About this project
100% FUNDED!
Any amount we collect over the goal will be saved for future maintenance costs and on some promotional costs that were not included in the $2600 estimate. You can still donate up do the deadline and get your schwag!
If the above video is stuttering, click here to see it on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/pTWotBqJCmU
I hope to build a new Flight Simulator that will look like the drawing below. After it's completed it will go on permanent display at the National Airline History Museum (NAHM) where hundreds of museum visitors will have the opportunity to try it and feel what it's like to fly a large airliner.
I've built several different kinds of Flight Simulators over the years. My name is Matt Thomas and each time I design a new simulator, I also make a Do It Yourself (DIY) video and instruction manual showing how I built it that way anybody anywhere can build their own, even at home.
I want lots of people to get the chance to fly this new simulator so I'd like to take it to the Kansas City Maker Faire in June, so the attendees can try it out. After the Maker Faire, I'll give the simulator to the National Airline History Museum. I've already worked this out with them. The simulator will be available for museum guests to get a unique hands-on experience flying an airplane.
You will be able to build the same Flight Simulator for yourself! I will video the construction process of the new simulator and offer the DIY video and instructions for purchase on http://www.DIYflightsims.com, or you can get it here by contributing to this project.
The Flight Simulator will have three screens, airplane controls, dual throttle quadrants and switch panels. It will be a big free-standing structure, but it will come apart in two sections so you can fit it through the doorways in your house. You build the cockpit housing with materials from a home improvement store and you can order the controls online. A lot of my customers already have these controls. The monitors, computer and peripherals are all standard off-the-shelf stuff.
This project will cost some money so I need your help to make this possible. I started a fund-raising campaign here on Kickstarter.com. If you contribute to this project, you get a gift in return. The more you contribute, the more gifts you get. The money we raise will purchase the computer, monitors, software, controls, and building materials for the simulator with associated taxes and fees.
Kickstarter is a crowd-sourced fund-raising website for creative projects. You make your contribution online with a credit card, but your card only gets charged if we reach the fund-raising goal by the deadline. Then you get your gifts, I get the funding for the Flight Simulator so I can build it and give it to the museum. Then, I will also produce the DIY video and instructions.
But Kickstarter is all or nothing. If we don't reach our funding goal, then nothing happens. Your credit card does not get charged, nothing gets built and the project dies.
Note: Kickstarter is a way to raise money for individual creative projects, not donations to non-profit organizations. You're contributing to this project, it's not a donation to the museum, so don't expect some kind of tax deduction.
I really want this project to happen so I've already worked out ways to reduce the cost. The less money I need, the more likely it is that we'll reach the funding goal. The good people at GoFlight Technologies volunteered to donate some components to the project, so that's money we don't need to raise. Also, I'm paying the cost up front for the design prototyping and production of the DIY video and instruction manual.
Again, if we meet our funding goal...everybody gets something with this deal.
* Anybody that contributes to the project get the gifts listed for their donation level
* The museum gets the simulator so their visitors can fly it.
* The attendees at the Maker Faire get to fly the simulator
* I make the DIY video and instruction manual and offer it for sale so anybody can build the exact same thing
Please re-post this on your facebook and spread the word! We only have 30 days! Thank You!
FAQ
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The museum's budget is already devoted to expensive endeavors such as returning the
Constellation and the DC-3 to flying status. We wouldn't want our flight simulator to drain funds
from those efforts. -
Many people and organizations have assisted Matt Thomas and Roger Dodger Aviation over
the years. When Matt says "we" or "us" he is including the long list of people that give life to
Roger Dodger Aviation. -
There is nothing wrong with profiting from a Kickstarter campaign, but Matt isn't profiting
directly from this project. Matt will be videotaping the construction of the NAHM flight simulator
and the footage will be sold later as a DIY video. -
Maker Faires are held in several cities and endorsed by Make Magazine to "celebrate arts,
crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset." -
Probably not. Most flight simulator enthusiasts already have some of the components in this
project (computer, yoke, controls, monitor), and you might save some money buying used
equipment.
We're buying all new equipment for this project, so everything will be under manufacturer's
warranty for a year. Our $2600 budget also covers fees from Kickstarter/Amazon and income
taxes. -
The NAHM flight simulator will be the Lockheed Constellation. The DIY video and manual for
this project will include the option to build a modern jet airliner. -
Kickstarter is designed to raise funds for creative projects (movies, music, art, design, games, etc). Matt Thomas is the guy building the flight simulator and the one that established this Kickstarter campaign. You are contributing to this project, but not directly to the museum.
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Yes! But remember, you only get your gift if we meet our funding goal by the deadline.
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If we reach our funding goal of $2600 before the deadline, then all contributors get their gifts.
No gifts are sent and your credit card is not charged prior to the deadline. -
May 31, 2011 midnight.
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Your card will not be charged. It will be like nothing happened.
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We are using the online Kickstarter fund raising method, which accepts payments by credit
card. A paper check wouldn't really help the online fund raiser...but if your check is large enough,
we can look deeper into this issue :) -
The National Airline History Museum, Kansas City, MO
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Matt Thomas creates instructional videos and manuals that teach people how to build home
flight simulator cockpits. His little one-person company is Roger Dodger Aviation, LLC -
One of the exciting features of this project is that anyone anywhere will be able to build the
same flight simulator by referring to the DIY instructions and purchasing supplies from a home
improvement store.
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
42
Backers
$2,770
pledged of $2,600 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on June 1, 2011.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
Your name in the list of contributors on the project website: www.rogerdodger.net/ahm/flightsim
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
Above plus A picture/logo of your choosing on www.rogerdodger.net/ahm/flightsim for you, your business or your project, with link to your website. Email your name and picture to pix@rogerdodger.net
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
ALL ABOVE plus your choice of any DIY digital download premium video from www.DIYflightsims.com Note: Tell me which one you want to download. Make sure I have your email address. You download this thing through the internet...it's a digital product.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
ALL ABOVE plus DIY NAHM video and instruction manual burned on a CD after it is completed. Note: this is a digital video in .wmv format and manual in Adobe .pdf format burned onto a CD-ROM. Make sure I have your snail mail address. Add $2.00 for shipping outside North America. PLUS your name in the credits of the DIY NAHM flight sim video and instruction manual
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
ALL ABOVE plus a Roger Dodger Aviation t-shirt, please include T-shirt size (add $10 for international orders). PLUS the new DIY NAHM video on DVD and printed instruction manual in a 3-ring binder (shipped to North America only, if you're elsewhere you will get a digital download). PLUS your name or company name listed on the actual NAHM flight simulator on display at the National Airline History Museum.
Pledge $300 or more Pledge $300 or more
ALL ABOVE plus a tour the National Airline History Museum with Matt Thomas, including flying the NAHM flight sim. You pay for your travel/lodging expenses. PLUS you get to hit Matt Thomas in the face with a pie during a public event at the museum. PLUS choose any DIYflightsims premium video and get it on DVD with printed instruction manual in a 3-ring binder PLUS your choice of flight sim software: FSX Gold or X-plane 9 for windows. PLUS access to the SECRET Facebook profile for Roger Dodger Aviation where we discuss upcoming projects.
Project By
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I create DIY videos that show people how to build improvements for their home flight simulators. My little one-person company is called Roger Dodger Aviation.
