Gear for the ultimate flight sim junkie!

[SUBMAN1]

A Thrustmaster Cougar is pretty extreme, but I think this goes way beyond!

-S

http://gear.ign.com/articles/807/807903p1.html

http://gearmedia.ign.com/gear/image/article/807/807903/saitek-independent-flight-sim-lcds-20070725115811941-000.jpg

[Skybird]

Four pages of stuff:

http://www.aerosoft.com/cgi-local/re/iboshop.cgi?show290,4621249810

[Heibges]

Four pages of stuff:

http://www.aerosoft.com/cgi-local/re/iboshop.cgi?show290,4621249810

That looks like high quality stuff. My boss is building a 737 cockpit in his back shed.

[mbthegreat]

its probably more expensive than getting a PPL.....

[SUBMAN1]

Four pages of stuff:

http://www.aerosoft.com/cgi-local/re/iboshop.cgi?show290,4621249810

THe above gauges / panel is only $100. What you posted is really really extreme! Wow!

-S

[Tchocky]

http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/AC/aircraft/Cessna-172/info/cessna.jpg

[Yahoshua]

And I thought that TrackIR was enough of an unnecessary accessory.....

[Chock]

TrackIR is great for combat sims and VFR stuff, but on IFR airliners in FS it is more of a hindrance than a help.

Those instruments seem a bit pricey considering they look absolutely bugger all like the real thing. And at 100 dollars a pop, it's going to cost you 600 bucks just for a basic blind flying panel. You'd be far better off just mounting a cheap TFT monitor in your virtual aeroplane's dashboard and designing an instrument panel that displayed them all (which is dead easy to do), then plonking some cardboard over it with a few circular holes cut in it. You could knock that lot up for about 100 bucks easy, and it would probably look better too. You could even make the instruments adjustable if you used a touch-sensitive screen.

:D Chock

[Reaves]

I remember when I first got FS9 I found sites where people made virtual cockpits. Awesome stuff for the immersion junkies. I was really impressed that MS made it possible to add extra gauges and use multiple monitors, they obviously listened to some of the more hardcore fanbase on that one.

[Skybird]

I didn'T believe in virtual cockpits, until I saw that of the Piper Cheyenne (Digital Aviation)

I thought TrackIr was overrated, until I started to use it in FS9 half a year ago.

I now do all my flying in VC exclusively, and with TrackIR.

Where I do not miss it a bit is driving simulators, though. But it is welcomed in IL2 though.

[Camaero]

I didn'T believe in virtual cockpits, until I saw that of the Piper Cheyenne (Digital Aviation)

I thought TrackIr was overrated, until I started to use it in FS9 half a year ago.

I now do all my flying in VC exclusively, and with TrackIR.

Where I do not miss it a bit is driving simulators, though. But it is welcomed in IL2 though.

Yeah, TrackIR never worked out well for me in driving simulators either. I guess I just lean with my head too much.

I can not fly without it in IL2 however. I could never keep track of enemy planes, keep track of friendly planes, and keep track of my own plane as well without it. I can hardly believe that there was a time in my IL2 career that I didn't use it! In FSX and FS9 it is pretty cool too, though not quite as important.

[mbthegreat]

I have always foudn VFR flying in a game really difficult, you just don't have the same ability to view over the dash as it were, and I find myself just using instruments to get the data mattiditude

[Skybird]

I have always foudn VFR flying in a game really difficult, you just don't have the same ability to view over the dash as it were, and I find myself just using instruments to get the data mattiditude
What soft- and hardware-stuff are you using, then? I can estimate my altitude on approach without using instruments, and land with an eye on the speed-needle only.

[mbthegreat]

FSX, my standard PC and a joystick, I fly IRL and find trying to navigate VFR on FS almost impossible

[Officerpuppy]

All we need know is for a company to make something for sub sims, maybe like dive planes or something :lol:

[Sailor Steve]

http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/AC/aircraft/Cessna-172/info/cessna.jpg
The model looks great but the terrain could use some work.

