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Anyone use a sim at home?

dreed

Well Known Member
Was catching up on some old Flight Chops on youtube yesterday. In one, they had put together a pretty nice sim setup and it got me thinking it might be good for me to do something similar. I am still building, rusty (getting current again) but may help get some of the rust off now, and work on other skills in the future.

Just curious if others have a decent home setup, if so what they recommend for hardware and which software you are using.

Thanks!
dan
 
I used to use XPlane (version 9), which was very good. I just had a basic joystick, saitek throttle quadrant and CH-Pedals Rudder pedals. I just read the other day that Microsoft is bringing back Flight Simulator in 2020! It will have incredibly detailed 3D-data for the entire globe... petabytes worth of data! Apparently the physics will be updated too.
I think the PC sims can be good for practicing instrument procedures, but for practicing basic stick and rudder, I don't think the skills are very transferrable.
 
Thanks Phil-

Agree, nothing like stick time in the real thing. Definitely would be used for instrument procedures and possibly some fun.

Good to hear about the flight sim 2020
 
I setup a three screen system with Saitek Yoke and throttle quadrant. Running X Plane. Graphics are very good if your system can handle the upper settings. Sunrays, water reflection, smudges on the windshield....it's all there. Would post video of fun flight through Lake Powell, but too much bandwidth.

Agree...all good for practicing flight plans, learning Garmin systems, navigation, and other things. Not like real flying though.

BTW...someone recently posted there is an RV-8 package for X Plane. I bought it and am pleased.
 
I'm running X-Plane 11 on OSX, and mostly like it. Don't have rudder pedals or throttle, so that stuff is kinda clunky operationally through the joystick. That aside, it's pretty good for learning systems, and practicing procedures, navigation, etc. as others have said. And it's pointed out a few things I didn't know, and probably would not have thought of. Cheap way to learn that!

Thinking about signing up for pilot edge at some point also.
 
I haven't used a desktop sim for a long time. Do any of the current ones allow the user to replicate a GTN/G3X combo?
 
I haven't used a desktop sim for a long time. Do any of the current ones allow the user to replicate a GTN/G3X combo?

X-Plane has a fairly vibrant community of 3rd party developers who supply scenery, aircraft models, etc. You might find that combination in a 3rd party airplane. That stack is pretty new though, right? Probably be pretty difficult. The sim ships with a number of aircraft, including a 172 with a G1000 in it. I haven't flown it in reality or in the sim, so I can't speak to it's "realness". The one I've been toying with (530/430 stack) is decent, but is not a true, full featured replica of the actual devices. That would likely be true of any simulated gear trying to model some of the fancier gear that's out now.

I've seen discussions somewhere (here? questions to g3expert?) about the Garmin simulators, and the difficulty of modeling the actual device with a simulated desktop GUI. There's no "dump the software out of the device, wrap it with some other software, and bingo, you have a desktop Garmin sim" process. It's likely more difficult for 3rd party people, who don't know the internals, and probably don't have an actual device to experiment with.
 
I did see on the flightchops they had some gear from "realsimgear" and when I looked at their site they did have a GTN650 and 750 bezel setup along with 430/530. Not cheap ($500?) and they also has some G1000 stuff.

It looks like there are some bezels so you can use and ipad as as the display for the Garmin stuff. Wish there was Dynon/AFS and Avidyne

Take a look at the video link. Flightchops (Keith) is an RV14 builder and I believe a VAF member too. Really nice setup-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-sDGbA-EOc

IMG_6899_2000x.jpeg
 
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I used to use XPlane (version 9), which was very good. I just had a basic joystick, saitek throttle quadrant and CH-Pedals Rudder pedals. I just read the other day that Microsoft is bringing back Flight Simulator in 2020! It will have incredibly detailed 3D-data for the entire globe... petabytes worth of data! Apparently the physics will be updated too.
I think the PC sims can be good for practicing instrument procedures, but for practicing basic stick and rudder, I don't think the skills are very transferrable.
Tell you what, if the sim turns out to be anything close to the 4K videos they've put out, it's going to be something truly inspiring. Check out their Youtube video HERE.
 
