How I moved away from clicking in and around cockpit for control - cheaper alternative compact home sim

Hi all,

I have been wanting to move away from using my mouse over the cockpit for sometime now, so I started to look for answers to move away from the onscreen controls to physical buttons, dials and switches, but also keeping a realistic price cap on things…

When I started with MSFS on release I only had and used a cheap gamepad, and did most things using the mouse in game. A year on… here is what I have ended up with…

I’ll start with the Saitek panels which do create a lot of immersion, but as for controlling the Garmin nav computers, it was back to zooming in with the mouse. After some searching around the only option I wanted was to plunge into buying one of the RealSimGear units… but after more research I decided to hold off and just do something much simpler.

I now use a 15gbp retro game pad to control my Garmin navs, with SpadNext to setup the button controls. It works a treat btw, D pad for the right knob control, XYAB buttons for the Direct to, Menu, CLR, ENT, Left/Right trigger buttons for map zoom in/out, other buttons to finish off - using the Auto throttle on the panel to switch GPS/VLOC mode as I mostly fly GA.

Some of the button settings in SpadNext with the Gamepad ( great bit of software if you have the Panels and other peripherals )



I also use Flight Stick.x for control and throttle, Xbox controller for drone camera.
I have also gone down the DIY route with my TrackIR - I have a PS3eye camera with a 25mm IR camera filter tapped to the lens, and have the LED pro clip on a headband. The software is FaceTrackNoIR v200 with is very smooth and runs at 75fps with the ps3eye. (FaceTrackNoIR I’m using PointTracker 1.1, Accela Filter Mk2, FreeTrack2.1 which needs a little tweaking but worth it)



For charts and airport info I just use aurora.nats here in the UK, it has what I need and free.
https://www.aurora.nats.co.uk/htmlAIP/Publications/2021-10-07-AIRAC/html/index-en-GB.html
I just use the in game world map for planning, and sometimes getting the Nav frequencies.

I do occasionally also have a tablet/mobile phone with a flight tracking map - VFRmap app.

This is probably very basic to most home cockpit simmers, but for those starting out and want to budget what they spend hope this can help somehow.
Any suggestions or similar tweaks would be welcomed, as I am always adapting my setup, thanks…

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I also have the Saitek Switch Panel and the Saitek MCP. I recently stopped using the Switch Panel because the switches kept switching on and off by themselves in the Sim. I think it is an actuator problem, which is hardware related. Specifically it is the Pitot Heat, Strobe and Beacon lights.

Have you experienced this?

I have uninstalled the logitec software, and only use SpadNext, sometimes I double switch the panel swiches to enable them, depending if I left them on when last used, but I have not had the problem you said.

When MSFS 2020 first came out Spad.NEXT conflicted for some reason with FSUIPC7. So I ditched it and unsubscribed. Maybe I will try them again some day when I can afford the subscription again.

If you get Air Manager and some touch displays / tablets / etc… It opens up a whole new mouse-less / gamepad-less world.

I have the Logitech stuff as well that I sometimes use depending on which plane I’m using.

But nice to have the G1000’s, etc… On touch displays with knobsters.

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Nice setup you have… I did look at Air Manager and the knobster dial, and also thought about the Class Echo unit, I have in the past popped out my Garmins to 2nd screen, but I did loose some fps with the pop outs, I know Air Manager you have to slide the pop outs into the screens, just as the Realsimgear units.

Did look at the Behringer X-Touch Mini which is an interesting bit of kit, but I’ll probably wait until something that grabs my attention… maybe Realsimgear GNS530 if prices drop…

What are you running on your right screen?

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You can get a 14 day demo to try Spadnext out.

I looked at the Real Sim Gear etc as well, but then you are tied to that style of hardware / plane. Which is completely fine if thats what you’re doing but if you’re switching around it’s nice to have a G1000 one day, and a GNS530/430 the next, or a Collins proline.

The right screen is just mounted to an arm for all my other stuff,

Thats Pilot2ATC that’s up there, just use it for all non direct plane stuff and then a tablet mounted to my Alpha Yolk so I can glance down at Departure and approach plates, airport diagrams etc…

Yes I know the dilemma of having g1000, g530 etc… which is why I have held off from going one way or another, at least this cheap gamepad can control them all with a similar profile, and the panels do the com/nav side anyway.

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I had originally consdered a RSG dual G1000 setup. Ultimately, I ended up going with Air Manager, touch screens and a Knobster. That way, I’m not tied to 1 particular type of plane and can do whatever I want. It’s easily expandable (add more screens) and really the ultimate in versatility when it comes to a home cockpit setup.

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Hi DabullAir, recently in my Switch Panel began to make the strange things you explain…
I solved with a contact cleaner spray and a lot of click-clack for every swith.
You can find on Inet a test program for all panels from Saitek and look what is wrong.
Hope can help.
Cheers

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Is it correct you need to spend the $65 USD (I think) to get setup in Air Manager?? Seems so pricey, but I have the room for it and debating getting it. Are you happy with it? Any impact on FPS?

There are FPS hits associated with popping out any panel, whether it be for Air Manager or a RealSimGear G1000 unit.

You have to pop the panels out and move them into the screens and that comes with a significant drop in FPS.

That said, they did mention the n at Q&A they found a partial fix for some systems and it will be implanted in SU8 so we’ll see.

Air Manager is 65, which is a fraction of what the hardware alternatives cost and also doesn’t lock you into one instrument type.

@Crunchmeister71 can show you quote a few photos of his setups and the versatility in different aircraft types it can cover.

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That’s the cost of Air Manager. If you already have the touch screens or tablets you can use it on, that’s rather cheap.

If you don’t have those things and you think $65 is expensive, it’s probably not for you. An air manager setup is one of the most affordable home cockpit setups you can get. But it’s still not cheap.

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Thanks for all the input. The cost in of itself isn’t the issue, I don’t think I quite understand all the capabilities, which is on me to research more. Thanks again, I always appreciate this great community.

You can see it in action with the Kodiak in my video here. You can see me using it in various different plane types in other videos on my channel.

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@Crunchmeister71 and his crew have created a discord channel with lots of knowledgeable people, I’ll let him link it along with his Github, but if you want more info.

That’s the channel to join!

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If you are looking for something simple and easy control option without popping out panel, I was looking at this as an alternative option… Class Echo unit. I may still go this way…

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You will soon discover that Air Manager is worth every bit of its price. It can do what SPAD can do, what Mobiflight can do and of course it has instruments galore. The outright leader when it comes to external aircraft control for all the popular sims & OS’s.

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Thanks so much everyone! I’ll try the demo.