Intro

I have been on a quest of testing avariety of software and hardware for flight simulation and this timemy focus zoomed in on a rather new and very exiting hardware supplierfrom Hong Kong - Cockpit PhD.

Cockpit PhD creates various generic plug 'n play panels featuringtoggle switches or pushbuttons together with several throttle handles,templates and supports that can be applied on e.g. the Saitek throttlequadrant. Furthermore you can also purchase various USB-interfacecards and the switches, pushbuttons, diodes, etc. that you need foryour home cockpit. Additionally they are also supplying small 7 inch HDTFT color monitors which I have also included in this test andreview.

Packing and Delivery

After ordering the products, some products were available rightaway and some had a small lead-time due to production. All panels,levers and the TFT were combined into one shipment and were herebysent to me using Hong Kong Postal Service. Cockpit PhD sent me a mailwith the track and trace number so that I was able to keep track ofhow far the shipments was which is really nice because when I haveordered something I normally want it to arrive super urgently.

The delivery time from departure Hong Kong to arrival in Denmark(where I live) was about a week or so, but the shipment then had to gothrough the customs and that unfortunately took quite some time - thishowever has nothing to do with Cockpit PhD but rather the nationalDanish postal service's customs department.

One thing you do need to be aware of when purchasing products atthe Cockpit PhD webshop is that the listed prices are all ex VATcharges. This means that when the products arrive you will have to pay(depending on where you live) these import VAT charges before theshipment can be released to you. The amount that you have to pay inthe import VAT charge can vary according to the country that you livein.

All products - here I mean both the panels, the electronics, theTFT monitor and the throttle handles were all packed in one box whichwas a strengthened cardboard box and inside this box, the monitor waspacked in a smaller monitor specific box, the panels were all packedindividually in several layers of bobble wrapping and the same withthe throttle handles and the base.

Everything was nicely placed in the outer cardboard box and theremaining space in the outer box was then filled with yet additionalbubble wrapping plastics to make sure that nothing was able to moveinside the outer box and also to protect the products againstdamage. Overall the packing was perfect and all products weredelivered to me without any damage.

The Panels

The panels that I received and which are used in this test andreview are the 'Engine Starter with Flaps and Gear PRO-Panel' togetherwith the 'Multi-Purpose Toggle PRO-Panel' and two versions of theBoeing-Style Master Caution Warning PRO-panel'.

The 'Engine Starter with Flaps and Gear PRO-panel' features only threemini toggle switches which are one Momentary-OFF-Momentary toggleswitch used for the flaps up/down incrementally, then one ON-OFFtoggle switch used for the landing gear up/down and finally oneON-OFF-ON toggle switch mounted 90 degrees off center used for theengine starter selection left/right.

The 'Multi-Purpose Toggle PRO-Panel' features a total of eight ON-OFFmini toggle switches with white caps and does not feature any specificlegends or similar - just simply On-Off functions.

The first version of the 'Boeing-Style Master Caution WarningPRO-Panel' features a total of six push buttons with hold functionmeaning that when you push these buttons the button will keep theapplied function active until you push the button once again torelease the action.

The second version of the 'Boeing-Style Master Caution WarningPRO-Panel' also features a total of six push buttons but these buttonsare without the hold function meaning that these buttons are regularclick-buttons that release the action immediately.

If you purchase these panels individually I will assume that eachpanel will come with a USB-interface card but as for me ordering fourpanels at the same time I can see that two of the panels are sharingthe same USB-interface card. This is OK for me because then these twopanels are only using one USB connector instead of two, however thiswill limit the possibility to mount the panels into your home cockpitat various places since they need to be placed next to each other - ofcourse you can always extend the wiring behind the panels, but then Isuppose that the warranty will not be valid any more.

The panels are laser cut and laser engraved aluminum panels withthe approximate measurements of 18.50cm x 5.00cm which is very similarto GoFlight panel sizes. The panels are painted in a black tone and itdoes not seem to be powder coated, just normally painted. The paint jobis really nice and good quality but please do be aware that scratchescan easily come and they are very visible on the black surface.

The toggle switches are mini toggle switches and some even featurewhite plastic caps which certainly adds to the experience of using theswitches. The toggle switches and the push buttons are of a fairquality but I have not been able to use them long enough to verifytheir possible endurange or quality further.

The electronics behind the panels are three DIY USB-interface cardsand these cards are already connected to a USB cable ready for plug 'nplay. The cards are connected to the USB cable using the internalcable wires and not a standard USB/PCB connecter however, the cardsalso features the USB/PCB card connecter so this can be applied ifneeded. I could see that there are empty slots on the cards meaningthat you are able to add even more switches of your own to these cardsand hereby gain more functions without any additional purchase. Noadditional power supply is needed to power the panel even though thepushbutton panels also feature lights within the pushbuttons. Allpower is supplied directly through the USB cable.

