Pepper, I know exactly what you mean - it is quite an act to get a system perfect for both flight sims and games like BF3. Your idea of not using a center stick because it would interfere with the keyboard tray is rather pointless because the keyboard tray is so wide that it will also interfere with sidestick configurations if you use the flight sim mount. Therefore I use the following setup:
1.) Center stick on the flight stick mount. Simply unscrew and lay it on the floor when not used. 2.) Throttle on the left. It swings to the back when not used. Mounted on the Obutto's gearshift mount. 3.) Keyboard tray on the right - simply put it parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pit when simming and swivel it towards you when working or playing games 4.) The acrylic table has a high friction coefficient against rubber, so I don't have it mounted. I put some self-adhesive rubber pads on the small metallic table and the acrylic tabletop simply lies on top of these rubber pads and is unable to move because of its own weight, much like many glass tables out there. 5.) Most steering wheels and all the tabletop yokes I know have rubber feet on their bottoms, so you simply put them on top of the acrylic table and optionally use a clamp when necessary, simply clamping the acrylic tabletop right in between. Rock solid.
In other news, I finished my touchscreen mounting project today. I use Helios for DCS a lot but the touchscreen on top of the acrylic tabletop had to be tilted way back so it doesn't block the lower portion of the center main screen. I had to find a solution for the touchscreen because the viewing angle on the TN panel of the touchscreen was really bad in terms of readability. The solution was to mount an Ergotron LX monitor arm to the pit. I used the model originally designed for wall mounting. The wooden plate is simply spraypainted black, drilled and mounted to the vertical pipes of the screen mount using 26mm steel cable clamps. Guy in the home depot asked me if I wanted to build a ski lift or something, but when I told him I'm gonna use them for my computer, he would shake his head in utter disbelief.
Closeup of the mounts:
The hole is for routing cables later on
Rear view of the wooden plate. I theoretically put some small metallic plates over the steel clamp screws and use the space in between for cable routing if I were so inclined.
Sim mode
Work- and gaming mode
When not in use, the touchscreen folds to the rear of the pit and simply hangs there.
Next time I'm gonna put in a ButtKicker
You don't stop playing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing.
