2024: This was a blog post made in 2019 and I wanted to bring it to the site. I have melded two articles together. I have not been flying for some years, now, but I feel that seeing this idea is a good addition to TSE. Let me know what you think. I later swapped the X45 for an X52.
As a keen ‘virtual-aviator’, I wanted to create a rig that would allow me to fly with a stick that sits in the correct position, but also allows for it in VR. Having the Saitek X45 in a proper location will make the immersion into VR a lot better and not apply that confusion when we have to reach for the mouse without our real-world sight. If you haven’t tried this, I suggest you go into a headset and see how your orientation gets confused!
The Build:
Taking the initiative of attaching the shaft beneath my office chair, I set about pulling an old bicycle maintenance stand, apart. The clamp would attach, I could then use my appalling welding skills to fix additional bits. The parts I used, were:
- Upper section, and clamp, from a maintenance stand
- The top-pole and plating from a crafter’s side-table
- The swing-bracket-plate from a satellite dish
Tools:
- Small Arc-Welder
- Matt-Black Spray-Paint
- Allen-Key
- Clamps
To begin with, I placed the top sections together and clamped it to a parasol-pole, this worked quite well. I then welded the satellite bracket to the left end of the horizontal pole. and added the upright table-post. (This is where my welding really shows its poor grace!)
Bringing it together, I drilled the new holes to offset the plate and sprayed it all up. It looks fine now, and at this point, I am ready to attach the flight-stick and throttle to it. I will post the look of this asap, and show it working on a video, below. I decided that I needed to add another upright column and fit a plate to its top. It took a while to work out what to do, but I came up with a solution. (See Image A.)
Using another part of the crafter’s table, I made it adjustable by using the stand that included a clamp-section. I then added the rest of the maintenance-stand’s top-pole. The X45 was attached and it looks, great. The throttle is a little more twisted than I had expected, but once I try it, it might be a better fit for comfort. As an addition, I intend to also use this rig for Elite:Dangerous. With my VR headset on, this would be a great reason to stream my own despair.
Update: This projects worked very well. I used it for some time before getting a pre-made rig. I sometimes forget these ideas and executions, they happened in such tumultuous times, that they have gone to the back of my mind. Thankfully, I recorded it all in a blog.
