Barefoot Bandit

Toured on of the US Navy carriers when I was a kid (not sure which one now), but did the Midway tour when I was in San Diego about 5 or 6 years ago.. I touched an F-14! My holy grail of aircraft as a kid! Even if it was stripped of all the good stuff... A few pics: It amazes me how easy it is to get up close to military hardware in the US. Heck, I see F-22's from 100 yards every time I fly into HNL!!! Don't get me started on Vegas, I need to find a friend who can take me on a tour of Nellis, and buy said person lots of beer... Z...

Whilst I see this posted a lot, there is a big difference between real and virtual buttons. TO make this post relevant to this thread, I will compare my experience with the M5 and the T16000M. The T16000M is a better built stick, but it has 12 wasted buttons on the bottom of the stick, where you need to take your hands off the stick to use them. Not so HOTAS... The Cobra is a better functioning stick - it has lots of buttons, at your fingertips, where you need them. No amount of shifting can make the t16000M as useful as the M5 - the M5 can shift too, remember, and give me even more virtual" buttons, but I find virtual buttons just add complexity, in the heat of battle, the last thing I need is more complexity in an already complex system. Basically, despite the lesser quality of the M5, it's still a better stick - it does take time to adjust as it is a very light touch, and I personally find the twist kinda useless, as simply pressing a button will make it unintentionally twist. I am replacing my M5 with my Warthog stick, though (for my secondary rig) as I have a Mongoos on the way. I think the VKB Gladiator would be an excellent option - once they offer the MCG for it. Z...

I bought a set of the Baur F-3's in January. They are sensational, and Baur is very easy to communicate with - Google translate is a wonderful thing, and he knows how to use it - so you don't need to. I'm not sure what customs issues you're worried about, but I suspect it won't make much difference, as they are all a set of rudder pedals, just shipped from different locations. I also bought mine not assembled. For anyone that has some basic tools, and enjoys putting things together to see how they work, I highly recommend this option, otherwise, buy it assembled. I also have the VKB T-rudder MKIII. They are very nice, very accurate, but no toe brakes. What they are, however, is very good for "office chair" type set ups. IT's a very nice set of pedals for the money. If you want toe brakes, though, Baur's pedals are well worth it. Z...

For the record, I ended up getting the Normandy pack, and the Mirage - the tutorial thing made it the winner, seeing as I am... Erm.. Learning to fly... Z...

Excellent - was looking for something to do on my flight... Z...

Interesting - do you mind showing some pics with more of the seat in view? I've been looking for second hand car seats to use for my sim pit - the one I am seriously considering is the "boot" fold down seat from a Hyundai Santa Fe (2010-2015 I think are ht model years). Mainly due the the fact it folds down very flat, and so works potentially works for my "coffee table simpit transformer". I am curious to see the Smart seat, though, and I am curious how far it can fold forward? I was initially looking at "gaming seats, but they are silly expensive, and I'd need ot do a bunch of modifications in the end anyway... Z...

Paypal is evil, they have the worst conversion rates I know of (I deal with many currencies, and travel to 8 or so countries a year, including the US, so I'm fairly familiar with ForEx, in fact, I'm in Thailand right now, Philipphines next week, and the US in the next couple of months), and their cut is significantly larger than even Amex (speaking as a business owner). Now, disregarding all that... I am genuinely curious re preference for Paypal - and I mean that sincerely. Yes, it is fairly easy, but my credit card providers (Amex, Visa etc) have better insurances and protection than Paypal, not to mention better conversion rates (especially if you have the right card - fee free international transactions). Now, being US based, I'd have thought you guys would have at least as good as, if not better than us (Australia) card benefits? Once again, I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything, Paypal is a last resort for me, and I am curious what makes it the preferred choice for others (particularly US based folk). Z....

Thanks for the suggestions all! BTW - I already have Nevada - forgot to mention... I travel to Vegas frequently, and am quite familiar with the surrounds, so wanted it to fly around the areas I normally drive around, and see just how accurate it is. Anyways, thanks again, I think I'll be adding quite a few of the above suggestions. Z...

May I respectfully ask for a delay? I need to save more money... #firstworldproblems.... Z...

Hhhmm.... Good point actually... Had not considered that one. An suggestions for 2 of them worth starting with based on my existing aircraft? Cheers! Z...

Seeing as it's 40% off and all... I already had the A-10C and Huey, I've added: Black Shark II P51 FW190 D-9 Dora Mig-15 Is there any "must have" aircraft module I should add? to the above? I'm looking at picking up the Normandy pack as well. Ideally, I like realism, but if there is a particular module that is super fun, even if it's not quite the peak of authenticity, I'm interested. For the record, I'm pretty new and just learning to fly the A-10 (as its my first module) and the Huey. I got the Black Shark because it brings back memories of Gunship back on my Atari ST as a kid. I'm open to all aircraft types... Z...

Order approved. Excellent! I'm having a little giggle right now because their invoice numbering works exactly like mine. Z...

Erm.. Do yo you guys not take Amex? *annoyed at myself for not bringing more than one card on my trip* Oh well, I have a visa debit, will just have to wait for money to transfer in... Z...

I would suspect this is due to the back end of the website. I know with one of my companies, we had issues with the back end that meant that very simple sounding things (like offering multiple currencies) was actually incredibly hard to do. In the end, it was easier to create a whole new website for the particular currency. Z...

Email sent. Ivm excited! Z...

Hhhmm... Hammer drill. There may be a market for that.... Z...

I have bad news for you. One does not "drill" with a hammer. Z...

This is also the case for me, though, I will eventually look at getting the VKB as well - for science! I'm loving that we are getting very good alternatives, and very high quality ones at that, and want to support those placing their time and money on the line. I'm particularly curious about the clutch for choppers, but overall, the Virpil wins it for me as first purchase. Tool free, and compatible grips with the Warthog make it an easy choice. I'm really looking forward to the products that are still to come.. Z...

This is my plan. The compatibility is quite a selling point for me. The warthog can become the base for my second rig, and I can buy a second Virpil grip for it to keep my control set ups consistent with button bindings. A very, very smart move... Z...

I do indeed :pilotfly: Z...

Wait until the 12th of April, go to website... And... Off you go, I presume. Z...

Credit card standing by... Z...

Thanks - I had found them already though. But when I was building, it was after midnight, and maybe there was beer involved, and I was too lazy to search! I searched the next day and found it in about 5 minutes. Nice to have linked in the thread though. Z..

So I got stuck into finally building the pedals last night. I got through it quite fast, took a bit over an hour to get to the pedal assemblies. Then I realised, the instructions I downloaded and save on my tablet don't actually have the instructions for assembling the SU-35 pedals. I started laughing quite loud, and others in nearby area were getting concerned for my sanity. Anyway, hopefully I'll track down that set of instructions tonight and finish up. Seeing as I'll end up taking them apart again as I take them with me on my next trip to their final home, I wasn't too stressed, though I had been hoping to give them a quick run. Anyway, tonight's the night! Having put them together should make it easier to try and get a "how to build it" video once I get them to my "other home". Z...

I'm glad I signed up when I did! Congrats on the store, and looking forward to getting some of your products in my filthy paws. Z...