[quote=“MikeJenvey” post=23606]This looks it might become the way ahead - a form of flight simulator, but operating a Reaper:
A very interesting idea…
Hey, what sort of Flight sim were you thinking of setting up?
Ideally it would be based around the Grob tutor. Haven’t got a bottomless pit of money. Though.
Looking at the seat and frame, 2-3 monitors, control column and throttle quadrant, rudder pedals.
May have more funding to put ancillaries but not sure how much extra I have to play with.
[quote=“Scrounger” post=23630]Ideally it would be based around the Grob tutor. Haven’t got a bottomless pit of money. Though.
Looking at the seat and frame, 2-3 monitors, control column and throttle quadrant, rudder pedals. [/quote]
So you want to go with a “big” immersive Simulator.
If you have seen the simulator I built a few years ago, here.
This is the cockpit designs that I used, got them cut out by a local CNC company for ~£120 if I recall correctly.
After that its just a matter of deciding on the IT kit.
Brilliant. Thanks for that.
No worries, I also recommenced UKMIl for UK military aircraft and scenery.
Thanks. I’ve currently got a budget of £1500 but the neighbouring UAS is putting in £1500 as well.
Should be able to get something half decent for that.
[quote=“Scrounger” post=23642]Thanks. I’ve currently got a budget of £1500 but the neighbouring UAS is putting in £1500 as well.
Should be able to get something half decent for that.[/quote]
Well with that money I’d either go even further than the sim i showed above, or downgrade slightly and make 2.
Might have to ask the local UAS myself. . .
The uas are only putting money in as its for my AEF and their students will be able to use it as well.
It is a minefield if you don’t know what is best. Think this could be a project for the staffies.
Ahh that makes sense, I won’t bother then.
Well all you have to remember is to choose either intel and nvidia GeForce, or AMD and AMD Radeon (CPU and Graphics Card). those are generally as the two pairs to choose from.
and then you just look at the recommended specs for whichever software you choose (I’d recommend Xplane) and start choosing parts that meet that spec.
Ideally, I’d like a local option, pre-built = easier for logistics & any warranty issues.
Went to Maplins, looked at THIS model, base price £1500:
• Overclocked Intel Core i7-4790K (4.6GHz) - Amazing performance and stunning visuals with a boost
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Graphics (4GB) - The world’s most advanced gaming graphics card!
• 16GB Kingston HyperX RAM
• 240GB SSD along side a huge 2TB (2,000GB) WD Caviar Black HDD for all your storage needs
• Windows 8.1 - Take on the world with the latest operating system from Microsoft
• 3 Year Manufacturers Warranty
Would it be reasonable to say that a high-end gaming PC should be comparable with the requirements for flt sim? The graphics card seems to be right at the top end.
Windows 8.1 = FREE UPGRADE to Windows 10 as far as I can see.
Still need the yoke & rudder pedals of course, Ch have been recommended several times, via HERE.
£179.99 = PEDALS
£124.99 = YOKE
Thoughts please?
[quote]Ideally, I’d like a local option, pre-built = easier for logistics & any warranty issues.
Went to Maplins, looked at THIS model, base price £1500:[/quote]
hey there, first off you have the obvious disadvantage that by going for “shop brought” etc the price goes up quite alot.
I recently built a desktop which I’ve been running FSX: Steam at full quality, ie High resolution terrain mesh’s, Very High Quality FSX settings, LOTS of traffic etc etc and lots of 3rd party scenery, at 60fps, and that pc only cost me ~£650.
[quote] Overclocked Intel Core i7-4790K (4.6GHz) - Amazing performance and stunning visuals with a boost
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Graphics (4GB) - The world’s most advanced gaming graphics card!
• 16GB Kingston HyperX RAM
• 240GB SSD along side a huge 2TB (2,000GB) WD Caviar Black HDD for all your storage needs
• Windows 8.1 - Take on the world with the latest operating system from Microsoft
• 3 Year Manufacturers Warranty[/quote]
From just the technical specs, unless you are getting multiple +30/40" monitors, then tbh it’s overkill. The SSD and the RAM is great, but you really don’t need such a 'spencive graphics card. Additionally if you are just going to use this machine for Flight Sim then 2TB will last you for ever, you literally will never use that much.
I would suggest try and find one of the “local independent” computer shops that are still around. They’ll probably build a machine for half the price that meets your needs, and have the same level of support.
Then you can use the money that you save to buy higher quality monitors and specific flight sim gear, and make a cockpit etc as i’ve linked in somewhere on this thread.
If I can help any more then please do. 
Many thanks for the extra details - we hope to move onwards & upwards to better displays & networking PCs in the future, so if we can get the dosh out of CivComm, hopefully this spec’d PC would be “future-proof.”
Haven’t found that many local shops around here that build to spec & we will be getting good discount for buying 2-3. The 3 year warranty is also attractive but I appreciate that the package is more expensive than self-build or “store-build.”
Waiting to see if I can get a discount on the CH products too.
As far as “Future Proofing” goes, if you just compare against the recommended specs for Prepar3D, or X-Plane you easily exceed them with the maplin’s build. And yes I can understand for a squadron, the warranty being a desirable feature.
I seem to recall there where some CH discount codes floating around somewhere especially for the ATC, worth asking up the CoC of Aerospace officers?
Have you considered what software to base the sim’s (?) on yet, or any extras like “cockpits” for them? Have you thought of doing an Air Traffic Control sim as well?
Looking at X-Plane 10, with Win8.1.
This project is intended to be the “foot in the door” option to then progress to better things, so a “cockpit” &/or ATC sim could well be part of any future developments.
Ahhh ok, It’d would be awesome to see pictures when they are set up, plus hear about how they are being used.
One step at a time… 
[sub](Same for CivComm!)[/sub]
Well when you ready, if you want them, a couple of years ago I converted the flying and gliding scholarship syllabus’s into sets of lesson plans.
[quote=“MikeJenvey” post=24411]Looking at X-Plane 10, with Win8.1.
This project is intended to be the “foot in the door” option to then progress to better things, so a “cockpit” &/or ATC sim could well be part of any future developments.[/quote]
Be careful with X-Plane, they wanted £400 for 2 licenses when I spoke to them for Scout. That was their education discount as that is what they classed me as, ie teaching young people.
I went for prep3d in the end, much cheaper for the education version and still being actively developed.
Thanks for all the comments. I ended up after several “via” emails at a project desk at HQACO, so fingers crossed for any discount codes.
I also suggested that it might be useful to have a central point of contact for such Sqn projects. Whilst some might be quite individual or extreme-end spec, most will probably be middle of the road. As such, there is no point duplicating effort, seeking out the best supplier, or begging for the best discounts, etc. If we could end up with a cost effective range of items, incorporating suitable specifications, then it would be advantageous to have a small number of “preferred” suppliers (albeit on an informal basis, rather than tendering for contract, no need for all that malarkey!) who could hopefully maximise the discounts to sqns.