Oculus Rift $599… Released in August 2016… I wonder if it would work with Plane X… We only want it for Glider Sim, so less physical controls needed (I suppose they could have a partner or supervisor to change other settings). Very interesting…
Hello,
My sqn are currently in the process of upgrading and moving to 3 flight sims.
I would like some opinions on what our plan is, I know what kind of things I’m looking for but wandering what everyone else’s sims are like.
So we currently have a single sim, old 4th Gen i7 and GTX1070Ti. We are looking at the purchase of 2 new sims with Current Gen i5s and RTX3060s. The peripherals are the old T-Flight HOTAS and soon some Logitech Pedals. The new ones will be the T-Flight Pro Package, including the Rudder. VR is planned in the future but our current financial plans do not allow for it out the box.
We normally use X-Plane 11 as its my preferred weapon of choice, however, all my staff are looking to qualify for the Blue ATP Synthetic Instructor Training to maximise our training capacity, so I was thinking of moving us to MSFS. Now I know MSFS is slightly controversial in some aspects of being a sim, but I think with the new gliding update and the Grob 103 that I believe is in development from IRIS Simulations (as well as their Tutor), MSFS may be the new alternative for Air Cadet Synthetic Flying Training.
Does anyone have any opinions on this / what is everyone else using for teaching the course and also in general?
2 Likes
We’re looking at MS Flight Sim using an Xbox & thrust master pilot controls.
A lot cheaper & more portable
1 Like
We’re sticking with X-Plane 11 for now. MSFS has a growing following but demands a more powerful rig.
I think the graphics card spec is more than sufficient - you can probably get away with a lower spec unless driving massive screens at 4K?
Quite a few mid towers with decent i5s (10 or 11 gen) go for about £600. 2 things to consider: is there enough storage, for scenery etc, and enough USB ports for the controllers and any other bits (keyboard, mouse, headset etc). Ability to add a 2.5” SSD is useful, as M.2 storage, though very fast, seems to cap out at 1TB.
Also if you can, get 16GB RAM.
I’ve removed the free advertising that we’ve already PMed this user about, who ignored our advice.
Once they confirm they have spoken to the site owner and got their permission to use this site to sell their products (which, incidentally, are ludicrously expensive) we will reinstate the posts.
3 Likes
Without getting into trading blows over specs we recently updated our systems with custom built gaming PCs.
For a single screen set up the cost break down was roughly;
Base unit (mini tower) with Ryzen 5: £550
GPU (RTX 4xxx series) £225
Controller kit (stick, throttle, pedals) £200
27”’ gaming monitor £150
We shopped around and used a local supplier who does built to order PCs.
We paid for some extras such as extended warranty, and sourced mice, keyboard, headset and software ourselves.
The system we have is perfectly up to the task of running X-plane or Microsoft Flight Sim and can be used for other tasks too. We’re starting to look at esports for example.
TL:DR sure if you have the money to buy a high end sim rig fill your boots but don’t think you have to. £800 will get you an Xbox system as others have said and £1100-1200 a very decent PC.
I’ve found that many local suppliers are willing to be more than reasonable towards the cadets, knowing they’ll get year-in, year-out return custom.
Just as a small example, a supplier local to my former squadron supplies 500GB SSDs (reputable brands, not Amazon’s special) to us them for about £20 each, when they’re normally £40+ for the cheaper versions in the shop. Plus if anything goes wrong with any kit he’s supplied, he sorts it out for them.
And in the spirit of convivial working, it means the squadron is supporting a small part of the local economy and thus giving back to the local area.
2 Likes