I think everybody starts the same way, when someone decides to build a fully functional cockpit, the first thing they concentrate on is the MIP. But then again, why wouldn’t you? It is the part you use most, it’s the part that really starts giving shape to your cockpit, and in a way it’s like if the MIP is the center of it all and everything else just develops around it. I bought my MIP from Fly Engrevity, it’s nicely done but I do have few things I can’t understand. First of all not all of the building holes are pre made, it’s a bit like IKEA products, they come in parts and you need to put it together and generally there is just one way you do that, so why wouldn’t you make all the hole already and except I have do that that is just beyond me. The landing gear, does not fit the pre-drilled holes, and yet they come from the same company and I bought them on the same day, so it cannot be that something was from a previous version. Lastly, the monitor brackets, same as the Landing gear, I had to make new holes. For the rest everything looks really good, at least I have not yet discovered anything else to complain about.
I plan to have both sides, some people just build the Captain side, while I am sure it’s much cheaper I think that it does not look as good, but obviously we do what we can with what we have and I respect anyone who builds anything. I do not intend to have the MIP complete with every single gauge right away, I will just add the necessary and then move to other parts of the cockpit, at which point I will return (in years) and add the missing parts, after all, I think having a real TQ and OH is nicer than have a chronometer. I leave a couple of pictures so you can see the evolution, and a video I made of it. This was my first video so nothing special.
Thanks and stay tuned for the next update.