I play around on x-plane 11 but can definitely say I will spend what ever it takes to get that Flight Simulator 2020!
 
Yes, Have X-Plane9 & 10

Great for instrument procedures, not for seat of pants flying.

Big issue is you just can't look out a window and see the runway, you have to remember the keys to view the different angles. Or just go to a chase view to see where you are when landing.

Flew for years on a sim, lost my medical, only way to fly. X-Plane. CH Product controls, yoke/rudder.

Thinking it did help keep the head thinking about flying, does help with the scan! By changing aircraft you can get different panels, practice scanning, by having to actually look to see what each instrument is.

The really nice thing about X-Plane, free download aircraft! Plenty to purchase too.

Want to fly a F22? Free download....

Plenty of tutorials on how to do things, you can design and fly your own airplane.

Used the tutorials to learn about "PlaneMaker". Then brought in a couple of existing aircraft, modifying them for faster flight.

Possible to do hypersonic flight in a B1 Bomber, with modifications.

Understand the airframe would never survive, but interesting to see how high you can go before controls loose effectiveness. The faster you go above 120,000MSL the longer and higher you can go before the controls stop working and you start to tumble or roll uncontrollably.

Best regards,
Mike Bauer
 
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Great for instrument procedures, not for seat of pants flying.

Big issue is you just can't look out a window and see the runway, you have to remember the keys to view the different angles. Or just go to a chase view to see where you are when landing.

I think there is progress being made in this area. With the newer VR stuff, you pop on the headset and you should get that immersive experience. Not sure how it'll work with interacting with the panel if you had a realistic one.

Obviously no substitute for the real thing.
 
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VR, stick, hotas, rudder pedals

As mentioned in the other thread, I have a VR setup and I really like it.

http://www.rv8.ch/vr-flight-simulator/

Totally real feeling out the window. You can see everything, and it feels completely natural and smooth.

I spent several aviation units on this setup to ensure that there would be no lag, and there is no lag.

My #1 goal was to feel more natural taxiing, landing, and taking off with a taildragger, since all the rental planes I fly are nosewheel. More just to train my foot-eye coordination.

I use DCS world, since it has the most realistic ground handling of all the sims I tested. I have good rudder pedals which feel similar to my RV8, which is not yet flying, but I can sit in the cockpit.

One of the more interesting things I do now besides training my feet is to practice engine failure shortly after takeoff in various aircraft. Of course it may be completely different in a real aircraft, but it at least can help with the sight picture.

With even this current generation of VR being so real, the next gen will be almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Some advantages of the sim:

  • no drive to the airport
  • can be flying in 3 mins
  • can do 20 takeoffs/landings in an hour
  • can fly 4-5 different aircraft in an hour
  • can fly in any weather
  • can practice stuff too dangerous in real life
  • no hourly cost

the things I miss:

  • no aircraft or airport smells
  • no bragging to my buddies after an amazing landing
  • g-forces and little hints of slipping/sliding when landing
  • freezing hands during preflight :D

If you have spare 4-6k laying around doing nothing, I recommend buying one of these setups. As a bonus, my kids and their friends like to play the VR games, so I get to see them more! :D
 
I have a Redbird TD configured as a G1000 panel. I bought it so I could legally log 61.57 IFR currency requirements. I was having real trouble maintaining currency after moving here to FL and I’ve never come close to maintaining proficiency after I got my ticket. The Redbird is crazy expensive but worth every penny for me.
 
Is the new MS 2020 release slated for certification so it can be used to maintain IFR currency?

How much is a certified system?
 
Is the new MS 2020 release slated for certification so it can be used to maintain IFR currency?

How much is a certified system?

