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Gaming Shogun Reviews Volair Sim
We have a new review of our system. This time is from Gaming Shogun. Check it out here.
We also felt like this is a good time to combine all of the reviews we’ve gotten thus far:
Author: Volair Sim
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Another Satisfied Customer
Here is an e-mail and photo from Lorne, one of our customers. Lorne writes,
“Thought you would like a picture of my (your) cockpit all setup. Thanks for the great product!(…) For the money nothing else compares.”
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Volair Sim at the Squadron Ops Sim Center
Squadron Ops Sim Center is a combat flight sim training center located at the Aurora, IL Municipal Airport (KARR). Greg Morris, a real-world pilot and instructor, opened the Flight Ops Sim Center with the goal of providing an immersive air combat experience combined with instruction from real-world combat pilots.
To our delight, Greg chose to use the Volair Sim flight sim chassis as a foundation of the simulators in order to provide the all-encopassing and adrenaline-pumping flight experience.
The Volair Sim systems are equipped with three monitor configurations, Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog controllers, MFDs, and TrackIR systems. Software-wise, Greg is running Digital Combat Simulator combined with add-on models and custom MDF programming.
Greg writes, “I have purchased nine Volar Sim seats for my company, Squadron Ops Sim Center […]. We run them with 3 27″ monitors, Thrustmaster Warthog stick and throttle, CH pedals, and Thrustmaster Cougar MFDs along with TrackIR. The Volair seat has been outstanding, incredibly durable even under commercial use, and the support from Volair is fantastic. Bart, the owner, is incredibly responsive and involved, even visiting our location personally to see how we were using the seats and get our input on new accessories being developed. The seat configuration itself is amazing and can be customized to any use. We do use the Thrustmaster Warthog stick with the moveable keyboard tray (they are compatible), and have adapted the center stick hardware to mount an MFD directly in front of the seat on the avionics tray. Prior to my purchase I evaluated all of the competitor seats, and Volair is by far the best. After thousands of hours of use I know I made the right decision. As we add new location we will continue to purchase Volair seats without hesitation or reservation.”
We, at Volair Sim, wish Greg and his operation continued success. If you are ever in Chicago area, take a trip to the Squadron Ops Sim Center and check out the Volair Sim cockpits installation there.
We are always amazed how creative our customers are with adapting the Volair Sim chassis to suit their particular needs and applications. See the adaptation of the Volair Sim cockpit to simulate racing and Boeing 777 cockpit by Phil. Note that Phil used the Avionics Tray to support the center monitor and has added the side monitors with some custom metal work. Impressive work Phil!
Phil writes, “I am so impressed with the Volaire system. It is a solid platform that can be expanded and customized. The materials used are first rate and can take enthusiastic use.”
Based on customer feedback, we are pleased to offer additional side mounting plates for our Volair Sim cockpits.
These mounting plates, universal for a left-hand or right-hand installation, allow you to quickly switch between flight and racing modes.
Each mounting plate is pre-drilled for:
- Saitek Pro Flight Throttle Quadrant(s)
- Saitek Cessna Trim Wheel
- Logitech G27 Shifter
- Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog
- Saitek X-52 Pro Flight System (Joystick and Throttle).
You can order these directly from Volair Sim’s web site.
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Volair Sim – Innovative Customer Examples
Today, couple of interesting examples of Volair Sim in action.
The first application is use of the cockpit with four monitors. The way to make it work is ingeniously simple (courtesy of Andy – one of customers). Flip the center avionics table support tubes180 degrees and voilà, the 4th monitor support is ready. Just drill 4 VESA holes in the table depending on the size, position, bolt pattern, and of the 4th monitor and you are done. Andy actually elected to make the 4th monitor removable (by using an inexpensive VESA mount) but this is purely an optional step. Great work!
As you know, both ATI and nVidia support four monitors (Eyefinity and nVidia Surround are the trade names for both companies). The trick is that the 4th monitor is not to be used for the sim as part of the 3 monitor “wrap-around” but rather as a 2D monitor (which is fine for gages, radios, GPS, etc). See Andy’s cockpit below with the 23″ Hannspree touch-enabled monitor.
The next logical question here is the software that would interface with the sim and would display the gages and interface the screen to the sim. For combat sims, you have at least two choices – Touch Buddy and Helios.
Andy writes, “Helios uses LUA export data from DCS and also Falcon 4 to export data from the game. Helios actually knows the correct positions of all of the switches, gauges, dials, ect.. In this way it is better than TB, but it is specific to certain sims that he has designed it for. Also, the Helios designer has pre-made switches and buttons built into it that you can use. Touchbuddy requires you to create (or borrow) your own graphical buttons and switchs. So that is another nice thing about Helios.”
