My build for Flightsimming

[JanTenner]

Hey there,

I got my Saitek Cessna yoke and finished my hardware shopping for now. So I thougth I show what my flying environment. I ll give some comments on my hardware so far but this wont be a review for the stuff I use.

I now got all the hardware for now but that doesnt mean that I am finished with building. So if anybody has an idea how to arrange it better how to improve the immersion factor I am willing to hear that.

So at first this is my whole buildup. Sorry for the quality. With my cam and the light I couldnt get much better.

Basically my setup contains Saitek controllers and Goflight modules. This is my yoke setup. For helicopters I use the joystick of course. Therefore I have to put the outer throttle quadrant on the other side of the desktop and can use it with my left hand because the stick is only useable with the right hand.

This is what I see when flying.

Well, in fact this is a setup I seldomly use. On my old laptop I use Vatsim including voice, PlanG and Flightsim Commander. On my tablet I can lookup checklist and I also have the FSWidgets moving map. This is a great piece of software because it can show aeronautical charts of most of the regions I fly (Aus, Nz and US). Because of this the laptop is only in use when I fly on Vatsim.

I have a dolby surround system which gives me all sounds apart from communication. All communication, also the FSX atc I got on my headset. I have to use a headset when I use the TrackIR clip pro. And with atc on headsets I also got more immersion.

On the right side you see my GoFlight modules. The top module is used for Nav, Com, transponder, and autopilot stuff like heading, altitude. The middle module is used mainly for activating the autopilot modes and for using GPS.

The bottom one is for the engine management and lights. It is made for single engined aircraft but apart from a few functions it is also useable for multi engine aircrafts. Those modules are absolutely awesome. They work with alll addons so far. Only with PMDG and Accusim some more work is needed to get all functionality out of them. The top module sometimes makes problems because the display stucks. I think it has to do with USB and power consumption. But those problems got less and are not really annoying anymore.

Here are my controllers.

It is the Saitek Combat rudder pedals which work very good. I like them much more than the CH pro pedals I got before because the Saitek ones feel better. But thats a matter of taste.

The yoke is also from Saitek. Its the Pro flight Cessna yoke. When this controller arrived and I unpacked it I was surprised. It is mainly made of plastic but feels significant. I have to get used to it but it adds lots of immersion. In my opinion the elevator centering force is to strong but that is also an advantage when the aircraft is propelry trimmed.

The cessna trim wheel basically does what the name says. And I think it is doing it damn good. It hasnt been that cheap but it was definately worth it.

The two throttle quadrants are nearly the same but not exactely. One I have bought some month ago the other one was a part of the yoke system. It can only be connected to the yoke and the sliders are running a little bit smoother than of that one I bought before. But that difference I hardly feel during the flight.

And there is one piece of hardware I ve nearly forgotten. You can see a bit of it on the left side of the tablet on the upper pics. This little grey plate is an USB-hub which also can hold a mug warm. Very good on long flights

So, this is my setup for now. As I said there is nothing I will buy in the next month (or longer). But the small GA aircraft I can fly without using the mouse and even with the bigger ones like the C90 there are only a few clicks I have to do with the mouse. As I mainly fly the smaller ones I am very happy with what I got. I would like to build up a cockpit somewhen in the future. But that will take much time for I would like to do a multi monitor setup then. Till then I want to build some more things to include what I have, maybe some wood work. But I also can build out of metal. The only limitaitons I have are money and I need to work on my computer aswell. So I have to reach my keyboard and mouse without sitting on the yoke

If anyone has questions about some stuf I have here or some ideas how to improve the immersion I would be very glad to hear

[Sinamuab]

Wow Jan, I don't take this hobby very seriously, just enjoy flying around and admiring the scenery.

But if I was to get serious, then I would love to have a set up like yours.

Thanks for sharing.

[JanTenner]

Thanks. I got that way aswell. I bought a little thing noticed that it made the experience much better and then put more efforts in learning properly to fly. Then again I found something I could use bought it and with more immersion i was eager to take flightsimming to the next step. So ít hasnt been that I flew that serious that I thought I need this stuff neither that I bought this stuff and because of it wanted to fly as realistic as possible. It was more of an interplay between hard/ software and the will to learn to fly properly