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MiG 27 crashes near Jodhpur, pilot safe
By Fates,
Jodhpur: A MiG-27 fighter plane of the IAF on Wednesday crashed near Jodhpur in Rajasthan shortly after take off for a routine sortie, but the pilot bailed out safely.
The crash occurred at 1320 hrs, 15 minutes after the aircraft took off from Jodhpur air base. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant A Patni, who is safe, had reported trouble in the aircraft, a defence official said, adding there is no damage on the ground.
>>FULL ARTICLE<<
Painted warbirds will celebrate 100 years of naval aviation
By Fates,
"The S-3 parked recently in a hangar at Jacksonville Naval Air Station looked like it just returned from the 1942 Battle of Midway. Very odd, given that the Viking is a two-engine jet that served as a sub hunter, tanker and much more during its 33-year career beginning in 1975. But the plane's newly applied retro paint job was actually meant to evoke the epic sea battle that turned the World War II Pacific campaign in America's favor.
"We were going for a Midway effect," said Don Lockwood, a Navy employee helping return three S-3Bs, including the newly painted one, to operational status. While the aircraft will serve a West Coast test squadron, its paint scheme will serve another purpose: to celebrate the 100th anniversary of U.S. naval aviation in 2011."
>>Full Story<<
Hard bargain on US pacts
By Erik,
Telegraphindia -- SUJAN DUTTA
New Delhi, Oct. 20: New Delhi has decided to play hardball on military pacts with the Pentagon after expectations were raised that the pending agreements may be signed during the visit of Barack Obama in about two weeks from now.
“We are in consultation with the armed forces about the benefits and utility of these (agreements),” defence secretary Pradip Kumar said here, in a rare public admission of the military’s discomfort over US proposals to sign a Logistics Supply Agreement (LSA) and a Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA).
The discordant note was struck after reports that the US was lining up a $2-billion security aid package for Pakistan. Last month, during his visit to Washington, the defence minister had raised the issue with US secretary of defence Robert Gates. A.K. Antony also emphasised that India suspected Pakistan was using US military aid to reinforce its conventional war-fighting capabilities against India.
The LSA will allow US warships, military aircraft and personnel to access Indian military bases for refuelling, rest and recuperation, and turnover on a reciprocal basis. It would allow the US to replenish its military platforms on a barter basis, meaning that the US would allow similar access and facilities to the Indian armed forces.
The CISMOA is designed to ensure that equipment transferred to the Indian armed forces are encrypted, secure and compatible with US military systems.
A highly placed defence source said a view that had emerged from the armed forces during consultations was that signing such agreements would “bind” India to US military equipment. The Pentagon argues that the signing of the agreements would facilitate the transfer of high-tech platforms and keep India-US military relations robust.
The statement today — that the armed forces were being consulted to verify if the pacts would be beneficial — is a step back from the position that India was studying the agreements. Draft agreements have been pending with the cabinet committee on security (CCS) for three years now after they were vetted by the armed forces headquarters.
Negotiations over such agreements can be protracted. It took three years for Washington and New Delhi to agree to a standard text on the End User Verification Agreement (EUVA) — through which the Pentagon judges if a military system is being used by a buyer for the purpose for which it was meant — that was signed last year.
The expectations on clinching the agreements rose because of the high-profile visit by Obama. It is exceptional for a US President to visit India within the first two years of his first term in office — that demonstrates the priority the White House gives to India. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also the first state guest of the Obama administration last year.
The US was also expecting the agreements to be signed along with announcements of two major arms deals. The Indian Air Force has decided to buy 10 C-17 Globemaster-III heavy airlifters in a deal that could be worth $4.4 billion.
A second deal — for up to 300 M-777 ultra light howitzers – under the Pentagon’s direct Foreign Military Sales programme is in the works but an announcement is unlikely because the Indian army has not yet finished evaluating the guns. The guns are for deployment in high-altitude border positions on the Chinese frontier.
The Indian Air Force that had earlier contracted the C-130J Hercules from the US is getting the medium-lift aircraft minus some of the equipment that the Pentagon says could have been made available if the agreements were signed.
But topping the US’ priority in all these deals is the mega-competition to sell 126 (possibly 200) medium, multi-role combat aircraft that could cost as much as $12 billion. Two US-origin aircraft, Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Super Viper (Fighting Falcon) are in the running. The US has got a boost after a technical committee determined the GE-414 engine as the best option for India’s indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft programme. The GE-414 also powers the Super Hornet, as it does the Swedish-origin Gripen NG. (The other aircraft in the competition are the MiG 35 of Russia, Dassault’s Rafale of France and a European consortium’s Eurofighter Typhoon).
