[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":244},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-looking-for-testers":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"category":229,"date":230,"description":231,"extension":232,"meta":233,"navigation":234,"path":235,"readingTime":236,"seo":237,"stem":238,"tags":239,"__hash__":243},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Flooking-for-testers.md","We're Looking for Testers","Dennis van Dalfzen",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":218},"minimark",[10,15,19,22,26,29,70,79,83,90,93,97,100,126,129,133,141,145,201,204,208,215],[11,12,14],"h2",{"id":13},"help-shape-cockpitconnect","Help shape CockpitConnect",[16,17,18],"p",{},"CockpitConnect is growing, and I want it to fit every kind of home cockpit: big and small, airliner and GA, fully wired or just getting started. Every cockpit is set up a little differently. Builders wire their panels in their own way, fly other aircraft and run X-Plane 12 on all sorts of PCs and networks.",[16,20,21],{},"That's why I'm looking for testers. You use CockpitConnect in your own setup and tell me what works well, what could be smoother and what you'd like to see next. Your feedback directly shapes what gets built.",[11,23,25],{"id":24},"what-you-would-be-testing","What you would be testing",[16,27,28],{},"CockpitConnect connects your cockpit to X-Plane 12 without USB cables or hand-written Arduino sketches:",[30,31,32,40,46,52,58,64],"ul",{},[33,34,35,39],"li",{},[36,37,38],"strong",{},"The visual Flow Builder."," You drag a switch, encoder, LED or display onto a canvas and bind it to an X-Plane 12 dataref or command. When you change a binding, your Bridge picks it up. There's no sketch to write or compile.",[33,41,42,45],{},[36,43,44],{},"Touch panels."," Turn an old tablet, phone or spare screen into part of your cockpit. Put buttons, switches, knobs, lamps, frequencies and gauges on it, and wire them in the same Flows as a physical panel.",[33,47,48,51],{},[36,49,50],{},"WiFi panels."," ESP32 boards join your WiFi and find the Bridge on your local network by themselves.",[33,53,54,57],{},[36,55,56],{},"Flash once, done."," You flash each ESP32 one time, straight from your browser. After that, everything you change in a Flow reaches the board through your Bridge, and new firmware arrives over the air. No more plugging in a USB cable every time you rewire a switch.",[33,59,60,63],{},[36,61,62],{},"The Bridge."," A small program on your SimPC, a Raspberry Pi or another PC on your network that links everything to X-Plane 12. It keeps running when the internet is down.",[33,65,66,69],{},[36,67,68],{},"Blueprints."," Starter cockpits for popular aircraft, so you don't start from an empty canvas.",[16,71,72,73,78],{},"Have a look at ",[74,75,77],"a",{"href":76},"\u002Fapp","the software overview"," for the full picture.",[11,80,82],{"id":81},"no-microcontrollers-you-can-still-test","No microcontrollers? You can still test",[16,84,85,86,89],{},"You don't need to own a single ESP32 or solder anything. A tablet, a phone or a second screen is enough to test CockpitConnect as a ",[36,87,88],{},"touch panel",": open it from your Bridge in the browser and build, for example, a radio stack or an autopilot panel you can tap. A StreamDeck, a joystick, a yoke or a MIDI box you already own can join in as well.",[16,91,92],{},"So whether you have a garage full of panels or just X-Plane 12 and a tablet, you can help.",[11,94,96],{"id":95},"who-im-looking-for","Who I'm looking for",[16,98,99],{},"You don't need to be an expert. A good tester is someone who:",[30,101,102,109,116,123],{},[33,103,104,105,108],{},"flies ",[36,106,107],{},"X-Plane 12"," (Microsoft Flight Simulator isn't supported yet);",[33,110,111,112,115],{},"has ",[36,113,114],{},"something to connect",": ESP32 panels, or just a tablet, phone or spare screen for a touch panel;",[33,117,118,119,122],{},"runs the Bridge on ",[36,120,121],{},"Windows, Linux or a Raspberry Pi",";",[33,124,125],{},"is willing to share clear feedback: what you did, what you expected and what happened.",[16,127,128],{},"Beginners are welcome too. If something feels confusing the first time, that's exactly the feedback I'm after.",[11,130,132],{"id":131},"what-it-costs","What it costs",[16,134,135,136,140],{},"Nothing. The ",[74,137,139],{"href":138},"\u002Fpricing","Free plan"," doesn't expire and covers up to five ESP32 controllers. Touch panels, StreamDecks and USB game controllers don't count toward that limit, so testing with a tablet stays free however many panels you put on it.",[11,142,144],{"id":143},"how-it-works","How it works",[146,147,148,161,173,184,195],"ol",{},[33,149,150,153,154,160],{},[36,151,152],{},"Get in touch"," on ",[74,155,159],{"href":156,"rel":157},"https:\u002F\u002Fwa.me\u002F31644785999",[158],"nofollow","WhatsApp",". Tell me a bit about your setup: which aircraft, and whether you'll test with ESP32 panels, a touch panel or both.",[33,162,163,166,167,172],{},[36,164,165],{},"Create an account"," in ",[74,168,171],{"href":169,"rel":170},"https:\u002F\u002Fapp.cockpitconnect.com",[158],"the app",".",[33,174,175,178,179,183],{},[36,176,177],{},"Install the Bridge"," from the ",[74,180,182],{"href":181},"\u002Fdownload","download page"," and connect it to X-Plane 12.",[33,185,186,189,190,194],{},[36,187,188],{},"Connect your hardware."," Open a touch panel on your tablet, or flash your ESP32 from your browser on the ",[74,191,193],{"href":192},"\u002Fflash","flash page",". No Arduino IDE needed, and you only do this once per board.",[33,196,197,200],{},[36,198,199],{},"Build a Flow"," and fly with it. Then tell me how it went.",[16,202,203],{},"I read every message myself, and the feedback goes straight into what gets built next.",[11,205,207],{"id":206},"interested","Interested?",[16,209,210,211,214],{},"Send me a message on ",[74,212,159],{"href":156,"rel":213},[158],", whether you're halfway through your first panel or only have a tablet and an idea. I'm looking forward to seeing your cockpit.",[16,216,217],{},"— Dennis",{"title":219,"searchDepth":220,"depth":220,"links":221},"",2,[222,223,224,225,226,227,228],{"id":13,"depth":220,"text":14},{"id":24,"depth":220,"text":25},{"id":81,"depth":220,"text":82},{"id":95,"depth":220,"text":96},{"id":131,"depth":220,"text":132},{"id":143,"depth":220,"text":144},{"id":206,"depth":220,"text":207},"news","2026-10-28","Help shape CockpitConnect for X-Plane 12. Test it with your own ESP32 panels, or with just a tablet as a touch panel; no microcontrollers needed.","md",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Flooking-for-testers",4,{"title":5,"description":231},"blog\u002Flooking-for-testers",[240,241,242],"News","Testing","Community","wht3MWGGQ3n8RGPTy96vwlLuNOLKwn8erjbTqU-lG4Q",1793185045542]