The pushbuttons on the two Caution/Warning panels features internallights which I mentioned previously - the pushbutton with the holdfunction are OFF as standard until the pushbutton is activated andthen the pushbutton illuminates. In regards to the pushbuttons withoutthe hold function, then these pushbuttons are always illuminated asstandard.

I tested all panels on both the Microsoft FSX, Lockheed Martin'sPrepar3D v4+ and X-Plane 11 platforms and they all worked perfectly inall simulators. I also tested on both OS Win7 and Win10 and Iencountered no issues at all.

In regards to programming the panels / to assign functions to thevarious toggle switches and pushbuttons, then the assignment tools oneach flightsim platform were able to recognize and to connect to thepanels and thereby assign whichever function I would like to assign. Ialso tested if I could use Pete Dawson's FSUIPC for assigning /programming the panels, and this worked perfectly both in FSX and inP3D v4+ - I would assume you could also use programs as LINDA or SIOCto connect and assign the panels or even other programming languagesfor that matter.

I tested the connectivity on both USB2 and USB3 connections and didnot find any issues - I sometime found issues using USB3 on some typesof hardware but it does not seem to be an issue for these panels.

The Monitor

The monitor from Cockpit PhD is a 7 inch HD TFT color monitor thatconnects to the computer or other devices as VCD, DVD, GPS or evencameras using connectors as AV, HDMI and VGA. The screen format is16:9 and the resolution is 800x480 / 1024x600 (optional) - the systemfor use is both PAL and NTSC so this screen will work perfectlyweather you are located in the US, Europe or Asia etc.

There are two way video inputs (one HDMI and one VGA) and one wayaudio input through the standard audio connectors. Also included areone small remote control and a stand for the monitor so that you caneither use the monitor within a headrest setup or it can be astand-alone setup. The stand is easily applied to the monitor andworks perfectly without the monitor tipping over. The input of VGA andHDMI are found on the back of the monitor together with standard AVinput connector.

The power is supplied by the included power converter which canconvert power from 100v and up to 240v - 50/60Hz and down to theusable power for the monitor which is 12v DC. The power converterincluded is a standard US wall socket version so please take noticethat if you are using a different power system in your country, thenyou will need an additional converter. E.g. I live in Denmark and Icannot use this monitor without a US/DK wall socket converter, which Iof course just purchased separately at the local electronicsstore. The power consumption for the monitor is 6.5W.

Power connection is on the back for other external power suppliesother than the one included and for the included power supply, youconnect the power converter to the 'Red' wire (in the same wire-bundleas the audio connectors).

The monitor was carefully packed within its own box and with allsorts of wrapping around it so that it could be transported withoutbeing damaged. Unfortunately I could not find any manual or guide orsimilar to help setting up the monitor correctly which I would haveexpected to be included. That said the monitor is very simple to mountand to connect, so I quickly got it up and running.

Actually the monitor is not a specific monitor for the homecockpit, but instead a standard TFT monitor that can also play videosor be used as a secondary monitor in games such as flight simulationor simply just as a traveling monitor for the family.

There are not that many buttons on the monitor, but just to explainthem quickly then the first button from the left is the 'PC/AV' buttonand by pressing this button you can cycle through the various possibleinputs as the AV, the VGA and the HDMI.

Second button from the left is a button with the legend of twocycling arrows and this button will rotate the image on the screenupside down or left/right standing so that no matter how you mount themonitor you will always be able to correct the image accordingly.

The third button is the 'Menu' and by pressing this button you gainaccess to the monitor's complete and user friendly menu of settings. Inhere you can set the settings for color, OSD, function and sound.

In the color setting you can tune the brightness, the contrast andthe saturation. In the OSD you can select the language, the H andV-position as well as the OSD timeout and transparency. The functionsavailable are to reset the monitor, to change the display ratioor simply just to tune the sharpness of the images up to 720p and thelast setting are the volume standard control.

The fourth and fifth buttons are - and + for standard volumecontrol or for going through the sub areas in the menu. The lastbutton is the ON/OFF button which turns on and off the monitor.

The Throttle Handles

Now changing my focus to the throttle handles - Cockpit PhD hasseveral different throttle handles that are all created to be usedwith the Saitek 3-lever throttle quadrant, the PZ45. There areseveral versions for the Boeing B737 style, but also the BoeingB747 and the Airbus A320 are available. I have for this test andreview used the set which includes five levers for the Boeing B737 andalso included is the base which easily changes the position of thethrottle quadrant to be more airliner-like.

