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PA-24 Comanche TPM

We mark two very big milestones for AuthentiKit today. Firstly, after almost four years supporting the warbird flight sim community, we have something for fans of GA aircraft in the form of a PA-24 Piper Comanche Throttle/Prop/Mixture (TPM) control. Developed with the kind assistance of A2A Simulations this is a faithful replica of the PA-24 TPM developed using CAD shared by the A2A design team.

The second very big milestone is that, in our mission to make AuthentiKit controls as widely accessible as possible to flight sim fans, we have arranged for our friends at SimKitSupplies to offer an All-Inclusive kit of hardware + 3D printed parts.

Shared Universal Hub

The PA-24 may be a very different beast to a Spitfire or Mustang but to AuthentiKit this new control behaves just like any other H2 throttle input to the AuthentiKit Universal Hub, which means that if you already have the hub you won’t need another. Since the circuit board in the hub is the single most valuable component it just makes sense to re-use it.

Of course it would be a waste if only one of these inputs was used for the PA-24 but in true AuthentiKit style we intend to fill out a core set of at least the following controls which will use the other inputs.

  • Elevator trim
  • Rudder trim
  • Flaps lever (genuine long handle ratchet lever)
  • Landing gear (genuine 3 position)
  • Magneto start key and start button
  • Carb heat

Also in true AuthentiKit style, these will not just be clamped to your desk in the easiest way possible but they will come with a mounting system which will position them (almost) exactly where they would be in the real aircraft.

All Inclusive Controls

Introducing a GA aircraft to the AuthentiKit portfolio is already big news but no less important is the decision to allow our friends at SimKitSupplies to offer an All Inclusive Kit.

Of course we already have the Community Approved Printing (CAP) scheme whereby experienced AuthentiKit community members will print parts at mate’s rates for those without a printer. Please be reassured that this will continue to be a very important part of the community especially because we have CAPs in the USA, UK, Germany, Australia and New Zealand and it’s obviously more practical to have someone print parts for you in your local region.

So, for those who are wondering, our aim is absolutely not to change tack to becoming a product company or to give SKS the rights to commercialise all AuthentiKit products. It isn’t practical and it isn’t in the best interest of the community. The aim instead is to take down a major barrier to those wanting to try AuthentiKit, namely unfamiliarity with 3D printing and 3D printed products. Hopefully this all in one kit which includes a quality guarantee by the supplier SimKitSupplies will give folks the confidence to try AuthentiKit for the first time and go on to become active members of our community.

Here’s a link to the All Inclusive Kit from SimKitSupplies

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P-51D Winter Promotion

PROMOTION EXTENDED UNTIL MARCH 31, 2024

We’re delighted to have another review of AuthentiKit, this time by YouTuber OverKill Simulations. See below for his video released yesterday. Of course as a patriot and a huge fan of the P-51D he reviewed our latest flight control for the Mustang, the P-51D throttle including the following features.

  • Fully working throttle, prop and mixture lever
  • Realistic detents on the mixture lever between Run and Full Rich
  • Hydraulic damping on the throttle for a real feeling of mechanical resistance
  • Hall sensors throughout for precise and accurate positioning
  • Working gunsight grip and PTT button
  • High fidelity recreation of the real control based on original drawings

We’re really rather proud of this control, especially the highly faithful recreation of the design. Community members Stiggles meticulously recreated the CAD from original drawings and great effort was made to adapt this with the minimum compromises to produce this 3D printable fully functional flight simulation control.

Let’s celebrate with a promotional price of $249 – inclusive of all parts

To celebrate this fine flight control I have spent the last month or two twisting a few arms! Firstly I persuaded our friends at SimKitSupplies to reduce their kit of hardware parts from $173 to $150 for US customers – that’s inclusive of shipping by the way as well as all the parts you need to make not just the throttle but the PC interface and all the connectors.

Secondly we are now in the fortunate position of having a growing network of AuthentiKit community members around the world who will print at “mate’s rates” for other community members who don’t (yet?) have a 3D printer. In fact this is something in itself that I think is worthy of celebration. We even have two guys in the US.

So, I’m afraid I did a little more arm twisting and have persuaded these guys to reduce their prices even more for a limited period to help us celebrate the achievement of the P-51D throttle. So the usual recommended selling price of $112 is reduced to just $99 for US customers. P&P will apply to those prices but now hopefully these lightweight printed parts shipping from someone fairly local won’t add up to much.

In total then the price for US is $150 + $99 = $249 and this promotional price will last until March 21st 2024, the first day of Spring.

To order visit simkitsupplies.com/us-shop/ and click on the P-51D Throttle Starter Kit.

