What created your passion for wanting to be a pilot and when did it start?

It all started when I went on my first flight in a plane when I was about ten years old. It was a DC-9 with TAA (Trans Australian Airlines) and I was travelling from Sydney to Brisbane to visit my grandparents, and from that day on I was hooked.

I learned to fly as soon as I turned sixteen, which was twelve months before I could legally drive a car! A little while later, I flew my parents from Sydney to Hobart in Tasmania. This was in a twin engined Piper Seminole. I was aged sixteen years and nine months when I did this and when we arrived at Hobart, I was (because of my age) still not allowed to drive the hire car!

At wood working class at school, I built a Cessna 152 simulator panel. This was with a fully working horizon indicator that was linked to the control columns. Nothing else worked, but I was extremely proud of it. Because of my love of aviation, I was forever getting into trouble in class, mainly because I spent most of my time reading aviation magazines. As you can see, I was completely hooked back then, and, quite a few years later, I am still just as hooked! Currently I own a real Beechcraft Baron B58 that I fly for my business all over Australia.

When did you decide to build your own home simulator?

Since day one, I have always had a passion for aircraft simulators. I love the interaction the user has with the computer and how it (the computer) manages to trick your senses into believing that you are actually flying for real. Fifteen years ago I sold an earlier aircraft I owned (a Beech Duke), so as to fund certain business projects, and because of this sale I felt lost, as I didn't have an aircraft to fly.

Having nothing to fly was not something I was used to, so I thought about building my very own simulator. At about the same time, Aerowinx PS1 747-400 was in testing and due to be released, so I starting planning the construction to work around this software.

The planning phase for the simulator was just over a year, and went down to the finest detail. The simulator I had planned was always going to have motion and because of this feature everything had to be of a certain strength so as to withstand the abuse caused by the motion of the simulator.

How long have you been running your home built simulator?

The simulator was originally started way back in 1998 and is still an on-going project.

Was it originally intended for public flight training?

My simulator was never intended for public flight training, but we do however offer rides in the simulator which are great fun and help with donations to the Royal Flying Doctors of Australia.

Is the flight simulator FAA certified?

No, it is not certified at all and never will be. Once I certify it and start offering it as a commercial operation, it is no longer a hobby but a job. I already have a job that pays me well.

What software do you use to run the simulator?

The main software on the simulator is currently PS1 747-400 from Aerowinx. Behind that are forty-two programs running on fourteen computers. Rather than using high powered computers for these tasks, I use many low powered computers to do them as the tasks are relatively simple. For example each CDU has its own computer. We also run utility computers that feed weather, audio, motion and EPIC controllers. Some of the computers in my current setup are still running Windows 98 as PS1 was a DOS based program.

Over the years we have collected many spare computers that are pre-configured for easy swap out replacement if needed. We also run a few high end computers for feeding the visual generation software, which is currently FS2004. This is run through a Matrox card and to three projectors giving us a real one hundred and sixty degree wrap-around visual system. As we are a full motion simulator this visual system and its projectors all have to move with the simulator and withstand the abuse associated with this.

What advice would you give people wanting to create their own Boeing 747-400 in their home?

Unlike when I started fifteen years ago, you can now buy a lot of the equipment needed, aftermarket. When I began building my simulator I had to be creative and build most of the things I needed. I was however lucky to buy the following items which would have been impossible to make by hand: control columns, rudder pedals, seats, steering tillers, throttles, flaps and spoiler assemblies from an old TWA 747-100 classic which was being converted to look like a 400.

The rest of the cockpit was all made by hand and used materials such as steel, alloys and plastics. We also used a product called Fourex for the cockpit walls, which is a product that can be shaped and then painted to give the exact feeling and appearance of a real aircraft.

The advice I would give to any new sim builder, is to do your homework first. Spend the first six to twelve months just planning and researching the project! Know what you want to achieve before you start, it makes a huge difference. If you don't do the planning and research, you will find yourself changing direction during the project, and that costs money, lots of it.

A final point to remember, is to create the simulator from the beginning so that you can fly it. Even if it's not complete, you have to enjoy the journey. I get more enjoyment interfacing hardware and getting something simple working than I do actually flying the simulator.

