DIY Helicopter Simulator Controls, free upgrade to online tutorials
By Matt Thomas DIY Flight Sim Projects • Product Updates • • • 0 Comments

DIY Helicopter Simulator Controls | Free Upgrade to Online Tutorials

What is the Upgrade?

The F331 DIY Easy Helicopter Collective is one of my favorite projects because it fills an urgent need in the flight sim community. Try to find a helicopter collective control for a reasonable price. You will not find one, they are all hundreds of dollars. My DIY Helicopter Simulator Controls are still, after several years, the most cost-effective solution for home flight sim pilots. My tutorials show you how to build a framework from PVC pipe. You then attach standard HOTAS joystick/throttle and rudder pedals. The new, upgraded version of these tutorials are completely online and can be accessed with any device. No more cumbersome downloads!

 

 

How do you get the Upgrade?

This new online version is FREE if you’ve already bought the F331 DIY Easy Helicopter Collective. Email me at DIYflightsims@rogerdodger.net to get your upgraded version. Be sure to tell me what email address you used when you ordered so I can look you up. Then, I’ll send you a coupon code that will allow you access to the online lessons for free. You can then build your own DIY Helicopter Simulator Controls and get flying… and hovering.

 

More about the DIY Helicopter Simulator Controls

Have you ever tried to fly a helicopter with a regular flight sim throttle? It’s not enjoyable. There is a reason why helicopter controls look different than airplane controls – they ARE different. Once you try a helicopter collective, you will never want to go back to a regular throttle. When you use a collective, the movement is completely natural, you don’t have to even think about the controls any more, just make the helicopter do what you need it to do. I could never hover, or even land a helicopter before I built my collective. Now everything is easier.

Below is a demonstration of the DIY Easy Helicopter Collective, among other things…

 

Golden Age of flight simulators
By Matt Thomas Software • • • • • • • 0 Comments

The Golden Age of Flight Simulators: 4 Reasons Why

“The Golden Age of Flight Simulators” I started using that phrase in 2016 as I noticed fresh inspiration from software developers, and a renewed optimism in the flight simulator community. See in the picture, that’s what my old website looked like in Spring of 2016. Now, over a year later, the evidence is undeniable. We are entering a new renaissance of home flight simulation. Watch the Frooglesim News each week and it’s obvious. The future we’ve waited for is here now, and it’s time to go flying!

 

1. Flight Sim Software

One of the most significant signals that things have changed is this: we have real choices now. Not just choices, but difficult choices. How are you going to decide between X-plane 11 and Prepar3D v4? Both are outstanding flight sim platforms and you have many things to consider when you choose. What will Dovetail’s new Flight Sim World bring to the table? Time will tell.

This leads to another sign of the times: 3rd party developers with products for multiple flight sim platforms. You can get the same outstanding add-on aircraft and scenery for whatever software you’re using. Well almost. Several developers issued a joint press release on July 4, 2017 to say they are no longer building products for old Flight Simulator X. They declared their independence from FSX!

 

2. Hardware and More!

One subject you won’t see much of on Frooglesim News is hardware. Today’s flight sim pilot has many choices in flight controls, switch panels, displays, touch screens, graphics cards, and more. Take displays, for example. You can buy an excellent 32” HDTV for less than $200. Most quality graphics cards can now power three displays, so why not buy three 32” TVs and stretch out the view to over 6 feet wide! Add some PVC pipes, lumber, and elbow-grease and you have an impressive, affordable, home cockpit.

Let’s not forget the advances made by non-ESP based flight sim platforms like DSC World and Aerofly FS2. These are considered by some to be “FS lite” because they don’t have native global scenery and all the weather and ATC options we’re used to. Nonetheless, these sims sport smooth frame rates (much higher than even P3D and X-Plane) and excellent detail for the limited geography they offer. DCS World and Aerofly FS2 also have beautifully rendered aircraft. You’ll find the higher fidelity aircraft in DCS World as compared to FS2.

 

P3Dv4 flight simulator with multiple screens
P3Dv4 flight simulator with multiple screens

 

3. Virtual Reality?

What will Virtual Reality bring to the table? As of yet, no one knows. VR headsets demand performance that is difficult to achieve with flight simulator programs. For successful VR, you must have high frame rates, over 90 frames per second. Furthermore, flight sim software has exponentially more scenery rendering than any game software. Plus, once you put on a VR headset, you can no longer see your controls, checklists, switch panels, or anything that is not in the virtual world. For now, nobody knows how much VR will impact the flight sim genre.

 

4. Watch Frooglesim News

In conclusion, why is it the Golden Age of Flight Sims? Well, Froogle says so too! Take a look at this episode of Frooglesim News at 27:11.

 

Why was this product discontinued?
By Matt Thomas Orders • 2 Comments

Why Was This Product Discontinued?

In 2017, I made a major shift in the way DIY Flight Sims tutorials are delivered. Formerly, customers had to download large compressed folders filled with videos, instruction manuals, and printouts. Starting in 2017, I migrated the tutorials to an online streaming format. However, I couldn’t migrate every single DIY Flight Sims product.

 

Why Did You Move to Streaming?

I started the DIY Flight Sims products in 2007. Selling them as downloads was the best way I could think of to deliver the products. Keep in mind, it was a different world in 2007. For example, Netflix still mailed DVDs in 2007, barely anyone accessed the internet with a smart phone, there were no iPads or tablets, and only 47% of American adults had broadband internet at home.

 

What’s the Big Deal with Streaming?

An online tutorial format is much more organized and convenient. It’s a more robust and valuable product. One way it’s better is that I’m able to present each video clip with the instructions, pictures, and diagrams for each individual step. You don’t have to look through a 40 minute video or a 60 page instruction manual if you’re trying to find something.

Streaming content is great because its so much easier to view the content anywhere. All the instructions are available to you when and where you are actually building the project, like your garage or workshop. It’s easy to view the tutorials on an iPad or even your smart phone. Look at all these other reasons why streaming is awesome.

 

Some products were discontinued in 2017
Some products were discontinued in 2017

 

Why Didn’t you Migrate all the Products?

I had to re-edit and migrate every part of each product to the streaming website. This was a manual chore and very time-consuming. I didn’t have much time for this either because of my regular full-time job and I was going to school. I’m actually a volunteer, I don’t get paid anything to work for Roger Dodger Aviation. All the revenue goes to pay the company expenses.

Consequently, I only had the resources to move the best-selling products. This was a tough choice, because I love all my projects and worked hard to produce them. I let the market decide which products had value, and I discontinued the rest.

 

Can I Still Get a Replacement Download if I Lose My Files?

Yes… for a while. I keep all the product download folders on a service called PayLoadz. If you lose your product files, I can give you a PayLoadz link to get a replacement. PayLoadz charges me money to provide controlled access to the files. As a result, I don’t know how long I can afford to keep those old products on PayLoadz.

I recommend you keep a backup of your files in case your hard drive crashes.