Happy Birthday Dave B ( 58) 3.4.15

[DaveB]

Thanks Nige
ATB
DaveB

[mgchristy]

Happy belated birthday, Dave! Here's hoping it was a good one....

[Tako_Kichi]

Late to the party but I hope you had a good one Dave.

[ChrisHunt]

A belated Happy Birthday Dave. Hope it was as good as it could be under the circumstances! As for feeling old - the way i understand it is that, after a certain age feeling really old is always for the year after the one you're currently in; that is, until A you can't remember which year you're in or B you really are too old to give a damn either way.

[DaveB]

Thanks guys.. appreciate the sentiment

I've spent a few quid on myself.. oddly enough on things I've already had and given away. A new TrackIR5 with headset clip and a Saitek Throttle Quad are winging their way here from Pilotshop. I hope it's not money down the drain.. again

ATB
Dave

[Paul K]

A new TrackIR5 with headset clip and a Saitek Throttle Quad are winging their way here from Pilotshop. I hope it's not money down the drain.. again

Dave, think about it ...you can glue the headset clip to your hearing aid !

I bought the same thing from Pilotshop last October, after my TrackIR 4 expired. Money well spent, though I do tend to use the hat reflector clip rather than the LED headset clip. I've also learned to not move my head so much - point your face in the general direction and then move your eyes around. Its a much calmer and less disorientating experience that way. Don't be afraid to switch it off when you don't need it, either. People think that having invested so much money in a piece of hardware, it has to be on all the time. Not so - imagine a very long flight from, say, Culdrose out to the Ark in your Sea Vixen. You don't absolutely need TrackIR while in the cruise, and it can be distracting, so disable it with the hot key. Then, as you descend, re-enable and re-centre it ready for all the bolters.

[VEGAS]

Happy belated birthday DaveB

Hope you had a good one sir.

All the best to a lovely fella.

[DaveB]

Hello Mate

The TIR4 I had was a bit of a pain in that it used the same hotkey as FSNavigator (FS9 of course). Don't think I ever tried it in FSX though thinking about it.. I might have. Didn't know how to switch off dynamic head movement and if you've ever tried grabbing a switch in a VC using TIR with DHM on.. you'll know it's virtually impossible
I fear it may be turned off more than on but at least I'll have it should I want it. The throttle quad should come in handy controlling the thrust direction on the Harriers

Late edit: Cheers Ed

ATB
Dave

[Paul K]

Well, as it's no longer your birthday, we can continue off-topic. Actually, you have a good policy there - keep TrackIR turned off until and unless you need it. Obviously in a combat sim, you need it on all the time. Rise of Flight for instance; not only do you have to check behind you, but with those biplanes, with the extra wing, struts and clutter, you need to be able to look round and above things, which you can do with '6DoF'. Not so in a tubeliner, in the cruise at 35K, half way across the Atlantic. When all you need to keep a close watch on is the fuel gauges, you don't need your view changing with every movement of your head - in fact, it becomes annoying. Just leave it for the approach and taxi to the terminal. Yes, you're right - in this instance, less is definitely better. It's a practice I shall adopt.

[DaveB]

I got the Tir4 while testing Ed Walters Spit. Trying to test from a 2D panel in FS9 was so frustrating and we all know what navigating around a VC is like using a hat switch. After all these years.. I STILL find myself moving the hat in the wrong direction I think I tried Rick's 748/Andover with it and was VERY impressed in FS9. I was still very much a 2D person.. still am really but 2D panels are so prohibitive in FSX and VC's are so awkward using the hat switch, I fly from outside most of the time. Ended up giving the Tir4 to Rick so that he could enjoy his 748 with it Hopefully.. the Tir5 will get me back inside a bit more. It should make helicopter ops more fun. All I have to do now is get out of the habit of flying from the outside

ATB
Dave