Hey!

 

Just joined the forum.  I have lloved aviation since a kid.  I flew as a right-seater on OV-1D Mohawks and RC-12's.  Then started jumping out of them and liked that also.  I  am retired now and want to build my own flight sim.  I am going to purchase mostly Saitek equipment and use Xplanes for the software.

 

I was going to use 3 27" monitors and enclose the cockpit.  Right now I am struggling with the computer I will purchase.  I have made a spreadsheet and figurred this will cost between 2000-3500 for everything.

 

I am sure I will be asking a lot of questions!

 

BTW: I have no aviation certifications but have about 300 hours flyiing 172's and stick time I got on the Mohawk with trainers.

 

One question I do have:  (I know there are debates on it)  FS X or X-Plane?

 

Also, is there any recommendations other than using Track IR for realism?

 

 

FS X or X-Plane?

 

Both.  FSX is dirt cheap these days.

 

Hook

Welcome!  I think you will enjoy FSX and that's the sim I would recommend you start out with.  X-Plane has a learning curve (in my humble opinion).  A lot of people use Track IR.  It works well but not cheap.  There's a lot of products that will provide realism.  EZdok lets you look around and move around your aircraft.  It has a learning curve too but many members really like using it.  For my realism kick I have installed photoscenery for the US.  We have a photoscenery forum that lets you know what's good and what's not working so well.  There are 3 photoscenery products for Texas as it is a fairly large state (someone told me that!) :lol: .  Photoscenery works best from about 2000 feet and up.  I also recommend you get Acceleration (or FSX Gold) if you plan on using FSX (which, as Larry said above, is dirt cheap in comparison to X-Plane).  With FSX/Acceleration, you can enable DX10 technology which provides even further immersion into FSX.  Like sun shadows in the virtual cockpits and water animations based on the weather.  If it's nasty weather, you should see some nasty waves.  Look around the various forums and join in if you have a question related to that forum.  Don't forget to check out AVSIM's Library that contains thousands of freeware scenery and aircraft repaints and other files.  Enjoy!

 

Best regards,

I would recommend watching a few videos on YouTube by FroogleSim because he provides reviews for TrackIR and EZDoc to get a flavor of these items. I find his videos really informative and cut to the chase with respect to the good and the bad.

 

Happy Flying!