How to Build Your First Home Flight Simulator

Are you interested in building your first home flight simulator? Before beginning, I assume you have a sturdy desk or table dedicated to flight simulation so that you don’t have to disassemble the components after each flight. I also assume you are approaching the use of your home setup as a tool to assist you in the pursuit of your real-world flying goals. 

You can always build a flight sim for exploration and fun, but my equipment recommendations are focused on products that, when assembled, will allow you to complement your real-world
flying. In addition, my product recommendations focus on equipment that I have actually used in my home flight simulator. 

Computer 

I am often asked if a laptop has enough performance to handle the visual demands of today’s flight simulator software. When it comes to flight simulation, I always recommend buying or building a dedicated gaming PC. Nearly any PC tower provides room for adequate cooling, power delivery, hard drive storage, and connectivity for your flight simulation equipment. If you have the skills for building your own gaming PC, I recommend incorporating the best machine you can afford with the latest 5-series graphics card and processor. 

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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If you need to buy a gaming PC, I’ve been a happy customer of DogHouse Systems gaming computers since 2010. Focused on helping pilots who are not gamers, the team at DogHouse Systems built an ideal computer for flight simulation. I have a DogHouse Systems FLYING Edition gaming PC and have been using it for two years with zero technical or hardware issues. Conveniently, the FLYING edition has already been specified to handle the maximum graphics settings in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (MSFS2024). With my Doghouse Systems PC, I attain 40-plus frames per second consistently with the graphics settings turned up to Ultra.

Software

Two of the most popular software titles are Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) and X-Plane. This is a well-covered rivalry in home flight simulation dating back many years.

I have flown both titles and find that each simulator franchise has its strengths and weaknesses. X-Plane has been consistently easier to start up in terms of hardware connectivity, setting up airplanes, and generally moving about the sim environment. 

X-Plane is also known for its realistic aircraft flight model and a supportive community of developers, with a few high-quality “study-level” aircraft from which to choose. MSFS2024 offers more airplanes and multiple packages. There are many study-level aircraft available in MSFS2020/2024 that are a good fit for real-world pilots who expect deeper systems modeling and more realistic airplane behavior. Consider what airplanes you plan to fly and do some basic research on which software title will best match your flight sim goals. For example, both titles have excellent Cessna 172 models, both with G1000 avionics and traditional steam gauges.  

• READ MORE: AI Air Traffic Control Arrives to Home Flight Simulators
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After many years of flying X-Plane, I have been flying on MSFS2020 and now MSFS2024, which has the edge when it comes to incredible graphics, including improved weather modeling, terrain, textures, and lighting. But MSFS2024 can be frustrating when it comes to connecting hardware and working through the configuration menus.

Comparatively, X-Plane 12 (XP12) is much easier to connect hardware and assign control behaviors. I reject the notion that XP12 is for more “serious” flight sim pilots and that Microsoft titles are better suited to the “casual” enthusiast, especially given the flight model improvements in MSFS2024. 

Monitors/TV Screens

For your first home simulator cockpit, I recommend a large enough monitor to create some level of immersion. I’ve seen many flight sim enthusiasts fly on a 24-inch monitor and be perfectly content. But having come from real-world flying, I wanted to achieve a close-to-real-life perspective when looking at the cockpit instruments and out through the windscreen.

After trying different-sized TVs, I’ve settled on a 4K 55-inch set in the middle of my desk with the frame tucked up against the outer case of my flight yoke. If you have the budget, I highly recommend a TV with a 120 Hz refresh rate and HDR capability. MSFS2024 outputs in HDR, which adds more visual richness to the digital scenes you’re flying in.

Other good options for your first monitor include smaller curved gaming screens. Just make sure you’re getting 120 Hz refresh rate or greater. If you’re tight on budget, settle for a smaller monitor with a higher refresh rate. It’s tempting to buy an inexpensive TV on Amazon, but most come with a 60 Hz refresh rate that I found not smooth enough for flight simulation. Placed next to your main monitor, I recommend a small secondary screen so that you can operate peripheral software or other accessories on your sim like Navigraph, SimBrief, Air Manager, or your VATSIM or PilotEdge client. Having room to manage the various accessory software will add a lot to your flight sim experience. Feel free to use an old monitor since the screen size, resolution, and refresh rate don’t matter for this use. 

