Massoud Mazar

I was very much into flight simulator during late 90s and early 2000s. I remember spending hours in the flight sim, and even flying cross country (with faster simulation speed of course!). Astonishing improvements in hardware and software since then has made a huge difference in performance and image quality of the Flight Simulator.

2000	2020

So recently I thought I give the new Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 a try, and boy it looks awesome on my 4K monitor! I already had a PC with a Titan RTX GPU laying around which has enough power to run the new version, so I didn't have to buy a new PC. I loved it so much, I decided to get the proper controls for more enjoyable flight. Although one can use keyboard and mouse, the experience is not even close to use proper yoke, throttle and pedals. After doing some research I ended up buying Honeycomb Alpha Yoke and Bravo Throttle Quadrant. Unfortunately their Charlie Rudder Pedals are out of stock with no known ETA, so I settled for Thrustmaster TFRP.

I didn't want to mount everything on my work desk, I got a VEVOR G920 Racing Steering Wheel Stand which at $60 was a bargain. It has great build quality and feels very sturdy. The top mounting plate was not large enough, so I found a 24" x 7" x 3/16" piece of flat wood board at home depot's lumber section for around $10, and covered it with black permanent vinyl. 

The stand came with fixed feet, but for a heavy setup like this I needed easier mobility, so I replaced the feet with locking casters.

Since this setup sits in front of my desk, it was hard to reach the mouse, so I added a Clamp-On Mousepad.

The three controls (yoke, throttle, and pedals) each use a separate USB cable. Attaching an Anker USB HUB to the stand allows me to connect one cable to my PC for all these controls.

Honeycomb has nice dust covers for their yoke and throttle quadrant. For the pedals, I found a toaster cover which was perfect size. Interestingly, these covers also hide the tempting knobs and levers from my curios 4 year old son!

The final result is perfect for my usage pattern. I can roll it in front of my desk in the evening for an hour or two, and then roll it away to have a clean and decluttered desk.