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Recent Articles
- Welcome to Flight Simulation Webinar – comparing Microsoft, X-Plane, and Infinite Flight
- MSFS and X-Plane 12 Jumpstart Class with Flight Sim Coach
- Stop gaming and start learning
- How to install Sporty’s Honeycomb Bravo Profiles with X-Plane 12 (Version 2)
- Using a home simulator for IFR proficiency webinar
Top Gun Carrier Landing Challenge – How To Fly Like Maverick in Microsoft Flight Simulator
/in Software Videos/by Chris McGonegleEnjoy a review of the carrier landing challenge on Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, released just in time for Top Gun: Maverick to hit theaters. This new challenge will test your ability to “call the ball” and hit the third wire. Sporty’s own Chris McGonegle flew this challenge with the Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog Stick plus Extender along with the TPR Pedals. Enjoy this review and have fun digitally flying!
What are the best flight simulator yokes and rudder pedals?
/in Product Reviews/by John ZimmermanSince being reintroduced in 2020, Microsoft Flight Simulator has reinvented the flight simulator world. With stunning graphics, live weather, and incredibly life-like cockpits, the latest generation of this storied franchise is winning thousands of new fans every week. To make it more than a game, though, you’ll need the right hardware. Here are our top picks for yokes and rudder pedals, any of which can transform MSFS into a valuable training tool. All of these work with X-Plane as well as Microsoft, and they can be mixed and matched to create the perfect system.
Top Flight Sim Yokes
Best overall: Honeycomb Alpha
This model has quickly become the top-selling yoke on the market. It features a solid metal yoke shaft and a full 180 degrees of rotation, so it offers the most realistic feel of all the yokes. There is no dead zone in the middle, or misleading spring pressure. The Honeycomb Alpha includes a switch panel for magnetos, master, etc., but note that there is no throttle. You can mix and match to add another throttle, including the impressive Honeycomb Bravo.
$249.99 – Shop Now >>
Best value: Logitech G
A popular option for years, this flexible model includes a stainless steel yoke shaft and a detachable throttle quadrant for more precise power management. It strikes a good balance between performance and price, but is also easily expanded. Logitech offers add-on panels for switches/gear, avionics, autopilot, and additional throttle quadrants. This means you can build your own system one piece at a time.
$179.99 – Shop Now >>
Best Xbox yoke: Turtle Beach VelocityOne
For an all-in-one solution that works with both computers and Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox, the VelocityOne is hard to beat. Includes yoke, throttle/prop/mixture controls plus interchangeable quadrant heads to move from GA piston to airline jet configuration. Also features an integrated screen on the yoke.
$379.95 – Shop Now >>
Professional grade: Redbird Alloy
This premium yoke is made of solid metal, so it will stand up to abuse. A good option for flight schools and serious sim pilots, the Redbird Alloy has a realistic feel that rivals the Honeycomb Alpha, with a full 180 degrees of rotation and an authentic Cessna-style yoke. Remember to add a throttle quadrant, because it’s not built in. Redbird yokes are made in America and backed by excellent support.
$799 – Shop Now >>
Sticks
Sometimes a yoke is more than you need. If you’re looking for something more realistic than a mouse but less expensive than a full yoke, a simple flight stick is a good option. Here are our two favorites.
Best value: Logitech Flight Sim Joystick
This is the basic option, but it’s well made and easy to use. Includes a throttle lever and the stick can even be twisted for rudder control, making it a fairly complete system. For under $50, it’s a great way to get started with simulator flying.
$39.95 – Shop Now >>
All-in-one kit: Thrustmaster HOTAS One
If you want to feel like a fighter pilot, this two-in-one system is the best option. Includes five axes, fourteen action buttons, a rapid-fire trigger and a multidirectional hat swtich. The throttle gives you the fighter jet feel, and is detachable. It also works with Flight Simulator on Xbox.
$99.99 – Shop Now >>
Authentic military feel: Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog
This deluxe systems weighs in at nearly 15 pounds, which gives a clue to its rugged construction and realistic feel. It looks like it was just removed from an actual A-10 Warthog, complete with 42 programmable buttons and a tension dial for the throttle for the thottle levers.
$549.99 – Shop Now >>
For Cirrus pilots
If you fly a Cirrus SR20 or SR22, neither a yoke nor a stick is quite right. What you really want is a side yoke, and fortunately there’s a great option. The Redbird Cirrus Yoke feels just like the real thing, with a centering spring, push to talk button, and smooth travel. All-metal construction is built to last.
$999 – Shop Now >>
Rudder Pedals
A yoke is the essential first step to building a home simulator—but don’t stop there! A set of rudder pedals is a critical piece of the puzzle, adding the realism of rudder control and toe brakes. It makes a big difference when flying steep turns or practicing landings, and should be considered essential for any kind of serious training.
Best value: Thrustmaster
This simple set is a good companion for any of the yokes above. It’s basic but reliable and easy to set up. It’s also compatible with Flight Simulator on Xbox.
$139.99 – Shop Now >>
Good balance of price and performance: Logitech
These rudders offer a realistic feel, with adjustable spring tension and adjustable size pedals. These are our most popular pedals.
