buying a flight sim?

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Brad W

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Ground up starting with nothing...How much would it cost all in to get a decent home flight sim....not an unlimited budget kind of thing..

but still one of those real deal avionics and switches sort of thing....no keyboard and mouse required....ground up

I've goofed around a bit with microsoft's sim...but that 100% monitor based sort of stuff where you have to pan the view down and use the mouse to click the flap switch...that's not what I'm wondering about.

Goal is realistic training and entertainment, knocking the rust off then staying current.

I've glanced at the realsimgear.com page, looks like they might have some cool looking Garmin simulation stuff but I'll bet that would be a full time hobby just getting it integrated and calibrated with other cobbled together stuff form other companies.
But on that note, that seems like it would be cool if you have a plane with say G1000 panel to get a sim with one of those
but that brings a side question to mind.... if you don't own a plane nor do you have one that you regularly rent, so you have nothing you want to copy with your sim set-up, which sort of set-up would you buy? G1000, GTN650 stack, etc...?
 
You can get by with ~$500 for a decent yoke, throttle quadrant, and pedals. Getting a switch panel, radio panel, and other button boxes amounts to $100-150 each. There are decent Logitech ones. For less than $1000 all-up, you can get it to the point where, for 90% of GA aircraft, the only things you’re touching “on-screen” are the nav consoles. And if you want that, the products you mentioned do it well.

There are also ways to make inexpensive button boxes out of existing iPads, smartphones, stream decks, etc.
 
If you are interested, I have a yoke, throttle and rudder pedals that I would be will to let go for close to the price of a Vortex Diamondback tactical 4-16 rifle scope.
 
Have you considered VR? Then you don't need to worry about avionics panels and switches and such. Just a yoke/stick, throttle and pedals.
 
Brad W said:
…I've glanced at the realsimgear.com page, looks like they might have some cool looking Garmin simulation stuff but I'll bet that would be a full time hobby just getting it integrated and calibrated with other cobbled together stuff form other companies....?
Click to expand...
If you want legal IFR currency, BATDs start around $8K. AATDs are likely closer to what you’re looking for. Flight1 has very good Cirrus and PA-28 AATDs but you’re looking at spending $50k for one.

http://www.flight1tech.com/Simulators/Cirrus-SR-Series
 
And, nobody has even discussed the computer to run the sim. Depending on which software you plan to use, you could end up needing a thousand-dollar gaming PC for the best experience.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is the most resource hungry one, but X-Plane 12 is not too far behind. X-Plane 11, MSFS-X and Prepar3D can run on machines with slightly less cutting-edge hardware.

I built my PC, and I use MSFS 2020, MSFS-X and X-plane 11. The best scenery and realism as far as terrain goes is MSFS 2020, hands down. The best sim for realism as far as actual physics modeling and response would be X-Plane11.

I am using the Honeycomb Alpha yoke (and it has switches, saves money there), and the FlightSimStuff Cessna T/P/M/Flaps/Trim setup. I have the Logitech (Saitek) rudder pedals with the Cessna Pedals mod. I use a 32" HDTV for my monitor. My next upgrade will be the Logitech radio panel. It is generic enough to familiarize you with most KX-155 or Narco Com/Nav setups.

I did not like the Logitech yoke. At all. It has been boxed up and thrown up in the attic. The T/P/M worked very well, but was only relevant during the short time I was training in a Warrior. I am back to Cessnas now.

ETA - if you want really good equipment, Redbird is an excellent choice.
 
I will second the comment to get the Honeycomb Alpha yoke.

While most of the planes I fly are push-pull engine controls, it isn't a big deal to me to have a quadrant style throttle. I do wish FlightSimStuff would add a gear switch.

VR is also a great way to do sims. To look to the side, you just turn your head.

If you don't have a computer with a fairly high end graphics card, you will probably need to upgrade.
 
all these things seem like piecemeal stuff.... I'm guessing tons of putzing with settings to get it all working and set up like you want.....doesn't seem like plug in and start flying. Years ago...as in back in the days of MSDOS and Windows 3.0 I used to enjoy putzing around building PC's and adjusting the configurations and settings to get things to sort of work. Sorting out conflicts between the mouse and the joystick and the modem....I'm not so interested in that any more....

