VpR81

Love how the OP is thinking about the F-14 or the F-16 and almost everyone is suggesting the Hornet. Well, i walk the line. Hornet, definately Hornet. Most versatile jet in DCS imo, excellent dogfighter when flown to it´s strength (AoA authority), lots of different ordonance (literally everything the Navy has to offer) and a hell of a ground pounder also at stand-off. Not finished but very much mission capable and significantly more polished than it´s Air Force cousin.

As someone playing online games since Counterstrike 1.6, i´d say the most important thing is comms. Typing while playing in order to communicate simply sucks, in MMORPG´s as well as in FPS or a flight sim. A solid headset with a decent microphone is mandatory and IMO the only additional hardware you realy need (if you´re not owning one already). As for the software, a common VoIP software is also nice to have if you don´t want to rely on the ingame voice chat. Besides Discord, SRS is very popular among DCS pilots, but you could also use skype if you´re only playing in a 1 on 1 or 2 player coop session. I personally prefer good ol´ Teamspeak 3, but i´m also a dinosaur when it comes to VoIP. All these software is for free, so you can try a few out and then decide wich one you like most. As for Discord, SRS and TS3, you must join a specific server (IP is mostly displayed in server briefing or similar) while with discord and TS3 you can then join different (voice)chat rooms/channels. SRS uses frequencies to set up comms between players. If you have i.e. Overwolf installed (plugin for TS3) you can also cross-comm to other channels/rooms (useful for platoon leadership and comms between squad leaders). Skype is more of a online phone software, setting up a peer to peer connection between 2 (or more) users. Cheers

I´ve read that a couple of times and it makes very much sense, but still there are pc-pilots out there (and i´m one of them) that love to use A/G Radar in various missions and pretty much rely on it. Also i would assume, that A/G(SEA) Radar is used in RL to find targets for the AGM-84 Harpoon in some situations...

Very impressing. This will propably be one of the best DIY pits i´ve ever seen so far.

That´s a good idea. Simple and effective, i realy like it. Thanks for sharing:thumbup:

Wich extension do you use? The VPC 5cm one? I own all of the VPC extensions and only the 7,5cm and the 10cm came with a connector cable. The 20cm had a "built in" cable wich cannot be removed and the 5cm came with a solid connector stick instead of a cable. That´s somehow unlogical. Tighten something by removing screws? Pretty much impossible. The point of removing the screws is, that the twist won´t damage your connectors, not to stop the twist. I have my Hornet grip attached to the VPC 20cm s-type extension and there is a little twist left and right when i try to twist it, like 1mm in each direction. I´m pretty sure this is related to the collar not perfectly fitting the collar nut and therefore the grip has some tiny small space to move. I wouldn´t assume this to be critical, as long as the 2 srews are removed to let the connector move with the grip.

No problem. I´m glad this helped ppl out.

That´s a great pit and a nice setup. Are the TPRs mounted on a slider?

Yes, absolutely. I also have no concerns about mounting additional stuff to it, i.e. a stand for the MFDs.

Grab it if you can, you won´t regret! I´m using the WarBRD base with the Warthog grip on top, soft center aviasim cams and heavy springs installed. With the soft springs this combo is usable, but pretty much flippy floppy. The heavy springs are still much softer than the WH spring, but IMO fit much better to the heavy Warthog grip than the soft ones. cheers

I put the dcs.exe on the whitelist of my AV with the last update before 2.5.6 and now DCS doesen´t even launch with the dcs.exe on the whitelist, getting the message "tried access to a infected file". I hate to say it, but the last update made more things worse than better. FPS drops down to 4-5 FPS while having constantly 50-60fps before (with the same settings), uncounted functions bugged, but this is the absolute top.

Nice drawings btw....

Gratulations. Keep training and you will increase your AAR skills pretty fast. Refueling the Hornet completely for the first time was the hardest task while learning AAR. But as soon as this was achieved, it felt like AAR skills increased faster than before. And yes, wake turb. has been turned on from the beginning. IMO there is no point in learning AAR without wake turb. and then later turn it on and start learning AAR again from a point you already passed. Training AAR is also a good way to train formation flight btw.

Yes, that is normal and they should be at 0% when the throttle is on full burner. The Axis are just displayed in reverse in the Windows game controller settings. My bet is on a displaced magnet, but i´m not an expert...

The aluminium frames used by Monstertech or Foxx Mounts are easy to get and relatively cheap, in each length you want them. Average price is (depending on thickness) 15-35€ per Meter. You could then order just a few single parts from Monstertech (clamp spacer, mounting plates) and DIY, wich will keep costs relatively low while providing the same quality. Just make sure to order the same type of frame as there are different standards (B-type and I-type) and each beeing availabe with a different notch width (6, 8 and 10mm)

So true. Downloading DCS updates with 40mb/sec makes the "you could always switch to standalone" statement ridiculous.

