Touching the sky has been a wish for many since childhood. When that seems impossible, people plan on becoming a pilot to feel the skies and the thrill associated. However, a lot of them end up sacrificing due to the huge expenses that come with pilot training.
If not the entire movie, you can experience some sneak peeks of a pilot’s journey in the sky. But how? Well, there are flight simulators accessible on PC. With these, you can feel the joy of flying or maybe crashing. Initially, flight simulators used to be laggy and unrealistic. But the latest technology has changed that. The simulators these days are so realistic that even real-world pilots use them to work on their skills.
You can have your own perfect and lifelike simulator at your home. All you need to do is, put together the most accurate add-ons offered by different companies and read this article to learn it all.
A High-End PC
Just like high-end games, simulators can be very demanding on a system. Add-ons like airport scenery, weather generators, and aircraft can reduce your system’s performance if you are running the default version of the simulator on a regular system.
So, it is advised to invest in a high-end system to attain maximum realism.
Also, keep in mind that simulators are majorly dependent on CPU- and GPU-, thus no trade-offs in these areas.
Buy a simulator
Next up is the most difficult task of deciding the simulator that will prove the best for you. There are three main simulators available to choose from:
- Prepar3D v5 by Lockheed Martin, costing you around $59.99.
- Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 by Microsoft and Asobo Studios, costing you around $59.99.
- X-Plane 11 by Laminar Research, available for Windows, macOS, Linux, costing around $59.99.
- DCS World (free)
All of these above-mentioned simulators offer different functions and add-ons available. Flight Simulator 2020 is comparatively new and lacks some of the add-ons and airport sceneries. Likewise, X-Plane 11 does not have a huge fanbase. For now, most aircraft add-ons and sceneries are available in Prepar3D. Furthermore, DCS World is popular among those who are more into fighter aircraft flying. So, you can choose any of these simulators, as they are almost the same.
Buy a Joystick / Yoke
A yoke is somewhat like a steering wheel, just not circular. You can imagine holding a “W.” Also, a HOTAS (hands-on throttle and stick) is used in some aircraft. For your home simulator, you can use any of these two steering devices to control the aircraft. A console gaming controller can also work for you, provided your PC and simulator support it.
However, a decent-quality joystick or yoke would be recommended for the best flying experience.
You can choose from various available options. Logitech’s Extreme 3D Pro Joystick would be great if you are on a budget. However, there are many other companies, including Thrustmaster depending on your budget. It is always a good idea to read reviews online before making a purchase.
You can also buy a throttle quadrant that manages aircraft engines, flaps, speed brakes, etc.; rudder pedals to control the aircraft on the ground, and other accessories. However, if you don’t want to spend it in one go, you can buy these additional accessories later. Such accessories can be easily remapped to different buttons on your joystick.
Invest in Add-ons
Once you have all the necessary tools setup for your home simulator, you can plan on investing in add-ons. These add-ons range from realistic aircraft add-ons to terrain sceneries and weather engines. For illustration, PMDG Simulations offers various Boeing study-level aircraft. FSLabs offers a detailed Airbus A320.
ActiveSky ups the game with realistic life-like weather phenomena, even if you are flying in a simulator. ORBX Simulations offers attractive scenery for many European airports. You can browse to purchase these add-ons on websites like SimMarket.
So, you will get a different airport or terrain scenery from different companies.
Setting up a flight simulator requires lots of patience. You can’t just plugin everything together and get done. You will have to try and test every setting before moving on to the next one. But if you are truly looking forward to flying an aircraft, all your patience will bear fruits in the end.
Source :- https://blogs-nation.uk.com/how-to-set-up-a-flight-simulator-at-home/
