Desktop Simulator Recommendations

Arnold

Arnold

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Arnold
My current aircraft is not equipped for instrument flight, nor will it ever be, so I am thinking of getting a desktop simulator. I would use it only for procedures training. I would like to start with single engine with the option to expand to multi-engine especially if it can randomly fail an engine, but that is in the future. I have only a passing knowledge of the products available.

I have Windows 10. 500MB free disk space. 8 GB RAM. Intel Core i7-3770T CPU running at 2.5 Ghz. Radeon HD 7800M graphics card with 1GB memory.


Any recommendations?
 
Procedures training as in...?
 
I would say X-Plane is a great choice for instrument practice in terms of generally available flight simulators. But it requires a pretty powerful PC to run smoothly even with medium settings. With your specs, I'm not sure if it would run well.
 
How much you want to spend? SWMBO informed me that, after the last debacle of trying to get an IPC, I was never to get non-current on instruments again, regardless of being between flying gigs or not. As a result I have a TD2 with interchangable panels (steam and glass) heading our way. I will never have a valid excuse for not being very current on instruments again. The TD2 is not a multi-engine simulator but it does do complex. If I ever get into the multi game again, I will worry about that then. Best part is that every approach done within the restictions of the QAG and LOA are 100% loggable without needing a Safety Pilot, CFI-I, AVGAS, or non-icing weather.

:cool:
 
With your PC specs, you may be able to run X-Plane with very low graphics setting....which is fine especially if you are just focused on instrument procedure training. You could download the X-Plane trial free and see if it will run at all.

edit: Actually with only 500MB of disc space you may not even be able to do much
 
Deelee said:
I would say X-Plane is a great choice for instrument practice in terms of generally available flight simulators. But it requires a pretty powerful PC to run smoothly even with medium settings. With your specs, I'm not sure if it would run well.
Click to expand...

I also have my son's X Box 1S available but I'm not sure if that is useful or not.
 
On that note, I’d go for FS2004. You’ll be able to max it out and it will do everything you need for a reasonable price.
 
snglecoil said:
With your PC specs, you may be able to run X-Plane with very low graphics setting....which is fine especially if you are just focused on instrument procedure training. You could download the X-Plane trial free and see if it will run at all.

edit: Actually with only 500MB of disc space you may not even be able to do much
Click to expand...
Limit the geography to a single lat/long area. Also makes the installation faster.
 
snglecoil said:
With your PC specs, you may be able to run X-Plane with very low graphics setting....which is fine especially if you are just focused on instrument procedure training. You could download the X-Plane trial free and see if it will run at all.

edit: Actually with only 500MB of disc space you may not even be able to do much
Click to expand...

Oh my. The first code I ever wrote was on a PDP 8S with 2K of core memory and punched paper tape for storage. You will not believe how thoroughly my mind is blown when I learn that 500MB won't be enough. But I digress.
 
Arnold said:
A Rumpole Fan?
Click to expand...

Nope. First time I have encountered that name... Wiki says a television defense attourney. Kinda the UK version of Perry Mason?

o_O
 
I sure hope you mean 500gb of space available. 500mb isn't enough to install just about any game now...heck, Mech Warrior 3 from 1999 is 600mb if I remember correctly.

For reference, my xplane 11 install is over 70gb.
 
Arnold said:
Instrument Procedures.
Click to expand...

Silly question but are you instrument rated? If not then I’d recommend you get your rating or at least some significant instruction before using a sim for practicing procedures. If you are, do you want to be able to log 61.57 currency? If so, then you’ll need an FAA approved BATD like the Redbird TD2 mentioned above. I too bit the bullet and bought a BATD — a Redbird TD-G.
 
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tsts4 said:
Silly question but are you instrument rated? If not then I’d recommend you get your rating or at least some significant instruction before using a sim for practicing procedures. If you are, do you want to be able to log 61.57 currency? If so, then you’ll need an FAA approved BATD like the Redbird TD2 mentioned above. I too bit the bullet and bought a BATD — a Redbird TD-G.
Click to expand...


