Long Term Captain Gain | A320 Home Cockpit: Cost, Options, and How I Funded Mine 

Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment.

It's never too early to start planning. It took me more than 25 years to get to a full-size airliner cockpit but for some reasons I feel like it will be faster for you!

im in the same situation as you are you planning on building it on your own or buying it build and also do you think that the thrustmaster airbus stuff is worth it?

your interests will change 5 times over before you turn 15

@@Fenderak can i ask why?

​@Fenderak not always true. At the age 5 I wanted to be a pilot, I've been a professional pilot since the age of 18 and am in my 50s now and still love it.

Exactly! Just one more thing... ru-vid.com/group/PLJ1TYn01NBIRh-XPdG43QPt36DGnWbDrf

@@captaintango Hahaha! Oh my God, brilliant. 😅

Thanks for your comment. I couldn't agree more!

Thanks for your kind words. Much appreciated!

I had been debating whether to make this video or not, so thanks for your comment. I have some experience building parts myself (for an SR-22 cockpit) and it is definitely a lot of fun, but also takes a lot of time. I hope to have some flying videos out in the next few weeks. I already have more than 1,000 hours in the sim (it just took me a long time to get to making some of the recent videos) and I am so glad I decided to build it. Good luck with your project!

@@captaintango Thank you for putting the effort into making the video. Be great to see more. 1,000 hours! It's a huge investment of time and or money to build a cockpit, so great you are using it a lot. Are you happy with the choice to go with Airbus? Do you miss flying other aircraft? Looking for reassurance that all the effort and time is worth it 😊

I am indeed really happy with my Airbus cockpit. One of my goals was to still be able to use my previous setup, which is much more flexible. So I can still fly anything from a GA plane to the 777 on that sim. Although I have to admit it is mostly collecting dust... So far it has been hard for me to resist flying the "big one".

@@captaintango Great to hear. I am sure I will feel the same, but good to know the enthusiasm for a cockpit doesn't fade with time. Thanks again for sharing your story and experiences.

@@mantoga5516 I wanted to go the diy route, but trying to source the parts is seeming to be very difficult for me (How do you even find non OEM parts like call buttons?). I considered buying real panels, because they are about $400 a panel, excluding shipping which would be about $100 from USA to Australia, could probably buy multiple panels at a time and get postage deals if same seller but then comes the process of having to rewire the whole panels to work with arduinos and etc. The last option was the prebuilt sim panels from EU companies, but the EU to AUD is horrendous so it's really out of the question for me.

I'm glad you found the video useful.

One thing to keep in mind when building an airliner cockpit is that the software you use for the plane (flight model, systems, displays, etc.) is usually more closely coupled with the hardware than the flight simulator, the later being mostly used for visuals. The software typically runs outside of the sim (so that it can be distributed over networked computers) and communicates with the simulator over simconnect and/or FSUIPC, which have been very stable interfaces over the years. This doesn't guarantee that the next flight sim software will be supported but it makes it easier.

Thank you!

Glad you liked it!

Thanks for the note. What's that saying again? A mile of road takes you a mile away, a mile of runway takes you anywhere?

I hear you. Personally I would use the word "passion" instead of "madness", but maybe that's exactly how a "mad" person would avoid facing reality. Anyway, thanks for your comment and welcome back to RU-vid! Your sim is very impressive.

Understood. I'm sure nothing beats flying a real aircraft.

Thanks

That's pretty much where we all start, so who knows where that will lead you?

@@captaintango thanks -- looking forward to the journey, and looking forward to watching more videos from you!

Thanks. I'll try to post a video today from our last positioning flight before WorldFlight 2023. We did practice some formation flying on our way down to Sydney, which is always a lot of fun in the A320.

@@captaintango looking forward to it!

Good question. I was able to keep my previous (much smaller) cockpit. So I can fly anything from small GA airplanes to B777 on that one. Although, to be honest, I barely use it once a week. It's hard to compete with the A320 cockpit...

Believe me, I know the feeling. This has been a long journey.

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.

