to put their feet on. I'm sure not being strapped in to the seat and it tipping forward without your eyes seeing what's happening where you sit, people will naturally compensate and will add to the workload of flying. Add a slot in stand for a foot base and even a 5 point harness will really seal the deal.

[@tchony22]

This will change the whole game. This insane I really really need one myself. Great job Michael!

[@Quefelsees]

I’ve been wondering for a while why no one has thought of something like this before because I think it’s such a cool idea. Love to see this! Great work! Improvement suggestion you didn’t ask for: maybe you could add some support structure for the feet of the pilot. It seems that you are being thrown around a little bit and this could give the pilot some added stability. You could also add rudders to that structure in the future. Keep up the good work!

[@nathan1sixteen]

Pretty sick idea. Seems like you need to add some OSD to the FOV setup so you know how fast you’re going and your height, and maybe add a pan/tilt setup so you can look around while flying (like you would if you were in an actual plane).

[@MrFloydBiggles]

I used to fly rc a lot in my 20s, back in the 80s. I always dreamed of something like this. Good job, man. It’s good that the technology is here.

[@Sickzero]

What a great project and it turned out to be amazing! But the most impressive part is that you did it in just over a month! So the next step is adding head tracking, I guess?

[@medicwine]

You can always tell who went to school first and then became a youtuber versus yt kids who learned engineering because the latter will show you EVERY SOLDER and every line of code but a real engineer is like "yea so i made this do this"

[@christsitos8641]

Love this idea! Really takes the hobby to the next level!

[@waiwaiyt]

this is so creative its crazy, pinnacle of engineering fr

[@Steezyaura]

Wow that’s so cool keep up the good 👍 work

[@meme2287]

Could you add some telemetry data to the VR display. Speed, attitude, and altitude. It would help avoid stalls. Also, somewhere to put your feet when in the chair, maybe connected to rudder controls if the plane has them? Finally, twin cameras on the plane for that stereoscopic feeling. Awesome project btw.

[@SkyDawg91]

Man... this is all I want. I've been dreaming of something like this since I got my Quest 2 and started flying DCS. Also, the comment about HOTAS being expensive whilst building your own HOTAS and motion sim rig via your own insanely expensive equipment is too funny.

[@SendtheDudes]

i have been asking someone to do this for almost 10 years, im glad to see it done

[@chriswilson746]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3y5aJmcet95sK8

[@sombojoe]

I think the addition of a platform or at least foot stirrups would be good

[@linmajon]

What a great idea and proof of concept.Of course this can be improved a lot with better chair, actual force-vectors etc. but still cool.

[@nicgurkweitz389]

It definitely needs a foot rest like what you see in a barber's chair. Very cool build! I think using this with a submersible would be really cool.

[@FREDNAJAH]

Best RC setup ever.

[@altbob]

Wow, this is really cool. What it seems to be missing is a way to track head movement with the PFV camera, so you can look down at the ground and over the side to see the horizon. And of course, rudder pedals for better control over the plane. With these two improvements, the immersion would only be limited by camera resolution and bandwidth.

[@Walt1119]

AWESOME! I love the CHAIR!! This would take the fpv experience so much further, very cool!! Thanks for sharing with us!!

[@MarcStollmeyer]

Add some base shakers to recreate vibration! Also an Airspeed indicator would be nice. The reason it only wants to turn right is because you have the onboard GoPro on the right wing, offsetting the CG.

[@tonntoh8829]

Awesome! Amazing hard working and skills. I would suggest some chair vibration not a great improvement but maybe worth the effort. Thanks for sharing! Keep flying, beyond the sky its limitless.

[@nonsquid]

Wow! If you could add pan and tilt of the pilot's head relative to the headrest to the plane and move the camera accordingly, this would make this an even better immersive experience.

[@moochasas]

What an awesome successful project..... I do think it needs a footrest to feel the total immersion and that may help with the seasickness feeling...

[@J4nkyFPV]

Loved this at Flite Fest! Would really like a detailed build video!!

[@jonatanboy]

You should Connect it to some headgear that you could wear on a rollercoaster, so that people who lack the mobility to access rollercoasters, can have someone else ride it for them. Would also make for a really wholesome video

[@alirahman4762]

Finally!!!! Someone made my imagination in real. Actually my imagination was to put that seat in gimbal which gives full 360° in all three axis. Then enjoy fighter aerobatics. Still waiting to see someone make it. Go Michael!