The throttles are twin levers so that I am able to control eachengine independently which is really nice - the throttles are createdfrom wood it seems, which most likely is machine cut/drilled and thetop of the handles are as far as I can see created on a lathe. Eachlever consists of the top part (the handle itself) and two plates thatare put together with tiny Phillips screws.

There are no buttons or reverse thrust levers on this version,these levers are only a first grade upgrade of the Saitek throttlelevers. The levers are painted with a white paint and they look veryrealistic, however without any kinds of legends, etc. Mounting thelevers on the Saitek throttle quadrant is easy - they just slip downover the levers and are held nicely in place.

The other levers included are the flaps lever, the speed-brakelever and a lever for the trim - the trim lever is a fictional leverwhich is nowhere to be found on the Boeing B737 throttle quadrant inreal life since the trims are controlled by a trim-wheel instead.

Anyway, the top part of the handles are all created from wood andapplied with an aluminum lever-casing to make the mounting on theSaitek throttle quadrant as easy as possible - again to mount thelevers you just need to slip the levers over the Saitek levers andthey are hereby held nicely in place.

In general the quality of the handles are fair, however the finishis a bit rough but that makes sense since these handles are indeedlow-cost handles and are placed within a nice and affordable pricerange.

The base is on the other hand quite good quality - it seems to becreated from a mold where the base probably were a straight piece ofplastic to begin with and which then has been molded either by vacuumor by press. The base enables the simmer to easily mount the throttlequadrant in a perfect 45 degree tilted angle which provides the simmerwith a more authentic experience of flying e.g. the Boeing B737.

Inside the base there is a round hole of about 1.5 cm where thethrottle quadrant's wiring can be inserted, so that the throttlequadrant can be mounted in the home cockpit without showing all thewiring.

Placing the throttle in the base is easy, but the throttle doestend to be a little 'loose' - to overcome this issue I applied somedouble sided carpet tape and now the throttle is fixed and does notmove at all.

Conclusion

To summarize my experience with the products tested then my verdictis the following:

The panels are good quality laser cut aluminum panels with laserengraved legends supported by simple and user friendly USB-interfacecards that works beautifully with all assignment / programmingsoftware that I tested them with. The buttons and switches are fairquality and the panels are certainly within a reasonable andaffordable price range where they are very competitive.

In regards to the TFT monitor then this is absolutely a fine 7 inch HDcolor monitor that can be used for the home cockpit or simply just asan additional screen. Works perfectly with connecting to a computer byusing either the VGA or the HDMI input, however please do remember tobuy an additional wall socket converter if your country does notsupport the US-version.

Furthermore the Boeing B737 handles that I tested was a great andpositive surprise, easy to install on the PZ45 throttle quadrant andadded great extra realism and authenticity to the experience of flyingin the home cockpit. Of course I would have loved to see the handlesalso features reverse thrusters as well as the actual buttons and alsolegends, but I can see that Cockpit PhD's product range also includesthese versions with the reverse thrusters. Pricewise the handles arealso within an affordable price range and will absolutely be verycompetitive towards similar product from other manufacturers.

Overall my experience of the products tested from Cockpit PhD isvery good and if you are not strictly a specific aircraft home cockpitbuilder, then products from Cockpits PhD are something that I certainlywould recommend.

I would like to thank the team at Cockpit PhD for contributing tothe flightsim community with these awesome products - they have been avery good experience to test and review! Keep up the great work!

Raymond Andersen

Rays Aviation

www.cockpitphd.com

Review Computer Specifications

OS Systems

• Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Windows 7 (32-bit) (secondary system)

Computer Specs

• Intel Core™ i7-4790K 4x4.00GHz (Turbo 4x4.40GHz)
• Asus Maximus VII Ranger (ROG-series)
• Antec Kuhler H20 650 Water Cooler
• Kingston HyperX Beast-series 32Gb DDR3-2133 RAM
• 500Gb Samsung 850 EVO SSD
• 3Tb Seagate Barracura (7200rpm, 6Gb/s)
• Asus GeForce GTX 980 Strix OC 4Gb

Internet Connection

• 150/150Mbit Fiber Internet Connection

Platforms and additional software

• Prepar3D v4+
• XPlane 11
• FSX + Acceleration Pack
• REX Overdrive
• FSUIPC
• SIOC

Connections

• USB2 / USB3 Connections
• HDMI
• VGA
• DVI
• Displays Ports
• RJ45 GameFirst III
• SATA2 / SATA3