It’s 4:30pm on a nice autumn day, the sun stands deep in the west of Vienna, and during it’s decent the horizon’s color slowly changes to red. In the next minutes we will get a wonderful sunset here in Vienna. Unfortunately my copilot and I have no time to relax and join the sunset, because we are currently sitting in a Boeing 737-800 and our lineup at the runway 29 in Vienna Schwechat was a few minutes ago. A few seconds ago, Schwechat tower has given us the clearance for takeoff with the following impressive words: “OE-AKS, cleared for takeoff on runway 29”.

We have successfully completed our prestart checklists, my left hand holds the yoke of the Boeing 737-800, and my right hand is on the throttle lever, which I move very carefully forward. After both engines have established, I release the parking brake, and activate the auto-throttle, which takes the control and management of both engines. A few seconds after our acceleration, my copilot calls out “80 knots” to inform me that both speed indicators are showing the same speed. A few seconds after, my cocpilot calls-out “V1” and I take my right hand away from the throttle lever – now there is no return for us – we have to start whatever event occurs!

After a few seconds, my copilot calls-out “VR” and I rotate the nose of the Boeing for around 3° per seconds after we have reached an angle of climb of around 15°. After our climb angle is positive, my copilot retracts the landing gear, and I activate the auto-pilot, which flies us with the SID “SITNI 4C”, which we have programmed earlier on the FMC, through the west out of the airport Vienna. But then, a few seconds before we reach our next waypoint, the unavoidable occurs, for which we had danger till the takeoff in Vienna: the cockpit door opens, and someone says to us: “Honey, dinner is ready, will you now come!?”

You have though that this story occurred in a real Boeing 737-800? You are completely wrong – welcome to Flightdeck Breitenlee, a Boeing 737-800 flight simulator in Vienna! The Flightdeck Breitenlee is a home-build Boeing 737-800 flight simulator, planned, builded and programmed by Klaus Aschenbrenner, which is now rented for your flight experiences. Currently the Flightdeck Breitenlee is driven by 5 high-end computers, and in the final step the flight simulator will have around 9 – 10 computers working in a network!

Who hasn’t dreamed as a child, to fly a big airliner such as a Boeing or an Airbus around the world? But unfortunately this child dream doesn’t come alive for some of us. On the other hand, till 9/11 you had the chance to walk into the cockpit during a flight and join the crew on the so-called “Jump seat” and watch their work in the air. But after 9/11 there is now no chance to get into the cockpit anymore… The only left option is to visit a flight simulator, like the A320 flight simulator at the Vienna Aviation Campus hosted by Lufthansa Flight Training. But a whole flight hour costs here around € 800 – of course without any flight instructor! So it’s not a real alternative…

The Flightdeck Breitenlee provides you for a fair price an almost high realistic simulated Boeing 737-800 flight simulator, based on the Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX. The whole building time of the flight simulator took around 2 years, where the planning and the research already started in the beginnings of the year 2006. Currently the Flightdeck Breitenlee offers you the following systems for your VFR/IFR flights:

• The FMC (Flight Management Computer) simulates the whole pages of a Smiths CDU and enables you a complete flight planning with the creation of the necessary flight routes.
• The MCP (Mode Control Panel) includes the auto-pilot and simulates the following modes:
  • LNAV (in combination with the FMC)^
  • VNAV (in combination with the FMC)
  • HDG SEL
  • LVL CHG
  • VOR LOC
  • APP
  • ALT HOLD
  • V/S
  • SPEED
  • N1
• Through the EFIS you can control the ND display. The following modes are supported:
  • APP
  • VOR
  • MAP
  • PLAN
• The motorized (yes, the throttle levers are moving during auto-throttle mode!) throttle quadrant includes:
  • 2 motorized throttle levers
  • Parking brake
  • Speed-Brake
  • Flaps-Lever
• The MIP (Main Instrument Panel) includes:
  • 3 LCD monitors, which represents the whole glass-cockpit of the Boeing 737-800
  • All annunicators are fully simulated
  • Gear-Lever
  • Flaps-Gauge
  • Realistic Auto-Break System (RTO, 1, 2, 3, MAX)
• The center pedestal includes
  • 2x NAV Panel
  • 2x COM Panel
  • 2x ADF Panel
  • 2x Mic Selectors
  • Weather radar
  • TCAS Transponder
  • 1x SELCAL
  • Cargo Fire Panel
• The Instructor Station concluces the Flightdeck Breitenlee, with which all possible failures and errors can be introduced into the ongoing flight. You can also control the behavior of the weather within a few seconds. Do you wanted to do a CAT III landing in Vienna with fog and heavy crosswind on Runway 11? For the simulator it’s not a problem – and for you?

