Okay, so here's my first post... need some guidance!

[TravisVOX]

I've been Flight Simming since back in FS98... hard to believe. I enjoy simulation games in general (SimCity for example) mainly because I like to immerse myself in other worlds. Building a "simpit" caught my eye and am interested in going further.

So I have been researching and reading and trying to get a handle on how all of this goes together. And while I have read a few key sites on building your own cockpit, many of them, in my opinion, do not speak to the novice, or someone looking to start. Technical jargon, language etc. gets me lost before I start.

This all said, I surmised from my initial studies that the initial step is:

Computer - Probably the one main reason why I don't play FS quite as much as I would like is performance. The jumpiness, 20fps and tweaking it but losing this or that is frustrating. And realistically, my most recent PC's intent was more business than pleasure.

So, it seems in most cockpits there is a primary computer for running the sim and the primary display. Is this correct? And it is this computer which needs to have some kick/power.

Regardless of which model airplane I elect to emulate, the system needs to holds it own. Furthermore, I read a lot where being able to fly while you build is important, and you cannot fly without a sim up/running!

So, is this the best place to start? Any thoughts? Insight?

Thanks!

[Michael Carter]

Welcome to the site.

First we'll get you an air data computer and a gyro platform for some guidance.

Having a sufficiently powerful computer to run everything is one less hassle to overcome down the road.

You'll have enough to do without worrying if you computer is up to the task.