During the summer of 2022, I decided to take the plunge and build a complete cockpit. The plan was to mainly use ready-made modules and panels from Vier im Pott and Skalarki. To spread out the investment over several years, I came up with the following plan:
First, I would start with the pedestal — it could be integrated into my existing desktop setup and put to use right away. In a second phase (planned for the end of 2023), I would move on to the actual cockpit build: adding the cockpit floor, an aluminum frame, the MIP, and the overhead panel. With those elements in place, all the essential components for operating the cockpit would be complete, and the remaining covers, panels, and interior details could then be added gradually later on.
For the pedestal, I again chose panels from Skalarki. The pedestal box itself I ordered from Vier im Pott in Germany. Since a good cost-performance ratio was important to me, I decided to start with the CPT-side only set of panels. This set lacks the MCDU, RMP, and ACP on the FO side. However, since I already owned a Skalarki MCDU (from the Desktop Line), the pedestal would still feature two MCDUs right from the start.
In October 2022, the ordered panels arrived from the UK. Once again, anticipation was high — and once again, I wasn’t disappointed. Everything looks fantastic and feels very solidly built.
A week later, the Euro pallet from Vier im Pott arrived. Once again, I was not disappointed by the quality — quite the opposite. They put a lot of effort into the shipping and packaging; everything was extremely well protected, ensuring that transport damage was completely ruled out.
Vier im Pott also provided a fantastic video assembly guide, showing in a 3D model exactly how each part fits together. Thanks to that, the assembly went very smoothly and quickly — until finally the panels were fitted and in place.
After completing the pedestal setup, I decided to use ProSim A320 to run the aircraft simulation. A major factor in this decision was the software’s compatibility with both P3D and MSFS. While the integration with MSFS still leaves a bit to be desired in some areas, this is mainly due to the fact that Microsoft’s interface development is still ongoing. The issue certainly doesn’t lie with the ProSim developers, who are doing a great job.
Because of the current limitations with MSFS integration, I’ve since switched to P3D. Visually, it’s definitely a downgrade, but in terms of simulation functionality, P3D offers many advantages — and, of course, all ProSim features are now fully available.