How To Build A Flight Or Racing Simulation Computer Part 2

For a fully inclusive system, nearly $20,000 will buy you the SimXperience Stage 5 Full Motion Racing Simulator. It’s compatible with rFactor 1 and 2, ARCA Sim Racing, DiRT 2, 3 and Showdow, F1 2010, GRID, Game Stock Car, GTR Evolution, iRacing, Kart Racing Pro, Live For Speed, Race 07, Race Room, SimRaceway, World Racing Series, and outside of the racing simulator genre X-Plane 10 and No Limits Rollercoaster. It’s fitted with a 5.1 Surround Sound system, a custom PC purpose built for simulators, a three 46 inch LED screen setup, a touchpanel for adjustments to motion controls and other functions, and a Thurstmaster Wheel, Shifter, and Pedals.

You can’t say you don’t get what you pay for!

Hammacher Schlemmer produces an all inclusive cockpit system, simply named The Cockpit Flight Simulator. For a surprisingly affordable $7000 you get a comfortable and adjustable seat, surround sound system, a Dell Studio XPS computer preloaded with Microsoft Flight Simulator X Gold, yoke controls and rudder pedals, and a 28” wide screen LCD monitor for primary viewing, and a 20” LCD monitor providing instrumentation.

Playseat also makes an at home cockpit setup simply called the Playseat Flight Simulator, offering just an adjustable seat and platforms for a joystick and throttle for an affordable $650.

Flight simulation fans don’t’ have as many motion seating options, mostly because the three-dimensional nature of tumbling required to simulate the experience is far more complex. There are a few “do it yourself” solutions out there that include custom built motion platforms as well as a lot of time and effort to build a system yourself. As mentioned earlier, JoyRide produces a flight simulation variation of the Atomic A2 system, but most all inclusive systems are simply commercially available training simulators in their own right.

Redbird produces a few of these, though with price tags between $30,000 to $50,000, the audience for such contraptions are more likely real pilots looking to get some training time on the ground without having to fuel an actual craft. Cruden also makes a $200,000 simulator for race car drivers in a similar fashion.