Hardware

Your hardware is your physical connection to the flight simulation experience, and the following equipment recommendations are designed to get you flying at home with minimal setup, tuning, and budget. You can always upgrade this equipment later.

The Honeycomb Alpha is a practical and sturdy flight yoke designed for general aviation airplanes, jets, and airliners. Although I found the mechanical resistance to be light in the pitch-and-roll axis, it’s an adequate controller for your first flight sim yoke. Also, there are useful switches on the outside case that will be recognized by most single-engine aircraft in MSFS or X-Plane, so you won’t have to go into the controls menu to program them. Be sure to download any required software drivers from the Honeycomb website.

Although there are less expensive options available, the TurtleBeach VelocityOne is a generously sized flight stick, taller than others near this price point, and smooth to fly in-sim. Most of my flight simulation is in airplanes with a yoke, so I typically don’t fly with a stick, but I would purchase the VelocityOne if I were to switch to more tailwheel flying.

The best feature, besides the numerous buttons, is that the grip is an ambidextrous design with a reversible wrist rest that can easily be switched from a right-hand grip to a left-hand grip, depending on where you’d like the stick to be mounted on your desk. This allows you maximum flexibility when moving between various tailwheel aircraft available. 

The Honeycomb Bravo throttle system is my favorite piece of hardware. It comes with a set of interchangeable handles for single or multiengine GA flying and a set of control handles for airliner operations, including thrust reversers. The lever handles slide on and off the bases, so changing handles and levers to match the aircraft you fly is a snap. 

In addition, the Bravo has preprogrammed autopilot controls at the top of the unit with seven assignable switches for avionics, lights, and master switch assignments. There’s a tensioner on the far side of the throttle quadrant, so you can tighten or loosen the lever control movement. Etsy and eBay carry 3D-printed control handles that you can buy to make your throttle quad more accurately resemble what you’re flying. 

The King Air 350 and the DC-3 handles have been on my want-to-buy list for the last few years. The Bravo is a must-have for all flight sim cockpits as its versatility and price point make it ideal for your first home setup. 

Launched in late 2025, Honeycomb Sierra offers a Vernier-style throttle quadrant that’s ideal for flying Cessnas. I am really looking forward to flying with it, and if it is anything like the Bravo, I expect it to be a good value for a first home sim cockpit. It comes with a pitch trim wheel, flap control, and landing gear handle. One of Honeycomb’s strengths is delighting the home sim pilot with useful buttons and controls that work with the aircraft you fly—right out of the box.  

You will also need rudder pedals. I flew CH Products Pro Pedals for years because it was bulletproof, easy to calibrate, and has a quick-to-find center position detent, letting you know when the rudder pedals are centered. In an airplane, you have cables and built-in mechanical resistance to guide you, but flight sims use springs. 

One of the experiences that doesn’t transfer well from real world to flight sims is aircraft taxiing behavior, even with high-end rudder pedals. Expect to develop a light touch on the rudder in the air and on the ground. 

A gaming headset is a must-have as it helps with immersion, allowing you to fine-tune the in-sim volume. If you plan on connecting to live air traffic control (ATC) services like VATSIM or PilotEdge, I recommend you buy a comfortable gaming headset with a boom mic. Mine is an around-the-ear style that’s easy to wear for multihour flights.  

If there’s one necessary piece of hardware for your first home flight sim, it’s the Octavi IFR-1. 

Manufactured by a new German company called Octavi, the IFR-1 is a USB controller for both Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane. It is smaller than an index card and can be easily mounted to almost any structure in your simulator.

With the IFR-1, you can control several different navigation, comms, GPS, and autopilot features without your mouse. Once you’ve committed the basic button operations to memory, you can use the IFR-1 to replace a lot of annoying mouse clicks that break concentration and immersion. 

A primary benefit of the IFR-1 is switching between general aviation airplanes without needing to reprogram and reassign controls.

In MSFS2024 I use my IFR-1 to manage a host of controls from basic to advanced functions. From the Octavi website, you can download templates for some popular airplanes, or you can program the IFR-1 if you are comfortable with more advanced control assignments. 