You’ll be able to order the hardware immediately for fast in country shipping and put your name down for an introduction to a community approved printer in the USA who can print for you at $99+p&p

Not in the USA?

Don’t worry if you’re not in the USA as we still have a special deal for you too if you’re looking to buy the printed parts. You can order the P-51D Mustang throttle from https://www.simkitsupplies.com/shop/ as well as the Universal Hub if needed and on the order page you can enter your details for an introduction to a Community Approved Printer in your region. They have agreed to print all the parts for the P-51D throttle and the Universal Hub and mounting brackets for just £99 +p&p.

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AuthentiKit Mounting System V2

This is a big milestone for AuthentiKit and something I’m very pleased to finally deliver. The new mounting system solves four key concerns which have come to light within the AuthentiKit community over the last 3+ years.

  • The mounting arms for cockpit sidewall controls could still rotate despite clamping down hard with the allen key
  • The jaws of the arms could crack due to stress over months of use
  • The rig extension A arm was sometimes a little shorter than desired
  • The flight stick VESA mount could pivot and twist when working the stick hard

The solution to this has been the mounting system V2 which is nearly all metal. Importantly the main arm sections and the pole clamp are metal so they can withstand a lot more punishment than the old system as well as resolving all the above issues.

This video explains how it works and shows a little stress testing of those metal parts.

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ATK002: Rig Extension

Add on arms to extend the AuthentiKit rig

  • Manufacturer: Allcam, DMP, see below for more
  • Product ID: MDM10, see below for more

With the ATK001 primary rig you mount either a flight stick from a low down position or a set of cockpit sidewall controls (throttle, trim wheels etc) at a higher up position, but you can’t do both as the rig comes with only one arm.

This rig extension allows you to add one or more extra arms. Three arms would, for example, allow you to support a flight stick and multiple cockpit wall controls which may be at significantly different heights.

Availability of these add-on arms has proven more difficult than all-in-one monitor stands, however we have so far found options for the UK, Germany/Europe and the USA with eBay meeting the needs of other regions.

United Kingdom

In the UK your best bet and so far only option is Allcam. Uniquely in the world they will sell individual arm sections of varying lengths as well as the monitor pole clamp by itself. This saves you paying a VESA bracket that won’t get used. You can buy either directly or via eBay. I would recommend buying two each of the 19cm or 26cm arms and one pole clamp. You may also wish to purchase an additional 19cm or 26cm arm to extend the flight stick mounting as a 3 section arm is the best option.

USA

In the USA I have found one supplier for the standard 35mm pole. This is an eBay business micoco-64. If instead you are using a 1 7/8 pole then you have the option of an add on arm from EasyMountLCD.

Germany / Europe

In Germany and Europe you have the option of sourcing from Allcam in the UK and paying a little more for postage but without needing to buy parts you don’t need. You can also buy the longer 19cm or 26cm arms which are more useful. Alternatively DMP have a good option which may turn out cheaper.

Other Regions

I would recommend the Google image search technique if you’re struggling to find add on arms in other regions. Please let me know if/when you find any. Failing that Allcam is available via eBay in all regions as far as I’m aware and DMP ship to many but not all countries – try the amazon.de link above to see if they can post to you.

If you are searching for equivalents remember to look for arms that look like the image below and with a pole clamp that fits a 35mm pole.

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ATK001: Primary Rig

Primary rig for attaching AuthentiKit controls to a desk

  • Manufacturer: Allcam, Mount-It, see below for more
  • Product ID: MDM11S, MI-751, see below for more

The primary mounting system for AuthentiKit controls is a monitor stand, mounted in an inverted position as shown below. This picture shows only the flight stick attached however a second arm section at a higher level is used to mount cockpit wall based flight controls.

The monitor stand needs to be of the following specification:

  • Vertical pole should ideally have a diameter of 35mm (1 3/8 inch) although 1 7/8 inch can be supported in the US
  • The arm sections should have a cross-section of 30mm x 30mm and the design of each arm section should look like this with a jaw at one end and a hole at the other allowing the arm sections to be chained together

United Kingdom

The Allcam MDM11S available from the following suppliers. It has also been called the MDM11A and in fact any one arm MDM11 or MDM10 stand from Allcam should be fine. Please note that maximum desk thickness for this clamp is 43mm. If you need a deeper clamp see the link below for a replacement pole or see the other suppliers list.

Other brands/suppliers of an identical looking monitor stand are

USA

In the USA the (apparently) exact equivalent to the MDM11S is the Mount-It MI-751 which comes with the less pretty but more functional deep desk clamp. They sell direct from their website or via a large number of resellers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Newegg or more. I’d recommend Googling the model number and looking for the best price. Here are the two main options.