Technically no instrument rating - nope not on my certificate. I do have ATP ASMEL. I'm not looking for currency, I do an IPC every six months. But now that I am sans medical I don't see myself flying IFR any time soon. So I'm just looking for an inexpensive way to stay connected to IFR flying.
 
mmaclauchlan said:
I sure hope you mean 500gb of space available. 500mb isn't enough to install just about any game now...heck, Mech Warrior 3 from 1999 is 600mb if I remember correctly.

For reference, my xplane 11 install is over 70gb.
Click to expand...

Yes 500gb
 
Arnold said:
Oh my. The first code I ever wrote was on a PDP 8S with 2K of core memory and punched paper tape for storage. You will not believe how thoroughly my mind is blown when I learn that 500MB won't be enough. But I digress.
Click to expand...

Ha, yeah. I get it. What is crazy is that some of those games that your son plays on his X Box are 1.5 GB or more installed. The new Microsoft Flight Simulator version that is in development is made sourcing over 2 Petabytes (2,000,000 GB) of Bing Map data....and will need to be streamed online to get full fidelity for the relatively small area that you would be "flying" in a given time. The good news for you is that storage is cheap. You can get a 500 GB drive for less than $20.
 
I detest everything about Redbird. I think PIC went to TouchTrainer and that would be the way I would go at this point in time. Actually, my neighbor who has her PhD in flight simulation is talking about building one and getting it approved so I think that would be the kickass one to fly. I might have to help her test it.
 
Deelee said:
I would say X-Plane is a great choice for instrument practice in terms of generally available flight simulators. But it requires a pretty powerful PC to run smoothly even with medium settings. With your specs, I'm not sure if it would run well.
Click to expand...

I've run xplane on lesser equipment. It's a matter of tuning. Don't load scenery and you will almost certainly need more disk space.

For sim equipment, don't skimp. For example, I have the Logitech / Saitek yoke and it's really not very good. There's a constant jitter in it that keeps the computer from going to sleep and the movement range is only 45 degrees left and right, with the result being that it is very difficult to control the sim. When the new MS Flight Sim comes out, I'll almost certainly spring for something more stable.

I also have the ch-pro pedal and I like them - rudder command and toe brakes are provided for, they're sturdy and work well. The Saitek throttle quadrant is pretty good too, although it has a plastic feel to it.
 
"For sim equipment, don't skimp. For example, I have the Logitech / Saitek yoke and it's really not very good."

Do you have a suggested alternate?
 
flyingron said:
I detest everything about Redbird. I think PIC went to TouchTrainer and that would be the way I would go at this point in time. Actually, my neighbor who has her PhD in flight simulation is talking about building one and getting it approved so I think that would be the kickass one to fly. I might have to help her test it.
Click to expand...

That is interesting. First I didn't know one could get a Ph.D. in flight simulation. Second, why do you detest Redbird?
 
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Well, I'm sure it's computer science or something that is actually on her degree, but her thesis was on flight simulation. Redbird may have improved, but when I saw them they were both bad in their flight model and the behavior of the simulated avionics was so far off so as to be counterproductive in training to the real thing. The full-motion one was a toy.
 
mryan75 said:
X-Plane takes way more oomph to run than Prepar3d. It's also much less user friendly. And I have the Saitek yoke, throttle quadrant and rudder pedals and they've treated me well for a good ten years now.

Redbird is a joke for what they charge. Basically if I just quadruple the cost of everything in my setup, I can log it. What a deal!

I have an 8700k and a 1080, and run Prepar3d very, very well. I use it for instrument practice and VFR flights around the Caribbean. You can probably get my Pc for $1,500 now, a good 32 inch monitor (not stretched, just regular monitor, because vertical screen space is more useful and horizontal space fr IFR flight) and the Saitek stuff. All told maybe $2k to $2,200.
Click to expand...

