Microsoft Flight Simulator No matter how you play, it is magical-but if you use the appropriate analog hardware, it will definitely get something special.
If you ask me for whom all these professional flight simulator peripherals were prepared before the new version of Microsoft Flight Simulator was released, I would say, you know, actual pilots or trained pilots. Hardcore flight simulator. Nerds. This description may not be accurate. But please note how happy the latest outing of Microsoft Flight Simulator is: it will also make you one of them.
I used to look at all these professional hardware curiously. Every E3 I go to the Mad Catz conference room to listen to the latest updates of the arcade game world, but I always pass the huge Saitek complete cockpit demo machine easily. This is always enough to stop me “it’s cool”, but never enough for me to wear a seatbelt for a test flight.
I think what I need is an easy-to-play and impressive game. The kind of thing that even the most ignorant prospective pilot can perform flight simulations. The new games from Xbox and Asobo Studio are just that, but it is also an experience that is greatly enhanced by the peripherals provided. So now I am here, and my office is full of emerging Amazon wish lists of flight simulation peripherals and other add-ons that I like.
Don’t get me wrong-this is an expensive business. For the most important additional features that can enhance your flight simulation experience, you will need to spend at least $100-if you want to buy something better and more satisfying, this number can be doubled or even tripled. For the pedals, the items that require stronger manufacturing quality the most, you can reach more than $500. This thing is big business.
This explains the report released by Flight Sim that the game will continue to drive $2.6 billion in new hardware sales. Before playing Microsoft Flight Simulator, I would be shocked by this, but now I am totally not. Given that most of this technology is fragmented, spending four figures may be a slippery slope-but it also conveniently means that you can buy only the parts you care about, or just a basic all-in-one kit .
The best budget all-in-one flight simulation solution
Flight Sim accessories can basically be divided into several key categories. There are yokes and joysticks, pedals and modular panels. However, some options on the market can provide you with an all-in-one solution with a lower budget.
One of our favorite choices in this category, available for PC and Xbox, is Thrustmaster T. Flight complete kit. This includes everything you need for a complete flying experience. The most important part of the kit is the full-precision HOTAS joystick-HOTAS stands for hand throttle and joystick. This means it is a two-handed setup, with one hand for the joystick and the other for the throttle. Both have various buttons for switching other settings. Rudder pedals are also included, which are essential for realistic control of many types of aircraft found in flight simulators.
The Xbox version of this stick is called T. Flight Full Kit X, And it’s functionally the same-but of course it’s plug-and-play Xbox compatible, and has various Xbox button icons, and the price is slightly higher, about 150 pounds-although the scalpers are currently pushing this because of Flight The Sim hardware boom continues.
If you don’t mind the pedals, you can also buy the Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS separately-much cheaper, around £60-75, depending on the platform you choose. If you are more interested in playing slightly simpler games, such as Star Wars Squadron, this is actually a better package. However, for Flight Sim, we recommend pedals-they do add something to the experience.
If you buy pedals wholeheartedly, then the T.Flight complete kit is definitely the cheapest way to get everything you need. The only drawback is that it is of course a flying rod-not a yoke. If you prefer the yoke, you have to be prepared to spend more money…
Independent yoke and joystick
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The first key accessory you want to start using is a more natural input device for basic aircraft control. I have tried three: Cellular Aviation Alpha Flight Control, This Logitech Pro Flight Yoke System and Thrustmaster TCA Sidestick Airbus EditionThese three are great-as listed, these three range from the most expensive and luxurious to the simplest, cheap and open.
The honeycomb aviation yoke is a beautiful thing. It is rock solid, beautifully made, and feels great to hold and use. You can pair it with a keyboard and enjoy the flight simulation very freely-the keyboard part is not realistic, but the most difficult element in flight-keeping the aircraft level and stable-using the yoke becomes easier, which is not fun. However, this is the most expensive of the three, and it does not have a throttle part, leaving it to the keyboard.
Honeycomb also has an equally luxurious throttle, which is pleasant to use, and Xbox-compatible peripherals will also arrive later this year. The Honeycomb gear is by far the best and my favorite thing I have tested, and I would love to know how their Xbox options came about.