Does anyone just make a nice complete full control flight sim set-up that doesn't cost as much as an actual airplane?
and I don't really care about FAA certified...(although sure that would be cool if it didn't cost more...)
 
Honeycomb Alpha is pretty much plug & play into x-plane. You’ll need to calibrate and learn what the switch assignments do, but for most of them it’s apparent. FrEx, the Beacon switch is preprogrammed to toggle the Beacon on/off.

The least amount of hassle will be a BATD. The most will be resuming flight sim games as a hobby.
 
Brad W said:
all these things seem like piecemeal stuff.... I'm guessing tons of putzing with settings to get it all working and set up like you want.....doesn't seem like plug in and start flying. Years ago...as in back in the days of MSDOS and Windows 3.0 I used to enjoy putzing around building PC's and adjusting the configurations and settings to get things to sort of work. Sorting out conflicts between the mouse and the joystick and the modem....I'm not so interested in that any more....

Does anyone just make a nice complete full control flight sim set-up that doesn't cost as much as an actual airplane?
and I don't really care about FAA certified...(although sure that would be cool if it didn't cost more...)
Click to expand...

My setup is piecemeal because it’s designed to cover dozens of configurations, which it does pretty well. If I were flying just one particular type of aircraft, I’d have considered an all-in-one setup. All of it was plug and play, just needed to bind a few of the “extra” buttons on the yoke/throttle within the sim to my preference, and set up a few different profiles for singles, twins, etc. All the switch panels worked right out of the box.
 
Brad W said:
realsimgear.com
Click to expand...
I know this company and the owners personally and have first-hand experience with their product. It's very solidly built proper gear built by aviation enthusiasts

They have a great selection starting from standalone components up through full panels and have FAA approved versions

If you are interested in speaking with someone directly there about your needs and what solution would work for you drop me a DM and I can send you some contact info
 
Except you turn you head and what you are looking moves to the middle of the screen. So if I turn my head to look back, how do I see the screen????? :D
 
Brad W said:
all these things seem like piecemeal stuff.... I'm guessing tons of putzing with settings to get it all working and set up like you want.....doesn't seem like plug in and start flying. Years ago...as in back in the days of MSDOS and Windows 3.0 I used to enjoy putzing around building PC's and adjusting the configurations and settings to get things to sort of work. Sorting out conflicts between the mouse and the joystick and the modem....I'm not so interested in that any more....

Does anyone just make a nice complete full control flight sim set-up that doesn't cost as much as an actual airplane?
and I don't really care about FAA certified...(although sure that would be cool if it didn't cost more...)
Click to expand...

There are companies that will see you the computer with flight controls as a bundle.

Not a huge amount to do to set them up. I installed X-plane and was flying within 20 - 30 minutes to calibrate the controls and set up some buttons for shortcuts (flaps,gear, views, etc)
 
RE the VR aspect of it.. part of this depends on what you're looking to get out of the sim. Most folks I know use their sim for one of the following:

(A) instrument procedures
(B) flows and emergencies
(C) exposure to avionics (650 / 750 / G1000 / 430 / 530, etc)

To that point, you don't need a ton of graphics horsepower to set up some IMC day with 1-2 mile viz and low ceilings, you also don't need VR necessarily

On the flip side - if you're approaching this more as a 'game' or virtual reality platform, or even to test flight some routes in the sim VFR before doing the real thing, then sure - a VR headset, or the wrap around monitors are not a bad touch. Personally I still prefer the physical hardware to the VR to get that tactile feel, helps with the reality immersion.

When I was a student back in 2004 - 2006 I pre-flew my solo cross countries multiple times in X-Plane and FSX. The graphics were decent enough, and the main navigational landmarks were all there
 
Pinecone said:
Except you turn you head and what you are looking moves to the middle of the screen. So if I turn my head to look back, how do I see the screen????? :D
Click to expand...
It works on a curve so that your movements are exaggerated. When set up properly it works very well. The things you don't get that you do in VR are the depth perception and the real-life scale.
 
excellent, thanks everyone. sounds like it might not be the headache that I was imagining.