Each of the countries is leveraging their diplomatic muscle to win the contract. Since the civilian nuclear agreement, Washington believes its claim is the strongest.
Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik had said the air force had submitted its technical evaluation report and a selection was likely by 2010. The report is now with the government that will make a choice not only on financial but also on diplomatic and political considerations.
Telegraph India
First Gripen flight for Saab´s new CEO
By Erik,
Håkan Buskhe has only been CEO of Saab for one and a half months but he has already travelled the globe marketing Gripen to several countries. Yesterday, Mr Buskhe got his first flight in the Gripen fighter, taking-off from the Saab airfield in Linköping, Sweden.
Image: Ola Rignell, head of Saab Flight Test, congratulates Saab's new CEO Håkan Buskhe (right) after his first flight in Gripen. Photo: Per Kustvik
SAAB -- October 2010
The flight, in a Gripen D (39827) lasted for 1 hour and 8 minutes, with Ola Rignell, head of Saab Flight Test in the front seat. That included two sorties with a hot refuelling in between. “I’m living my childhood dream right now, and the flight in Gripen was just the icing on the cake. I´ve been briefed by the engineers that design the aircraft, visited the different stages of production and talked to some of the fantastic people that build the aircraft and now I’ve spent time at our Flight Test department. And remember, Gripen is just one of our world leading products.”
Håkan Buskhe had the opportunity to pilot the aircraft himself. He was also fortunate to meet up with one of the brand new Gripen aircraft produced for the Royal Thai Air Force and took part in formation flying.
“What I remember most is when we were flying 60 feet above the Baltic Sea and then suddenly afterburner on and we were climbing straight up to 30 000 feet. Like a rocket.”
Back on ground again Håkan Buskhe was congratulated by the first Gripen pilot, Stig Holmström, and presented with his own personal desk top model of Gripen D.
“I don’t believe that I’m a pilot just because I have flown Gripen once, but it is amazing how easy it is to understand the system. Especially with a good instructor like Ola. I knew Gripen was an amazing aircraft, and now I understand why.”
Håkan Buskhe has previously flown the Saab 105 jet trainer.
Image: Saab's new CEO, Håkan Buskhe in Gripen. Photo: Per Kustvik
SAAB
World's fastest helicopter races above Palm Beach County
By Erik,
PalmBeachPost -- By Stacey Singer
Sikorsky had picture perfect weather to show off the world's fastest helicopter Wednesday morning, and X2 test pilot Kevin Brendenbeck didn't waste the opportunity."Are you ready to get spanked?" he asked the Bell 407 pilot about to race him over the swampy tarmac off Beeline Highway.
It was a first glimpse of the X2 for media and for many of the subcontractors whose components helped make the aircraft; an adrenaline-fueled day designed to amp up excitement for a project Sikorsky has spent over five years and untold millions developing, all on spec.
Sikorsky is betting that the military and the civil aviation markets will welcome a high-tech aircraft able to combine the maneuverability of a chopper with the elegant speed of a jet. And so Sikorsky CEO Jeffrey Pino announced Wednesday that after 18 test flights, it was ready to incorporate its X2 demonstrator technology into a new light tactical military aircraft prototype dubbed the Sikorsky S-97, aka the Raider.
"We are absolutely committed to doing this," Pino said during a media briefing after the race.
Sikorsky engineers said the Raider is actually needed by the U.S. Army right now, and in a big way. The mountainous terrain of Afghanistan isn't just inhospitable to Jeeps. High altitudes and thin air make about 53 percent of the country out of reach of helicopters. But not the X2-based Raider, Pino said.
Because the helicopter is powered by both its twin rotors and its pusher propeller, it has enough force to fly at 10,000 feet, enabling it to cover nearly all of the Afghani terrain, Sikorsky said.
The X2 demonstrator has been in development at Sikorsky's West Palm Beach test facility off Beeline Highway since July 2009. In a test flight last month, the X-2 hit 250 knots, or 287 miles per hour, unofficially beating the world helicopter speed record, nearly twice the speed of conventional helicopters, like the Bell 407 it was racing on Wednesday morning.
