VR Flight Combat Sim setup

Sarra · September 10, 2022

I have finally managed to get a PC that's capable of running games like DCS World, MSFS 2020, and other similar sims.

So, I'm looking for a new setup. Specifically, I'm looking for a Chair, flight controls, and VR Headset.

Meta/Facebook hardware is a non-starter, I won't buy anything from them, I don't have a Facebook account nor a Meta account, and I would rather not ever have either.

Budget is open ended, physical space very much is not; A compact setup is a must.

I'm seriously hoping to get a chair that I can mount a throttle, flight stick, and potentially pedals to. I'm leaning pretty hard toward WinWing for a HOTAS setup, if that makes any difference. I will also be getting some CH stuff, a Yoke, pedals, and I already have a throttle quadrant.

Suggestions, help, input, is appreciated. PC specs are 5950X and 6800XT, I currently have a single 1440p 144hz display, though I have a second machine with 2 monitors, and I'm planning on a 4th overall monitor for my Steam Deck, so I can potentially set up for a second 1440p 144hz display for my gaming PC, though it's very much more likely that monitor will be setup with my second PC.

trufret · September 13, 2022

I'm running a similar spec PC currently 5900X with 6800XT and 64GB Ram.

Currently using a Reverb G2 for VR and it works well for seated games, If you're also going to want to do Roomscale you might want something with better controller tracking like a Vive 2 with index controllers or a Pimax for wider FOV but you're going to be paying alot more for those.

I'm using the Winwing takeoff/landing and combat panels but haven't tried their Hotas yet. I've heard good things about them though especially if you are wanting to focus on the F-18 or F-16 and want exact replica's of the Hotas in them.

I'm running a TM Warthog throttle with modified slew sensor and TM grips(A10/F18) on a Virpil Warbrd base + extension and Virpil rudders. I'm liking my current setup but do keep eyeing the Winwing F-16 hotas for flying the viper.

I'm using a Playseat Airforce chair which allows you to mount the throttle and side stick easily but the center mounting equipment is more for yokes. I've modified the insert to allow the warbrd to work center stick on it and that's working well.

I was also considering the Obutto Revolution cockpit/desk but it was too large for my space.

I'm also using a simshaker seat pad from Andre's shop for haptics but since it's Russian based I'm not sure how hard that would be to get at this point with the sanctions.

Sarra · September 13, 2022

5 hours ago, trufret said:

I'm running a similar spec PC currently 5900X with 6800XT and 64GB Ram.

This feels weird, coming from me (I have a Haswell based system that's maxed with 32GB), but why 64GB? I elected to go with 32GB for my current machine, but only because some of the games I play will actually utilize more than 16GB of memory, plus, it seems to help with rendering. But, I can't, for myself, see a current need to have 64GB in my own rig...

5 hours ago, trufret said:

Currently using a Reverb G2 for VR and it works well for seated games, If you're also going to want to do Roomscale you might want something with better controller tracking like a Vive 2 with index controllers or a Pimax for wider FOV but you're going to be paying alot more for those.

I literally don't have the room for a roomscale setup. If, for example, I played beat saber, I would probably punch one of my monitors, or the wall behind me. If that wasn't a problem, I would very likely fall through the floor, since... Well... It's as unstable as my last ex. o.x

5 hours ago, trufret said:

I'm using the Winwing takeoff/landing and combat panels but haven't tried their Hotas yet. I've heard good things about them though especially if you are wanting to focus on the F-18 or F-16 and want exact replica's of the Hotas in them.

So, this was kind of my point of 'huh... how does this work?' for this... How do you interact with panels/hotas while using VR? Do you hotswitch a passthrough to see the panels, or just do everything by feel? I'm all for getting the Winwing panels, and I would love to focus on the FA-18, but exact replicas aren't really necessary, though would be nice.

5 hours ago, trufret said:

I'm using a Playseat Airforce chair which allows you to mount the throttle and side stick easily but the center mounting equipment is more for yokes. I've modified the insert to allow the warbrd to work center stick on it and that's working well.

I'd like to be able to switch back and forth between yoke/throttle quadrant for MSFS, and HOTAS/collective for FA-18 and helo ops in DCS.

Man, if Winwing had a F-14 setup, that would actually be my go-to. I love the FA-18, and F-22, but damn, I could fly the F-14 for forever.

trufret · September 14, 2022

14 hours ago, Sarra said:

This feels weird, coming from me (I have a Haswell based system that's maxed with 32GB), but why 64GB? I elected to go with 32GB for my current machine, but only because some of the games I play will actually utilize more than 16GB of memory, plus, it seems to help with rendering. But, I can't, for myself, see a current need to have 64GB in my own rig...

I'm using 64GB as I'm running a virtual machine on some of the extra cores to host a DCS dedicated server as well so it can split off the processing of the other clients and AI from the main game threads.

14 hours ago, Sarra said:

I literally don't have the room for a roomscale setup. If, for example, I played beat saber, I would probably punch one of my monitors, or the wall behind me. If that wasn't a problem, I would very likely fall through the floor, since... Well... It's as unstable as my last ex. o.x

If you're only using it for seated sims them the G2 is likely your best bet currently.

14 hours ago, Sarra said:

So, this was kind of my point of 'huh... how does this work?' for this... How do you interact with panels/hotas while using VR? Do you hotswitch a passthrough to see the panels, or just do everything by feel? I'm all for getting the Winwing panels, and I would love to focus on the FA-18, but exact replicas aren't really necessary, though would be nice.

I use the panels by feel in VR as many of the switches and buttons have a very unique and easily identifiable shape. After a bit of use and building up a mental map of the layout it's pretty easy to get to what I need quickly. Same thing for the Hotas but easier as your hands are already on them 90% of the time.

14 hours ago, Sarra said:

I'd like to be able to switch back and forth between yoke/throttle quadrant for MSFS, and HOTAS/collective for FA-18 and helo ops in DCS.

Man, if Winwing had a F-14 setup, that would actually be my go-to. I love the FA-18, and F-22, but damn, I could fly the F-14 for forever.

How you switch between control devices will depend on how you setup your cockpit and mount your devices but I keep related devices connected to their own usb hub so if i want to switch from racing to flying I just unplug the hub with the wheel, pedals, and shifter and plug in the hub with the hotas and rudders. then move the chair to the appropriate devices.

You can get an F-14 grip from Virpil and VKB but it's only really good for the 14 or other early cold war jets as you need all the hats and buttons on the 18/16 sticks to manage the systems on modern jets