are there aircraft cockpit solutions for light enthusiasts as there are driving cockpits for racing enthusiasts?

[Marzipan]

looking around, there are driving seat / cockpit solutions everywhere and from almost everyone (looking at you Vevor) but nothing for aircraft or spacecraft sims. now I'm in neither circle, but the driving / racing solutions are very much in your face...so I won't be surprised if there are aircraft / spacecraft cockpits, just not as popuar apparently.

 

[CMetaphor]

I'm possibly not the best to answer, as I always aim for the most "frugal" option. However, I'm running two GT Omega Art -series cockpits right now. One is assembled and complete, but is my driving sim. The second will require me to buy a few more parts from GT Omega (once their Canadian store opens back up, I believe a member here said they could help as an intermediary if you need things very soon from the US site), but they Do exist and are specific to flight/space sims. A hotas/hosas bracket kit, a platform to add a small keyboard and mouse on the main platform, etc. I bought both my ART cockpits as just the bare frame, SIM/racing seats from cars are fairly cheap from the used market (But, y'know, clean them really well before use haha) so it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get set up. My driving sim only cost me a few hundred (excluding the Fanatec stuff! Obviously haha), maybe like $500 for cockpit, used TV and a Used seat. Really not bad for a "starter" setup.

Quick PS: I picked the ART series from GT Omega because it's the only cheap cockpit that has vertical supports for the main platform (where my direct drive + wheel attaches). It's might not be as big as deal for a space sim, but I found other cheap cockpit stands that didn't have that vertical support very flimsy and not worth it.

Good luck and let us know what you do!

 

[Lysrin]

There certainly are. MonsterTech makes some stuff, special chairs and such. But I don’t think a “light enthusiast” would like the price Building a sim pit beyond just a special chair and attachments gets very expensive very fast. Well the chairs and attachments are expensive too I suppose.

 

[moocow]

May want to wait a bit and see Corsair and Thermaltake options. TT has the GF500 but Corsair option looks like it's a racing one.

 

[Marzipan]

May want to wait a bit and see Corsair and Thermaltake options. TT has the GF500 but Corsair option looks like it's a racing one.

I didn't know about it. definitely not cheap at just under $900 USD...and that's before you start building it up.

@Lysrin are there other brands with cockpits like TT's?

I was so surprised when I was looking through Vevor Canada's website and saw they had several racing sim cockpit options. I wouldn't think using one of those for a flight / space game would be easy due to how relaxed / far back you are in the chair.

 

[Lysrin]

I didn't know about it. definitely not cheap at just under $900 USD...and that's before you start building it up.

@Lysrin are there other brands with cockpits like TT's?

I was so surprised when I was looking through Vevor Canada's website and saw they had several racing sim cockpit options. I wouldn't think using one of those for a flight / space game would be easy due to how relaxed / far back you are in the chair.

I can’t say. I’ve never researched into full sim pits very much. Wasn’t something I ever had the funds or space to commit to it.

You could use a racing setup though. The seat would be fine as long as you had attachments in the right places for sticks, throttle, etc.

 

[moocow]

Well you could build your own 80/20 sim rig or buy it from one of the 80/20 companies. Quick search lands me at Faztek (I brought from them before, they cut one of my profiles short), and they got a 15 series (inch) for $500 CAD. BUT, it got no monitor mount and no chair, those you have to either source yourself or find a solution for. Chair wise, probably not hard to find a car frame that could bolt to it. As for monitor, it looks like you could just slide it under a desk.

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[Caldezar]

There's a whole reddit thread for home-brew cockpits:

https://www.reddit.com/r/homecockpits/

 

[Izerous]

I have a friend that has some involvement with flight simulators. The ones that are actually valid for flight training hours...

He gas his own racing Sim as well (motion and stuff)

Shorter version when i asked him about flight sims in the past there is a large divide between what people need and want.

If your training you need a reconigezed setup and they are damn expensive. If have a pilots license and you can afford your own plane... then you can afford a damn expensive setup (in theory).

Kinda creates a divide in the target audiences of the people making this stuff.

That said a lot of the racing Sim cockpits have add-ons for flight control positioning of throttle controls and such and the stuff is out there just not as popularized as the dedicated racing stuff. See more of that in the motion control tier of racing stuff not the static cockpits it seems.

 

[Lysrin]

I guess we slipped this discussion beyond the boundaries of “light enthusiast” lol

As with anything @Marzipan you really have to decide on a budget and then work backwards. Otherwise we don’t really know the constraints of what we’re talking about.