My son has a VR headset and it does work pretty slick...although I can't recall if I played with it on a flight sim or not. Anyway it was good...but I think I'm more interested in actually twisting the knobs and yanking the yoke around....

I'm just starting to think about this but I suppose to list my mission:
1) start knocking a couple decades worth of dust off of my pilot's certificate...getting my head back into it
2) eventually practicing instrument procedures and building up some competency with a scan, etc...
3) exposure to modern avionics and procedures....
4) and eventually maintaining some competency if I ever start flying for real again

#3 is a sticky point for me since I don't have a particular thing in mind....don't have a particularly equipped rental aircraft that I want to practice up for. I've only minimally used some of the smaller and older Garmin GPS/com units.... never any of the big screen stuff. My experience was rooted in VOR's, ILS Localizers, NDB, and paper charts and plates! I'd like to get firmly up to speed with something in that realm though, thinking that even if whatever I end up flying with has something different, a lot of the knowledge will be something I can build from. I just don't know where to go here....

another question for you...
the last time I did any simulator work... a long time ago... the school where I was renting from and doing some instrument flight review work with had a desktop sim that was loggable. I worked with a CFII on it...I think it was something by Redbird...it was about 20 years ago. The yoke and control was just unnatural. It was somewhat useful I suppose for running procedures and exercising scan, but I found it mostly just frustrating and distracting...I don't recall exactly what it was.... seems like the trim didn't work just right and thing thing was un-naturally spring loaded. Am I correct to assume that these new sim controllers are better than that??? That's why if I do it I'm willing to jump in deep to get something decent.
 
Unfortunately I don't think that the newer consumer products have force feedback or anything like that, so the trim is just software-based and simply allows you to stop holding the yoke in a certain direction. If you're referring to the newer redbirds, I don't have experience there.

Someone correct me if there are new products available that have force feedback, but to my knowledge that's something of the past for some reason.
 
Brad W said:
The yoke and control was just unnatural.
Click to expand...
I found this surprising as well, there are some beautiful yokes on there, especially by Yoko and Honeycomb, bvut I have to think they're not build by pilots, but more gamers, as the springs are too tight and there's no force feedback. Not to keep plugging these guys, buttt, the RealSimGear Cirrus yoke is fully feedback. I believe a yoke version is in the works

Baked Potato said:
Unfortunately I don't think that the consumer products have force feedback or anything like that
Click to expand...
Surprising, isn't it. Goes to show how cheap some of these manufacturers are, much easier to do a rheostat and some bungies or springs vs hall effect sensors and stepper motors
 
no... if you wanted to go full bore on this, and have some budget, some tech know-how, but most importantly tons of time; there are people out there who build their own sims. With 3D printers, arduino, and loads of off the shelf electronics available people have built some impressive tech

This dude is building an immersive A10 sim:

It's basically all fancy arduino and well done consumer parts. This guy even built analog gauges. Incredible stuff
 
Brad W said:
Goal is realistic training and entertainment, knocking the rust off then staying current.
Click to expand...

Hi.
See site below for more info. One possible / useful combination should have a 42 in screen, Jstick (No Yokes), Rudder pedals, PC at least a GTX 1070, CPU 4.2 GHz or above and 16GB RAM.
You can buy XPlane 12, which is useless at this stag, and you can also get XPlane 11 for free which can be useful. It will need some Ortho scenery addons, you can develop it yourself for free, or buy it if you want VFR training, the release from LR is not very useful as VFR tool.
A logitech 3D pro as a jstick it's OK, around $50.00 to start with, a set a rudders is a requirement, CH Pro USB is OK ($50.00 used), for IFR, and a 4K TV around $2-300 in addition to your PC.
I would not get into Tracking, VR... especially if you want to do IFR work, you can assign everything you need to your Jstick buttons. If you can find a Jstick with 15+ buttons, and 6 axis it will get you all / most of what you need for a complex, high performance GA acft.

https://pilotworkshop.com/products/getting-started-with-simulation/
 
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Interesting. People are worried about practicing with a throttle quadrant versus push-pull, and you suggest a joystick versus a yoke. Really?

