A Look at Various Home Cockpit Hardware for Flight Simulation 1

2015-10-12 | Flight Simulation Hardware

I usually only have time to play flight simulation on weekends. Most of the time, I fly small aircraft like the C172, and only occasionally fly airliners.

After all, there are too many things to control in a large aircraft. I generally use X-Camera to preset several views, such as the forward view, Upper Panel View, CDU View, etc. I use the Joystick to switch viewpoints, but I still need to click around with the mouse, which lacks a sense of realism.

For small aircraft like the C172, with external devices like Saitek, you can achieve the effect of flying without using the keyboard or mouse. I value this feeling of freedom and being detached from the computer. Adding a panel to these fixed devices would probably make it even better, but if there could be a full-motion effect where Roll, Pitch, and Yaw can all move, that would be perfect.

So, I looked into movable platforms suitable for this type of small aircraft and noted down a few products. (I don’t have the motivation to buy one yet)

PAGAN AMERICAS’s Next Level Motion Simulator System platform, plus the seat, etc., costs over 4,000 USD.

Czech company FLY-MOTION’s Flight Simulator. This product can Roll a full 360 degrees; it looks a bit scary, and the price is unknown.

Canada’s VRX SIMULATORS Flight Simulato. In fact, it is no longer a home product, so the price is much higher, requiring nearly 100,000 CAD.

CXC Simulations’ MOTION PRO II can also be used for flight simulation. It is also a professional-grade product, priced at over 50,000 USD.

Redbird FMX’s full-motion simulator is used in flight schools. It is a very famous product, priced between 70,000 and 100,000 USD.

Australia’s CKAS Thruxim/Max/Pro claims to be for home use, with 2-axis, 3-axis, and 6-axis products. However, the price is not listed; I estimate it is several thousand USD.

The UK’s Vesaro V-Spec Motion Flight Simulator product has a very high level of completion and many options. The cheapest 2-axis Dual Motion 1.5 is priced at 13,000 GBP, and the highest-end Quad Motion V-Spec Extreme 6.0 costs 37,000 GBP. However, the video looks great.