For further information about the Flightdeck Breitenlee you can directly contact Klaus Aschenbrenner, where you can also arrange the boarding for your first Boeing 737-800 flight on the pilot’s seat!

Klaus Aschenbrenner
Pichlgasse 16/6
A-1220 Wien
http://flightdeck.csharp.at
Klaus.Aschenbrenner@csharp.at
+43 676 833 04 341

The center pedestal

The center pedestal

The throttle quadrant

The EICAS

The PFD and ND

COM-, NAV- and ADF panels

The keypad of the CDU

Auto Break and Flaps Panel

The MCP

As you might already know from my previous blog postings, I’m currently building a fully-sized Boeing 737-800 flight simulator based on Microsoft Flight Simulator X. Please refer to this blog category for more information and pictures. The feedback along the several past months about this eciting project was very great and constructive:

• “Klaus, you are just insane!”
• “Keep going”
• “Nice idea, when can I come flying?”
• “Just great, when you arrange the next flying evening – I’m bringing the beer :-)”
• “It can’t be described with words – it’s just fabulous”
• “Can you bring your flight simulator to my next customer event? I think they will like it…”

As you can see from this feedback, I think I’m on the right direction with this amazing project. But when I looked at this feedback, I was thinking a lot of time about the last statement: “Can you bring your flight simulator to my next customer event? I think they will like it…”. The (short) outcome of the thinking process is easy – with the current configuration and the big size of the flight simulator, I’m not able to move it out of the room – so there’s no chance to move it out of my house…

But, there was more! The other outcome of my thinking process leaded me to the following idea: I’m currently building a 2nd “mobile” version of the flight simulator which can be taken from one place to other places very easy, because it is based on several distinct modules, which can be disassembled very easily. This 2nd version of my flight simulator just consists and simulates the pilot side of the Boeing 737-800, and NOT the co-pilot side, which is far enough for this “simplified” version. With this version, which will be available within the next 1 – 2 months (it mainly depends on my workload in my real-life), I’m then able to “fly” from event to event – AND also to YOUR events!

So if you think that this flight simulator will be an attractive/amazing option for YOUR event, just drop me line at Klaus.Aschenbrenner@csharp.at, and I will get back to you to discuss further details, how we can bring your event to a new dimension through flight simulation technology :-)

-Klaus

Here are some impressions of my first maiden flight in my own Boeing 737-800 flight simulator. I’m currently running the whole Project Magenta software suite for the captain side consisting of the MCP, the PFD, the ND, the EICAS, and the FMC. As a computer hardware foundation I’m using 4 PCs dedicated to the following roles:

• PC #1: Run’s the flight simulator with FSUIPC
• PC #2: Run’s the Glass Cockpit consisting of PFD and ND, and the MCP software
• PC #3: Runs’ the lower and upper EICAS software
• PC #4: Run’s the FMC software

During the maiden flight with this flight configuration was situated around the area of Vienna – LOWW. I departured at RW 29 heading to the west of Vienna.