It's possible because of computerized vibration-controlling systems and a fly-by-wire digital pilot that simplifies a pilot's tasks, not to mention light but strong composite materials that make its pusher propellar and counter-spinning twin rotors.
In its flight test, the X2 moved with the agility of a dragonfly on jet fuel.
Even with a long head start, Bell pilot Bill Fell played tortoise to Sikorsky's X2 caffeinated hare.
It wasn't a fair contest.
Going full out, the Bell hit a leisurely 140 knots, about 161 miles per hour. The X-2?
At about half-power, sounding like a cross between an angry bee and a freight train, it easily hit 210 knots, or 241 miles per hour, just 7 knots behind the all-time speed record for a helicopter.
For the pocket-protector set -- the mechanical engineers and test pilots gathered for the show, it was a gleeful day.
"If you follow the aviation industry, it doesn't get any more exciting than today," said Chris Van Buiten, director of Sikorsky Innovations, the skunkworks that developed the aircraft. "The performance is even better than we thought."
Palm Beach Post
Obutto Gaming Cockpit
By Ruggbutt,
Obutto
It's pronounced "Oh, but Oh!". So you want to know what an Obutto is. It's Flight Sim goodness. It's your very own cockpit from which you can strike the enemy where ever they may sortie from. It's an F-15 pit. It's a Spitfire pit. It's a P-38 Lighting pit. It's all of these, depending on how you wish to place your flight controllers. Even if you fly with a yoke and a throttle quadrant. Or if you fly with a HOTAS. Center stick or side stick position, it doesn't matter, Obutto can be configured the way you want to fly.
Construction
The Obutto is constructed of heavy gauge tubular steel. It's coated in a beautiful matte black finish that's tough as nails. The seat is a racing style bucket seat that is adjustable fore and aft as well as being able to recline. The seat is two tone black and gray and has fantastic lumbar support. It's extremely comfortable and the cloth that covers it is thick and durable. It also has Obutto's logo on the front headrest part of the seat as well as a large "Obutto" embroidered across the back headrest part of the seat. The heavy wear areas of the seat are reinforced by a vinyl that has a carbon fiber type pattern to it.
Assembly
You'll need some tools for assembly. Three to be exact. You'll need a 6mm allen wrench, and a 1/2 and 9/16 wrench (or crescent wrench). You'll also want to pick up some 4mm M4x 10mm screws. You'll need 4 of them. More on that later.......
I happened to have all those tools on hand (I'm a contractor). I like that cheapie tools aren't included with the Obutto. I've hurt myself plenty of times using wrenches stamped out of metal stock or busted knuckles when soft steel allen wrenches give way. Do yourself a favor, head over to Home Depot and pick up the tools you'll need. It will make assembly easier and you'll not have to head to Walgreens for Band-Aids and Neosporin.
The first thing you'll notice is that the parts are wrapped in bubble wrap. They're wrapped extremely well. There wasn't one scratch on the finish of my pit. In fact, the hardest thing about putting the pit together was unwrapping it. Seriously, it's that easy to put together! The instructions were written by someone who speaks English as a first language. They were clear and concise (and a bit humorous). Even if you aren't mechanically inclined you will be able to assemble the pit. It's a no brainer.
The Obutto comes in several main parts. The base for the monitor stand and the base for the seat. The seat itself comes mounted on sliding rails so you'll only have to bolt the seat onto the seat base, it takes 4 bolts to do so. The monitor stand base and seat bolt together as well. What you'll find with the Obutto is that there are many adjustments you can make when attaching the arms for the peripherals. Along each side of the seat base there are 7 holes that run the length of the base. These are the mounting holes for the arms that you'll use for your keyboard arm, throttle and stick arm. If you choose not to go side stick you can mount the arm where the monitor base and seat base bolt together. If you use a yoke you can mount it on the steering wheel mount. It's adjustable fore and aft for the perfect fit. The pedal base can be adjusted up or down as well as fore and aft. It's covered with a rubber non slip coating that really works well. My CH Pro Pedals didn't slide once on it. Neither did my girlfriends G27 racing pedals. I'm using a single 26" monitor and bolting it to the monitor mount was simple. This is where you'll need the 4mm VESA mounting screws. The mount itself is drilled for all the variations of VESA bolt patterns. You can adjust the monitor higher or lower on it's mounting uprights as well. As I said before, everything with the Obutto is adjustable. There is an option for a 3 monitor stand if you prefer.