[Skybird]

FSX, my standard PC and a joystick, I fly IRL and find trying to navigate VFR on FS almost impossible
Get some decent scenery.
Make sure frames are not to low in VC.
Try TrackIR, zoom factor 0.75 (in FS9 terms).
Get a HOTAS and attach trach-IR stabilizing and view zoom functions to it to use them for quick changes. I can't imagine how to "realistically" fly FS without dedicated input devices, and pedals.

If the problem is perspective, that can be solved.
If the problem is visual detail, it will never match reality, but it can be massively improved.

If you expect it to be like in reality, you probably expect to much from a sim.

If your machine produces low frames with FSX and addons, go back to FS9. This is the simpel reason why I jumped onto FS9 half a year ago, and build it up: if I need to buy a new machine in the next two years, and I use FSX and addon sceneries, I again will have stuttery rrames. But FS9 already is playable now, and on my next rig will run perfetcly smooth. A recipe I already used when I bought FS8 long time after it was released, and never regret it.

[mbthegreat]

THe problem is perspective mainly I find, I don't have money to spend on yoke / pedals / fake glass cockpit unfourtunatly (do you know how expenisve flying lessons are, christ!)

[Chock]

If you are having flying lessons, having rudder pedals, a decent stick/yoke similar to the one you use in the aircraft you train in will help massively, and given that that lessons are so costly, anything that you can use to make you more familiar with the physical movements required will be money well spent, as it will likely save you money in the long run, as you master things quicker.

The reason I know this, is because before all those gadgets were available for flight sims when I was learning to fly, I rigged up dummy controls with bungy cords and bits of wood, in order to practice co-ordinating rudder with stick movements, and believe it or not, it really did work! I guess your muscles sort of learn automatic reactions or something. Anyway, whatever the reason, it sure helped, I started lessons on a Monday and went solo on the Friday of the same week after 7 hours and fifteen minutes of dual instruction. But of course it would have been a lot simpler if all those gadgets we take for granted now had been available at the time.

Another trick I did when learning to fly was to read the two best books I could find on on flying, then without referring back to them (unless I got stuck) I wrote out all the chapters in a notebook in my own words, to get all the knowledge straight in my head, that really helped a lot too. Still got that notebook somewhere:rotfl:

And with the more recent trackIR, you can actually sit up and lean forward to see over the cockpit coaming to view the terrain. If you get decent scenery for where you fly based on satellite pictures, it really will help you a lot too. But of course as you probably know, generally speaking, it's harder to fly a sim than it is to fly the real thing.

With regard to costs for aviation, that's one of the reasons I only fly gliders these days in real life - cheaper, much more skill involved than flying a spam can and more fun too. Like they say: If God had wanted us to fly, he'd have given us more money!

:D Chock

[Skybird]

THe problem is perspective mainly I find, I don't have money to spend on yoke / pedals / fake glass cockpit unfourtunatly (do you know how expenisve flying lessons are, christ!)
when you say perspective, a solid aircraft module would help you that allows realistic perspective from the pilot'S eyes, so to speak.

A light training aircraft is the Diamond Katana by digital Aviation, with very good viewing possibilities to the front and side, and said well-done VC.

http://www.digital-aviation.de/crjsite/l_html/media_da20_01.html
http://www.avsim.com/pages/0307/Katana/Katana.htm
http://www.digital-aviation.de/crjsite/l_html/aircraft_da20_main.html

Also recommended for VFR and good perspective from pilot'S seat: the SIAI Marchetti SF260 by RealAir that I own myself and wholeheartly can recommend. the VC is superior to many 2D cockpits in that the gauges are crystal-clear and the needles move totally smoothly.

http://www.realairsimulations.com/flash.php?page=sf26007_intro
http://www.avsim.com/

Note that the SF260 does not even have a 2D cockpit.

Both have bubble-kind of canopies and are aircraft that are commonly used for VFR flights (the latter also for aerobatics). Both aircraft are available for FS9 and FSX.

If you are a serious simmer, pedals first and TrackIR second should be put onto your investement list.

[mbthegreat]

Yeah, I'll look in to getting some pedals.