As you can see I’m the auto pilot has taken me to 9000ft, with a cruising speed of 300kt with the heading 295. (Yes, I know there’s the speed restriction of 250kt under 10.000ft, but I’m in a simuator :-)). Here you can see the programmed FMC for the SITN2X SID from RW 29 in LOWW (but only for demonstration purposes, because I didn’t activated the programmed route)

After crossing Tulln (LOXT), I was on course towards Langenlois (LOAG) where I returned back home on course 114 heading to RW 11 in LOWW.

As you can see the auto pilot (in a single channel approach) is establishing the plane on the glideslope and localizer of RW 11. We are 6,5 miles away from the touchdown point at around 2600ft at 210kt.

We are cleared to land :-)

Last corrections are done by the auto pilot…

Everything is fine.

Stay tuned :-)

-Klaus

You can’t build the entire home cockpit from scratch without any partners in the hardware and software industry. Let’s have a first look on the hardware partners I’m working with.

• OpenCockpits
• Conrad Electronics
• Simparts.de

OpenCockpits
You can find them at http://www.opencockpits.com. What they are offering you is just amazing: they have build hardware cards, which interact with external hardware switches. Their hardware cards are connected through a USB connection to the computer, where the software is running which is interacting with the hardware and the flight simulator software. Further more they also sell panels on which you can mount the hardware switches. The panels are as real as possible and very cheap and a very, very good starting point for building home cockpits. I have currently running the following hardware cards from Open Cockpits:

• Master Card
• USB Expansion Card
• USB Keys Card
• USB Servo Motor Card

Conrad Electronics
Just go to http://www.conrad.at and you will find a lot of switches, LEDs etc. that you will need for building your home cockpit. As you will see in the next weblog posts, you can build around 80% of your home cockpit with hardware switches from Conrad Electronics. But don’t tell them what you are doing with the bought hardware, they look a little bit crazy, when you tell them that you are building a Boeing 737-800 flight simulator with their hardware *gggg*

Simparts.de
I very interesting supplier I found in the last weeks. If you need hardware that you can’t find at Conrad Electronics, just try http://www.simparts.de. They have for example a dual encoder with a push button, which you need for the EFIS (EFIS: Electrical Flight Information System).

Here are the software partners I’m working with:

• Project Magenta
• Microsoft

Project Magenta
They (http://www.projectmagenta.com) are providing you the whole system logic for your home cockpit in the needed deep. The “problem” with Microsoft Flight Simulator X is, that you can access the internal functionality very easily from the outside world, but some functionalities are not completed 100%. And this is the point where Project Magenta starts. They provide you every hardware circuit and hardware logic which is available on an real airliner in software. So you can attach your hardware switches to their system logic and their system logic is working against Flight Simulator X. When you for example are pressing a button on the overhead panel, Flight Simulator X just changes the state of the associated variable inside it’s own software. But with Project Magenta they are also checking other variables and other environmental requirements regarding the official Boeing operation manuals. Furthermore Project Magenta provides you external software visualizations for the whole glass cockpit of the Boeing and Airbus fleet – very amazing.

Microsoft
I’m using the Microsoft Flight Simulator X currently on Windows Vista as the flight simulation system. Furthermore I use the .NET framework to program my hardware switches against the Project Magenta software. This means the following: I’m changing a real hardware switch => my programmed software obtains this hardware event => my programmed software changes a variable inside Project Magenta => Project Magenta provides it’s own simulation logic and finally changes the correct variable inside Flight Simulator X. In the next weblog post we will have a more detailed look on this architecture I have chosen.

-Klaus

Building a Boeing 737-800 is one of the most challenging activities I’ve done in my whole life. If you want to be successful, you need to know a lot in the following areas (or do several months of internet research as in my case):

• Construction engineering
• Electricals
• Software programming (that’s my main area)
• Flight experience on a Boeing 737-800 – the most complicated point ;-)

Let’s have a look on each of these topics.

