Hi, I currently use a keyboard without numpad on my gaming PC and based on videos I've seen for flight simulator, it looks like a keyboard with a numpad may be a good idea.  Am I right?  Is there any good keyboard that's particularly well designed for flight sim use?  Or any old keyboard will do?

Edited August 12, 20205 yr by Virtual-Chris

Hey,

Based on my experience with FSX (I am not in the MSFS Alpha/Beta) it is possible to fly with keyboard and numpad, but can it be recommended? Definitely not!

So if you are willing to buy new equipment for playing MSFS I would recommend you to buy a yoke/ flight-stick. I think even the cheapest yoke will offer you a better flying experience than any gaming keyboard.

Cheers!

To interpret this question slightly differently - if flying with a yoke/joystick/throttle etc I’d still recommend a keyboard with a numeric keypad. I have a separate numeric keypad...for aircraft with glass cockpits it makes life massively easier if fiddly rotational controls (fms/range etc) are bound to a key. So I map the keypad as the gps control and all other functions sit on the main keyboard...just gives more choice without having to resort to memorising too many ctrl-alt-f13 type combinations 🙂

Actually what would really be great would be the ability to create a custom switchboard on an iPad, with each button labelled with its actual function. Maybe something of this sort already exists but imagine it would need an integration layer to work with MSFS

There are naturally people with home cockpits made from real aircraft etc - but my old cheapo Logitech G13 keypad mounted in front of my Virpil T-50 throttle eliminates my need for a keyboard when flying sims, which is especially important while flying VR. With the hand on the throttle I just stretch my fingers and find the G13 without thinking. Can have different modes to change the keys sent etc. The mini stick is actually rather good and for military planes it's nice for controlling the radar cursor etc.

They are not in production any more but probably cheap on eBay. And there are similiar alternatives.

if you are planning to use any kind of a controller (console controller, joystick, or yoke), then you could easily do without the number pad (at least thats true of fsx)
not sure whats even set to those keys but iirc its for m/kb flight control (mostly elevator/rudder i think)
most sims allow plenty of customization with keyboard layout so its likely you could rebind anything you needed from the number pad to something else as well
if you do decide to get a full sized keyboard, any good keyboard will do, there isnt really a 'special' keyboard needed for flight sims, most people just use a decent gaming keyboard i would think
if your planning to fly with m/kb then yea i would suggest a full sized keyboard, even those wont have enough keys to bind for everything you could use

personally i would strongly suggest you spend that money on any joystick rather than a new keyboard unless your current one has problems, even a cheap joystick will change how you play and increase your immersion by a lot, they are also much easier to fly with, failing that maybe find an old console controller (i cant stand these but some people like them and do well using them)

Edited August 12, 20205 yr by AirWayMan

I used to fly with a joystick so much that it started to hurt my hand, so either I had to give up flightsim, or fly with the keyboard.  I've been doing that for 20 years.  All my main controls are mapped to the keypad.  In the older sims, for heavier/faster aircraft, it meant going into the config files and changing the values for keyboard control (would be nice if this is no longer done.)

Thanks everyone... I realize that my situation wasn't completely clear.  I have a Honeycomb Yoke and Saitek pedals and throttle (on order) but was wondering if I should upgrade my keyboard.  It sounds like I won't need to.

2 hours ago, andyjohnston.net said:

I used to fly with a joystick so much that it started to hurt my hand, so either I had to give up flightsim, or fly with the keyboard.  I've been doing that for 20 years.  All my main controls are mapped to the keypad.  In the older sims, for heavier/faster aircraft, it meant going into the config files and changing the values for keyboard control (would be nice if this is no longer done.)

Well - before I bought my latest Virpil setup (the left side with the throttle in the post above) I had problems with ache in my shoulders and hand after a long sim session. With the deskmounts (Virpils original but there are many others) it got a LOT better. With the mounts lower than the desk you end up in a relaxed position where the shoulders are "hanging" naturally without having to lift the arm to reach the joystick. It eases the strain immensly. I can adjust the arm rest of my office chair so that the elbow rests on that - and the hand is on the Joystick. Really recommended!