I don’t think so, not at least off the shelf. It has to be, at a minimum, a packaged BATD with a LOA from the FAA. Theoretically you can roll your own BATD and have the FAA come out and certify it, but I’m not sure the juice is worth the squeeze. The cheapest BATD I’ve seen is in the $5K to $6K range. Probably get it cheaper used.
 
one other option

as you've all said, sim is NOT for, ah, recreating the flight experience.....it's for 'simulating' many, many things that you either can't, or don't usually do in the air!
You can try over, and over, and over to learn why you can't land on that 400' strip, or in a 40 knot crosswind!
..and for realism, or at least, enjoyment, the view is always the weakest link in immersive reality.
Yes, the Oculus Rift and other $$$ 3D goggles are great, but the Track IR has been around for years, and does a pretty good job, once you get used to it!...for minimal bucks.
http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/

( sadly, my sim stuff just doesn't work without several IT engineers and a dozen teenagers to get it all working on the latest version(s) of windows, which is a PITA!)
 
I can't wait for FS2020, that looks incredible!

FS95 is what got me interested in flying as a kid. More than one instructor commented how natural instrument flying and training came to me and I absolutely credit my prolific use of the sim as a kid to that.

I've read they may, or already have, opened up the use of home sims for IFR proficiency? If I remember?
 
I've read they may, or already have, opened up the use of home sims for IFR proficiency? If I remember?

Sort of. You have to have a Basic Aviation Training Device (BATD) at the minimum in order to legally log part 61 requirements using the device. Just buying the flight sim software, be it x-plane, P3D, or MS FS (any version) doesn’t qualify. The relevant document is AC 61-136B. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_pol...fm/go/document.information/documentID/1034348

For logging 61.57 IFR currency requirements, a CFII is no longer required to be present so yes, if you buy a BATD and have the FAA LOA (which should either come with it or be downloadable from the vender) then you can maintain IFR currency at home. That’s what I do now.
 
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I haven't used a desktop sim for a long time. Do any of the current ones allow the user to replicate a GTN/G3X combo?

I play on XP11 with a payware plane (Twin Velocity). It has a Dynon PFD/MFD a GTN 750 and 650 modeled in it. It's close enough to my G3X/650 setup that I can practice some procedures on it.
 
I use x-plane 11 it has a feature that lets it connect to ForeFlight on your iPad and it displays all of the flight info just like as if you were flying great tool for reviewing your flight path when practicing interment approaches.

Phil Hale
RV7-A
N3938C
 
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FS2020

Preliminary reports are stating this will be an online only, subscription service sim. This is primarily due to the amount of processing power and data storage necessary for rendering the Azure scenery (one youtuber estimated that you would need something like 3000 1-TB SSD drives to hold the necessary data), thus the rendering and processing will occur on MS servers instead of on your local machine. This will necessitate a very good internet connection to handle the massive amount of 4k data streaming back and forth to "play" the sim. I'm not savvy enough about online gaming to say how accurate these reports are, but my first reaction on seeing the trailers was "what kind of processor and video power is this going to require". Still, I want to see this sim in action, the footage released already looks amazing ...
 
Obviously a lot of sim-knowledgeable folks here...

...so I can't resist asking: what would be a good hardware/software setup if i want to practice instrument procedures with a (simulated) Garmin 430W?

I'm not overly concerned about the realism of the flight model, and I recognize none of this could be logged for currency, etc. I'd just like the ability to chair fly the approaches that I might see on my various wanderings.

This gadget looks like it could be interesting. I've experienced some frustrations previously when operating avionics on the computer screen with a mouse.

https://realsimgear.com/products/realsimgear-gns430-bezel-for-x-plane-realistic-gps-for-your-sim
 
MSFS 2020

This is consistent with a Youtube video I watched that featured one of the developers. Apparently the quality of what you're seeing will scale depending upon the quality of your internet connection, and it does look like you'll need a screaming good connection to get the best possible graphics. It appears you will also be able to cache a given geographic area on your home computer.

Preliminary reports are stating this will be an online only, subscription service sim. This is primarily due to the amount of processing power and data storage necessary for rendering the Azure scenery (one youtuber estimated that you would need something like 3000 1-TB SSD drives to hold the necessary data), thus the rendering and processing will occur on MS servers instead of on your local machine. This will necessitate a very good internet connection to handle the massive amount of 4k data streaming back and forth to "play" the sim. I'm not savvy enough about online gaming to say how accurate these reports are, but my first reaction on seeing the trailers was "what kind of processor and video power is this going to require". Still, I want to see this sim in action, the footage released already looks amazing ...
 
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