Locked

Status
Not open for further replies.

horrorshow

Lakewood Original
Joined
Dec 14, 2007
Messages
9,420
So, I got a call from a client today with an unusual request: his daughter is in college studying to be an aviator/airline pilot and all her friends are using MS Flight Sim to keep they're skill-set sharp over the summer etc.

This is way outside my wheel-house. I know I have to go pre-built due to the current "situation" but as far as what specs, I can only guess....

- Basically he said 2-4 grand everything included. Which means monitor/monitors, tower, and quality HOTAS.

I'll assume it's pretty easy to hit 4k.

I have zero experience with flight simulators but this man is very successful and is willing to invest in his daughter's future etc.

So yeah, Flight Sim guys, please advise. (Especially regarding monitor/monitors and HOTAS)

Thanks as always [H],
H

(Mods, feel free to move this to Gen Hardware if need be)

TLDR: I need a couple of quality pre-built company names and what would be considered a semi-professional HOTAS setup for a pilot-in-training.
 
Basically he said 2-4 grand everything included

but this man is very successful and is willing to invest in his daughter's future etc.
Hmm, nt sure those two go together mate. If he said 6-8dollars....
Hmm, nt sure, confused. Specialized hardware is bloody expensive, assuming it is good.

Maybe cyberpower tricked out PC, joystick from bestbuy and a big monitor will do?
 
I'm fairly certain considering I've "fixed" the man's company QB's db many times, he can spend whatever for his daughter....

Let's up it to 5k?
A system that is going to comfortably run flight sim, without the HOTAS will be close to that. I mean, a system with no hiccups, smooth as butter.
 
When you look at pre-built machines, make sure you look at the lead time for delivery. last month I was looking at Alienware machines and there was a 6+ week lead time for expedited delivery.
What part of the country you in? I might consider selling one of my systems if you are close enough to pick it up. I am in VA.
5800x, 3080 ftw3, 32GB, Crosshair Hero VIII, 1TB WD Black NVME
5900x, 3080 TI FE, 32GB, Dark Hero, 1TB Samsung 980 Pro
 
Is she looking for a stick in particular or a yoke? Depending on the type of plane she's flying one will be more realistic than the other.

Honeycomb products are hugely popular among the Flight Sim community. The Alpha yoke and Bravo throttle quadrant in particular are fantastic pieces of hardware.
https://flyhoneycomb.com/products/alpha-flight-controls
https://flyhoneycomb.com/products/bravo-throttle-quadrant

What about rudder pedals? If she's using Flight Sim as practice for the real thing, she'll definitely want rudder pedals. I use the Logitech Pro Flight rudder pedals. They're definitely plasticky, but they do the trick.
https://www.logitechg.com/en-us/products/flight/flight-simulator-rudder-pedals.945-000024.html

If she's looking for a HOTAs in particular, the Thrustmaster T16000M is the most well known:
https://www.amazon.com/ThrustMaster-2960778-Thrustmaster-T16000M-HOTAS/dp/B01KCHPRXA

Or the airbus version of the same stick:
https://www.amazon.com/Thrustmaster-TCA-Officer-Pack-Airbus-pc/dp/B0873QXDQS

With the HOTAs you can use the stick as the rudder by twisting the stick, so you don't necessarily need rudder pedals. This is however totally unrealistic and any serious pilot will want rudder pedals.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Might want to inquire some of her friends to see what they are running, assuming they have the same goals as she does. I've played the game, even with a 3950x and rtx 3090, 32gb etc, there were times the game slows down, like severe weather. As far as I know the game likes cores, regardless of graphical settings, so maybe 5900x to start. I would figure out the peripherals first honestly if this is for someone who is training to be an actual pilot.
 
What kind of plane does she fly? If a Cessna, build it with a CH yoke. If it's a Cirrus, get her a stick. Or you could ask her what she wants.
 
Flight simulator is one of the most demanding games out there, you want as cutting edge hardware as you can find, esp for a pilot who will want a triple monitor setup.



