If a build is ever really finished…



HP Omni desktop (MSFS 2020)
ASUS 54” monitor
Real Sim Gear G1000 panels
Logitech switch panel
Turtle Beach Velocity One yoke/throttle quadrant
Thrustmaster/Airbus side stick
Logitech rudder pedals
iPad/ForeFlight
ONN headset / VATSIM

I’m very happy with it thus far. About to start lessons towards my PPL, so I hope this can save me some hours figuring out the basics.

Looks great, congratulations !! I have some of the same things and I really love it ( although as you can see in the thread I just opened here, the software is giving me some head aches, but being an addict to this since 1998 I'm already used to it )
Hope you really enjoy it... and have your PPL soon !!
Best regards!
Gonzalo

btfarrwm wrote:

If a build is ever really finished…

HP Omni desktop (MSFS 2020)
ASUS 54” monitor
Real Sim Gear G1000 panels
Logitech switch panel
Turtle Beach Velocity One yoke/throttle quadrant
Thrustmaster/Airbus side stick
Logitech rudder pedals
iPad/ForeFlight
ONN headset / VATSIM

I’m very happy with it thus far. About to start lessons towards my PPL, so I hope this can save me some hours figuring out the basics.

Awesome!

btfarrwm wrote:

If a build is ever really finished…



HP Omni desktop (MSFS 2020)
ASUS 54” monitor
Real Sim Gear G1000 panels
Logitech switch panel
Turtle Beach Velocity One yoke/throttle quadrant
Thrustmaster/Airbus side stick
Logitech rudder pedals
iPad/ForeFlight
ONN headset / VATSIM

I’m very happy with it thus far. About to start lessons towards my PPL, so I hope this can save me some hours figuring out the basics.

Hi,

Firstly just to say many thanks for this as it's interesting for me since I had mentioned elsewhere here before that I have recently been out of flightsim for a few years so am happy to try and relearn a bit(!) Also for me yes I will also maintain that a flightsim build computer is never done(!)

But anyway a few thoughts in no particular order if curious maybe?:

1. So Turtle Beach now make yokes? Definitely I'll have to try and have a look. Now I sound a bit old but last thing I remember Turtle Beach made 16-bit sound cards sorry(!)

2. I will also try and have a look for the HP Omnibook series hopefully. I kinda lost touch with processors and stuff also since maybe AMD Sempron but maybe can learn some. I know my brother here has just a budget HP Win10 machine and for the price I am pretty impressed with how it performs at least for non-gaming stuff.

3. Funnily I was actually thinking of trying to post recently if there are any good and reasonable joysticks for flightsim now? Back in 2003 my option was to buy a Microsoft basic Sidewinder and with a tutorial buy some lighter springs and change them. I still have the stick and used it a lot and it even worked which was probably the only hardware thing in terms of my own mods that ever did for me!

4. Also regarding rudder pedals for many years also here I just used autorudder in Fs but then was really happy to see reasonable ones by Saitek around 2009 and bought a set and really enjoyed them.

5. And finally on the real world stuff. Well only from the perspective of a flightsimmer who dabbled a bit but never really got to solo stage I can't really say if it helped me or not but it was definitely what I liked to do. Maybe in some ways looking back though I was trying to pick up too much at once in RW because of it but not sure. But maybe the headphones might have helped me since I was always a bit unhappy wearing them in a light aircraft. And funnily since Fs is often called out for it's bad ATC the one area where I was I think a bit ahead was with radio calls? My instructor was like "you seem pretty at ease doing the radio calls for the first time" and all I could say was probably just because I've heard or pressed a key for them a million times in flightsim. That and maybe listening to airband radio and stuff probably helped that but who knows(!)

Anyway many thanks again and best wishes too like others have said for future RW (and flightsim of course too!),

Many thanks (again!),

Ps762

Ps762 wrote:

btfarrwm wrote:

If a build is ever really finished…



HP Omni desktop (MSFS 2020)
ASUS 54” monitor
Real Sim Gear G1000 panels
Logitech switch panel
Turtle Beach Velocity One yoke/throttle quadrant
Thrustmaster/Airbus side stick
Logitech rudder pedals
iPad/ForeFlight
ONN headset / VATSIM

I’m very happy with it thus far. About to start lessons towards my PPL, so I hope this can save me some hours figuring out the basics.

Hi,

Firstly just to say many thanks for this as it's interesting for me since I had mentioned elsewhere here before that I have recently been out of flightsim for a few years so am happy to try and relearn a bit(!) Also for me yes I will also maintain that a flightsim build computer is never done(!)

But anyway a few thoughts in no particular order if curious maybe?:

1. So Turtle Beach now make yokes? Definitely I'll have to try and have a look. Now I sound a bit old but last thing I remember Turtle Beach made 16-bit sound cards sorry(!)