Testing
I tested the pit for flight sims as well as for racing. I don't do a lot of racing but my girlfriend does. When I ordered the Obutto I asked Chris Dunagan (the man behind Obutto) to send me all the parts needed to do a sidestick sim pit as well as a racing pit. I put the flight sim pit together first. That sounds like more than it really is as you can easily remove and swap parts around with the Obutto. I can convert from F/S to racing in about 5 minutes, and most of that time is swapping out controllers. The first thing I noticed is how comfortable the seat was. It's easy to adjust, like the seat in your car. The adjustment lever is front center under the seat. The reclining feature of the seat allows you to sit more or less upright, depending upon how you like to fly/drive. That lever is where the back meets the seat. I fly sidestick, so I adjusted the up/down arms for my Ch Pro Throttle and Fighterstick. Adjustment is done with star shaped handles connected to bolts that pin the arms in place. It took all of a minute to set the pit up for my use. I recommend using industrial strength velcro for mounting your stick and throttle. Chris (from Obutto) recommended it and it works like a champ!
I flew Flaming Cliffs 2 for hours in the Obutto. I enjoyed the pit immensely. The monitor is plenty close enough so that you can spot bandits at distance. The fact that I could fine tune where my controllers were gave me greater accuracy when flying. The pit is nice and stable, sturdy. Side to side movement in the Obutto results in very little movement of the monitor. My Obutto is set up on carpet with heavy pad so I expected a little "give". I'd be willing to wager that if set up on a floor that didn't move you wouldn't see any monitor movement.
Next I set the pit up for racing. My girlfriend has a Logitech G27 setup and races Dirt 2. It took 5 minutes to swap controllers and she had the Obutto adjusted in no time for her driving marathon. When asked what she liked about the Obutto she said that it was very comfortable. She liked how she could sit in it for hours and her legs wouldn't fall asleep. She also like how she could adjust the seat and her controllers to replicate what it felt like in her car (a 25th Anniversary Z-28). The distance between the screen and her eyes was perfect, she didn't need her reading glasses to read fine print. Needless to say she loved the Obutto.
She loved it so much that it's no longer mine........................Her argument is that I already have a pit built (those of you who know me have seen pics) and that she needed something. I didn't have an argument except that I liked the Obutto and that didn't fly, cuz she liked it too so one cancels out the other. It's now her new "desk". She sits in it surfing the web and her computer desk here in the office is bare. I even went into the other room where her Obutto is and found her in the seat reclined, sleeping while listening to music.
Options
real reclining car sports seat real car seat sliders for easy adjustment removable swiveling & telescoping keyboard/mouse tray very stable thick walled carbon steel frame (3.2cm diameter pipe) angled height adjustable steering wheel mount with over 12" of travel removable VESA monitor stand for hard mounting your LCD monitor (uses standard VESA bolt patterns 75x75mm, 100x100mm, 200x100mm) height & distance adjustable rubber covered pedal tray, also fully removable seperate H-pattern shifter mount (mounts on either side & distance adjustable) Accessories Include:
Triple monitor mount Black acrylic tabletop Flight stick/Throttle mount
Pluses
Heavy duty construction
Easy assembly
Infinitely adjustable
Can be configured for other duties in a few minutes
Price is reasonable, especially compared to competitors' offerings
Negatives
Needs a cup holder. (my girlfriend says that's the only thing missing)
Final Thoughts
I've been fortunate that I've been to many trade shows and have stick time in many of the offerings out there that are similar to what Obutto offers. I wasn't a fan of the ones I had tried as they were too flimsy or weren't ergonomic enough to suit my tastes. When I contacted Chris Dunagan about reviewing the Obutto I had a negative opinion about gamer cockpits. I'm pleasantly surprised to say that they aren't all created equal. My biggest gripe was flimsy construction. I didn't want to worry about ruining a $600 monitor by shaking it to death. Some of the other options were hard to get in and out of. Some didn't have enough mounting places for all my gear.
The Obutto is a great piece of kit at an extremely fair price. I like it so much that I'm seriously considering ordering another one and replacing the pit I built from scratch. It has less of a footprint than my exisiting pit and it's as easy to get in and out of. It looks Sierra Hotel! The matte black finish looks like pure business. You can marathon fly/drive for hours. I found the time went by quickly, often I had to be called for dinner because I was having too much fun.
