Built my own flight sim to help my IFR training.

spdracer888

spdracer888

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spdracer888
After I got my PPL in March I couldn't find an off-the-shelf flight sim to help with my IFR training; so I decided to built one myself, starting with the computer (to save $$). I've NEVER built a computer in my entire life until now and the process was a lot simpler than you think. As long as you can put together an IKEA furniture, you can turn this:

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into this:

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I'm running PREPAR3D and X Plane 10 with this setup and each program has its own vices and virtues. Regrettably and for right reasons, you cannot log training device hours.
 
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So what the total damage on that setup?
 
spdracer888 said:
After I got my PPL in march, I searched for an off-the-shelf flight sim setup that I will use to practice my IFR approaches. While the Jay by Redbird is a good option, I wanted something a bit more substantial. After a few weeks of research into CPU, graphic cards, flight sim hardwares, I decided to built one myself, starting with the computer (a similar powered machine will cost almost double of what it cost to build). I've NEVER built a computer in my entire life until now and the process was a lot simpler than you think. As long as you can put together IKEA furniture, you can turn this:

1_zps31a9798f.jpg




into this:

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I run PREPAR3D and X Plane 10 with this setup...and no you cannot log hours under "training device".
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Take a look at PilotEdge. I use it for IFR training. Good stuff
 
ja_user said:
So what the total damage on that setup?
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It was under $5K (approx $3K for computer and $1,900 for Saitek hardwares). You don't need anywhere near that much...I went a bit overboard since I want really smooth graphics at near max settings.

Anyone interested in doing this, please feel free to send me a PM with your email and I can send you all of my receipts.
 
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And 3 different ways to make coffee too.
 
Have you considered peripheral vision in your simulator? There is a sensor available which you mount on the screen in front of you and you need to wear this small gadget (not sure what is called) over your head-set and as you look around, you can look at the side of the plane/cockpit provided you have monitors on the side as well. I saw it on youtube. Yours looks cool though :)
 
davef22 said:
Have you considered peripheral vision in your simulator? There is a sensor available which you mount on the screen in front of you and you need to wear this small gadget (not sure what is called) over your head-set and as you look around, you can look at the side of the plane/cockpit provided you have monitors on the side as well. I saw it on youtube. Yours looks cool though :)
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I beleive you're referring to the Track IR system http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/
 
I've been meaning to give PilotEdge a shot. It's on the "to-do" list.

You went all-out. I'm more of an autopilot fan in the sims.

I didn't think I'd ever do it, but I've converted to X-Plane 10.30 (from Prepar3D v2.4). I have my complaints here and there but overall, it's just a much better simulator - especially for night IMC practice.
 
Really cool! Thanks for sharing.
 
Very slick, but for the same money, you could have had this, and it would be certified for 10 hours of training towards your IR as well as meeting instrument recent experience requirements (although, contrary to their web site, not without an instructor, thanks to an internal review of the FAA's position on this).
 
Ron Levy said:
Very slick, but for the same money, you could have had this, and it would be certified for 10 hours of training towards your IR as well as meeting instrument recent experience requirements (although, contrary to their web site, not without an instructor, thanks to an internal review of the FAA's position on this).
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I did look into them, but by the time I optioned it out, it's almost $8K. Maybe Santa will be nice to me for Christmas - I do need a G1000 setup :)
 
So is PIC jumping from Redbird to TouchTrainer?
 
I might get some of those gauges. I've been flying using an Oculus Rift but you really couldn't use that for IFR practice since you can't really read the instruments. It's great for immersion and arcade flying but unless you use Pilotage it's hard to get from point A to B.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
I didn't think I'd ever do it, but I've converted to X-Plane 10.30 (from Prepar3D v2.4). I have my complaints here and there but overall, it's just a much better simulator - especially for night IMC practice.
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I really like PREPAR3D v2.4 for its scenery which IMHO has more and are better than X-Plane. However, the flight model for X-Plane 10.3 is much more realistic. I don't know if it has something to do with 64 bit (Xplane) vs 32 bit (Prepar3d).


OkieAviator said:
I might get some of those gauges.
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FYI: X Plane will need a third party plugin to work with Saitek gauges and panels...and some functions are limited (i.e. twist knob for Altimeter setting). For PREPAR3D, you must have FSX installed then do a work around (do a google search) for the SAITEK to work properly.
 
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Nice setup!

Now if you have an iPad, you can use FF or WingX Pro (which I'm using) with X-Plane or P3D via wifi.

And yes, building your own flightsim is a VERY rewarding experience:yes:

spdracer888 said:
I really nice PREPAR3D v2.4 for its scenery which IMHO has more and are better than X-Plane. However, the flight model for X-Plane 10.3 is much more realistic. I don't know if it has something to do with 64 bit (Xplane) vs 32 bit (Prepar3d).
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Same here.
 
