Hello. 

So, I think I’ve almost won a HP G2 on eBay at a reasonable price. 
My questions are as follows:-

1.) I have lots of hardware, like yoke, throttles, g1000 controls etc. Does the G2 have flaps near the eyes or something like that so that I can still operate this hardware? IE so that I don’t have to use it ‘blind’. That would be ok for the yoke I suppose, but turning knobs and selecting right screens could be a problem? 
 

2.) Is it light on the head? 
 

3.) what is ‘pancake’, ‘sweetspot’ and ‘door’? 
 

Sorry if any of that sounds amateurish, however I’m completely virgin to all of this!

 

1.  You're blind I'm afraid.  Works well with simple HOTAS as long as you know your buttons.

2.  Not very.  Could use a custom strap with some weight on the back to balance what is a heavy front end; tightening the straps helps a good bit.

3.  Sweetspot is the area of particular focus in the centre of your view.  You will learn to move your head to bring e.g. a dial into that region to enhance focus.  Not to say the rest of the view is all blurry - but this sweetspot is noticeably nicer.  Door I am not sure - the "screen door" effect on earlier VR HMDs was a noticeable "gauze" that seemed to sit in front of your lenses - I don't see this at all with the G2, which is a good reason to have one.  Pancakes I can only think of sugar and lemon 🙂

It's a nice bit of kit.  Takes a bit of getting used to.  I've added some custom prescription lenses and they help too.

1. Is all about Muscle Memory, once you get used to where all your Buttons are you'll be fine. For example I have a Throttle & Joystick both with buttons, 2x Button Boxes and a USB Numpad for various Binds. Quite a lot of buttons when you think about it (50+) but all easily found in VR.

1. I can use Saitek Yoke (+buttons), TMP, Trim Wheel and, well, Pedals 😉 With a bit of luck I can hit Switches (the most important ones I recall), Starter, and Gear Lever on the Switch Panel. Flaps on the Multi Panel are accessible, too, but that's it.

G1000 Controls might be difficult.

2. I can wear it for an hour, I rarely fly longer anyway. I have the G1 and the really disturbing factor is the sturdy and inflexible cable which can be used to hang an elephant. I think the G2 has a better cable.

3. Sweet spot isn't a real issue for me

Kind regards, Michael

Edited January 3, 20215 yr by pmb

My HOTAS setup works well, but any controls that you need to reach for might be a challenge.  Anything you can have instant muscle memory for should be fine.  I slide my keyboard away from me and keep a mouse right in front of me for interacting with things in the cockpit. 

Compared to 2D mode, it is a bit more jarring that I have my physical stick over on the right hand side of my desk, and many aircraft have yokes or center sticks (one of these days I will invest in a yoke, but with work from home I don't really have space for more stuff right now).  For instance yesterday I had the Cub all trimmed nice and straight and level and took my hand off the stick for a bit to look around, then I found myself reaching for the center stick I could see in VR vs my physical stick over on the right. 

'Pancake' seems to be what VR players call 2D, non-VR mode.

Edited January 3, 20215 yr by marsman2020

Took me 6 days tops to muscle memory my hardware setup.

No need to remove the HMD at all.