Chris Dunagan, creator of the Obutto is a gamer. You can see him using the Obutto on You Tube. He's the guy in the pics on the Obutto website. And judging by the design of the gamer pit Chris is a bit of an engineer. I'm of the opinion that it's a gamer that knows what gamers want. Mission accomplished! One last thing I'd like to touch on is how receptive Chris was to my questions and comments. He took time out to answer a half a dozen emails from me. In my experience that shows that the man stands behind his product and he loves what he does. I'd like to thank Chris for all the help he provided me regarding this review. You're aces Chris.
Head over to the Obutto website and check out what Chris has to offer. Price is $329USD.
It's pronounced "Oh, but Oh!". So you want to know what an Obutto is. It's Flight Sim goodness. It's your very own cockpit from which you can strike the enemy where ever they may sortie from. It's an F-15 pit. It's a Spitfire pit. It's a P-38 Lighting pit. It's all of these, depending on how you wish to place your flight controllers. Even if you fly with a yoke and a throttle quadrant. Or if you fly with a HOTAS. Center stick or side stick position, it doesn't matter, Obutto can be configured the way you want to fly.
Construction
The Obutto is constructed of heavy gauge tubular steel. It's coated in a beautiful matte black finish that's tough as nails. The seat is a racing style bucket seat that is adjustable fore and aft as well as being able to recline. The seat is two tone black and gray and has fantastic lumbar support. It's extremely comfortable and the cloth that covers it is thick and durable. It also has Obutto's logo on the front headrest part of the seat as well as a large "Obutto" embroidered across the back headrest part of the seat. The heavy wear areas of the seat are reinforced by a vinyl that has a carbon fiber type pattern to it.
Assembly
You'll need some tools for assembly. Three to be exact. You'll need a 6mm allen wrench, and a 1/2 and 9/16 wrench (or crescent wrench). You'll also want to pick up some 4mm M4x 10mm screws. You'll need 4 of them. More on that later.......
I happened to have all those tools on hand (I'm a contractor). I like that cheapie tools aren't included with the Obutto. I've hurt myself plenty of times using wrenches stamped out of metal stock or busted knuckles when soft steel allen wrenches give way. Do yourself a favor, head over to Home Depot and pick up the tools you'll need. It will make assembly easier and you'll not have to head to Walgreens for Band-Aids and Neosporin.
The first thing you'll notice is that the parts are wrapped in bubble wrap. They're wrapped extremely well. There wasn't one scratch on the finish of my pit. In fact, the hardest thing about putting the pit together was unwrapping it. Seriously, it's that easy to put together! The instructions were written by someone who speaks English as a first language. They were clear and concise (and a bit humorous). Even if you aren't mechanically inclined you will be able to assemble the pit. It's a no brainer.
The Obutto comes in several main parts. The base for the monitor stand and the base for the seat. The seat itself comes mounted on sliding rails so you'll only have to bolt the seat onto the seat base, it takes 4 bolts to do so. The monitor stand base and seat bolt together as well. What you'll find with the Obutto is that there are many adjustments you can make when attaching the arms for the peripherals. Along each side of the seat base there are 7 holes that run the length of the base. These are the mounting holes for the arms that you'll use for your keyboard arm, throttle and stick arm. If you choose not to go side stick you can mount the arm where the monitor base and seat base bolt together. If you use a yoke you can mount it on the steering wheel mount. It's adjustable fore and aft for the perfect fit. The pedal base can be adjusted up or down as well as fore and aft. It's covered with a rubber non slip coating that really works well. My CH Pro Pedals didn't slide once on it. Neither did my girlfriends G27 racing pedals. I'm using a single 26" monitor and bolting it to the monitor mount was simple. This is where you'll need the 4mm VESA mounting screws. The mount itself is drilled for all the variations of VESA bolt patterns. You can adjust the monitor higher or lower on it's mounting uprights as well. As I said before, everything with the Obutto is adjustable. There is an option for a 3 monitor stand if you prefer.
Testing
I tested the pit for flight sims as well as for racing. I don't do a lot of racing but my girlfriend does. When I ordered the Obutto I asked Chris Dunagan (the man behind Obutto) to send me all the parts needed to do a sidestick sim pit as well as a racing pit. I put the flight sim pit together first. That sounds like more than it really is as you can easily remove and swap parts around with the Obutto. I can convert from F/S to racing in about 5 minutes, and most of that time is swapping out controllers. The first thing I noticed is how comfortable the seat was. It's easy to adjust, like the seat in your car. The adjustment lever is front center under the seat. The reclining feature of the seat allows you to sit more or less upright, depending upon how you like to fly/drive. That lever is where the back meets the seat. I fly sidestick, so I adjusted the up/down arms for my Ch Pro Throttle and Fighterstick. Adjustment is done with star shaped handles connected to bolts that pin the arms in place. It took all of a minute to set the pit up for my use. I recommend using industrial strength velcro for mounting your stick and throttle. Chris (from Obutto) recommended it and it works like a champ!