The right side of my setup below with the Virpil T-50 CM2 joystick. Such an awesome piece of gear with the Warbrd gimbal that is completely butter smooth compared to a Warthog stick or similar. But a full Virpil setup with throttle, gimbal and grip is unfortunately a rather pricy affair... Have not regretted it a second though. Naturally more geared for the military flight simulators.

 

Edited August 12, 20205 yr by mazex

14 hours ago, Virtual-Chris said:

Hi, I currently use a keyboard without numpad on my gaming PC and based on videos I've seen for flight simulator, it looks like a keyboard with a numpad may be a good idea.  Am I right?  Is there any good keyboard that's particularly well designed for flight sim use?  Or any old keyboard will do?

IIRC several of the videos mentioned using the keypad to control the view system.

 

Vic

 

2 hours ago, vgbaron said:

IIRC several of the videos mentioned using the keypad to control the view system.

 

Vic

 

That's what I thought.  I wonder if the hat switch on the yoke can replace that functionality?

1 hour ago, Virtual-Chris said:

That's what I thought.  I wonder if the hat switch on the yoke can replace that functionality?

I would expect that all functions can be mapped to a key or switch.

16 hours ago, mazex said:

There are naturally people with home cockpits made from real aircraft etc - but my old cheapo Logitech G13 keypad mounted in front of my Virpil T-50 throttle eliminates my need for a keyboard when flying sims, which is especially important while flying VR. With the hand on the throttle I just stretch my fingers and find the G13 without thinking. Can have different modes to change the keys sent etc. The mini stick is actually rather good and for military planes it's nice for controlling the radar cursor etc.

They are not in production any more but probably cheap on eBay. And there are similiar alternatives.

 

I have a G13 kicking around that my wife got me for Christmas years ago.  I am definitely going to break it out and give it a try!

 

Matt

Got a question in a PM of how I mounted that G13 on the Virpil Desk mount. I realized that I could add this here if someone else finds this old thread and wants to try that as well.

I took a rather square piece of ~3 mm thick plastic and rounded the corners and edges. Then put 3M strong velcro on it - and zip-tied that "plate" to the top of my Virpil desktop mount (did some small slits just at the edge for the zip-ties to go through. Then put the other "side" of the strong 3M velcro on the backside of the G13. Planned that I could take it off if desired. Have never done that and that industrial grade Velcro is so strong that I tried doing it now for the images but it sits very hard so did not force it. It sits rock solid and feel like it's screwed on the mount 😉

But it actually is flat on the top side - but as the G13 is built with a hump-back the result of mounting the top part flat is that the hand gets rather sloped, but the actual keys are flat horizontal. But that becomes prefect when moving your hand from the throttle to the G13 with the sloped handrest and feels just right... But it is not intentional. It's just a nice side effect of the G13 really resting on the back and front part when on a table, and the midlle part actually a bit above the table. 3 images below... As can be seen the Velcro on the G13 is on the flat "bent" part that is actually not resting on the table when in the normal position laying on a table... It almost feels like it is built to be mounted this way. I did by the way sand the sides of the G13 as they where a bit "sharp" and you can get your fingers a bit on that edge when moving you had when you are at full throttle and moving up to the G13. Used 800 grade sanding paper and that worked great. Did it all along the G13 edge actually 🙂

 

 

On 8/12/2020 at 11:23 AM, Virtual-Chris said:

Thanks everyone... I realize that my situation wasn't completely clear.  I have a Honeycomb Yoke and Saitek pedals and throttle (on order) but was wondering if I should upgrade my keyboard.  It sounds like I won't need to.

If you will be using both Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo you might want to consider a somewhat smaller than standard bluetooth keyboard like what you see here.  It fits nicely across the two flight controls and is very useful in that position. This one is an iClever IC BK10.  About $35 from Amazon.  Makes for a very clean, straightforward setup.