Piranha Flight Simulator Training System

Landing at “El Dorado” Airport in Bogota, Colombia

Oscar Jr. — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 21:45:12 +0000

A flight from Cartagena to Bogota Colombia, with a landing at “El Dorado” airport:

New ceiling is installed in the flight simulator

Oscar Jr. — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:19:54 +0000

Today I finished installing a new ceiling on the Flight Simulator Cockpit. The new ceiling is made out of sections of poster foam board. The material was cut and installed to create a concave appearance. The plates were attached using hot glue and double sided tape.

The flight simulator floor is painted a metallic color

Oscar Jr. — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:05:28 +0000

Las week I finished painting the floor of the flight simulator a silver metallic color. I painted both the pilot and co-pilot areas and also the walls behind the pedals. It looks really good.

Article published on A&E – Aeronautical and Space Magazine

Oscar Jr. — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:57:43 +0000

An article about the Piranha Flight Simulator was published on the July-August 2011 edition of the A&E – Aeronautical and Space Magazine from Peru (A&E Revista Aeronáutica y Espacial). The article appears on page 12 and is titled: The “Piranha” Flight Simulator built at home (El Simulador de vuelo “Piraña” hecho en casa).

Here is the link to the magazine: http://www.incaland.com/pirana/documents/Revista_A_y_E_de_la_AOFAP.pdf

Flight from Santiago de Chile to Lima, Peru

Oscar Jr. — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:33:01 +0000

These three videos show a flight made on the simulator from Santiago de Chile to Lima, Peru.

Over the Pacific after taking of Santiago de Chile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcCiR4Xft6w
Descending for landing at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UEDMQWgHg0
Approaching Jorge Chavez International Airport: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdyuDY6J_R0
Landing at Jorge Chavez International Airport: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD7_b8AIlyw

The Flight Simulator Survives Basement Flooding

Oscar Jr. — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:08:01 +0000

This past Saturday April 16, 2011 we experienced heavy rain in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The sump pump in my basement broke and parts of the basement were flooded. Luckily last year I installed a carpet in front of the structure of the flight simulator. The carpet helped absorb most of the water.

Microsoft Flight Simulator X Tweaks and Performance Improvements

Oscar Jr. — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:08:48 +0000

I am in the process of changing the configuration of my Flight Simulator Cockpit in order to have one computer output the complete external view. One computer will be handling 5 monitors for the external front and side views and one extra monitor will display the GPS image in two monitors connected to the video port using a “Y” splitter”.

The 5 monitors for the external view are connected to 2 Matrox TripleHead2Go units. Each of these units are connected to the 2 video ports of an Nvidia 9800 GTX+. The monitors for the GPS units are connected to one of the video ports of a secondary Nvidia 9400 PCI base video card.

In order to make Microsoft Flight Simulator work in this configuration I had to “upgrade” the main system from “Windows Vista” to “Windows XP Professional” mainly because “Windows XP” supports video “Span” mode with Nvidia video card and “Windows Vista” and “Windows 7″ do not.

I had to calibrate the system to improve the frame rate. I found many website with excellent tips. Many of these tips indicate how to change configuration settings within the software and how to modify the FSX.CFG file. Always remember to make a backup of this file before making any changes.

Here is a list of web sites that deal with improving the performance of Microsoft Flight Simulator X:

FSX Performance Tips and Tweaks - http://flyawaysimulation.com/article3806.html

FSX Tweak Collection - http://ukpilots.aceboard.com/300931-5472-168-0-Tweak-Collection.htm

Flight Simulator X: Performance Tweaks - http://www.fsstation.com/articles/flight-simulator-x-performance-tweaks.html

An HD video of the Piranha Flight Simulator System

Oscar Jr. — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:14:12 +0000

Here is an HD video of the Flight Simulator System I made yesterday. The video is taken from the pilot’s perspective. My dad is flying the plane in the co-pilot’s seat.

The list of components has been updated

Oscar Jr. — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:58:08 +0000

Today I updated the list of components. I still need to add the complete list of components I used to build the overhead panel. Go here to view the list: http://www.incaland.com/pirana/?page_id=59

“Piranha” Flying the “Piranha Flight Simulator System”

Oscar Jr. — Mon, 31 May 2010 01:47:39 +0000

I took these pictures today of my dad flying the simulator. After a round of pictures we decided to take a few more of him flying the simulator using the helmet and flying jacket he used to wear when he flew fighter airplanes for the Peruvian Air force.