The second example, courtesy of John – another customer of ours, is using our center stick mount with Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS. . As you know, we are factory pre-drilled for this very common HOTAS system (in addition to Saitek X-52). See a few photos of this in action and notice how John mounted dual throttle stack plus a trim wheel for multi-engine applications…
John writes, “I am still doing test runs with my sim pit cable management, and working on my entertainment center setup mods. I am using a 46″ Samsung Tv for viewing now without the momitor mount assembly (modified desk)….Thank you again my friend for this product and your friendly approach. You guys have confirmed your comments and others reviews!!! Voltaire Sim is the awesome!”
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Volair Sim 1.2 and Updates
As we are nearing resuming shipments to our customers, few updates to keep everyone in the loop.
1. To all that have pre-ordered the cockpit or are going to preorder before the 15th of November, Thank You. You will all receive the center stick mount included with your cockpit. Note that it will be packaged INSIDE the master box so don’t panic if you only receive one giant box. We are still on track to start shipments around the 20th of November but note that we will be clearing a large backorder so you do not panic if you do not get your tracking number right away. Our goal is for everyone to get their cockpit before Thanksgiving so you all have something to work on to burn off that turkey and mashed potatoes!
2. To all that are going to pre-order, you MUST place the order before the end of day (15th) to take advantage of this promo. You do not need to do anything additional when you place the order – we will know that you are supposed to get the center mount free based on order date. After 15th, the price is going up slightly as the center mount is going to be included with ALL cockpits standard to keep up with our philosophy of ALL mounts included standard.
3. You will ALL be pleased that we have made some small improvements to the cockpit based on the user feedback. The version 1.2 that you all will soon receive includes 200mmx200mm VESA mounts for your center monitor standard. So, if you are one of the users that plans to use one giant monitor/TV, you will NOT have to buy any additional adapters/mounts.
4. The customers that have the Volair Sim cockpits prior to version 1.2, you will be able to order the center mount sticks after November 20th separately. Note that we will have a very limited amount of these made as going forward all Volairs will be sold with it standard so if you are thinking about getting one of these, you need to act fast!
5. Several of you asked us about ButtKicker compatibility. The answer is that it fits great and there are several options for mounting – one that is easiest and most “stealthy” is under seat – see photo below from one of our customers.
Note from our customer, “That’s the ButtKicker vibration unit. Namely, the Gamer II Edition, which features an easy-install bracing that fitted like a glove under the seat. In fact, the height of that frame bar was so perfect it even seems like it was designed for that very purpose… or maybe it’s just a really fortunate coincidence – Either way, this position gives it a pretty solid attachment and a huge bass feedback response on both the seat and the controls.”
6. Last but not least, a great example of an ingenious installation from William, one of our customers. This is an example of Volair Sim as a workstation/development studio/flight sim rig, etc. Hope that this shows you that the Volair Sim is a great platform for further customization. Here is the unedited review and you can follow his further progress here.
William Writes, “As promised, here are a couple of pictures of the setup I’ve assembled so far. it’s not entirely complete, and “complete” it may never be, as there’s always that “one last piece” of hardware that we can only stop ourselves from getting for a certain amount of time… then, the “kid in the candy store” factor takes over and well… this is the result of that process repeated countless times up until now. Feel free to post this in your reviews/news section – It goes to show how versatile this system really is, given a little bit of creative engineering.
This new setup was mainly based on the concept of using a 39″ main monitor (tv) with a secondary 27″ mounted in portrait mode. The gap between the screens you see there is not visible from eye position when seated upright. The tv is actually set in the work table, a couple of inches in front of the side monitor. From my seated PoV, the bezels on the TV and monitor will generally overlap, leaving a much reduced gap than if the screen surfaces were placed closer to flush with each other.”
“It’s quite a non-standard setup, with the massively over-sized G15 keyboard I had to do some creative rigging to get the mouse somewhere to sit. That “custom mouse pad” is just a piece of scrap wood that I (hastily) cut a while back for use in my previous assembly. While I had to leave most of the old rig behind upon moving to live in Canada, I did somehow happen to have the foresight of bringing that piece with me – Add a 3-buck C clamp to it, and we got ourselves a proper mouse surface!
Notice the added trackball assembly. This was mounted by re-purposing the unused third monitor fitting plate and a couple of more C-Clamps from the local hardware store… The Razer Nostromo and Saitek throttle are also mounted on a previously built piece of assorted household junk and fitted to the chassis supports using adhesive velcro tape, as was the stick.
The Keyboard is mounted at a near-45 degree angle to the tray, making it very comfortable and stable to type on – for securing it at this position there’s another piece of old hardware from my old rig which consists basically of an old CD-case holder (who has CD’s anymore, right?) bolted to a metal plate of somewhat mysterious household origins. This plate provides a solid surface (whereas the triangular CD holder has multiple CD-case sized open slots) and there I used more velcro tape for propping up the keyboard.
