Recent VR adopter here. Don’t ever plan on going back to “pancake” after experiencing just how immersive VR is. The latest updates to the OpenXR toolkit have just further solidified it.
I’m wondering how other VR users like to “set up” their virtual cockpits. How do you position your Charts, Virtual desktops, atc, etc.
I’m mainly a GA pilot and like to keep things as real as I can. Lately I’ve been using a combination of Sky4Sim and Navigraph in game panel, to create a virtual yoke mounted “iPad”. I also typically have a 720p version of my 2nd monitor on the passenger seat. From here I’m able to view desktop apps like vpilot, volanata, and even ForeFlight which I mirror to my desktop.
Admittedly I’m not too crazy on having my desktop sitting on the passenger seat. I’d rather keep it empty or have a copilot sitting there for the sake of realism…but losing the functionality is too much of a drawback. Vpilot and ForeFlight existing natively within the sim, like Navigraph did with their in game panel, would be a dream come true.
What are you using to view a full 2nd monitor in VR please?
Regarding my physical hardware setup, I would ideally like to fly entirely with the VR controllers (immersion is incredible), but sadly the MSFS implementation is bad for yoke/stick control. So at the moment I am using a hybrid approach where I turn my chair to the left, and use my physical joystick in right hand and VR controller in left hand only to work the other instruments. Works best flying in the right hand seat (copilot seat).
I’m just using the native “follow me” function in the WMR portal (using a G2 headset), to bring my desktop into VR. It works great…just need to be sure to resize the resolution of the monitor you want to bring into VR, prior to having it follow you…so it’s not massive.
My “cockpit” is designed for both VR and Pancake modes…
Main monitor is in the middle, Siatek Yoke, Switch Panel, and Comm Panel below the monitor.
Thustmaster pedals, centered under the Yoke.
2x Saitek Throttle quadrants on the right, for GA and Airliner flights (and well, I use this setup for jets and warbirds too). [Spoiler Axis/Left Throttle/Right Throttle/Prop Axis/Mixture Axis/Flaps Axis]
Second monitor is an iMac where I load all my flight planning and tracking tools when in Pancake mode.
IN VR, I use the PMS50 GTN750, and Navigraph toolbar.
This setup works for me, as it allows me to fly anything (except helo’s) and use my muscle memory for certain switches such as gear/spoilers/breaks/external views, etc…
The solutions available highly depend on the headset type used, whether it’s WMR OpenXR based or SteamVR. Discussing without mentioning the used headset will result in the very messy thread.
I use Reverb G2, WMR OpenXR. There are 2 layers of potential discussion:
What you bring to the virtual cockpit.
Physical controls.
Regarding 1 - virtual cockpit:
I used to bring the entire desktop to the virtual cockpit using the WMR “Follow me” function. It worked best with reduced resolution and dual physical monitor setup - which helped alleviate the issues with the mouse focus switching bewteen the sim (running in full scrren mode on ond physical display) and the virtual destkop (running on the second display). You can find my posts in the other threads providing some more details. However, I was plagued with some issue with horizontal image jumping whenever the virtual desktop was active - sometimes I needed several restarts of VR session to get rid of this issue. So I no longer use the WMR virtual desktop but rather: https://www.flightsimulator.me/ with separate windows in VR for PDF viewer, the scratchpad and some other options. I also use the Navigraph panel. This works well for flying the airliners however, I miss the ability to use my SkyDemon which is useful for VFR.
In the Aerosoft CRJ I bring my yoke down and I place my Navigraph charts there (simulating oversized chart clip you can find on many yokes). On my virtual lap I place the scratchpad for making notes (weather, clearances). Left to me, obscuring Aerosoft CRJ tablet, the PDF viewer (when I need to see the CRJ tablet, I just mimimize the PDF viewer panel).
With WMR virtual desktop I used to place it on my virtual lap, kind of oversized kneeboard.
Regarding 2 - physical controls:
To get rid of mouse in VR (and the issue with mouse focus switching between the sim and the virtual desktop) I use Axis and Ohs and several H/W panels:
Hoenycomb yoke
homemade panel base on LeoBodnar control boards and rotary encoders (nice if you like H/W DIY projects)
3 MIDI controller boards: 2 * Behringer X-Touch mini, each with 8 rotary encoders and 24 buttons + Novation Launpad Mini with 80 buttons in the layout resembling the FMS keyboard (this works well if you don’t like H/W DIY, you just buy the MIDI panel on e-bay)
What works great for me is also voice control function available in Axis and Ohs, I use it more and more as button alternative (great for handling autopilot modes or EICAS display modes, while keeping your hands on the yoke and thurst levers) - it’s like issuing commands to the co-pilot.
Point number 1 is what I’m mostly interested in hearing from people. What they bring into the cockpit, and how they arrange it, in an organized unobtrusive way.