2. I will also try and have a look for the HP Omnibook series hopefully. I kinda lost touch with processors and stuff also since maybe AMD Sempron but maybe can learn some. I know my brother here has just a budget HP Win10 machine and for the price I am pretty impressed with how it performs at least for non-gaming stuff.

3. Funnily I was actually thinking of trying to post recently if there are any good and reasonable joysticks for flightsim now? Back in 2003 my option was to buy a Microsoft basic Sidewinder and with a tutorial buy some lighter springs and change them. I still have the stick and used it a lot and it even worked which was probably the only hardware thing in terms of my own mods that ever did for me!

4. Also regarding rudder pedals for many years also here I just used autorudder in Fs but then was really happy to see reasonable ones by Saitek around 2009 and bought a set and really enjoyed them.

5. And finally on the real world stuff. Well only from the perspective of a flightsimmer who dabbled a bit but never really got to solo stage I can't really say if it helped me or not but it was definitely what I liked to do. Maybe in some ways looking back though I was trying to pick up too much at once in RW because of it but not sure. But maybe the headphones might have helped me since I was always a bit unhappy wearing them in a light aircraft. And funnily since Fs is often called out for it's bad ATC the one area where I was I think a bit ahead was with radio calls? My instructor was like "you seem pretty at ease doing the radio calls for the first time" and all I could say was probably just because I've heard or pressed a key for them a million times in flightsim. That and maybe listening to airband radio and stuff probably helped that but who knows(!)

Anyway many thanks again and best wishes too like others have said for future RW (and flightsim of course too!),

Many thanks (again!),

Ps762

Thanks for the reply. Just a few thoughts...

1) I've been happy with the Turtle Beach Velocity One. I wanted the vernier controls for throttle/prop/mixture since I am going to do my training in a C172 and wanted to get that "feel". The levers are also configurable for anything from single engine piston to quad-jet with interchangeable top pieces. My only complaint with the throttle levers is that they move very easily and there are no detents, so if you are using one for flaps it's not that helpful. The yoke itself also has a good "feel" with 180-degree deflection. There are a ton of user-configurable buttons and there is a plugin for MSFS that links the built-in annunciator lights with MSFS so they work.

2) Mine is an HP Omni desktop with a Ryzen 7 5700G processor. It also has a Radeon 6700XT GPU. Not sure how their laptops compare, but this GPU has 4 display inputs which was important for my build with the G1000 panels from RealSimGear. I can run fairly smooth at Ultra-wide resolution, but it's not perfect. This desktop was reasonably-affordable (~$1500) compared to high-end gaming rigs and it seems to do the job well-enough for me.

3) I've been very happy with the flight stick. Since I'm setting my sim up like a trainer, most of my flying is simulating "left seat". I found it important to have a flight stick that was configurable for left or right hand flying (most are defaulted for right unless specified) and I found it awkward to try and use a right-handed stick with my left hand. This Airbus/Thrustmaster also has a lock on the built-in rudder/yaw axis which is important since I have pedals. The right/left configurability and yaw-axis lock would be important features to look for in any simulator flight stick, IMHO.

4) I think Logitech bought or merged with Saitek, so many of Logitech's current products are rebranded Saitek.

5) The traffic and ATC in MSFS is bad. I usually just run over ramp workers and plow through fuel trucks and ramp vehicles because their location makes no sense. I've been on VATSIM and PilotEdge simulating ATC and it definitely increases the realism (and potential for humiliation) when you're talking to a real person. Better to get that out of the way in the simulator...I take my first flight lesson tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

Brian

Hi Brian (again thanks!),

Firstly hope the lesson went ok enough if it has happened by now and also many thanks for the reply and info as well again. Maybe this time if possible maybe I can try and reply by doing my own cut and paste with the points you mentioned (only hope it works not too bad sorry!). Anyway here goes maybe...

1) Starting with the yoke I personally had very little time really in yoke aircraft like the Cessna 172 and 150 but it does sound to me like a pretty nice sim yoke. For me I just kinda went from joystick to one or two sample flights. Besides the smallness of the real cockpit I think the real yokes stood out to me in that they could swivel so much and didn't really do much or have any feel until flying really. And I think the real flap selector may also have been a bit fiddly for me so that might also be a good sim too but not sure. As for the throttle and mixtures I'm not sure I ever got to the stage of touching them that much except to try a climb or descent but they seemed ok in the real thing. I guess looking back getting a "feel" of the real aircraft was probably more important than I thought and would have probably made things easier for me too and more fun(!)