$179.99 – Shop Now >>
Best overall: Thrustmaster TPR
These all-metal rudder pedals are the most realistic we’ve ever flown with. The unique suspended mechanism is right out of a Boeing flight deck, providing lifelike feel and five positions for a custom setup.
$589.99 – Shop Now >>
Learn more:
Flight Simulators 101 – Tips for Microsoft, X-Plane, Honeycomb, and more (webinar recording)
/in Webinars/by Chris McGonegleFlight simulators have exploded in popularity over the last year. With new software options, impressive flight controls, and EFB app integration, it has never been easier to use a home flight simulator for real training (in addition to fun). In this fast-paced webinar, Chris McGonegle, a commercial pilot and Sporty’s flight simulator expert, will discuss how to use simulators effectively and how to avoid making mistakes that will degrade your flying skills. He also reviews the most popular hardware options for a home flight simulator and discusses the new Microsoft Flight Simulator program. If you’re thinking about buying a flight simulator, but aren’t sure where to start, this webinar is for you.
X-Plane Training Scenarios – Flight simulator lessons from Sporty’s
/in Software Videos/by Chris McGonegleWhen using a simulator as a training device rather than a toy, it’s helpful to have direction on what scenarios or tasks are beneficial to the day’s digital mission. For that reason, the pilots at Sporty’s developed a few lessons to assist the digital pilot in jumping into pre-configured maneuvers that allow the user to practice multiple iterations within a fraction of the time. Each maneuver includes a briefing, a description of the desired results, a control setting prompt, and a quick transition into the maneuver after the digital instructor hands over the flight controls. Scenario 1 – Steep turns Scenario 2 – S-turns Scenario 3 – ILS approach (runway 21L at LUK)
Shop Now
Take Flight Interactive demo – add a virtual flight instructor to your home flight simulator
/in Software Videos/by Chris McGonegleTakeFlight Academy is real, artificial intelligence-based practical flight training, with the same guidance of a human flight instructor. Get unlimited access to self-guided, interactive flight lessons anytime, anywhere. Master flight maneuvers with this structured simulator training application and reduce training hours on the flight deck. Individual 1-year subscription. TakeFlight Academy is an instructional overlay on your simulator (see below for compatibility). The easy-to-use interface and on-simulator curriculum guides you step-by-step. When you select a maneuver, the Virtual Flight Instructor loads the emulator with the aircraft pre-configured, pre-positioned and ready to fly. You can repeat FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS) maneuvers quickly, spending as much time as needed to reach mastery. Each lesson provides a detailed briefing, verbal guidance, and real-time feedback based on your performance, followed by detailed objective scoring. You’ll know exactly how you did, and where to improve. And with unique Training, Evaluation, and challenging scenarios to take engagement to the next level. Whether in the air or on the sim, you’ll become a better, safer pilot with TakeFlight Academy.
Shop Now
Scenarios to fly in Microsoft Flight Simulator
/in Tips and technique/by Chris McGonegleIn part one of this blog series, we explored what the new Microsoft Flight Simulator is all about and how to get started. If you haven’t read that article yet, we suggest you start there. Assuming you’ve got the simulator up and running, and you’re proficient in planning a flight, the question naturally comes up: what do you do with it? In this article, we’ll cover some scenarios to try, from fun flights to VFR maneuvers to instrument procedures and even emergencies.
We’ll start with the fun. Here are six fun flights I would execute if I won the lottery tomorrow:
We’ve taken in the sights and re-created some of the world’s most historic flights, but what if we want to utilize the physics programmed into this system? Let’s try some VFR maneuvers.
VFR maneuvers are fun, but we also want to try something challenging that demands precision and flight in instrument conditions. Following are six scenarios that we like to practice involving instrument flight.
Now we’ve covered some VFR and IFR maneuvers in addition to fun scenarios, but if you still want to turn up the heat, let’s discuss emergencies. I’d like to pause a second and explain the different approach I take when it comes to training for emergencies. All the scenarios previously discussed are things we can look forward to flying in the airplane or in the digital world. When it comes to emergencies, we train for these so that if we ever experience one, we are properly prepared for it. If you are a pilot and want to use a simulator to strengthen emergency flows, I can’t stress enough the value of chair flying and learning the concrete flows before jumping into a digital simulator. Once consistency and confidence is reached in these simulated emergencies, then we can utilize the simulator to analyze the results of our inputs in these critical phases of flight.
To say the least, the 2020 Microsoft Flight Simulator program is a beautiful and richly designed product. For many it will be a game, for some it will be a training tool. When pilots pack for their next flight, there’s usually an objective to accomplish, whether it’s taking the family to a new vacation destination, traveling to a new airport to try the local cuisine, or flying to a familiar stomping ground to tell lies in a hangar. Microsoft may not be able to accomplish either of those previously mentioned objectives, but they will offer the ability to explore our diverse world in a never before available clarity, and offer a unique training tool along the way.
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Watch our YouTube video series on flight simulators >>
Learn how to set up different flight simulator controls >>