In general, I don’t like to have extra windows open so I usually open something, use it, and then close it again. I try to only navigate using the stuff available in the aircraft I’m flying so I don’t need anything extra open the entire flight. If I need a chart or a manual, then I prepare those ahead of the flight and use Sky4Sim pad to view them in the cockpit. But I close it after I use it. Sky4Sim pad is also good for getting frequencies for VOR’s or ILS and other airport inofrmation.
When I need a desktop window I do the same. I’ll open it, use it for whatever, and then close it again. You don’t have to use the “follow me” method and leave it open the entire flight. I have a button mapped to the windows key which pulls up the WMR overlay where I can open a desktop window. So it’s easy to open/close a desktop window at a moments notice. I setup a few VoiceAttack commands to help me navigate the desktop window to the various applications I have running.
Besides Sky4Sim, the only other toolbar addon I have that I use frequently is for Little NavMap. Usually I do my planning in LNM and leave it running on my desktop and let it track my flight. If I need to check on something, the toolbar panel is handly. Again, I open and use it, then close it.
Regarding the ATC window, I have a button mapped to that as well. So when I need it I hit the button, do what I need to do, hit the button again to close it.
This seems like a nice approach to things. The only thing that would bother me, is being taken out of VR every time I went to open a desktop window from the WMR overlay.
Also a question…Is LNM able to be interacted with via the toolbar addon? Or is it simply just a mirrored view of the application running on another monitor?
Good tip on mapping the ATC window to a button…I’m definitely going to do that myself.
Agreed but I use a desktop window infrequently since I have toolbar access to Sky4Sim and LNM. I like to have a music player running so I switch to the destop if I need to adjust the volume or change songs etc. That’s mostly what I need the desktop for. Sometimes I want to check my CPU/GPU temps. Simple things.
Yes and no. I don’t think you can make a flight plan from it if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s mostly for viewing what you have entered but there are other things it does which allows some interation. For example you can put in an airport code and get airport/weather/frequency information.
But you can try it yourself before buying the toolbar app. Download LNM and start a flight. Just sit on the runway and switch back to LNM. Under the Tools menu select “run web server” then select “open web server page in browser”. A browser window will open and show your plane on the runway. Then just play with it. Try all the features and sections. That’s the same window you will get from the toolbar app.
If I’m just glancing, I can kinda look down my nose. Occasionally, I’ll lift the headset. Minor quibble, and doesn’t break the immersion, imho. Happy flying!
Although… A kneeboard might be a more optimal place for it, and I’m going to try that one day. The knee pad strap I bought interferes with the Apple Pencil, so that’s something to be aware of if you have an iPad with a pencil. Buy one specifically for that model.
I sit in front of my desk that has a keyboard to the left, a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro joystick in the middle, and a mouse to the right (I’ve tried using my VR controllers for interacting in the cockpit, but I find it easier to just use the mouse). In the virtual cockpit, I have the native flight plan and ATC windows placed in the passenger seat, and an instance of Little Navmap in my lap, so to speak.
I’m using Oculus Quest 2 via Oculus Link, so the way I get Little Navmap in the sim is that I pin a window with that application in the place I want it (meaning that it always will be there no matter if I play MSFS2020 or Half-Live Alyx) through the Link interface. One major inconvenience in doing it like this is that every time I want to interact with Little Navmap, I have to hit alt+tab on my keyboard, which effectively, on my flat screen, brings up the last used application (which is Little Navmap) over the flight sim so that it becomes the active window. In order to go back to the flight sim when I’m done interacting with Little Navmap, I have to hit alt+tab again (I can use my joystick while the flight simulator isn’t the active application, but I can’t click on things with my mouse in it).
This whole ordeal felt really cumbersome at first, but I’m starting to get used to it. One downside with this setup is that I can’t see menu items and extra floating windows that Little Navmap uses, so anything that requires me to interact with a pop-up window also requires me to take off my headset in order to see what I’m doing. Also, I haven’t really figured out how this works, but if your mouse happens to hover over some control in the plane the first time you click on something in Little Navmap every time you make it active, you can by accident manipulate that control. On one of my first flights using this setup (which was a night flight in total pitch black conditions), I accidentally dragged my pitch trim all the way down, resulting in me crashing after a brief moment of total spatial confusion
Lately, I just put the headset on top of my head to glance at needed info, like an airport chart.
I’ve experimented with most of the other options. But with an NXi equipped airplane there isn’t too much need to access additional info.
I had been using a HOTAS setup. But moving to left hand stick flying helped free my right hand to interact with the virtual cockpit. It also leaves the keyboard easy to access.
Binding the VR Focus to a keyboard button you can easily hit with your non-dominant hand is very useful. I use the key just below Escape.
Controls that are nice to have besides stick/yoke/rudder are a trim wheel and throttle quadrant.
It’s also helpful to turn off all visual assistance menus and just memorize where everything is located. They can help the first time or two in an unfamiliar airplane. Otherwise they are too intrusive and you can develop a dependency on them.