2) Many thanks for the further setup info and to further show my lack of computer currency I actually at the moment have no idea what a Ryzen processor is or who that manufacturer is(!) When I left it was all AMD and Intel(!) But definitely sounds like a pretty good setup and fairly reasonable price too. And I think also knowing the G1000 could be fun and help too maybe. I think I only once was taken up on a trial lesson (from St.Petersburg, Florida) with the person taking me using our new plane with the whole glass cockpit thing. Very rare that I saw that here in Europe and the guy seemed to know it backwards which was reassuring. Maybe we even listened to some music radio but maybe I am imagining that part(!)

3) Regarding the flight stick I never really thought about that but I too never tried flying with my left hand ever yet that is what someone like an airbus captain would have to do. How did I not think of that in 10 years or maybe I was just not wanting to try it! But from my experience I was very happy with my modded Sidewinder and it really is super-light in the springs (almost floppy). For contrast I also later bought a folding I think maybe Saitek joystick which was portable but clearly it was not aimed at flightsim which was my own purchase error. The spring tension was crazy strong and it made Fsx really in my opinion way way way too hard!

4) Many thanks for that info too and nice to know the Saitek products are still going in some form. Really when I first saw their stuff at a local store and saw the price and later used my rudder pedals I was pretty happy with that!

5) Ha wow that does sound a bit like typical MS issues I guess if I was using MSFS I would do my best to turn the trucks and stuff off but still I might like one or two nicely working ones. Also many thanks again I have never also heard of PilotEdge so may have to try and look that up too. But also I think having only tried really basic first-time radio calls in the pattern during non-busy times during my flights local controllers were always pretty accommodating. They I think knew I was a newbie student and my instructor at that stage was always there very thankfully to bail me out(!)

Anyway with many thanks again and best again for the flight if it happens or has happened,

Ps762

nice setup man

i sim with a logitech extreme 3d pro, have been for many years now and its the best flight stick ive simmed with. Its RH only, but from real world experience in a 172 and sim experience, it literally makes 0 difference between holding a real yoke in your left or a joystick in your right. I like it alot because it has an AP disconnect in a logical place (under your thumb) and the 6 buttons on the base work out real nice for real world airline ops IMO. I have mine mapped A/T master, TOGA, Spoilers up, spoilers Arm, and L/R brakes. Then on top is elevator trim and flaps in addition to the hat switch.

bigger issue as far as using FS for flight training, there are a couple concerns. first, stock 172 flies nothing like the real thing. Theres no quality payware 172 yet for MSFS. A2A skyhawk for FSX was visually nice and full of features, but still flew nothing like the real thing. Real 172 constantly requires various amounts of right rudder, if you let go of the pedals, youll turn into a smoking hole in the ground via the death spiral very quickly. stock 172 in MSFS barely requires any right rudder on takeoff and none while flying. So as far as actual flight training, its no good, but its great for procedure training, instrument scans, checklists, and stuff thats universal to all GA flying like pattern entries, flying thru/around difference airspaces, and with MSFS literally flying over a satellite view of the ground below, you can check out airfields local to you that your instructor will have you flying to.

another issue with using FS for flight training is since we dont get any feel thru the floors and computer chairs, we unknowingly VFR fly by instruments. My instructor used to have to remind me to feel the airplane and look outside instead of down at my PFD for airspeed, altitute, VSI, etc. You also dont feel how much trim to dial in, because theres no feedback thru the stick or yoke in the sim. but thats easy to get a feel for.

i dont see any kind of a head tracker tho. Hope you have a TrackIR or something like that. IMO Last sim that could be flown without a head tracker was FS2004 with 2D panels. Even since FSX went to virtual cockpits only, a way to look around it smoother than with the hat switch has been a requirement for the proper kind of simulation experience

r6russian wrote:

nice setup man

i sim with a logitech extreme 3d pro, have been for many years now and its the best flight stick ive simmed with. Its RH only, but from real world experience in a 172 and sim experience, it literally makes 0 difference between holding a real yoke in your left or a joystick in your right. I like it alot because it has an AP disconnect in a logical place (under your thumb) and the 6 buttons on the base work out real nice for real world airline ops IMO. I have mine mapped A/T master, TOGA, Spoilers up, spoilers Arm, and L/R brakes. Then on top is elevator trim and flaps in addition to the hat switch.

bigger issue as far as using FS for flight training, there are a couple concerns. first, stock 172 flies nothing like the real thing. Theres no quality payware 172 yet for MSFS. A2A skyhawk for FSX was visually nice and full of features, but still flew nothing like the real thing. Real 172 constantly requires various amounts of right rudder, if you let go of the pedals, youll turn into a smoking hole in the ground via the death spiral very quickly. stock 172 in MSFS barely requires any right rudder on takeoff and none while flying. So as far as actual flight training, its no good, but its great for procedure training, instrument scans, checklists, and stuff thats universal to all GA flying like pattern entries, flying thru/around difference airspaces, and with MSFS literally flying over a satellite view of the ground below, you can check out airfields local to you that your instructor will have you flying to.