From this video, the player has three 1440p monitors and is using
GPU - ASUS RTX 3080 TUF Gaming OC
CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
CPU Cooler - Cryorig H7
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-AB350-Gaming 3
RAM - Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4x8) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz C16
SSD - Samsung 850 EVO 250GB + 500GB
Broadband speed - 1gbps

Flight sim peripherals:
- CH Eclipse Yoke
- Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas 4
- Thrustmaster Flight Rudder Pedals
- TrackIR 5 (Head Tracking)
 
Why have three monitors? To taco it looks like this: a bunker view!

1579669400656.jpg

...you have huge horizontal panorama and it's all in front of you, instead of being wrapped around the sides.

Taco thinks a big screen up close should be better. It will also make it easier to see knobs nd switches that are located above windshield.

Like a sliding door peek-a-boo. Need 16x9, not 48x9.
 
Is she looking for a stick in particular or a yoke? Depending on the type of plane she's flying one will be more realistic than the other.

Honeycomb products are hugely popular among the Flight Sim community. The Alpha yoke and Bravo throttle quadrant in particular are fantastic pieces of hardware.
https://flyhoneycomb.com/products/alpha-flight-controls
https://flyhoneycomb.com/products/bravo-throttle-quadrant

What about rudder pedals? If she's using Flight Sim as practice for the real thing, she'll definitely want rudder pedals. I use the Logitech Pro Flight rudder pedals. They're definitely plasticky, but they do the trick.
https://www.logitechg.com/en-us/products/flight/flight-simulator-rudder-pedals.945-000024.html

If she's looking for a HOTAs in particular, the Thrustmaster T16000M is the most well known:
https://www.amazon.com/ThrustMaster-2960778-Thrustmaster-T16000M-HOTAS/dp/B01KCHPRXA

Or the airbus version of the same stick:
https://www.amazon.com/Thrustmaster-TCA-Officer-Pack-Airbus-pc/dp/B0873QXDQS

With the HOTAs you can use the stick as the rudder by twisting the stick, so you don't necessarily need rudder pedals. This is however totally unrealistic and any serious pilot will want rudder pedals.

This, is why I posted. Again, I have no freakin' idea what I'm doing. But thank you for the info.

Zepher, I wish man..

If you guys say 5k isn't even close, I understand.
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Why have three monitors? To taco it looks like this: a bunker view!

View attachment 365231

...you have huge horizontal panorama and it's all in front of you, instead of being wrapped around the sides.

Taco thinks a big screen up close should be better. It will also make it easier to see knobs nd switches that are located above windshield.

Like a sliding door peek-a-boo. Need 16x9, not 48x9.



Taco, never stop being you.
 
This game requires 32 gb memory. Don't go less. I had 16 gb initially and it would crash while loading due to being out of memory. That's all I can say. :)
 
This, is why I posted. Again, I have no freakin' idea what I'm doing. But thank you for the info.

Zepher, I wish man but I'm in Dallas so alas no dice.

- I posted this with the idea of preparing a questionnaire for this guy's daughter. Clearly, it is warranted.

(I assumed I was missing pedals but wtf is a Yoke?)

* Can we brass-tacks this and you tell me what he really needs to expect cost-wise? I kid you not, his kid wants to be some kinda serious pilot.

If you guys say 5k isn't even close, I understand.
yoke is like the steering wheel in KITT in Knight Rider
 
Why have three monitors? To taco it looks like this: a bunker view!

View attachment 365231

...you have huge horizontal panorama and it's all in front of you, instead of being wrapped around the sides.

Taco thinks a big screen up close should be better. It will also make it easier to see knobs nd switches that are located above windshield.

Like a sliding door peek-a-boo. Need 16x9, not 48x9.

When I had 3 30" 2k monitors I flipped them in portrait mode to avoid that problem. It looked awesome.
4800x2560.
 
an ultrawide might be a popular solution. I've never used one, but for a sim, might be better than driving 3 monitors, if resolution alone isn't the most important factor.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top