Why do you say X-plane 12 is useless??
 
Pinecone said:
Interesting. People are worried about practicing with a throttle quadrant versus push-pull, and you suggest a joystick versus a yoke. Really?

Why do you say X-plane 12 is useless??
Click to expand...

XP12 is beta still and there’s not much aftermarket stuff compatible because, well, it’s beta. Those developers are waiting to see how much change will be needed to port over to XP12.

For some it may be a simple change to version checks. For others, it may be a bridge too far.

As far as the interfaces, procedures training doesn’t necessarily require a life-like analog to he successful. What is needs is accurate replication of the procedure and associated failure modes and workarounds.

The one big gripe about almost all the sim replications of the GNS 430/530s is they don’t replicate how the actual boxes work (and there’s the fact nav db’s aren’t necessarily accurate). frEx I can mouse click to turn a rotary dial and that’s okay, but if the PROC button doesn’t bring up the correct sub-menus, it’s worthless as a trainer.
 
Brad W said:
Ground up starting with nothing...How much would it cost all in to get a decent home flight sim....not an unlimited budget kind of thing..

but still one of those real deal avionics and switches sort of thing....no keyboard and mouse required....ground up

I've goofed around a bit with microsoft's sim...but that 100% monitor based sort of stuff where you have to pan the view down and use the mouse to click the flap switch...that's not what I'm wondering about.

Goal is realistic training and entertainment, knocking the rust off then staying current.

I've glanced at the realsimgear.com page, looks like they might have some cool looking Garmin simulation stuff but I'll bet that would be a full time hobby just getting it integrated and calibrated with other cobbled together stuff form other companies.
But on that note, that seems like it would be cool if you have a plane with say G1000 panel to get a sim with one of those
but that brings a side question to mind.... if you don't own a plane nor do you have one that you regularly rent, so you have nothing you want to copy with your sim set-up, which sort of set-up would you buy? G1000, GTN650 stack, etc...?
Click to expand...

You want to just fly for fun (get intel on new airports, look for go around alternatives, etc)? or you actually want to log in hours an practice maneuvers and stuff?.
If you just want to fly for fun and you already have an Xbox, you can get a set of controllers that will work with the system and with MS Flight Simulator.
If you want to log in hours, Redbird has a couple of options that are FAA approved. Sadly, they're not as cheap as getting an Xbox or assemble a gaming PC.
 
Pinecone said:
Except you turn you head and what you are looking moves to the middle of the screen. So if I turn my head to look back, how do I see the screen????? :D
Click to expand...
The screen moves a lot faster than your head. When I say screen, I mean the view outside the cockpit. The cockpit stays put. If I turn my head 90 degrees, TrackIR is setup to turn the screen about 135 degrees. The rate is programmable. Calibration couldn't be simpler. Just hit the F12 key. You can download the TrackIR driver from their website. The TrackIR hardware is the dongle.

Also, I have Remote Flight (RF). It has a free server that runs on your PC and connects to your simulator of choice. You need a wireless Ethernet card to connect to the iPad or iPhone to display instruments, which you have to buy; but they are an order of magnitude cheaper than buying the equivalent boxes.

I got RF because the instruments on the PrePar3D IP are miniscule. I run RF flight on an iPad. The wireless connection runs continuously and burns power, so I usually have the power cord attached.

I have the Honeycomb Alpha Yoke. Can't say enough good things about it. The only problem is pitch is really stiff, more so than In Real Life (IRL). But, you get used to use it to move the nose while ignoring the resistance. It does teach you to trim, trim, and trim!

One more thing to think about is Saitek's Flight Information Panel (FIP). They aren't cheap, but they are versatile, and I got one so I could see the SportStar's tachometer and flap position. The SportStar uses a Rotax, so the FIP's tachometer is off by about a factor of two. You'll need Saitek's FIP drivers, but SPAD.Next is the interface you'll need to program the FIP. You'll need SPAD.Next to interface to the Saitek boxes.