Another equivalent is the Siig CE-MTOP11-S1 which is identical to the Mount-It though a little more expensive. The Mount-It does seem to have sold out a lot in recent weeks though so the Siig may be your only option. You can get it from Amazon or various other outlets.

I have found no other models so far which exactly match the recommended 35mm (or 1 ⅜”) pole diameter and 30mm x 30mm arm cross-sections. However I have previously recommended the Mount-It MI-752 which has a 1 7/8″ pole and we have found add-on arms which are compatible with that. It is no longer the recommended option but for completeness this is the MI-752 from Mount-It. It costs more as it supports two arms however you can remove the arms from one side and use them to extend the other side.

Germany / Europe

In Germany a brand called Display Mount Pro sell a model DMP LCD352 or LCD352S either directly or via Amazon. You can also source the Allcam MDM11S in Europe via eBay. Another option is the Wasserman model.

India

In my Googling I found one other country where a different brand is selling a very similar model of monitor stand. This is the Rife brand sold via Amazon in India. The downside is that it has the 1 7/8″ pole and this has the downside that add-on arms for 1 7/8″ poles are hard to find outside the US. I include it here as sourcing options may change.

Other Regions

I hope to add to this sourcing page as others discover more options. A good way for you to find new options is to right click on the image top right of this post and do Google Image Search (assuming you’re in Chrome browser). For now the options you have are as follows:

  • Allcam appear to sell their MDM11S model via every eBay I have tested globally. The downside is the shipping as they post from the UK
  • The Mount-It MDM11S is also available via Amazon and eBay in many different countries but again postage could be pricey
  • You could also google the LCD 352
  • Please help me find more options and I’ll list them here
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AuthentiKit is three years old

I guess you could say that AuthentiKit has finally matured, at least according to the criteria of the Scots whisky industry which requires a spirit to have matured in it’s cask for at least 3 years before it has earned the name whisky.

For a short summary of the highlights of our first three years you might like to watch our retrospective video below and for those who like numbers, here are our stats at the 3 year mark.

  • 6 Aircraft types supported
  • 21 Separate flight controls
  • 28,479 Downloads
  • 1,970 Community members
  • 5 Community Approved Printers (print at mates rates for folks without a printer)
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BBMF Autumn journal features AuthentiKit

We’re hugely honoured that the latest issue of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Club Journal features an article about their AuthentiKit equipped Spitfire MkIX simulator. The article describes the evolution of the simulator from a PR and STEM device to providing critical training for new and experienced Spitfire pilots in emergency procedures.

A key event for the BBMF’s newest Flying Training Device (FTD) was on April 14th this year, which was the BBMF Fighter pilot pre-season ground training day. It was a huge success and demonstrated the potential of the FTD as an ongoing training device.

The image below was taken on April 14th, showing BBMF fighter pilots Flt Lt Giles Croft (left) and Sqn Ldr Mark ‘Disco’ Discombe discuss proceedings whilst Sqn Ldr Mark Long
flies the Spitfire Flying Training Device “simulator” in the BBMF hangar, with Hurricane LF363 beyond.

If you would like to read the full article, the BBMF has kindly given permission for us to reproduce it here – click to read the full article – and if you’d like to get your hands on a physical copy why not join the Memorial Flight Club? If you join in the next few months the new member’s pack includes a copy. https://www.memorialflightclub.com/join-club

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BF109 Throttle Launched

With perfect timing AuthentiKit are proud to announce the release of their BF109 throttle within days of the release of the Flying Iron Simulations BF109G for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Our throttle is compatible with both the MSFS BF109G as well as the BF109K available in DCS and also with IL2.

This is another big milestone for AuthentiKit as it is our first German warbird developed by community member Dutch with substantial support from Nadelbaum and Psjshep. It’s a fabulous, feature packed piece of kit accurately replicating the Pitch Up/Down toggle button on the throttle lever as well as the four position pump lever and governor switch. Here’s the full list of functionality.

  • Throttle lever with hydraulic damping
  • PTT button
  • Pitch control with up/down toggle switch
  • Four position pump with ball spring detents
  • Engine on/off lever
  • Governor switch
  • Uses AuthentiKit mounting system for accurate positioning
  • Hall sensors for long life and accurate response curves

The throttle uses all our latest technologies such as hydraulic damping on the throttle and ball spring detents on the pump lever and is of course a direct plug in to our familiar AuthentiKit Universal Hub, using inputs H2, H7 and H9.

Fans of the 109 and other German warbirds will be pleased to know that further controls are in the works such as trim wheels, flight stick and instrument panel controls.

Get the throttle download files free from here.