I have over 50 aircraft panels that I created myself and each are available for purchase.  These Sim Samurai  "Maxscreen" Aircraft Instrument Panels are full sized custom made backdrops which use a multitude of freeware gauges, and in some cases affordable payware gauges who's product links can be found on my Hot Links page.  For all Sim Station Cockpit RTA product purchases I will include 10 custom created aircraft panels for free along with the list of links to the freeware aircraft and gauges that you must download and install in order to use the custom crafted panels. That's an added $100 value!

If you purchase Sim Samurai’s Ultimate Guide to Advanced Flight Simulation you can quickly learn how to create these ultra realistic aircraft cockpit panels just like I do, most of which can be completed for free!  By using the templates I have included in the UGTAFS tech manual you can make a complete aircraft instrument panel with 4 – 5 undockable windows as shown at right in as little as two days! My book details every single step!!!

Most of the gauges on my aircraft panels are typically borrowed from other freeware aircraft I already have installed into my flight sim and thus I cannot and will not sell panels which include the actual gauge files themselves because all respective gauge designers own the rights to their own gauge freeware (or especially payware).  This mantra is simply industry standard for all panel design.  Furthermore, this is most certainly the case with any payware gauges meant to be placed on these panel backdrops. Therefore, do know that both legally and morally I cannot nor will not re-sell things other people have created even though they may serve to help finish out my own panel creations as shown in the slide shows and videos on this website.

However, In regards to both freeware and payware gauges I will instruct you as to how and where to download and or purchase  the necessary aircraft with freeware gauges and or gauge payware in order to use my custom created panel backdrops and panel config files.  Thus the custom panel bitmaps / backdrops, and instrument panel config file I can provide at a low cost to you.  The backdrop is exactly that, the backdrop for the gauges, while the panel config file directs what, where, and how the gauges are sized and placed.

How To Build & Install Sim Samurai Aircraft Panels
Included in my own "Samurai Maxscreen Panels" are all the backdrop bitmaps and the panel config file which instructs which gauges to use and where they are to be both placed and sized on the sim aircraft instrument panel.  I will also include a list of all the great freeware aircraft I use which contain the freeware gauges that are most often used in my panel creations.  These aircraft are obviously those that are most common to the many freeware aircraft websites on the internet, and in fact you probably have many of these installed into your own sim.   As you may or may not know in the realm of freeware aircraft and panel design there are alot of gauges that get reused for many different aircraft (such as an attitude indicator for example) So even if you don't have every aircraft I have installed there is still a very good chance your gauge library may already contain the same gauges I use!  If you visit my HOT LINKS page you will see that I also specify where to find the payware gauges that I use in panel design and once purchased all of these cost effective gauges can be used over and over again with any aircraft you design in the future!

While this gauge hunting can of course leave you with a little work to accomplish, the end result will be well worth your efforts (as you can see in the photos) and once complete you will never have to repeat the process so long as you always make a copy of your Aircraft folder, your Gauge folder, your Sound folder, and your Effects folder before rebuilding or reformatting your PC. 

Lastly, if you ever get stuck I will help guide you through the process to achieve professional results.  Don't forget that the UGTAFS manual has a 38 page chapter entirely dedicated to professional aircraft panel design so that you can learn how to create panels just like I do.  In fact it illustrates a "cookie cutter" design method that really allows you to streamline the entire process and allows you to make panels faster than you could have ever imagined! I highly recommend purchasing the UGTAFS manual as you will quickly learn how to create realistic panels the Sim Samurai way as it details every facet of the entire process and includes several panel config file templates to get you started! All this took me over two years to learn and I guarantee you can learn my methods over a weekend.

All the panels that I create are always works in progress as it is my goal to eventually have them match their aircraft in 100% accuracy. The panels shown on my website and my YouTube account are created to be very realistic and each panel set displays all gauges in full size just like you would experience in a real aircraft!  It is awesome!

If you wish to purchase a Sim Samurai Maxscreen Panel (which includes the bitmap backdrops, panel config file and the freeware aircraft gauges list) I only charge $10.00 per file set to cover the file hosting fees and my time and efforts of design work.  I think this is a great value considering the time and effort I have put into creating the most realistic virtual instrument panels for the home market!

Because of the low cost and lack of true profit for these efforts I do consider my panels as "freeware".  However, I do insist that you do not redistribute or upload any of these instrument panels to any other websites or servers.  Please respect that I reserve all rights to use them as I deem necessary for my own promotional purposes which is most often used to drive people to this website. So while this data can certainly become easily distributable e-ware...please don't share it as freeware unless I have given you full permission via e-mail.

Lastly, know that I may routinely upload some “single-seat / single panel” military style freeware instrument panels to sites like AVSIM.COM and SIMVIATION.COM  as I have a big penchant for old yet fast tin!  Make sure to check out the HANGAR TALK page for more details on my freeware panel offerings and or check the top freeware sites this summer (2010) for other shareware simulator freebies from SimSamurai.net!

TO BUY A PANEL, CLICK ON THE PURCHASE PAGE LINK