VR, stick, hotas, rudder pedals
As mentioned in the other thread, I have a VR setup and I really like it.
http://www.rv8.ch/vr-flight-simulator/
Totally real feeling out the window. You can see everything, and it feels completely natural and smooth.
I spent several aviation units on this setup to ensure that there would be no lag, and there is no lag.
My #1 goal was to feel more natural taxiing, landing, and taking off with a taildragger, since all the rental planes I fly are nosewheel. More just to train my foot-eye coordination.
I use DCS world, since it has the most realistic ground handling of all the sims I tested. I have good rudder pedals which feel similar to my RV8, which is not yet flying, but I can sit in the cockpit.
One of the more interesting things I do now besides training my feet is to practice engine failure shortly after takeoff in various aircraft. Of course it may be completely different in a real aircraft, but it at least can help with the sight picture.
With even this current generation of VR being so real, the next gen will be almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Some advantages of the sim:
- no drive to the airport
- can be flying in 3 mins
- can do 20 takeoffs/landings in an hour
- can fly 4-5 different aircraft in an hour
- can fly in any weather
- can practice stuff too dangerous in real life
- no hourly cost
the things I miss:
- no aircraft or airport smells
- no bragging to my buddies after an amazing landing
- g-forces and little hints of slipping/sliding when landing
- freezing hands during preflight
If you have spare 4-6k laying around doing nothing, I recommend buying one of these setups. As a bonus, my kids and their friends like to play the VR games, so I get to see them more!