Construction engineering
When we speak about building a full scale flight simulator, we are talking about building the whole (!) cockpit shell in REAL dimensions. In my case I have a dedicated room in the basement of my house (which we build in the year 2007…), which has enough room for a whole cockpit shell. The main structure of my MIP (main instrument panel) currently consits of MDF panels (MDF is the english word for “Spannholzplatten” in german :-)). Now you would ask: and from where I get the real dimensions of the cockpit shell? Answer: internet research!

The big problem here is, that you can’t search to site xyz, and read everything about building cockpit shells. You need to visit several different sites, and combine their concepts to your final solution, which works best for you. There is no complete solution which fits for everyone – unfortunately. But that’s the great aspect of doing such things: reseraching, making prototypes, checking them against requirements and refine them, until you have found the ultimate solution.

Electricals
Another very important thing about building flight simulation cockpits is hardware engineering. You are working directly with the bits & bytes of your hardware switches instead of using great APIs (application programming interfaces) around these “input types”. In my case it took me several weeks, until I was able to use a hardware switch (bought at the electrical shop Conrad) to move up and down the gear – but it’s amazing when you have done it the correct way. In subsequent weblog posts I’ll look at the different hardware switches you will need at least to build a fully functional cockpit. You also need to know something about the inner workings of electronics and your used hardware switches, because when you have problems, you can’t just attach a debugger and debug the problem. Here you are working with wires and voltage!

Software programming
As soon as you have build your hardware interface, you have to program the whole thing to interact with the real flight simulation software – in my case with Microsoft Flight Simulator X. I have a long history with Microsoft technologies and especially with the .NET framework, therefore I’ve build a managed interface wrapper assembly around my hardware switches, with which I can interact with the switches and output controls (like LEDs) in an event driven approach. If you do not know something about software programming, don’t try to build a home cockpit.

Flight experience on a Boeing 737-800
That’s the most complicated part to achieve in real world, and after 9/11 it’s very hard (or let’s say: impossible!) to get in any cockpit during the flight :-(. You have only 2 options here:

• Research through the internet: there are great Boeing operation manuals available for download, but they are just describing each switch in the cockpit. They don’t tell you the interdependencies between the switches and how one switch will affect another one in the cockpit.
• Try to find a friend (or a person who will be your new friend) who is flying a Boeing 737-800. I’m currently going for this way, and talking to any pilot I can see when I’m on my business trips. Unfortunately our local airline (Austrian Airlines) only flies A-319 & A-320 within Europe (short haul distances) and B-767 & B-777 to US, Australia, China (long haul distances) etc. So currently I have no access to a person who flies the 737-800.

In the next weblog post I’ll describe the several hardware and software partners I’m working togehter to build this amazing project.

-Klaus

As you already might know, I’ve found a new hobby in the last few years – I’m currently building a fully functional fixed-based Boeing 737-800 flight simulator. I’ve started this project around January 2006 with a very, very long research phase (around 18 months). During the christmas holidays of 2008 I decided to put this amazing project into reality and started building the main structure of my flight simulator and several hardware interfaces that are working together with Microsoft Flight Simulator X. Here you will see some impressions of the current status. In the next ongoing weblog posts I will dive into the technical details of my flight simulator, and I will show you how things are done and implemented.

Figure 1: The MIP (main instrument panel) of the Boeing 737-800 flight simulator in >>>REAL<<< dimensions.

Figure 2: The pilot’s side of the MIP. The left window frame is the PFD (primary flight display), where the window right window frame next to the PFD is the ND (navigational display).

Figure 3: The auto-break/flaps panel.

Figure 4: The upper part of the landing gear.

Figure 5: The lower part of the landing gear.

Figure 6: The inner workings of the MCP (Mode Control Panel), aka Auto-Pilot. It took me around 3 months to build and program it.

Figure 7: Parts of the MCP from the front.

Stay tuned for further more detailed and technical information :-)

-Klaus