#Real Flight Plus Six Buttons

RealFlightВ® is the industry-leading flight simulator for radio-controlled airplanes, helicopters, and drones. There are many options for realistic flight controllers, and I looked at several that work well with FS2020, including a simple joystick, a few hands-on throttle and sticks (HOTAS) controllers like those in military jets, and a flight yoke that approximates what you would find on a small aircraft like a Cessna.RealFlight 9.5. One thing that can make the experience more enjoyable is flying your virtual airplane with a set of controls that mirrors the setup a real pilot might use in a real airplane. For example, the multiple cameras in the game give you a 3D visual of every aspect of the current scene.Mind you, FS2020 is not really a game but rather a realistic flight simulator, which means that staying aloft on those rippling breezes is not easy. The game will be based on вЂcareer modeвЂ™ and you will be able to collect virtual money to buy and build new aircrafts, parts, maintain and fly them.RFS Real Flight Simulator Settings The settings in the game of RFS- Flight Stimulator allow the player to have control, and at the same time, enhance the experience of playing.

If you are just dipping your wingtips into the Flight Simulator world and you want a budget pick, the $40 Logitech G Extreme 3D is a great choice. Although it costs over $300, it is the most solidly constructed, most configurable, and most flexible controller for use with multiple types of planes in FS2020 and even other flight simulators. This RC classic is a must-have tool for flight enthusiasts of all skill levelsMy top pick is the Logitech G X52 Pro.

See all of WIRED's video game coverage. Demand for controllers will only increase when FS2020 lands on Xbox this summer.Be sure to check out our other game hardware buying guides, including our favorite wired and wireless headsets , and our favorite controllers. We've provided links to retailers that tend to refresh their stock more often, but you still may have to hunt around on your own to find the more popular picks. If you see a recommendation here that you want to buy, you may have to wait a week or two for it to become available again. You donвЂ™t get the same realistic feel as the more expensive models, but it's enough to give you a sense of what flying a real plane is like.Live a unique experience flying in any part of the world and exploring sceneries and airports in high resolution with satellite maps, 3D buildings, runways.One caveat: Microsoft Flight Simulator has remained so popular since its release last year that many of these hardware controllers are often out of stock.

Typically, you use the stick with your right hand and the throttle with your left. This is the idea behind the вЂњhands-on throttle and stickвЂќ (HOTAS) approach of controllers like the Logitech G X52 Professional ( Rating: 9/10, WIRED Recommends).It comes in two parts: a large, button encrusted stick and an equally enbuttoned throttle slider. ThatвЂ™s vital in air combat or aerobatics, where throttle control is as important as the stick to maneuvering.

Real Flight Plus Six Buttons

These buttons are great for flight sims as well though. It is just at home in air or space combat games like Elite: Dangerous that rely on flying skill and reactions to defeat those pesky aliens. Flick the cover open and the trigger button underneath glows a frightening red.That trigger might make it obvious that the X52 isnвЂ™t really about just flight simulation. All of these are illuminated with LEDs, and there is also a safety cover that sits over the main weapons trigger on the stick. There are six buttons, two hats, three toggle switches, and a dial on the stick, plus six buttons, four dials, two hats, and a small slider on the throttle. You really feel like you are getting things started when you slide the control forward and the engine starts to roar, and it feels much more natural to carefully throttle back when cruising or landing.The entirety of the X52 is covered in buttons.

ItвЂ™s inconsistent and makes figuring things out harder. The big button on the top of the throttle slider, for instance, has a big вЂњEвЂќ on it, but FS2020 calls it Joystick Button 8. The buttons are labeled, but these donвЂ™t correspond with the labels used in FS2020. With so many buttons at your disposal, you can handle an entire flight without using the keyboard.All those buttons can be confusing though. Pull the finger trigger on the back of the control stick (which usually fires a secondary weapon) and your view changes to the nearest point of interestвЂ”usually the airstrip you are trying to land on. Even the trigger gets assigned to something: flick open the cover and press the trigger (which usually fires a missile) and your autopilot is engaged.

It also has a small hat control (a small finger-controlled joystick) that sits under the thumb and which moves the pilot view around, so you can look out of the side windows. I also found that it had a habit of sliding around on my desk as I maneuvered: bigger rubber feet or suckers on the corners would have helped.Still, there is no shortage of buttons: six on the base of the joystick, plus the slider control and an additional six on the stick itself. The handle has a nice shape, but the all-plastic construction doesnвЂ™t feel like it would stand up well to heavy use. Sure, it feels a little odd to be using a tiny slider to be controlling the throttle of a 747, but itвЂ™s much better than hunting for F3 on a keyboard.The joystick itself feels rather cheap. This is a general-purpose joystick designed for gaming as well as flight simulators, but it includes one thing that makes it more suitable for flight sim use than most: a slider control on the base that can be used as throttle control. But at least with this setup, I can try to nail that takeoff again, which I probably wouldnвЂ™t be able to do with a real plane.The cheapest option I looked at is the Logitech G 3D Extreme Pro joystick ( Rating: 8/10, WIRED Recommends).

That particular airplane model has the type of mechanical yoke commonly found in small aircraft. It's useful if you are admiring the landscape and suddenly realize that you are about to collide with it and need to quickly get back to controlling the plane.For the how-to-fly tutorial that gets newbies up to speed, Microsoft Flight Sim 2020 sticks you in the pilot seat of a Cessna 152. The thumb button in particular resets the screen to the default view out of the front of the cockpit window.

The throttle is just as simple: push it forward to increase power, back to reduce. I didnвЂ™t have to use this: I plugged the yoke and throttle controls into a standard powered USB hub, and they worked without issues.To control the plane, you push the yoke forward and back to pitch the nose up and down, and tilt the yoke left and right to roll side to side. There are also three USB ports for connecting additional flight sim components (Logitech also produces a range of dials and switch panels, but these arenвЂ™t yet compatible with FS2020) and an input for an optional power supply. This cable is long enough (over five feet) that you can connect it to a PC that's under the table or on the other side of the desk.

Much like how you feel the road conditions vibrating up through a car's steering wheel, on a real plane you can feel the plane push back when you move the yoke. As (most) Cessnas are unarmed, pressing the trigger in FS2020 points you towards the closest point of interest, which is usually the airport you are closest to.The Flight Yoke system feels very realistic, although the lack of force feedback from the yoke is a pity. The three throttle controls on the device are mapped to the throttle, fuel mix, and rotor tilt, but you can ignore the last two for most small planes and just move all three pieces together.There are a few other controls that arenвЂ™t on the real plane though, such as a small hat switch on the left arm of the yoke that changes the pilotвЂ™s point of view, and a trigger button on the right.

This pack includes the stick and throttle controls, but you can also add foot pedals and additional throttle controls for extra realism. The two-piece controller is styled like the actual instruments pilots use on real Airbus planes. ThatвЂ™s where the Thrustmaster TCA Officer Pack Airbus Edition ( Rating: 7/10) comes in. The flight sim offers a range of planes, including commercial airliners like the Airbus 320 Neo.

Less authentically, you can add a trigger button to fire missiles at hostile Thargoids.