another issue with using FS for flight training is since we dont get any feel thru the floors and computer chairs, we unknowingly VFR fly by instruments. My instructor used to have to remind me to feel the airplane and look outside instead of down at my PFD for airspeed, altitute, VSI, etc. You also dont feel how much trim to dial in, because theres no feedback thru the stick or yoke in the sim. but thats easy to get a feel for.

i dont see any kind of a head tracker tho. Hope you have a TrackIR or something like that. IMO Last sim that could be flown without a head tracker was FS2004 with 2D panels. Even since FSX went to virtual cockpits only, a way to look around it smoother than with the hat switch has been a requirement for the proper kind of simulation experience

Thanks for the feedback! I agree that the stock C172 flies very differently than the real airplane. I still find it very useful to practice techniques like staying within altitude/heading tolerances for maneuvers, flight planning/cross country flying (I do it myself and don't use the built-in stuff at all), procedures, ATC communication, etc. I agree with you that the trim feature is particularly annoying and I wish they could create reasonably-affordable "force feedback" flight-sim yokes and flight sticks that could provide this. I wasn't aware of IR head tracking, and that will be my next purchase. The TrackIR system looks amazing!

btfarrwm wrote:

If a build is ever really finished…

HP Omni desktop (MSFS 2020)
ASUS 54” monitor
Real Sim Gear G1000 panels
Logitech switch panel
Turtle Beach Velocity One yoke/throttle quadrant
Thrustmaster/Airbus side stick
Logitech rudder pedals
iPad/ForeFlight
ONN headset / VATSIM

I’m very happy with it thus far. About to start lessons towards my PPL, so I hope this can save me some hours figuring out the basics.

That's a really impressive setup, it's tempting me to get back into this when the new computer arrives.

I remember TrackIR from back in the old days of the LevelD 767 (yes, I remember back to that old thing).

btfarrwm wrote:

If a build is ever really finished…



HP Omni desktop (MSFS 2020)
ASUS 54” monitor
Real Sim Gear G1000 panels
Logitech switch panel
Turtle Beach Velocity One yoke/throttle quadrant
Thrustmaster/Airbus side stick
Logitech rudder pedals
iPad/ForeFlight
ONN headset / VATSIM

I’m very happy with it thus far. About to start lessons towards my PPL, so I hope this can save me some hours figuring out the basics.

I took the step into the world of VR in Flight Simulator. That's very, very impressive. I have HP Reverb G2. Using the 737 of PMDG is amazing.

I'm not flying the default planes, maybe I'm not familiar with the real ones, but I can't imagine the real ones are like the way default aircraft fly with super-sensitive, wild movements to the slightest inputs, though maybe the controller sensitivity needs adjusting.

cpd wrote:

btfarrwm wrote:

If a build is ever really finished…



HP Omni desktop (MSFS 2020)
ASUS 54” monitor
Real Sim Gear G1000 panels
Logitech switch panel
Turtle Beach Velocity One yoke/throttle quadrant
Thrustmaster/Airbus side stick
Logitech rudder pedals
iPad/ForeFlight
ONN headset / VATSIM

I’m very happy with it thus far. About to start lessons towards my PPL, so I hope this can save me some hours figuring out the basics.

I took the step into the world of VR in Flight Simulator. That's very, very impressive. I have HP Reverb G2. Using the 737 of PMDG is amazing.

I'm not flying the default planes, maybe I'm not familiar with the real ones, but I can't imagine the real ones are like the way default aircraft fly with super-sensitive, wild movements to the slightest inputs, though maybe the controller sensitivity needs adjusting.

VR is great. I put a higher value on being able to see my hands and manipulate the controls. I love the ultra-wide monitor with the IR head tracker. It's a great compromise.

That's a good put, it's a bit of a fuss not being able to see the keyboard. But I soon get to know where the mouse is.

Must say VR needs huge power to run it. I'm on a super-computer here and it just about does okay with it.

I have finally completed the conversion to FS2020, complete with a brand-new ultrawide monitor. However, I am finding FS2020 is rejecting my 2006-era Logitech Attack 3 joystick, and flying with keyboard and mouse is impossible, so I am in the market to upgrade. I note that the tiller in FS2020 can be separated, so I am looking for a controller with Z-Axis capabilities to use as the tiller.

Anyone have thoughts on the following hardware:

Logitech G X56 H.O.T.A.S.

https://www.logitechg.com/en-us/product ... 00058.html

Thrustmaster Full Flight X:

https://eshop.thrustmaster.com/en_us/t- ... ght_kit_15