Advice/ideas needed: combined Sim setup.

[Lysrin]

If it's a frame/stand you end up deciding on, there are quite a few designs out there that use PVC pipe/fittings/junctions. Relatively easy to cut the pipe to length, join and glue at junctions to get the specific height / length / width you want.

Plans/designs go from relatively simple to highly complex...

pvc hotas stand - Google Search

I've always wondered about the sturdiness of those, how much they shake or slide when in use. But they are used a lot. I suppose you could fill them with something to make them heavier but that would makes them harder to relocate of course.

 

[Izerous]

I made a mountain bike stand in my front entrance years ago with 3 or 4in pipe. One bike stacked vertically over the other... it did not result in a free standing design that didn't scare me a little every time I walked past it but 2 screws and some pipe strapping and short of someone purposely trying to pull it off the wall it was sturdy for htat purpose. A T on the floor and a 3ft piece straight up like some of those designed i'd expect some wobble form though.

 

[CMetaphor]

Appreciating all the feedback, big time. Thank you everyone!

The monstertech link is really helpful too, but is it the cheapest place to desk Hotas mounts? My setup would need 2x Hotas desk mounts and one "VFD/tablet" mount, which looks like it would be $300 or more :/ I don't have a lot of money to play around with, so all of this is going to have to be very carefully budgeted out.

Gonna go work on the rough drawing for what I think the setup will look like at the moment...

 

[CMetaphor]

Here's a very awful whiteboard drawing of my current plan. PVC may be an option, but IMO cutting a couple of squares out of a flat piece of wood is (hopefully) far easier.
*Apologies for bad hand writing, hands shaking a bit.

Edit: the farming control panel might be left out altogether, or possibly attached upsidedown with the yoke (which is the configuration that needs the extra buttons by far). Similarly, I may add the Logitech manual shifter to the same upsidedown piece as the wheel.

 

[Izerous]

The hinged areas would need to be made shallower cutting that much material out would take out a lot of strength or the desk itself without adding more material. If trying to remain on the cheaper want to make it as small as possible and 4 legs would be simpler.

How big do you actually want / need this. Do want a 2ft deep desk? 3ft? how wide etc.

The cable routing might be a bit annoying to not have them get hung on when opening and closing.

If something like a wheel is simply clamped to a butterfly like that the feet when rotated up will get into the way of the desk surface in the middle. If bolted in place might work with countersunk bolts.


You could make everything slide side to side for cheap with a modified french cleat would be easy to mount a joystick and more to a french cleat hanger. Question only becomes If it would have enough strength with a smaller profile. Would be quite easy to slide back and forth with the weight lifted up off the spacer slide joysticks to side slide wheel in. Slide Joysticks and wheel both to the sides and have unobstructed access to keyboard mouse. Stream deck is also now not at risk of getting crushed by giant butterfly. Keyboard tray also becomes optional since not at risk of getting crushed but might still be useful

Low profile unistrut routered into the desk surface would also make for a simple flat french cleat idea still making it very flexable.

 

[CMetaphor]

Interesting idea, and tbh I don't understand 100% of the terms you used... But I also think it would be far more complicated to do. Also, the sliding side to side idea probably wouldn't work because the yoke and/or steering wheel might hit the Hotas when sliding aside.

A square cut into a solid piece of wood and a couple of piano hinges, I think, is about as easy/simple a job possible. Still pretty difficult for someone like me to do, but the skill level required is fairly low.

With 8 legs, 4 in the center section and 2 each at the outer edges where the squares are, should be strong enough I think...

Oh, and Im thinking of using the VESA pole mount idea that some have done to attach the joystick and throttle to the front two legs in the center section.

I'm still obviously open to more ideas, but I've been thinking about this for a while and can't think of any easier way to make this work...