Flight Deck Solutions

[pcos]

For those of you who have been asking about out Elite Version CDU kit....
Here are the first pics to be shown.
the first is the Elite-MCDU. The Second, The Elite-CDU.

Features are as follows:

ELITE CDU Features
- 6mm Machined Top Bezel
- Custom Injected Molded Keys
- Illuminated Switches (LED)
-High Quality PC Board
- MATRIX Wiring Scheme
-Excellent Tactile Feel

Target Sell Price: $600us

Lead time: 2-3 from order

Kit Form. Simple Build Process. Very Simple.





Supply is limited for the first production run. We will start shipping April 1. Second run is 30 days following.
Thanks to everyone for supporting FDS. This is the sort of item we have invested in and we are sure that this piece will only increase the amount of realism and fidelity in all of our sims. PC

[bwr014]

Hello Peter,

As ussual not mutch words are needed for the great work you make there Looking great again!!

FM

[MOlieman]

As always....IMPRESSIVE!!!!!
_________________
Matt O.
www.A340Project.us
www.MyCockpit.org

[Piaggio]

Will you be accepting pre-orders?
_________________
Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war.

[Guest]

COuld you get more real looking??

[MOlieman]

REAL LOOKING? I thought they were real...... just kidding.

I keep looking at the pics .... they just look FANTASTIC...

Just wanted to ad... With Peters help, this is absolutely amazing, we're able to build a real looking cockpit, without the actual parts.

Peter Cos.... Thank you for making this possible!
_________________
Matt O.
www.A340Project.us
www.MyCockpit.org

[ribel]

$600 bucks! Phew!

But they look fantastic! What else is required to make a working MCDU then?

Screen
Interface
Project Magenta
Lots of spare time

[guest]

Ohhh, a little bit pricy ...
Great work !

[pcos]

The NOVA CDU is $259 and has been embraced as an affordable unit.
Read the feature list of this ELITE unit

Machined Bezel
70 Individually Illuminated Switches (please shop around and get a sense of value!)
Finished PC Board
70 Injected Molded Keys. (Tooling costs would knock you over)

When I worked on Airline Quality FTDs.. these things were not much different and in the thousands of dollars. Only difference there was the bezel was aluminum. The rest is the same.
Our Pro customers are very interested in these units for that reason alone.

I think sometimes its really important to dig deeper when you analyze prices.
I have ready some really nasty posts lately in a popular forum and most of the nastiness is born out of ignorance.
Investment in parts to make these units was really high. Risky in fact.
But. We need this piece.
Realistic parts will never come cheap. In the grand scheme of things I think that if you look at the available units out here and make a decent comparison you will see that not only are we one of the only Scale units .. but far more affordable for this quality. . Lots goes into making these units. Alot.
I am glad this is the FDS Forum. I can respond and that makes it great.
In the future. I would ask that if people have concerns about prices...
A) Sign up and ask questions. No need to hide here..
B) Ask, Its no problem for me to explain how things add up. I don't drive a porsche, Likely won't . But .. Most important.
I have a serious responsiblity to the builders to stay in business.
Not going to be a millionaire selling $600 CDUs..
Anyway. Feel free to ask questions like this. I am open to discussing.
I just dropped another large $$$$ in some more injected molded parts that will make life VERY easy for the builders. Stay tuned. April release.
PC

[Joe Cygan]

Peter,
You have my support. If these Elite CDU's were a $1000.00 I would still by them. You cant really put a price on your dreams. Been buying parts left and right know and $600 is a drop in the bucket compared to the total price of a well put together sim.
_________________
JC

[PRIEST]

I agree I support Peter and FDS 100% I have already dropped $30,000.00 on my A340 but it's true you cannot put a price on a dream. Great job Peter thanx for keeping on ...keeping on we all appreciate it. And a word to my fellow cockpit builders on a budget, buy the copies or look alikes only you and anyone who knows anything about planes will know the difference, everyone else will appreciate your taste in quallity
Got my order in already Peter can't wait.
Blue Skies No Cloud

"IF IT AINT FDS IT AINT FLYIN"
Tim H.

[ribel]

Peter.

Thank you for that explanation, it was I who made the first remark on price, but rest assured it was made in the sense, "$600 bucks! Phew! How am I gonna convince the missus on this one?" rather than "$600 bucks! Phew! That's daylight robbery".

To be honest, I did have the price of the Nova MCDU in the back of my mind when making initial comparisons, but one can clearly tell the two units are worlds apart and yes, I had already totted up the price of the switches alone, not to mention the other goodies.

Like others that have commented here, I would also rather pay more for more realistic parts (one reason I never ended up starting with Nova or 'other' manufacturers parts).

Thanks again for the explanation. As a relative newcomer to this hobby, I think I can safely say on behalf of everyone here, your commitment to the cause is undisputed. Keep up the excellent work. I will be jumping aboard very soon.

Sean

[Don]

Quality is worth WAITING and PAYING for, and it is my opinion that this is the case with the CDUs.
By using Injected Molded parts I am sure that we will see commonality in Peters range in future prodocts and enhancements, and that can only benifit us, the builders.
Well done PC, you seem to never stop striving for perfection.

[cwbalmer]

Hmmmmmm....

I can see one of those Boeing CDUs heading in my direction in the not too distant future!!!

WONDERFUL looking piece of work there!! Well done!

Chris.
_________________
Regards
Chris

Chris W. Balmer
B777 & B737 Pit Builder halfway between EGSS & EGMC!!
http://www.pitbuilder.com

[sheetsg]

I see the pic's - they look great!!

Is Boeing - Grey available too? And the "2-3" what?? for lead time?

Greg.