AVweb Video: Flight Training Cockpit Advanced Panel

By Larry Anglisano, Avionics Editor You can build your own custom instrument panel, so why not do the same with your table-top simulator? That’s the idea behind the Flight Training Cockpit Advanced Panel product offered through PilotMall.com. AVweb‘s Larry Anglisano took a look at the simulator at Sun ‘n Fun...

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AVweb: Custom Flight Sim From Pilot Mall

By Larry Anglisano Aviation Consumer You can custom retrofit an aircraft instrument panel, so why not do the same with a table-top flight simulator? That’s the idea behind the new Flight Training Panel Advanced Cockpit from PilotMall.com. Using a clean-sheet, 14-gauge steel instrument panel that accommodates the Saitek flight simulator flight instruments, avionics and hand controls, the training panel allows you to add Saitek components by simply removing the pre-configured instrument slots — just as a shop builds a custom panel. This means you can add instruments or change the layout as your real panel changes. Saitek instruments and radios are popular simulator components but customers have demanded a real instrument panel for mounting them, and Pilot Mall delivers with a panel that even includes a 1/8-inch black ABS glare shield. The instrument panels and radio stacks — which can include an autopilot — are fully functional, and can be configured to work in real-time within the Microsoft Flight Sim X program. A basic panel starts at $299 while a well-equipped panel is around $1000. PilotMall’s Neil Glazer showed us a demo at Sun ‘n Fun. Click here for that...

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Flying Magazine: ‘Advanced Panel’ Tabletop Sim Debuts

By Mark Phelp One of the biggest problems with home PC-based flight simulators is replicating the real-world panel the pilot flies. Real-world airplane panels have a wide range of available equipment, and almost never match up with the simulator program’s configuration. A lot of training time goes to waste learning the panel that’s on the computer screen, or unlearning procedures that don’t match up with the real airplane’s equipment. Online retailer Pilot Mall has addressed that very problem with its Advanced Panel cockpit simulator program. Using Saitek’s ProFlite instruments (software driven replicas of mechanical round dials), the system is sold ‘a la carte’ so users can easily set up the configuration to match their needs. It’s also easy to change or upgrade the system to accommodate new equipment. The pop-out instrument cutouts are designed to make adding or removing components easy and neat. The Advanced Panel includes six-pack instruments (sorry, no glass panels yet); CDI displays; autopilot; annunciator panel; yoke; throttle/prop/mixture quadrant; and rudder pedals. Buyers can choose how much they want to add to their systems. “Advanced Panel works extremely well with familiar Microsoft flight sim software on the customer’s own PC,” said Pilot Mall President, Neil Glazer. “Then all that’s needed are some USB hubs and your computer monitor to create a remarkably realistic flying experience — with visual — at a remarkably low price.” The metal instrument panel sells for $395 — with a special $100 discount offered during the current Sun ‘n Fun show — and the recommended package, including 10 round instruments at $139 each, runs $2,504 with the discount. Check it out...

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AIN online: Pilot Mall Launches Configurable Training Device

By Amy Laboda Pilot Mall’s new user-configurable instrument panel for table-top basic flight training devices is making its public debut this week behind Hangar B at the Sun ’n Fun Fly-in in Lakeland, Fla. The Flight Training Cockpit–Advanced Panel, brainchild of Pilot Mall president Neil Glazer and Michael Moore of Coldwater, Ontario-based Redfab, is designed to work with Microsoft Flight Sim on a PC platform. It uses Saitek ProFlite instruments, avionics and flight controls in a 21- by 31-inch metal instrument panel with pop-out cutouts. The panel can be customized from primary instrumentation to fullIFR, simulating anything from a fixed-gear single to complex twin for the purpose of instrument training or proficiency. “The full system costs less than custom flight sim cockpits from other sources,” said Glazer. “Advanced Panel works with familiar Microsoft Flight Sim software on the customer’s own PC. It uses off-the-shelf components that Pilot Mall already sells combined with our new instrument panel with punch-outs for adding features and an innovative way of securing the five-inch-deep unit for table-top use,” he explained. “All you need to add are some USB hubs and your computer monitor to create a realistic single-engine flying experience–with visual–for about $2,500, with special introductory pricing during Sun ’n Fun.” The addition of a multi-engine throttle quadrant and full-size trim wheel are additional options, according to Glazer. Building blocks for the Advanced Panel are 5- by 5-inch Saitek computer-driven instruments with 3.5-inch LED displays that can be installed with an Allen wrench and configured at the push of a button. Placement of the Saitek instruments, avionics and flight controls is up to the user. Annunciator panel warning and status lights can provide up to 50 advisories in red, orange or green to match the aircraft being flown. The panel also supports nine programmable toggle switches. Pilot Mall confirms that the new hardware is compatible with all major Microsoft Windows-based flight sim titles through downloadable drivers. Tech support is available from both Pilot Mall and Saitek. Pilot Mall’s new user-configurable instrument panel for table-top basic flight training devices, which works with Microsoft Flight Sim, uses Saitek ProFlite instruments, avionics and flight controls in a 21- by 31-inch metal instrument panel with pop-out cutouts. The Advanced Panel is making its public debut this week at the Sun ’n Fun Fly-in in Lakeland, Fla., where it is available for a show-special price of $2,500....

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AOPA: Pilot Mall produces new panel for armchair aviation

By Jim Moore Pilot Mall President Neil Glazer plans to certify the Flight Training Cockpit—Advanced Panel as a basic aviation training device. Pilot Mall on April 9 rolled out its entry into the aviation training and flight simulation market: a simulator instrument panel that can be customized with a variety of Saitek computer-driven instruments and controls for in-home realism. Pilot Mall President Neil Glazer said the $395 panel—on sale for $295 at the Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In & Expo—allows users to mix and match instruments and controls to create a wide range of cockpits. Glazer said the modules, most priced around $130, can be assembled into a full IFR panel with annunciator panel, autopilot, yoke and rudder pedals, and engine controls for around $2,100 at the show, or $2,500 at regular price. The components can be purchased separately, or delivered fully assembled as a group in a panel designed to mount on a tabletop or desk. The required computer, flight simulation program, and monitor are sold separately. The Saitek components are designed to work with Microsoft Flight Simulator X out of the box, or X-Plane with installation of additional drivers. “We see this as a platform that we can build upon,” Glazer said, noting there are plans to develop a glass cockpit version, and paperwork will be filed in May for FAA certification as a basic flight training device. Pilot Mall created the panel, and Saitek created the instruments and other modules that can be mixed and matched. The system is on sale at a discount at Sun ’n Fun....

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