Where did you find the parts needed to build the simulator?

I was very lucky being one of the first sim builders around in the late 90's as many people were intrigued with my project and wanted to help. I was also lucky to find a TWA 747 being scrapped in Tucson, Arizona and was offered the chance to spend three days removing all the items I needed from this aircraft.

Back then most items were just crushed and sold as scrap, but now you have to pay good money for them as they have seen an increase in demand for these items and cockpits. I was also lucky to get the plans of a Link Singer 747-400 simulator frame and this is what we used to construct my cockpit framework. My simulator was built in stages and was created in the following order: base floor section, cockpit framework, instructors station; forward panel section, pedestal, overhead, first visual system, motion, and lastly, the second visual system. I still have my list somewhere that reflects the above process, but like I said before, lots of planning helps!

What are your favorite companies for obtaining parts?

I guess the leader in aftermarket supplies of panels and equipment would be Peter Cos from Flight deck Solutions:

www.flightdecksolutions.com

Peter and I go way back, even before he started making panels, as he was trying to build his own simulator, which was an A320 (I think). It's wonderful to see that he has successfully made a great business from his hobby. Peter also designed the logo of the 747 on my web page; this was back in 1998. Unfortunately, I don't think he ever finished his own sim though.

Is the running and maintenance of your simulator a full time occupation?

I built the simulator to last, but I did mess up on some aspects of the design though and have had to change certain things over the years. For example the motor and gearbox on the auto throttles had to be replaced and changed five times before I finally worked out why. The failures were due to heavy handed operation of the throttles, which had the effect of stripping the gears out of the gearbox. The solution for this was to install a slip clutch assembly of a car, and so far this has worked flawlessly. Mostly it's just general day to day maintenance such as lubrication and software/computer maintenance. Most things (luckily) just seem to keep working!

What are your plans for the future? (Are you going to improve on what you've already made, expand, etc).

I purchased a real 1997 747-400 cockpit about twelve months ago so this will be the next phase of my project and will replace my current motion simulator over the next couple of years. It will also include real aircraft panels interfaced to PSX, which is the latest offering from Aerowinx. PSX is a fully operational 747-400 simulator that is like no other public simulator software to date and is due out very soon.

What do your friends and family think to the simulator?

I have many friends who come and fly the simulator. Some come for flight training, whilst others come just to enjoy the experience of flying in the simulator. Once a year we do a Round the World flight called WorldFlight:

www.worldflight.com.au

This runs for seven days straight and for twenty-four hours a day on the VATSIM network. During the flight we fly the simulator to forty-five airports around the world with a crew of fifteen pilots on a roster and this year will be our twelfth year running! Over these twelve years, we have raised over $250,000 for the Royal Flying Doctors of Australia. It is a great event with teams from both Australia and the rest of the world taking part.

We get up to one hundred aircraft flying online with us for the week on average and last year we had forty-five aircraft at a time arriving and departing airports during WorldFlight. There are currently ten full size simulators that fly all legs of WorldFlight and we also have a Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/WorldFlight

...where anyone can connect during WorldFlight; so come along and join in the fun!

It starts the first Sunday of every November (Sydney time) and runs for a full week, so you can come and go as you please during the event. I have met so many people, from all over the world because of this event, some of whom will be friends for life.

There are many 'home cockpits' out there, how come yours is so well known?

I think it's mainly down to the fact that I was an early adopter of home cockpit building. When I started, there weren't many similar projects around, so I think this helped. Having the simulator entered into the Guinness Book of Records Gamers Edition also gained publicity.

The simulator also featured in the Popular Science magazine and went viral with Slashdot, almost shutting down my internet provider's server at the time. We have had many magazine and TV news articles over the years and the simulator has been used in a few commercials and crash investigation type shows. I try and shy away from the media these days.

Can we come and fly it?

When I am not doing upgrades to the simulator we welcome people to come and fly for a donation to the Royal Flying Doctors of Australia, which through us, we donate 100% of any money we raise. In this way, it kind of gives the hobby a purpose and an excuse.

Matthew Sheil
http://www.hyway.com.au/747/747.html