For MXSMANIC: Flight Simulator Gear?

As long as we now have a certified MS Flight Simulator expert in-group,
with MXSMANIC, I may as well ask some sim advice...

Every Tuesday night we have "Movie Night" at the inn, where we show
free aviation movies in our theater. The theater has a 104" screen,
with a high-def projector hooked up to DVD/VHS -- and a PC.

Before (and, sometimes, after) the movie, we hold flight simulator
sessions, using both MS Flight Sim and X-Plane. This is a lot of fun
(that big screen is WAY cool for sim flying!), but the joystick
generates a significant number of "complaints" about how unrealistic
the controls are. And I agree.

Bottom line: Flying a Skylane with a joystick is just....wrong.

Sooooo...I've purchased the CH brand of yoke/throttles and rudder
pedals, all of which should be delivered early this week. These will
go a long ways toward making the flight experience a LOT more
realistic, but getting the controls into the correct ergonomic position
for users will be difficult in the theater, soooo:

See: http://www.avshop.com/prodinfo.asp?number=6531

I tested this unique rig at Oshkosh this year, and found it to be
PERFECT for the task, and I'm thinking about either purchasing one or
having my A&P weld up something similar. Before I go to this extreme,
however, (well, what *I* think is extreme) how do YOU "fly" your sim
set up? What, in your opinion, is the best cockpit set up for
"piloting" a sim?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" said:
I tested this unique rig at Oshkosh this year, and found it to be
PERFECT for the task, and I'm thinking about either purchasing one or

I've used a couple of those sims, including some pretty **** hot gear in
the X-Plane booth, and some Elite set-ups, and I've never liked the way
the trim doesn't actually trim the elevator forces out. I end up flying
with the trim wheel all the time.


--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary
Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety" - Pennsylvania Assembly, 11Nov1755

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" said:
I tested this unique rig at Oshkosh this year, and found it to be
PERFECT for the task, and I'm thinking about either purchasing one or

I've used a couple of those sims, including some pretty **** hot gear in
the X-Plane booth, and some Elite set-ups, and I've never liked the way
the trim doesn't actually trim the elevator forces out. I end up flying
with the trim wheel all the time.

That's why I strongly prefer a force-feedback joystick over a non-FF yoke
for simulated flying. With the FF joystick, you *can* trim off the elevator
pressure.

But Jay could provide both and let his guests choose.

--Gary

That's why I strongly prefer a force-feedback joystick over a non-FF yoke
for simulated flying. With the FF joystick, you *can* trim off the elevator
pressure.

But Jay could provide both and let his guests choose.

That's what we're using now. Joy sticks are great for flying combat
flight sims, but not very "real feeling" flying a spam can.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ps.com...
That's why I strongly prefer a force-feedback joystick over a non-FF yoke
for simulated flying. With the FF joystick, you *can* trim off the
elevator
pressure.

But Jay could provide both and let his guests choose.

That's what we're using now. Joy sticks are great for flying combat
flight sims, but not very "real feeling" flying a spam can.

It's a matter of taste. For me, the important thing is for the sim to convey
information similar to the real thing (in this case, force feedback), even
if it's presented in a slightly different form factor (joystick instead of
yoke). (Consumer-priced force-feedback yokes are not available as far as I
know; and for me at least, the joystick would still be preferable because a
yoke pretty much takes over the computer area, so it's inconvenient unless
the computer is dedicated to simming.)

--Gary

Jay Honeck writes:

I tested this unique rig at Oshkosh this year, and found it to be
PERFECT for the task, and I'm thinking about either purchasing one or
having my A&P weld up something similar. Before I go to this extreme,
however, (well, what *I* think is extreme) how do YOU "fly" your sim
set up? What, in your opinion, is the best cockpit set up for
"piloting" a sim?

Well, I have to use the same computer for a lot of other things,
including work and school, so I'm limited in how much I can customize
the environment for flight. I just have a big LCD monitor and a
Saitek X52 joystick and throttle. After flying the keyboard alone for
years, this seems like a vast improvement to me, but it's nothing
compared to the kinds of kustom kockpits that people can set up if
they want to dedicate a machine to simulation. I might do that
someday, but not any time soon because I don't have the space (or
money or time).

My own attraction to simming is more intellectual than visceral, so I
do okay even if I don't have three monitors and a fancy yoke and so
on. I also believe that if the cockpit gets more elaborate, it has to
get more specific to a given aircraft, too. An elaborate, generic
cockpit effectively corresponds to nothing in real life, although it
might have a nice feel to it.

It sounds like your movie nights are fun, especially the sim sessions.
Who chooses to fly the sim?

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

It sounds like your movie nights are fun, especially the sim sessions.
Who chooses to fly the sim?

Usually everyone takes a turn at it, especially if the crowd is small.
We attract anywhere from 3 to 30 people on any given movie night, so we
never really know what to expect.

The older guys always choose to fly the Vickers, or the Spirit of St
Louis. The young guys always choose the 182, or the Caravan on floats.
It's really fun, and I'm thinking of adding a combat sim just for
variety.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
It sounds like your movie nights are fun, especially the sim sessions.
Who chooses to fly the sim?

Usually everyone takes a turn at it, especially if the crowd is small.
We attract anywhere from 3 to 30 people on any given movie night, so we
never really know what to expect.

The older guys always choose to fly the Vickers, or the Spirit of St
Louis. The young guys always choose the 182, or the Caravan on floats.
It's really fun, and I'm thinking of adding a combat sim just for
variety.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


You need to turn it into a competition. Maybe spot landings a OSH one week
and ILS with zero/zero at LAX. the next.

"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATcox.net wrote in message
...

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
It sounds like your movie nights are fun, especially the sim sessions.
Who chooses to fly the sim?

Usually everyone takes a turn at it, especially if the crowd is small.
We attract anywhere from 3 to 30 people on any given movie night, so we
never really know what to expect.

The older guys always choose to fly the Vickers, or the Spirit of St
Louis. The young guys always choose the 182, or the Caravan on floats.
It's really fun, and I'm thinking of adding a combat sim just for
variety.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


You need to turn it into a competition. Maybe spot landings a OSH one week
and ILS with zero/zero at LAX. the next.

If you want a competition: http://www.condorsoaring.com/index.htm
http://www.condorsoaring.com/serverlist.php

They have races going on all the time. Of course, this would mean leaving
the noise maker that spins the crutch on the front behind...

How do you think you could do against glider pilots?

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

Jay Honeck wrote:
....
Louis. The young guys always choose the 182, or the Caravan on floats.
....
Float plane in a sim? Does it know about things such as getting "on
the step", high speed taxi turns, sailing into a mooring or dock using
the rudder, going up on one float to cut down drag, ... ?