Ok… I know I said before that I had the plan sorted for the 737 avionics etc etc…. well… the plan has changed somewhat this week, due to a few fortuitous events;
I *may* have done a deal to trade my real Sperry SP177 MCP, which is not correct for a -500, and would be a bear to integrate, for a CPFlight MCP737EL, which is a replica of the SP300, which *is* correct for my -500!
Next…. I may have secured a second hand, and in need of repair CDU for cheap. This is the older version of the ones we use at work, and are notorious for breaking their USB and/or power connectors. Hopefully I can pick it up cheap and repair it without too much hassle.
And then…. while searching for a PC to use as a basic terminal server ( I’m playing around with Thin Clients… but that’s a whole different discussion!) I discovered a PC which I liberated from a sim upgrade we did some time ago, and it contained a fully working, fully, legally licensed copy of Project Magenta! So… I can now use PM glass cockpit, MCP and CDU software, running in 767 EADI mode (which looks identical to the 737 classic layout). This is a massive step forward, and means I’ll be able to fly way more realistically, while still keeping to my end goal in terms of what I want to be able to do in the sim.
Now the PC requirements have changed; I’ll have the main FS box rendering the out-the-window view, and running the engine displays (PM doesn’t do 737 classic engines), and the recently discovered “Glass Cockpit” box running PM, plus interfacing to the MCP and CDU.
This week has been exciting, and the project is now leaping ahead!