Technabob » flight simulator

OVO-4 Home Flight Simulator is a $57,000 Nerd Capsule

Conner Flynn — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:00:06 +0000

Are you one of those guys who loves to buy those expensive model planes and then wreck it on the maiden voyage? Maybe it’s time to forget remote control planes and get into the cockpit. Of a simulator of course. I wouldn’t trust you at 100 feet, forget 10,000 feet, there’s no way anybody is giving you a pilot’s license.

Just buy this $57,000 (USD) egg-shaped contraption that serves as a flight simulator and a sort of nerd-womb for when you really need to get away and have a nap or a cry. The new OVO-4 Home Flight Simulator is a fully-sealed enclosure with three 24 inch monitors and a full movement system to make the experience more life-like. At that price, I would hope so.

Using Microsoft Flight Simulator X, the OVO-4 will emulate the twisting, pitching, slipping, accelerating and braking, on the runway. While in flight, vibration systems replicate turbulence, runway irregularities, engine vibration and jolting from ignition.

Other features include: Sleeping inside when your wife sees the bill and kicks you out and the ability to set it to auto-pilot when you off yourself because you suddenly realize that your life savings are gone.

[via Firebox]

DIY Flight Simulator: to Infinity and Beyond!

Range — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:53:13 +0000

Matt Thomas created this awesome DIY flight simulation rig that is called a Moving Axis AirCraft Simulator, which will tilt and shift just like a regular flight simulator. The only difference is that it was built with only common materials you can find at a hardware store, has no pneumatics, no electric motors, and no hydraulics – and was made by some guy in Kansas.

Matt works for Rodger Dodger Aviation and he’s fully documented the process involved. He’s got a series of tutorials available for anyone wanting to replicate this.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

He used rapid prototyping to get this done quickly. This means that he quickly whipped up a prototype, and kept adjusting it until it did everything that was needed. Matt says that there was a lot of trial and error, but ultimately, he’s satisfied with the result.

[via Make:]

Posimotion Helix: Get a Grip on Your iPhone

Technabob — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:51:41 +0000

This new add-on for the iPhone and iPod Touch gives your handheld extra gripping power for playing motion-controlled video games.

The Batman logo-esque Posimotion Helix clips onto the back of your iPhone or iPod Touch, and adds large hand grips on either side of the device. The grip is designed to provide improved gameplay on accelerometer-based games like racing, FPS and flight sim games, and works in either landscape or portrait modes.

While I like the general ideal of iPhone gaming control accessories, I’m concerned the added bulk of something like this defeats the purpose of having a gaming system you can always keep in your pocket. I plan on checking out the Helix in person at CES next week and will let you guys know how well it works.

The Posimotion Helix ships sometime this Spring and will sell for $19.99 (USD). You can pre-order one now over at the PosiMotion website.

Flight Sims Get External LCD Gauges

Technabob — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 17:45:44 +0000

At the recent E3 show, Saitek showed off this cool set of external desktop gauges that can be used alongside flight simulators and other games.

Adding a new dimension of immersion to sim games, each individual color LCD screen can display live information fed to it by special game drivers. They’ve already got a working Microsoft Flight Simulator X driver, and expect to support more games in future.

The LCDs should retail for about $99 each, and multiple displays can be used at the same time. They’re expected to be released later this year.

I’m looking forward to the hacking potential of these add-ons.

[via IGN via Xataka]

Flight Simulator X Demo Now Available for Download

Technabob — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 23:23:45 +0000

Microsoft Games has posted the demo for its much anticipated Flight Simulator X.

This version contains major upgrades from past releases including massively improved visuals, a dynamic world with insane amounts of detail, multiplayer skies with real-time online traffic from other flyers and many new planes to fly. The demo includes three example missions. The full game will be released this October.

It’s really amazing how far this franchise has come from its humble roots as the SubLogic FS1 Flight Simulator on the old Apple II:

Download Demo

[via Major Nelson]