I flew Flaming Cliffs 2 for hours in the Obutto. I enjoyed the pit immensely. The monitor is plenty close enough so that you can spot bandits at distance. The fact that I could fine tune where my controllers were gave me greater accuracy when flying. The pit is nice and stable, sturdy. Side to side movement in the Obutto results in very little movement of the monitor. My Obutto is set up on carpet with heavy pad so I expected a little "give". I'd be willing to wager that if set up on a floor that didn't move you wouldn't see any monitor movement.
Next I set the pit up for racing. My girlfriend has a Logitech G27 setup and races Dirt 2. It took 5 minutes to swap controllers and she had the Obutto adjusted in no time for her driving marathon. When asked what she liked about the Obutto she said that it was very comfortable. She liked how she could sit in it for hours and her legs wouldn't fall asleep. She also like how she could adjust the seat and her controllers to replicate what it felt like in her car (a 25th Anniversary Z-28). The distance between the screen and her eyes was perfect, she didn't need her reading glasses to read fine print. Needless to say she loved the Obutto.
She loved it so much that it's no longer mine........................Her argument is that I already have a pit built (those of you who know me have seen pics) and that she needed something. I didn't have an argument except that I liked the Obutto and that didn't fly, cuz she liked it too so one cancels out the other. It's now her new "desk". She sits in it surfing the web and her computer desk here in the office is bare. I even went into the other room where her Obutto is and found her in the seat reclined, sleeping while listening to music.
Options
real reclining car sports seat real car seat sliders for easy adjustment removable swiveling & telescoping keyboard/mouse tray very stable thick walled carbon steel frame (3.2cm diameter pipe) angled height adjustable steering wheel mount with over 12" of travel removable VESA monitor stand for hard mounting your LCD monitor (uses standard VESA bolt patterns 75x75mm, 100x100mm, 200x100mm) height & distance adjustable rubber covered pedal tray, also fully removable seperate H-pattern shifter mount (mounts on either side & distance adjustable) Accessories Include:
Triple monitor mount Black acrylic tabletop Flight stick/Throttle mount
Pluses
Heavy duty construction
Easy assembly
Infinitely adjustable
Can be configured for other duties in a few minutes
Price is reasonable, especially compared to competitors' offerings
Negatives
Needs a cup holder. (my girlfriend says that's the only thing missing)
Final Thoughts
I've been fortunate that I've been to many trade shows and have stick time in many of the offerings out there that are similar to what Obutto offers. I wasn't a fan of the ones I had tried as they were too flimsy or weren't ergonomic enough to suit my tastes. When I contacted Chris Dunagan about reviewing the Obutto I had a negative opinion about gamer cockpits. I'm pleasantly surprised to say that they aren't all created equal. My biggest gripe was flimsy construction. I didn't want to worry about ruining a $600 monitor by shaking it to death. Some of the other options were hard to get in and out of. Some didn't have enough mounting places for all my gear.
The Obutto is a great piece of kit at an extremely fair price. I like it so much that I'm seriously considering ordering another one and replacing the pit I built from scratch. It has less of a footprint than my exisiting pit and it's as easy to get in and out of. It looks Sierra Hotel! The matte black finish looks like pure business. You can marathon fly/drive for hours. I found the time went by quickly, often I had to be called for dinner because I was having too much fun.
Chris Dunagan, creator of the Obutto is a gamer. You can see him using the Obutto on You Tube. He's the guy in the pics on the Obutto website. And judging by the design of the gamer pit Chris is a bit of an engineer. I'm of the opinion that it's a gamer that knows what gamers want. Mission accomplished! One last thing I'd like to touch on is how receptive Chris was to my questions and comments. He took time out to answer a half a dozen emails from me. In my experience that shows that the man stands behind his product and he loves what he does. I'd like to thank Chris for all the help he provided me regarding this review. You're aces Chris.
Head over to the Obutto website and check out what Chris has to offer. Price is $329USD.
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