The IFR-1 works right out of the box, making it an ideal controller for your first home sim. 

First Hours

Once your sim is complete, I recommend you spend your first hour loaded into an airplane you’re familiar with from the real world. 

This will help ground you in the simulator environment. Spend time learning the camera views, print a list of key binds for the flight sim software you’re using, so you can operate the camera controls and shortcuts efficiently to look around the cockpit, which will help you acclimate to the digital flight environment quickly.

Just like a real-world preflight, test your flight controls, checking to make sure your yoke (or flight stick), throttle, mixture, buttons, switches, and rudder pedals are working correctly. If not, spend some time binding them in the controls menu. Look on YouTube for how-to videos. 

Plan to use your mouse to flip switches and buttons, and use your Octavi IFR-1 to operate the comms and basic avionics functions. Use your second hour on the sim to become comfortable with the IFR-1 and all of its useful functions. Pull out your paper checklist and try running through some simple flows. Most aircraft in MSFS2020/2024 have digital checklists on the provided EFB located in-sim that comes with most airplanes. I prefer a printed copy. I skip any preflight of the exterior of my simulated airplane, but it’s worth practicing with the exterior camera settings so you can take screenshots of your first flight.

Getting Help

Every sim pilot gets stuck along the way and knowing where to turn for help will keep you from becoming discouraged. If you get stumped and can’t find a solution by searching, I highly recommend buying a tech support session from  FlightSimCoach.com.

Before your session, have a short list of technical issues to ask your coach. When you’re ready, you can take an in-sim flight lesson from a CFI on the FlightSimCoach team. You pick your instructor (who are all current or former real-world CFIs) and take the lesson. 

FlightSimCoach uses a video meeting where you share the view of your screen so the instructor can see what you’re doing. The instructors are personable, patient, and great teachers who are very comfortable in this digital medium. I’ve taken a few IFR flight lessons on my sim and am looking forward to  more. 

Email the editors at FLYING (editorial@flyingmagazine.com), and I’ll send you the links so you know where to purchase the equipment discussed in this article. Once you’re ready to fly your sim, I recommend you do so with the same discipline that you fly your real-world airplane to reinforce good habits.

Soon, you’ll be on the way to that airport you’ve always wanted to land at, maybe dusting off your VOR navigation along the way. Good luck!

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Additional Sim Tips

• Pair your tablet with ForeFlight, Garmin Pilot, Navigraph to your home simulator for valuable practice without the Hobbs meter turning. Watch a tutorial on YouTube to learn how to do this, so you can practice most of the functions you use in the real world from the comfort of your sim.

• Use your real-world kneeboard or iPad mount so you can practice with the same tools you use in the real-world cockpit. Place this equipment in roughly the same location as it is in your real airplane.

• Print or photocopy your real-world aircraft checklist so that you can have a copy to use in your home flight simulator. If you don’t have a checklist for an airplane you want to fly in-sim, check www.Flightsim.to and search for “user @jaydee”—he has created really detailed and color-coded checklists available to the entire MSFS community for free, accepting donations to fund his efforts.

• Gorilla Double-Sided Mounting Tape is the duct tape of choice for flight sim hardware activities. The clear tape is extremely sticky and allows for the test placement of flight sim hardware. That way, you can try out a new piece of equipment without having to drill into your desk or other accessories to mount it. Testing the hardware location before committing to a mounting position can be quite helpful, and the tape does not leave behind any messy residue.

• Set up your gaming PC in an area where it will receive adequate ventilation. Keeping it off the ground will lower the chances of getting dusty.

• Canned air dusters are useful for blowing dust off your hardware. • Purchase a good-quality powered USB hub as most gaming PCs will not have enough USB slots for all of your hardware. Don’t buy the cheap ones as this component plays an important role in making your controls operate correctly.

• Purchase cable organizers, Velcro cable ties, and USB extension cables. You might find it helpful to do some cable management as you begin to set up your sim. You may need a USB extension cable depending on how far away your hardware is from your PC.

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This feature first appeared in the April Issue 969 of the FLYING print edition.