Thank you.
 
Arnold said:
"For sim equipment, don't skimp. For example, I have the Logitech / Saitek yoke and it's really not very good."

Do you have a suggested alternate?
Click to expand...
https://www.chillblast.com/virtual-fly-flight-sim-yoke-yoko-the-yoke-.html

https://www.virtual-fly.com/en/shop/controls/flight-sim-yoke-yoko-the-yoke-plus

Bought it and the TQ6+ throttle quadrant roughly six months ago and I'm highly impressed.

If you're looking for cheap, disregard :p
My entire setup is over 4 grand, but then again, this is my longtime hobby, going as far back as MSFS on a Commodore-64 (1983).
 
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Oh yeah, $1,000.00 and "You can instantly update your flight skills just by getting your hands on this simulator yoke. Let the pilot inside you take control of your flight experience."

What could be better?
 
redtail said:
My entire setup is over 4 grand, but then again, this is my longtime hobby, going as far back as MSFS on a Commodore-64 (1983).
Click to expand...

That is one quarter of the cost of my aircraft. I'm not "cheap" - well okay I am, but I was thinking less than $1K.
 
IK04 said:
Oh yeah, $1,000.00 and "You can instantly update your flight skills just by getting your hands on this simulator yoke. Let the pilot inside you take control of your flight experience."

What could be better?
Click to expand...
LOL, I thought that was a funny line as well. I'm not sure how true that is, but as far as realism, the YOKO is by far the best flightsim yoke I've ever used. Solid, well made, most precise compared to the CH and Saitek that I used for years. The smoothness in pitch and roll and the precision when hand-flying with this thing is something that the other two can't touch.

Arnold said:
That is one quarter of the cost of my aircraft. I'm not "cheap" - well okay I am, but I was thinking less than $1K.
Click to expand...
Understood.

There's another thread about the Honeycomb which is much cheaper...AND stiffer in pitch.

The YOKO feels closer to the real thing to me, in my experience. Can't speak on the Honeycomb, as I've never used one.

I bit the bullet on the yoko based on YouTube video reviews by Austin and Russ Barlow (not that funny sales pitch).......It's their fault I spent all of that dough:D
 
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snglecoil said:
Ha, yeah. I get it. What is crazy is that some of those games that your son plays on his X Box are 1.5 GB or more installed. <snip>
Click to expand...

Sorry to tell you this, but you are back in the Dark Ages of Data Storage. My son just downloaded the update for his X box game, it was 100gb+.

I too used a computer with 2k of memory.

To bad the programming can't keep up with memory and processing power. I have wrote number of dedicated assembly language apps to replace C++ Apps that run 100's of times faster for even very simple operations. It isn't you computer that is slow, it's the programming/software that is making it slow, with very few exceptions.

Brian
 
brcase said:
It isn't you computer that is slow, it's the programming/software that is making it slow, with very few exceptions.
Click to expand...

Indeed... The advances in hardware have made the software guys pretty lazy.

:stirpot:
 
Good yoke review by Austin Meyer. Four different brands.

He reviewed the yoko at 20:00.
My setup is almost exactly as pictured in the video, including the G1000 by RealSimGear and the panel by StayLevel avionics. My panel is custom built with additional switches and some homemade stuff I added.

Capt.Russ Barlow


I didn’t get the RUDDOs, I went with Slaw Device RX Viper rudder pedals instead.

Get your foot out of your mouth Austin! Haha
 
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brcase said:
My son just downloaded the update for his X box game, it was 100gb+.
Click to expand...

Uhhhh. Yeah, I was off a just a little. :) I just noticed one game installed on my PC is 85gb. My X-Plane install is 45gb without too much custom scenery. And P3D is around 30gb by itself. I don't want to know what all the addons I have acquired over the years comes up to.
 
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