I also have FSRealWx, which provides Real World Weather to FSX and Prepar3D v3 and v4. I don't know about compatibility to other simulators. FSX and Prepar3D v3 are 32 bit, so SimConnect intefaces FSRealWx to them. Prepar3D v4 is 64 bit, so you'll need FSUIPC V5 for the interface. I found that out the hard way. I don't know if FSUIPC V5 is still available, the same with SPAD.Next. I'd do my research for their availability before I pick up the boxes and FSRealWx.

I way overbought my CPU the last time around. 18 cores and 2.8 GHz. I was used to most of the FSX graphics being processed in the CPU, but Prepar3D uses the GPU for graphics processing. At worst, my flight simulator adds about 5% to the idle load of 6% so you don't need a super powerful CPU.

My GPU is a EVGA 1080 FTW DT (DT means it's not overclockable.) I have a 24-inch Samsung monitor, and my GPU gadget shows I usually max out at 35% of its capabilities. I will be getting a 38" Alien Ware monitor soon, and it has about 2.67 times the pixels as the Samsung monitor. If it's a linear extrapolation, I shouldn't need to get a new GPU nor turn my settings down.

Starting the simulator isn't too bad. The FIP needs to be reset before loading SPAD.Next, and TrackIR needs to be loaded before the Flight Simulator. I always start with TrackIR. Then, SPAD.Next. Remote Flight and FSRealWx are interchangeable as far as load order goes.I set FSRealWx to automatically connect to the simulator and download weather when it starts up.

Besides the FIP, I have a Saitek Radio Panel, Autopilot Panel, and Switch Panel. I get more functionality with them than the Honeycomb Yoke, and I had them long before the Yoke was even designed.

I'm using the Logic Tech Throttle Quadrant. Doesn't seem to make a difference with the vernier type throttles in the SportStar and Cessnas I fly.
 
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I built myself (with the help of a friend on the PC side) a home-made sim this year for just under $3k. I am an IFR student so I wanted to use it for (unofficial) training on procedures and such, then with the evergreen goal to maintain proficiency.

I have the Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo, Logitech Rudder Pedals (some people don't care for rudders in a sim, I like them), a 23" Acer touchscreen (on which I use Air Manager), a Knobster (goes with Air Manager), and a 32" 1440p curved gaming monitor and I absolutely LOVE my setup.
 
One thing I also did was buy the Reality XP GTNs - they are built off the Garmin trainers and are great for getting up to speed on the new GPS tech (I'm getting a 650 IRL shortly)
 
GeorgiaPilot1021 said:
One thing I also did was buy the Reality XP GTNs - they are built off the Garmin trainers and are great for getting up to speed on the new GPS tech (I'm getting a 650 IRL shortly)
Click to expand...

Nice. But of course, the current models are the Xi ones. :)
 
Brad W said:
excellent, thanks everyone. sounds like it might not be the headache that I was imagining.

My son has a VR headset and it does work pretty slick...although I can't recall if I played with it on a flight sim or not. Anyway it was good...but I think I'm more interested in actually twisting the knobs and yanking the yoke around....

I'm just starting to think about this but I suppose to list my mission:
1) start knocking a couple decades worth of dust off of my pilot's certificate...getting my head back into it
2) eventually practicing instrument procedures and building up some competency with a scan, etc...
3) exposure to modern avionics and procedures....
4) and eventually maintaining some competency if I ever start flying for real again

#3 is a sticky point for me since I don't have a particular thing in mind....don't have a particularly equipped rental aircraft that I want to practice up for. I've only minimally used some of the smaller and older Garmin GPS/com units.... never any of the big screen stuff. My experience was rooted in VOR's, ILS Localizers, NDB, and paper charts and plates! I'd like to get firmly up to speed with something in that realm though, thinking that even if whatever I end up flying with has something different, a lot of the knowledge will be something I can build from. I just don't know where to go here....

another question for you...
the last time I did any simulator work... a long time ago... the school where I was renting from and doing some instrument flight review work with had a desktop sim that was loggable. I worked with a CFII on it...I think it was something by Redbird...it was about 20 years ago. The yoke and control was just unnatural. It was somewhat useful I suppose for running procedures and exercising scan, but I found it mostly just frustrating and distracting...I don't recall exactly what it was.... seems like the trim didn't work just right and thing thing was un-naturally spring loaded. Am I correct to assume that these new sim controllers are better than that??? That's why if I do it I'm willing to jump in deep to get something decent.
Click to expand...