Using velcro makes for easily reconfigurable attachments, which really pays off when it comes down to fine tuning positions for reach and comfort. The pedals are rigged the same way. Saitek even provides size-cut Velcro strips with the pedals for this. Very convenient.
The lil’ laptop on the side also doubles as my WiFi antenna, which my big rig does not have. A cable might be faster, but my roommates might have an objection to that, as the router sits in the living room. This is the same reason I opted not to use a 66-Watt 5.1 like my former assembly had, and instead opted for those nice cushy headsets.
Software such as Synergy and Display fusion allows the unusually-distributed screen space to function as a very fluid and mighty spacious desktop. This is needed because I don’t just fly simulators, I also develop them.”
William concludes with this, “True story: Just today I showed a picture of this setup to a buddy of mine, telling him all about how much more I feel I can get out of my work just by having a proper work space at hand. He asked me – Out of all this hardware, what piece do you find the most critical for productivity? – I replied – “The seat”.”
Have a GREAT Thanksgiving and enjoy your Volair Sim cockpits!
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September Updates and New Reviews
- For all of your racing sim fans, check out the new review at Inside Sim Racing where Darin and Shaun put the Volair Sim through its paces (or should we say turns) and give the racer’s review of the rig.
- Next, check out this review and photos from Eyad, one of our customers. Eyad is a private pilot and intends to use the Volair Sim as a personal training and proficiency device (in addition to being the guy with the coolest toy at his airport, without a doubt). One of the cockpit parts was damaged in shipping so we sent him a replacement. Here is what he writes in reply,
“First of all I would like to thank you for rushing me the support tube last week, I really appreciated your help and the great costumer support. I also want to thank you a million times for inventing and making this awesome cockpit, I am having a wonderful and great time with this project, without your cockpit none of this would be possible…. Thaaaaaank you. I thought I would send you some pictures of the work in progress and tell you about few modifications I did this weekend on the Volairsim cockpit and see what you think.”
I think you will all agree we have here one of the best-looking and most complete Volair Sim rigs we have seen to-date!
- Lastly, the center stick mounts are in very short supply. If you own a Volair Sim cockpit and think about getting the center stick, please order soon or you will have to wait until mid-November until we make the next batch.
Couple of updates for August 1st
- Volair Sim is happy to be reviewed by SimHQ Motorsports. You can read this independent review here.
- We are shipping the Center Mount Stick Kit and we have them all in-stock now so order yours today for immediate shipping.
Volair Sim is proud to announce that we have been awarded the prestigious Gold Star award from AVSIM. As many of you know, this is the top award awarded by one of the most widely read and respected flight simulator web sites and communities. Click on the icon below on this link for a complete detailed review of our cockpit.
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Center Stick Mount Kit
All of your stick and rudder pilots and Top Gun fighters listen up!
Volair Sim is happy to announce availability of the Center Mount Kit that will allow you to mount your favorite joystick/controller so you can fly that Piper Cub or the F16 in style!
The center mount kit is pre-drilled for Saitek X-52, X-65, and Thrustmaster HOTAS WARTHOG. Fully adjustable forward/aft, up/down. Compatible with ALL versions of Volair Sim.
Watch the newly-released Assembly Video and see it how it integrates into the Volair Sim Chassis.
QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED, SO ORDER NOW.
UPDATE: WE ARE SHIPPING THE CENTER STICK MOUNT AS OF 8/1/2013.
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Volair Sim with a Single Large Monitor/TV
Today a review from our customer Robert who uses the Volair Sim with a 52″ (!) TV in a single monitor configuration. Below, the unedited review:
“I got my Volair Sim cockpit set up and wanted to show you a picture. I’m using one 52” plasma screen monitor. It works great! I love it.
The picture is showing the FJS Dash8 Q400 for X-Plane 10/64bit and my Saitek equipment. Also my Throttletek G737 throttle quadrant.
I also have the Saitek X52 joystick and throttle, so I’m set up to fly about any aircraft sim.
You can also see my TrackIR5 camera clipped on to my Saitek autopilot.
I had no problems putting together the Volair Sim Cockpit. One of the little bags with the screws broke and I had to dig through the box to find the missing screw, but that was the only problem.
I’m very happy with my new cockpit.
Thank you,
Robert Yunque”
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FANCON 2013 and Shipping Update
First, the long-anticipated bit of good news. We are back in-stock and all back-orders have been shipped as of 5/8. Look in your e-mail for a tracking number! See your cockpits awaiting pick-up below…
Second, we had a great AvSim FANCON at the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita, KS. See the following photos and videos. Our sim demo unit was constantly busy and we received many positive comments.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/I8bQiD48il4]
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Another Satisfied Customer
We really enjoy hearing back and getting photos from customers, especially when we learn that we exceed their expectations. Here is a short review from Bob Prall, one of our customers:
“As promised I have attached a picture of my cockpit to date. I may get more gauges later in the future. I must say the cockpit is outstanding. It is affordable and makes the whole FltSim experience so much better. Thank you for developing a great product.”
