I enjoy playing flight simulators every now and then, and have a deep appreciation for the design that goes into avionics--this site's header font uses a custom typeface I designed which was inspired by the same one used on AIRBUS displays. At the time of these projects, I was really into the Cessna Citation CJ4. I wanted to have a way to physically operate some frequent cockpit controls, so I decided to learn how to use my skills to create physical controls that could interface with the flight simulator.
This was accomplished with a 3d printer, Arduino microcontrollers, various electrical components, and MobiFlight (to communicate between the Arduino and the software on the computer).
A very basic avionics panel to start with. Flip a switch to set the landing gear, with red/green LEDs to signal if the gear is safe to land on.
I needed a place to mount the landing gear panel to, but also wanted it to be modular so I could mount multiple panels or even stack them side-by-side. This was designed similarly to the MS25212C Spec that aircraft manufacturers use for their panels.
Seeing this build come together piece by piece was extremely satisfying, almost as if I was making something out of nothing. I'm real please with how this turned out, and I hope to do something like this again soon!