Welcome to the OpenA3XX project, a truly open source project for the Airbus A3XX family.
The project was co-founded by a group of flight simulation enthusiasts based in Malta, Germany and the United Kingdom.
It came into existance after the desire to be build a home cockpit for the A3XX family, but there was no single point of reference on how to tackle that kind of project from the beginning.
There were numerous sources of information out there, but nothing complete and all in one place.
The OpenA3XX project aims to provide that single point of reference. Whether you're a complete beginner with no experience in anything technical, or a seasoned flight sim enthustiast with a wide range of skills and knowledge, the OpenA3XX project will be a great project for you complete.
And all of this will be open source, with clear documentation and easy to understand step-by-step guidance.
This will be an exciting DIY project for you to tackle, powered by open source hardware and software.
We beleive this is a high quality project, designed with low-cost in mind.
Everything within the OpenA3XX project is open source hardware & software.
It is for personal use only, and is not permitted for commercial use without speaking to the OpenA3XX team directly.
No-one is allowed to sell any part of the project, nor are they allowed to manufacture our designs and products for selling.
There may be certain parts of the project that OpenA3XX holds in stock for users to purchase if they are not able to get them manufactured themself. But no product will be behind a paywall. All parts will always be free to the user.
In summary, it's all completly free for you to use for yourself in personal home cockpits.
If you are unsure on whether you are allowed to do something with our designs and products, please contact us to discuss the matter. Thank you!
So, that's all well and good we hear you say, but how does it all work?
Our team have designed open source hardware. This means the plans and designs are there free for you to see and use. You can manufactuer the parts yourself, or use the plans to send off for them to be manufactured in a method of your choosing.
We are currently starting with the MCDU, but the project will develop other panels and instruments as the project grows.
We are also in the early stages of developing the FCU and the overhead panels.
Firstly, you can take the PCB designs and get them manufactured. You can choose how the boards are assembled, but they have been designed so that a even novice can solder it all together themselves.
You will find a 'bill' of components listing everything that you will need.
Secondly, you decide on how you want to manufacture the actual panel. Will it be 3D printed or CNC milled? Our team have designed the 3D models individually with care, and have designed them with the differences in 3D printing and CNC milling in mind. These designs are all open source and ready to download. You then assemble the parts together with the panel to complete the panel.
Lastly, the open source software is downloaded and you configure the hardware to your system. The software is a fantastic, easy to use and powerful. It will run your hardware and handle the communication between it, and the simulator.
To access everything that we've provided is 100% free.
A truly open source project from start to finish.
The only cost is what you're willing to put into the parts and manufacturing.
Regardless, it will be significantly cheaper than an 'off the shelf' model you can get online. While we have nothing against these types of products, and some are very high quaity, what we are offering is the oppertunity to build one yourself from scratch and at a significantly cheaper price.
The other advantage to this project being open source is that you can modify it any way that you wish.
If something doesn't work for your needs, it can be modified and adapted.
If you'd like to submit your modifications back to the community, you can do so by sending a pull request to our repos.
(Please see our 'Contributing' page for instructions on how to do this).
We are nearing the point of an initial 'stable' release for the software.
Our 3D design work is going through the finishing touches, and prototypes will be manufactured soon.
The PCB hardware is very nearly finished, and some boards have already been produced and assembled ready for testing.
The community documentation and presentation is what you're reading now, and is constantly being updated.
All of our current work is free to be seen on the OpenA3XX project GitHub repos.
In the mean time, please consider joining our Community Discord server.