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Volair Sim to Exhibit at 2013 FANCON
Volair Sim is proud to announce that it will be exhibiting at the 2013 FANCON in Wichita, Kansas at the Kansas Aviation Museum on May 3-5, 2013. “We are very excited to take part in this event. “AvSim and FANCON have teamed together to have one of the largest flight sim and flight cockpit conventions in the United States,” stated Bart Waclawik, Volair Sim President. Volair Sim will feature its Flight | Racing Sim cockpit which will be configured with Saitek Pro Flight avionics and will be flown by a PilotEdge.net pilot to showcase its capabilities as the world’s most affordable yet most capable VFR or IFR training platform.
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Volair Sim Version 1.1
We are very happy to announce that we have made some incremental improvements/changes with the next revision of our Flight Sim Cockpit (version 1.1). The next production run, scheduled to start shipping around end of April will have the following changes:
1. Factory pre-drilled mounting locations for Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS (left and right).
2. Factory pre-drill mounting for Fanatec Clubsport V1 and V2 racing pedals.
3. Factory pre-drill mounting for the Trustmaster 500RS steering wheel/pedals.
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Saitek Pro Pedals and Saitek X52 HOTAS
Many of you asked us whether the Saitek Pro Pedals fit the Volair Sim cockpit as they are wider than the CH Products ones. Here is a photo from one of our customers showing the Volair Sim system in action including the Pro Flight Pedals along with the Yoke, Throttle Quadrant and the Saitek X52 Pro HOTAS. As you see, the Saitek pedals fit great and there is adequate clearance on both sides of the support tubes. This is also true for the combat or Saitek Cessna pedals. Just use the provided velcro strips to mount them to the base.
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Volair Sim with Saitek X52 HOTAS
So many of you asked us whether the Volair Sim is suitable for HOTAS set-up. Below, a review from one of our customers who has set-up the Volair Sim with a Saitek X52 HOTAS configuration and Saitek Pro Pedals using X-Plane.
“I just wanted to let you know that I received the Sim last night, and I must say YOU guys ROCK when it comes to packing. Every component in it’s own bubble wrap, and ALL parts in their own bags with labels. I must say, that’s a HUGE help when it comes to putting something together. It went together without any problems what so ever, except for the chair.. I must say, that’s a bit of a struggle getting that in place, but once it is, it’s solid. Thanks for everything you did for me, especially getting it to me so quickly…
Dave……
Attached are some pics I took of my setup. What a fantastic cockpit! My equipment fit into it just as I had imagined. One thing I did notice though, I have the saitek X52 flight system, and the tables for the stick, and throttle are not pre-drilled to accept these. Just wanted to let you know… But everything else worked perfectly!! I hope you like the pics..”
Volair Sim had a great turnout at the Great Lakes Aviation Conference at the Eastern Michigan University. We were so happy to see so many students come by our booth and try our sim.
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First Customer Reviews are Here!
Today couple of quick reviews from two of our customers.
Lennie has built a flight platform for general aviation flying:
“In December I decided to research the equipment [hardware and software] available to have a professional looking Flightsim. FSX was the obvious choice for software, and after seeing what is available to mount monitors and gear, Volair Sim seemed to be the best out there for cost, quality and durability. The shipment arrived in a matter of only a few days, and the set-up was easy. I particularly like the very comfortable and adjustable seat; the fact that it came pre-drilled for all of the Saitek gear; and the flexible tray table for the keyboard and mouse, making it easy to move out of the way after setting up a flight, and quickly retrieving it when I need to use the keyboard. The mounts accepted my three ASUS monitors and are easy to adjust for proper viewing. All in all, I am very satisfied with the Volair Sim and would recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their flight experience! Lennie Gamage (Henderson, NC.)”
Mark from Texas has built a set-up for racing using triple 27” Hans-G monitors, Fanatec GT2 wheel w/Clubsport pedals:
“Just a quick update to let you know that the cockpit arrived last night around 7:00pm… I had it assembled and was driving online by 9:30pm… Very nice product, it is well engineered and produced. Everything fit with a little coercing and overall I am very happy with it. I just went back and made some adjustments to the seating position and the table top to fine tune the fit for me as I am 6’2” tall, but like the wheel close to me. The rig gave me all the adjustability I needed to get an ideal fit. The Volair rig is an excellent value for the price, plus it is available here in the US, which for me is a plus. I looked at many rigs before selecting the Volair. The main reason I selected the Volair is the fact that all the accessories are included in the base model. No nickel and diming the customer to death to assemble a complete rig. Thanks for the great support!!! (Mark D)”