Hey mate, how you doing? Still in the process of moving? I know it´s been a while but i promised to inform you about customizing my rig for a center mounted stick and i finally got it done a few weeks ago. Just had no time to take pictures and upload them until now. The rig evolved a little bit and i uploaded a few pictures about it´s status right now. It´s not finished yet, as i´m still looking for a solution to mount some TM MFDs. Anyways, i hope this will give you an idea how it works with a center stick. https://forums.eagle.ru/album.php?albumid=1793 I used a hammer and some metal crafting tools to mark the spots where to drill the holes. Sorry, i don´t know the english designation of these tools, so i attached a picture of those i used. Hope this helps. cheers

When i installed the extended center stick few weeks ago, i had to get used to it as it feels somehow different due to the higher deflection. I´m playing flight sims since 1994 and i´ve always used sidestick config, so the position of the stick also made a difference in how it feels. Especially with AAR it made a big difference to get comfortable with it. After a few weeks now i find it to be more precise, although i set the axis at 50% deflection (a space issue). I also had to install a stronger spring (i choosed Sahaj´s blue spring, but the red would propably work as well), as the standard spring didn´t recenter anymore and i´m not flying helicopters. 1. This rig has a standard FIA 290 mount. Means, standard FIA seats will fit, w/o modifications most jet seats will not. 2. Doing sim racing as well. At least sometimes with RL friends on a private server. 3. I have massive problems with my backbone. On a office chair, as well as on a jet seat (tried it) i get horrible pain in my back after 30 minutes. Racing seats are 10 times more comfortable IMO and i can do 2 or 3 hour missions/races without getting the slightes pain in my backbone. I´m looking for as much immersion as possible, true, but i rate playing without massive pain higher than the tiny little extra immersion a jet seat would provide. Understand now?

Hey mate, i just installed the 75mm extension on the WarBRD base, using the WH grip on top and tried a couple of training dogfights with it. I would rate it as stiff (maybe a bit softer) as using the soft springs without extension, so pretty much flippy floppy. It does completely recenter, but the slightest touch will make it move. I´d say it is usable in this config, but as this is very much personal opinion i´m careful with that judgement. Propably better with the extra heavy springs, but as i said i didn´t try them yet. I made a short video of it´s behavior, but couldn´t find any option here to attach videos... cheers

Yes, just a week ago i installed the heavy springs. Honestly, i haven´t tried the WarBRD base with extensions as it was planned to be used as F-16 sidestick from the beginning. My personal opinion is, that it is still significant softer than the Warthog with the standard spring. I´m using the Warthog base now with Sahaj´s blue spring, 35cm extension and Hornet grip on top. I tried the standard WH spring with that combination first and the base didn´t recenter anymore. I also tried the WH base with original A-10/F-16 grip, original spring and a 20cm extension just for fun and it also didn´t recenter anymore. According to the WarBRD base with heavy springs beeing still much softer (at least around the gimbal center) than the non-customized Warthog, i doubt it could handle extensions pretty good. Mabe a very short (5cm) one. Also the stick is still a bit flippy with the heavy springs. I also purchased the extra heavy springs for the WarBRD base separately, but tbh i haven´t tried them yet. I purchased all of the Virpil extensions (50mm, 75mm, 100mm and 200mm) and the 75mm extension is not in use. If you want, i could install this one on the WarBRD base with the WH grip tomorrow (not at home right now) and check how it works. But honestly i´m too lazy to dissasemble my center stick in order to try other extensions, or to install the extra heavy springs on the WarBRD base. cheers

It seems like Virpil only turns slow as soon as you´re having issues with their products. 2 weeks ago i´ve asked via email if i can add something else to my order before it gets shipped and got a response after 12 hrs, that my order is already processed and shipped. So, someone IS checking these emails immediatly and it looks like as if the topic of the email is related to the response time... Not a good sign indeed...

I choosed the RSEAT S1 w/ Flight mount upgrade kit. Pricey as well, but outstanding quality. The only issue for you would be mounting the TM MFDs, as this would require a DIY solution. I´m still struggling with the MFDs and thinking about using the Monstertech MFD mounts and customize them to fit my rig

This. And A-4E, A-6, EA-6B, A-7, F-8, F-101, SH-60, Lynx, Alpha Jet, Avro Vulcan as well as a few civilian airliners. Also i´d love to have a few more vessels, especially more variety for the iranian navy. I.e. a iranian frigate would be nice to sink.

Absolutely. The perfect HOTAS doesen´t exist ATM (can´t tell anything about WinWing, as they are pretty new on the market), so combining bases and grips from various manufactors is the best you can do. Another reason why i´d recommend to save a bit more money and go for a more versatile HOTAS with switchable grips. The Warthog is a solid entry to that section.

Great. Your button box catched my eyes some time ago and i scratched it because of missing space on my rig. A vertical mount with different adaptors so it can be attached to various simrigs would definately bring back my interest on that box