Fwiw, if you want to get acclimated to newer avionics, Garmin has a couple of free Trainer apps you can run on your PC.
When I got back to flying after 15 years away, the GTN 750 trainer app was pretty helpful to poke around on a bit to become familiar with the interface.
It’s pretty easy to get the feel for.
Acclimating before use helped greatly.
There are tutorials on YouTube you can use as well.

They also have a couple of pay Trainer software for G1000’s, about $50.

Again, these are just trainer apps, not sim usable.
 
Pinecone said:
Why do you say X-plane 12 is useless??
Click to expand...

Hi everyone.
Reasons why I consider it useless, as a tool, to Real World pilots, and most others wannabes.

Unless you have a very high throughput system, CPU in 4.9GHz, 32GB RAM, Video 3080 it is very likely that you cannot run it in Real Time mode, with reasonable settings, above 20FPS. Think 5-6K?

Everything related to Flight is / was ignored and all the effort and resources were dedicated to useless / non flight related features.

Some examples, too many to mention, but some of the major:

Lighting, they decided to implement, unsuccessfully, Auto exposure and so many of the resources were used that the best you can achieve is about 3-4 SM of clear visibility even at 100 setting, giving you the feel that you are confined inside a barrel. The Sky during just before Sun set, Sun rise has a very unnatural dark texture at the 180 to the Sun side and all blurred when looking in the Sun's area, even when you are as much as 60 deg. away from the main Sun bulb. Makes it very Not real looking, just the opposite. It has some attraction to non pilots I presume, but useless to pilots.
Under certain conditions, during Sun set, you cannot see the knobs / controls to set the frequencies, swap radios, nav.

Water, waves, depths, 3D... useless in a Flight sim.

Trees, 3D, again useless in a Flight sim. I hope I never have to take my plane for a hike to see them, if I do I will likely never post again.

Clouds 3D that Few / Cumulus look more like a bunch of birds had a problem and decided to all dump at once.

VFR / Visibility it is unlikely that you can get beyond 3-4 SM and have a clear view of any VFR reference points on the ground, consider it Marginal VFR at best.

Unable to set different low Distance visibility without some horizon reference, setting 100m during the Day / Sun low in the sky you can see the Sun, at night you can see the Stars.

Flight models, a slight improvement in the C172, when in flight in Straight and Level control, Take off and other ground behavior is nothing like the real acft.

I could go on...

There are hundreds of things that they could have improved in the Flight sim area but they decided to not do it, the reasons they only know. I hope it works for them. I am back to XP11, which at this point I do not think it's free with the purchase of XP12 which is now considered Final Release.


Pinecone said:
you suggest a joystick versus a yoke
Click to expand...

About the Joystick, Yoke... I found that just after the physical look it has No real advantages.

It tends to stick, takes more space, more difficult to set up and use.. and in Real World I found that the transition from Yoke, Stoke, to Stick, an JStick is / was much easier and having a Yoke did not add much to a positive transfer of knowledge / muscle memory.

They've decided on a premature final release and, while I think I know why, it could be a real problem for them. I hope they stick around.
 
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bluesideup said:
… I am back to XP11, which at this point I do not think it's free with the purchase of XP12 which is now considered Final Release...
Click to expand...
XP12 was beta as recently as three days ago, so that’s news, but it was clear to me during the entire XP12 beta life cycle that once final, XP11 would no longer be available for purchase as part of XP12.

The real question is how long will it take for outside developers to start porting their plugins and mods over to XP12.
 
