miniCockpit, known for their miniFCU, began shipping their units back in November of 2023. They have since sold out a couple of times. Their miniFCU is a replica of the original Airbus Flight Control Unit (FCU) at only 80% of its size, hence the name.
This time they are back at it again and have announced their 2024/2025 roadmap. This includes previews of a host of new products to come in the future. miniCockpit has previously said the miniEFIS will be the next in their line of mini Airbus products. The roadmap has four products, including the EFIS. However, there are no exact dates for their release apart from the rough 2024-2025 window.
The miniEFIS
The miniEFIS was originally announced alongside the miniFCU and the miniECAM. The EFIS allows you to manage the navigation displays and QNH. They also included the Chrono button on the side. According to miniCockpit, the position of the EFIS and the ECAM are interchangeable.
According to miniCockpit’s Facebook page, they are currently aiming for a release in June for the miniEFIS.
The Rest of the miniCockpit Roadmap
Announced on the 27th of March, miniCockpit previewed the miniOVHD, miniRMP, and miniECAM. All would be built with the same quality as their miniFCU. The miniECAM would accompany the miniEFIS in the glare shield, being replicated from a real Airbus cockpit at a smaller scale.
The miniOVHD is just part of the overhead panel from an Airbus cockpit. It includes a selection of buttons and switches chosen for their particular use. They took a different approach for this product, picking each button and switch based on how frequently they are used in flight. According to miniCockpit, the idea behind this approach is to “Maximise meaningful usage” of possibly limited desk space. This is to avoid just copying the overhead panel. This would include buttons you may use more than once on a flight, according to miniCockpit. This includes buttons such as the lights, seatbelt signs, call button, APU, and external power.
The miniRMP is accompanied by a more modern Airbus design, according to miniCockpit. Instead of dials, they went for a buttoned approach. They are using individual buttons to input numbers for the frequencies and the transponder code, all great for easy radio communications.
The exact date of either of these products is still unknown. You can, however, keep up to date with the continued work on these products by keeping an eye on our miniCockpit page.
You can learn more about miniCockpit and their journey from pilots to sim hardware creators from one of our other posts.
