How far would you go for realism? The world of flight simulation has come a long way over the past 3 decades of X-Plane. Aircraft cockpits have constantly evolved with new metrology and texturing tools to provide some of the premier virtual experiences we have today! But to flight-simmers, there is nothing that beats having the real cockpit in front of you. We all have that one aircraft we are phenomenologically attached to. It could be the feel of a switch of a 737, the sound of an A320 PTU pulsing through the cabin, the smell of coffee-stained seats of an MD-11, or the leathered touch of a C172 glareshield.
Pilots around the world spare no expense in bringing that experience into their offices, garages or living rooms (provided their significant other can tolerate the sunk cost). To build one’s own cockpit is a monumental effort, often done with a sharp engineering or creative mind, and the close collaboration of like-minded folk.
And somewhere in a tiny unit in San Jose, CA… a group of simmers are racing against the clock to build their own sim-cockpit, in time for WorldFlight 2025. However, there’s one catch… There are no off-the-shelf components specifically tailored for simulator use available to help them. They will have to build their 747-200 FROM SCRATCH!
1. Meet the “Jurassic Jets Team”
“I’m Putting Together a Team…”
The team will be flying as NWA179 this year
The Jurassic Jets Team comprises like-minded avgeeks who have come together to take on the challenge of building the 747. Justin, Kyle, Jason and Matt, and a few other individuals that many community members may already be familiar with…
Kyle: Our team is mostly just the people who were crazy enough to believe in this project. Our backgrounds range in construction, engineering and aviation. Beyond that we have several people who live further from the sim and help remotely or fly in for worldflight. The sim is based in San Jose, CA, just a few minutes down the road from SJC. The team is mostly based across California with a few of us who live in Seattle and commute to the sim regularly to work on it.
About Justin (Jsnapp1982) – The Captain
Chances are, if you are on Twitch and you are streaming an aircraft with more than 2 engines and built in the 20th Century, you are likely to find Justin! Some users may also be familiar with Justin as the author of the popular commercial third-party plugin – Shared Flight. With the objective of bringing true cockpit CRM to everyone, Shared Flight provides users with a seamless shared-cockpit experience. Pilots can authentically experience the true workload and co-operation needed to operate aircraft such as the 747, Concorde and other such quirky aircraft of their time.
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