Crashnburn said:
The screen moves a lot faster than your head. When I say screen, I mean the view outside the cockpit. The cockpit stays put. If I turn my head 90 degrees, TrackIR is setup to turn the screen about 135 degrees. The rate is programmable. Calibration couldn't be simpler. Just hit the F12 key. You can download the TrackIR driver from their website. The TrackIR hardware is the dongle.

Also, I have Remote Flight (RF). It has a free server that runs on your PC and connects to your simulator of choice. You need a wireless Ethernet card to connect to the iPad or iPhone to display instruments, which you have to buy; but they are an order of magnitude cheaper than buying the equivalent boxes.

I got RF because the instruments on the PrePar3D IP are miniscule. I run RF flight on an iPad. The wireless connection runs continuously and burns power, so I usually have the power cord attached.

I have the Honeycomb Alpha Yoke. Can't say enough good things about it. The only problem is pitch is really stiff, more so than In Real Life (IRL). But, you get used to use it to move the nose while ignoring the resistance. It does teach you to trim, trim, and trim!

One more thing to think about is Saitek's Flight Information Panel (FIP). They aren't cheap, but they are versatile, and I got one so I could see the SportStar's tachometer and flap position. The SportStar uses a Rotax, so the FIP's tachometer is off by about a factor of two. You'll need Saitek's FIP drivers, but SPAD.Next is the interface you'll need to program the FIP. You'll need SPAD.Next to interface to the Saitek boxes.

I also have FSRealWx, which provides Real World Weather to FSX and Prepar3D v3 and v4. I don't know about compatibility to other simulators. FSX and Prepar3D v3 are 32 bit, so SimConnect intefaces FSRealWx to them. Prepar3D v4 is 64 bit, so you'll need FSUIPC V5 for the interface. I found that out the hard way. I don't know if FSUIPC V5 is still available, the same with SPAD.Next. I'd do my research for their availability before I pick up the boxes and FSRealWx.

I way overbought my CPU the last time around. 18 cores and 2.8 GHz. I was used to most of the FSX graphics being processed in the CPU, but Prepar3D uses the GPU for graphics processing. At worst, my flight simulator adds about 5% to the idle load of 6% so you don't need a super powerful CPU.

My GPU is a EVGA 1080 FTW DT (DT means it's not overclockable.) I have a 24-inch Samsung monitor, and my GPU gadget shows I usually max out at 35% of its capabilities. I will be getting a 38" Alien Ware monitor soon, and it has about 2.67 times the pixels as the Samsung monitor. If it's a linear extrapolation, I shouldn't need to get a new GPU nor turn my settings down.

Starting the simulator isn't too bad. The FIP needs to be reset before loading SPAD.Next, and TrackIR needs to be loaded before the Flight Simulator. I always start with TrackIR. Then, SPAD.Next. Remote Flight and FSRealWx are interchangeable as far as load order goes.I set FSRealWx to automatically connect to the simulator and download weather when it starts up.

Besides the FIP, I have a Saitek Radio Panel, Autopilot Panel, and Switch Panel. I get more functionality with them than the Honeycomb Yoke, and I had them long before the Yoke was even designed.

I'm using the Logic Tech Throttle Quadrant. Doesn't seem to make a difference with the vernier type throttles in the SportStar and Cessnas I fly.
Click to expand...

Do you get the blooming runway on your simulator? Haha!
 
bluesideup said:
About the Joystick, Yoke... I found that just after the physical look it has No real advantages.

It tends to stick, takes more space, more difficult to set up and use.. and in Real World I found that the transition from Yoke, Stoke, to Stick, an JStick is / was much easier and having a Yoke did not add much to a positive transfer of knowledge / muscle memory.
Click to expand...

Low end yokes do have some stiction. Better ones do not. Yes, less desk space, but that is not an issue for many people.

I agree that there is little difference in using a sim to practice for real life between a stick and yoke, but some people seem to have an issue. If you are primarily flying yoke aircraft, I would recommend a yoke.

I have both, but I also fly combat sims.
 
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