Logitech Pro Flight Yoke System is actually a product of Saitek; just when Mad Catz destroyed itself, the aforementioned Saitek brand was pulled out of them by Logitech’s PC accessories experts. It is more fragile than the Honeycomb device, but still impressive, it is a big thing that can dominate your desk while really enhancing the realism of the simulation.
It also comes with a throttle, which makes it a particularly friendly and attractive base package. For multi-engine aircraft, you can also install a second throttle relatively inexpensively-and then connect them together to provide you with an extremely comprehensive basic control setup. This is also one of the few parts in the Logitech flgiht sim peripheral series. It can be immediately identified in Flight Simulator for easy use, but it will be described in detail later.
Finally, there is a more traditional and possibly more widely useful option: the joystick, often aptly called the side stick in aviation. This still conveys the feel and details of the flight more accurately, but it is worth remembering that most airplanes in flight simulations use a yoke, so it is usually not cockpit accurate. That being said, joysticks are far less complex than yokes-which makes them cheaper, and smaller and easier to store. If you are not building a cockpit, but just playing flight simulation games on a PC desktop with less space, then it is the ideal solution.
In the test, I tried the Thrustmaster TCA Sidestick, which is a new version included in the official Airbus brand. This is a lovely kit-sturdy and durable, with a lockable twisting rudder function. It is more basic but also fully usable, and in terms of its nature as a joystick, it is easier to port to other games. For example, you can set it in Elite: Dangerous, and Yoke will make people feel uncomfortable there—and this versatility is convenient and a fair trade-off for the accuracy of the flight simulation of a yoke-controlled aircraft. Thrustmaster (Thrustmaster) also has a matching Throttle, which will be released in about a month.
Pedal-a more serious flight simulator upgrade
The next step up from the yoke or sidebar is to pick up some pedals. The pedal controls the rudder of the aircraft and in some cases also controls other functions-mainly for steering assistance. By the way, you will most keenly feel the increase in pedals before takeoff-they will be used a lot when you taxi to the designated runway. However, even in the air, they have a great influence.
Pedals are usually the most overlooked flight simulator accessory, and this is not without good reason: they start at at least $100 and are relatively boring to describe; you press them with your foot, and they help steer the aircraft; yell.
But really: pedals are important. Their transformation of the flight simulation experience is as transformative as having a yoke or side stick, because it makes one of the most challenging aspects of flight-smoothly maneuvering the aircraft-easier.
Like I said, there is a wide range of pedals, and most manufacturers have basic and heavy-duty options. The basic structures are mostly plastic, which means that if you are too enthusiastic, you may destroy them. Heavy pedals may receive some severe penalties-but their cost is high.
For example, Thrustmaster offers T. Flight Rudder Pedal at a reasonable price-but if you are willing to pay four times the price, you will get the heavy-duty, sturdy and excellent Thrustmaster TPR Pendular Rudder-it is very easy to use Smooth.
Modular panel of the flight simulator
Among all the flight simulator accessories, the most attractive may be the modular panel, which can be used to extend your simulation experience by bringing the cockpit components in the game into your real life settings. The king of these products as the industry standard is the Logitech G Saitek Pro flight instrument panel-which has been the main product for die-hard Sim fans for many years.
These actually did not work in the release version of Microsoft Flight Simulator on PC without major modifications-but in the next few months, the game has been patched to natively accept and run these various instruments, these The instruments can be effectively stacked and screwed together to generate a real-time reading panel that you can use during the flight.
There are many such panels, including instrument panels (you can have multiple instruments to bring the flight into the real world), multi-function panels (used to control autopilot, flaps, etc.), switch panels (with engine ignition function, landing gear And many other cockpit controls) and radio panels (used to chat with ATC more naturally)-all of these are now compatible with the PC version of Flight Sim.
This is a quick way to spend a lot of money, because not only one of each panel, but also the multiples of some of the panels, especially the dashboard, are easy to find and use. They are attractive, practical, and just…cool, but they are undoubtedly more suitable for serious, hardcore, slick accessories. That being said, even if you are very happy to fly with an Xbox controller-this is a completely effective way to play-you can also have some fun by showing your altitude or other instruments in front of you but off the screen, this is What these accessories allow.
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