[@allengentz7572]

What a great concept could be used to instruct full size fliers, please keep up development and give us more details

[@N1ghtR1der666]

step 2 wider fov camera, step 3 add a second camera for stereoscopic vision and pump it through a vr headset , step 3 two 360 cams for steroscopic 4DOF viewing (perhaps radios need to get a little better for this one). Also as a side note is you look how large simulators simulate acceleration you will see they breifly move in the opposite direction to simulate that G vector

[@cliffcampbell8827]

That build is incredible and I think I see 2 ways you can improve on your design. #1 foot pedals for rudder controlling (or at least foot rests that don't collide with the base structure) and #2 have the camera on a gimbal so if you turn your head to the right, the camera in the cockpit turns to the right. If you look up, the camera tilts up and so on and so forth. I suggest actually making a cockpit with a canopy to protect the camera and other fragile internals.

[@edster9221]

Excellent work sir, and keep up the cool works. I have flown an Align E900 (2 mtr rotor span heli) in FPV mode, & that is something else! Had partially built a "cockpit" myself some time ago, but didn't get it fully operational.

[@danicb9904]

I just came across this video in YT and completly blew my mind!!!!! What an idea and performance!!!! If you could make some videos explaining more detailed about the set up for shure will be the fu... best videos in the history. Congrats from an aerospace engineer!

[@chriswilson746]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3y5aJmcet95sK8

[@robertcarveth8722]

Congrats on your unique development of radio control to that of a pilot flying it!. All other suggestions given are the way to develop it further are pretty well covered ..priority to put he pilot in the seat of the a/c is necessary with ability to glance out along the wings to help orientation of the pilot. Vibration fed into chair will help. I did a little variant of this once when I put my Cassutt 111M in amongst a group of country located radio control flyers. They all went to ther deck instantly. They talked about the event for years..All I can say is "I couldn't resist the temptation"!

[@fabs_knlx]

Awesome project Michael You really only need one more thing to be really immersive with it. Give the Chair a footrest, otherwise you can still feel the actual gravitational direction, which might cause nausea.

[@bobbyduke777]

Speed and altitude on screen, and rudder foot peddles. Baby steps brother, great job.

[@hogey74]

Holy crap. I've thought about this for years and you're actually doing it!

[@matthewwoodard3117]

I’ve been flying Hotas quadcopters for a while. I am starting to like it more than my radiomaster. This is an awesome setup!

[@Paramart]

The thing with "full motion simulators" is that they are actually "acceleration simulators". They try to mimic the acceleration you would feel inside a plane, like when you are increasing speed they tilt nose up making it feel like you are being pressed back in your seat.

[@renecouture3719]

Awesome project, awesome event, looks like a good time!

[@pattate.]

why not adding motors to the fpv cam so that it follows the movement of the head ?

[@Kashiff_o]

Head tracking next !!!! Good stuff !

[@immortdekai8267]

i love how the chair looks like the captain chair on the enterprise, Bloody Cool!!!!

[@Patriottoo2]

Monumental concept and construction... and, proof of concept. Too much fun!

[@TibiKawo]

i admire your work so much, you’re a true inspiration!

[@vladimir_82rus90]

I think it's a great project. I think that the chair needs to add pedals for control and slightly increase the rotation speed.

[@leokimvideo]

New Title, Building a Real Life Death Simulator

[@jpsalis]

using accelerometer data from a car or boat would be really cool, like accelerating causes the chair to move backwards, steering left causes the chair to move right. And if you were using angle data for this project, maybe it would be worth trying accelerometer data instead

[@MCsCreations]

Brilliant work, Michael!!! Really well done! 😃 That looks fun as heck! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@colorlesstiger7963]

You should add one of those fpv gimbals that move with your head so when you turn your head the fpv camera turns.

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

Looks like the main thing it needs, is a foot rest, and maybe rudder pedals. Any plans on releasing the designs for the control interface, or making it available commercially?

[@beautifulsmall]

put the chair in a hoop so it can be inverted. thats a Colin Furze level video. Nice work . 35 days, impressive , but dedication to a project and focus can yeald great results.