Friends,
A while back (several years, in fact), I attempted to work in a team project for X-Plane 9 to come up with a concept model of the F/A-XX aircraft. Part of the interest in that project was getting a proper cockpit environment going on in the airplane. We assumed that the L3 Communications LAAD would be the primary instrument, so I did some digging on the net, and found a company brochure featuring the overall dimensions and general arrangement of the panel. I modeled it and went on from there.
Granted, a LAAD is about the simplest panel or display we’ve seen to date in an aeroplane - it’s just a screen / box with a few chamfered edges. But, I still have that model, it is my work, and I could further improve it. Here is a concept - many, many airframes use the same type of MFD or controller for one task or another - it just makes good logistical sense. If those instruments could be accurately modeled, and placed into a repository, I think pit builders could be saved a lot of time and trouble, especially when these common instruments are used to upgrade old airframes. Even more so, if the actual sizing of the instrument is true to life, it is further possible to accurately proportion the cockpit of a type based on known proportions.
…Is there an interest in a drive for common instruments for BMS? All work would of course have to comply with the rules of the forum/project.