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The left hand one looks like a hot water kettle and not a coffee making device, per se. You need it to make use of the French Press.

Now all you need is a nice espresso maker.
 
$3amu and you don't even leave the ground..

In comparison, I'm complaining about my upcoming 430 waas upgrade. For $5amu I can actually fly in the clouds...

Cool system. I guess I'll go ahead and call for the upgrade...
 
flyingron said:
So is PIC jumping from Redbird to TouchTrainer?
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We tried Redbird very briefly, but it was never standard equipment and those test articles are long gone. We still have a few Elite PI-135's for certain aircraft for which the FTS TT doesn't do well.
 
Ron Levy said:
We tried Redbird very briefly, but it was never standard equipment and those test articles are long gone. We still have a few Elite PI-135's for certain aircraft for which the FTS TT doesn't do well.
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I have a lot of experience with the TT's. If you add a Precision Flight Controls 430 head unit to it, you can get past a lot of the touchscreen hassles associated with trying to beat the 430 into submission.

Just shot some video with the FTS guys at their headquarters a few weeks ago showing how to use the TT with PilotEdge, got some good footage.

To the OP, nice sim! As others have suggested, you might wanna check out PE (or any form of online ATC, but for r/w pilots, PE is a logical choice) to increase the training value for the time you spend on the sim if your goal is to simulate end to end flights in the system. If your goal, however, is to just shoot full approaches, practice partial panel and practice course interception and tracking, then you don't need the ATC.
 
I unplugged the rift and started messing with monitors, bezel correction and graphic settings. Decided to grab the family room TV and see what it looks like on that. It's actually pretty cool, might keep it here a bit and get one of the TrackIR setups.
 

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I used to run MSFS on a projector shown at 100". This is one of those times where increases in size returns smaller gains in satisfaction.
 
This one is only 46 inches so it seems to look fine. Well it looks a bit ridiculous sitting on my desk, but the game looks fine. I thought about trying it on the 65" Plasma I have in my media room but that would require me to drag everything up there and then figure out what to mount these controls on. Actually I may try that sometime just to see, but will have to be a day I'm not burdened with work activities.
 
That's a really sweet setup! I always dreamed about having a setup like that. Sims are great for practice and can be really helpful when transitioning to real aircraft. They were for me. I do have to ask though, why not use the money towards your IFR rating? That money would go a long way towards it.
 
AerialGhost said:
I do have to ask though, why not use the money towards your IFR rating? That money would go a long way towards it.
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I view it more like advanced "chair flying". You can do a lot of approaches and procedures for pennies of electricity vs dollars in gas. Couple it with a fake online ATC service and you get the comma practice.
 
Makes sense. Plus you can hop on anytime you are away from flying for an extended period of time and work the muscle memory. Anyway nice setup!
 
AerialGhost said:
That's a really sweet setup! I always dreamed about having a setup like that. Sims are great for practice and can be really helpful when transitioning to real aircraft. They were for me. I do have to ask though, why not use the money towards your IFR rating? That money would go a long way towards it.
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I do about two to three times IFR trainings a week and this is to compliment my practice so I can practice holds, approaches, etc. I find it helpful in maximizing my cockpit time for new materia instead of refreshing what I learned the lesson before.
 
Nice setup, thats quite a bit more intense than mine (I went with Saitek yoke, throttle, & pedals on FSX 10 and dual monitors)

But the one thing I added that did help quite a bit during training was having the ability to use my IPAD for charts / plates and situational awareness when training on the simulator. I downloaded FSXFlight program and a plug in on my ipad that Spoofed the ipad GPS with the location/ALT on FSX. This way it acted just like it would when I am in the cockpit.

Here it the old sportys link, but I cant get the link to the FSXFlight to work so you may need to do some digging to find it.

http://ipadpilotnews.com/2012/12/how-to-use-foreflight-on-your-ipad-with-microsoft-flight-sim-x/
 
MyassisDragon said:
Here it the old sportys link, but I cant get the link to the FSXFlight to work so you may need to do some digging to find it.

http://ipadpilotnews.com/2012/12/how-to-use-foreflight-on-your-ipad-with-microsoft-flight-sim-x/
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I bought it for I think $9 off Simmarket last Thursday. Had zero issues using it, I just installed it, ran the program and picked the "Broadcast" option. Within Foreflight I went to Devices and it saw it. Now I did have to go back into devices and 'enable' it.. but once I started up the game (I use Prepar3D) it worked great.

I'm going to download and try WingX next. This is because the Navworx ADS-B I just got installed doesn't work with ForeFlight.
 
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