You are right, I should have been more specific. The price range I gave in the video is for using simulator parts. You can certainly bring the price down substantially when taking the "Do It Yourself" approach (and some key components such as the FCU and MCDU have now entered the market at a more affordable price). There is a very impressive build in France where the owner gave himself a budget of no more than 5 Euros per day. He now has a fully enclosed A320 cockpit with a lot of impressive details. Just keep in mind that he has been building it for more than 10 years. Time is money indeed.

I use three 75" TVs. I have a friend using 85" TVs and that would indeed push the bezels a little further away from the center.

Thanks. I am primarily still using P3D.

Watch the vid fully and youll know.

You can find a list of parts and their suppliers here: www.flightpathsimulation.club/a320-parts-list/

Yes, you can certainly buy separate modules, for example the FCU, the MCDUs, radio panels, etc. Just note that most modules (including the ones I just mentioned) can be connected directly to your PC via USB, but others require to be connected to another panel which serves as an "aggregator" and has the USB (and power) connectivity. For example the overhead and most of the pedestal are designed like that. So, using your specific examples, the auto-pilot is part of the FCU, which is its own separate device. On the other hand, the gear handle needs to be connected to the auto-break panel. Ultimately it is best to verify with the vendor which parts would be required for a specific subset of the cockpit instruments (in terms of USB connectivity, but also power distribution and backlighting, if desired).

Thank you

@@captaintango what for thank you ????

The cockpit uses three computers, each with one video card, driving three or four screens. You can find more details at www.flightpathsimulation.club/blog/a320-cockpit/

There are quite a few options for a 737 sim. Here are some links (in no particular order): flightdecksolutions.com/our-fleet/B737NG www.opencockpits.com/catalog/complete-b737-cockpit-p-583.html?language=en www.fsc.it/default.aspx sismo-soluciones.com/index.php?id_category=13&controller=category flypfc.com/shop/training-systems/fixed-wing-simulators/jet-cockpit-systems/fds-b737ng/ simonsolution.eu/product/fully-functional-737-max-cockpit-replica/ pacificsimulators.com/boeing-simulators/ Good luck with your project! If you have additional questions I would suggest using the Contact Us form on our website: www.flightpathsimulation.club/contact-us/

I would guess around 1,500 to 1,800 Watts. I have the main computer and the three large TVs on a dedicated 110V 20A circuit. Everything else is on a 110V 15A circuit.

Thank you very much 🙏🙏@@captaintango

I am not a real world pilot. I wish I could though.

Around $70k.

I found this information helpful. No need to be a troll bro

He is not wrong though

That's subjective. To me, a 70k BMW is an endless money pit. This A320 Sim is not cheap, but for people like us who have the passion for FlightSim, 70k in a full-size functional cockpit is not crazy expensive.

@@pablo2097 Yes, expensive cars to impress neighbours are endless money pits, I know😉

To each their own I guess.

Thanks for your comments and questions. I'd be happy to share my experience. I'll give some brief answers below but if you want more details, please feel free to reach out via the Contact Us form on our website: www.flightpathsimulation.club/contact-us/ I do live in the US (Texas) and all cockpit parts came from Europe. There is no import tax for this type of equipment. Air freight is really expensive so I had everything delivered via ocean freight which is a little bit cheaper. You do have to pay for customs clearance, but if you stay on top of things you can limit the fees to around $500. I will have to check on the exact shipping costs though. The company I used in in Germany and doesn't have representation in the US but they have customers all over the world. They have been very responsive any time I had a question or issue. You have to keep in mind the time zone difference but it almost works better that way for me as I would send my questions at the end of the day and get answers by the time I woke up the next day. Also there is no real "sales rep" so you deal directly with the technical people.

And does LNAV and VNAV work

And how much it costs bro

Follow your dream!

Yes LNAV and VNAV both work.

The cost will vary based on the options you pick but I paid around $70k for my setup. I started saving for it almost 10 years ago.

Fair enough. It sure has been a lot of fun so far, especially when flying with a first officer.

Someone could, just not me.