Just Soaring Glider Sim Pro Flight Simulator

SOARING ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

Just SoaringJust Soaring

General Description

Just Soaring Glider Sim Pro Flight Simulator is what you need to get off the ground (so to speak) with a simulator system built from the ground up for a soaring pilot. With features you'll only find in a glider and only in our Glider Sim Rig, you will enjoy a realistic a soaring experience even while on the ground!

Features

  • Ergonomic cockpit layout for hours of soaring in Condor Soaring or your glider sim software of choice
  • Rugged Anodized T Slot aluminum construction – no plastic here! Built for the long haul!
  • Comfortable seat and seating configuration for longer task or cross country Condor flights
  • Realistic flaps with notched detents (6 or 7 position)
  • Spoiler/ Air Brake with spring resistance
  • Joystick with two x five position (up/down/left/right/center press) buttons and a PTT (radio) button. Total of 11 assignable buttons! It is linear force / normal type – not force feedback
  • Adjustable (front/back) aluminum construction rudder pedals
  • Landing gear handle with realistic position/action
  • Two assignable rotary knobs and 3 assignable fixed buttons for more flexibility in your Condor Soaring simulator setup
  • Tow release handle (yellow) on left side of cockpit and in proximity of most modern glider cockpits
  • Standard –included keyboard / snack / note pad tray
  • Standard – included cup holder for beverage of choice
  • Ability to add RAM or other custom flight computer mounts (as shown) – a real benefit of T Slot aluminum
  • Mounting feet on the sim rig base – prevents floor scratching / slipping
  • Silicon elbow pad for comfort
  • Seat color production version will be charcoal black base with gray trim (not the taupe as shown) – we want to be as neutral / “chameleon” as possible
  • NOT INCLUDED: PC / simulator software (Condor Soaring, etc) / monitor(s) / flight computer (phone, pad), RAM style mount or other accessories
  • FOR INSTRUCTORS: we will soon have available for purchase/download a Windows program that allows an instructor to plug in any standard flight joystick controller and be able to take over flight controls, make corrections, pull tow release (with assigned button on controller), etc. Not only good for teaching, but good for the instructors to practice this on the ground!

What's In The Box?

  1. Kit Parts List
  2. Base Frame Assembly
  3. Seat Support Frame Assembly
  4. Monitor Stand Assembly
  5. Final Assembly
  6. Connecting and Testing
  7. Recommended Key Assignment
  8. Calibration
  9. Tips & Tricks
  10. Troubleshooting

Weight and Dimensions

Box Weight: 120 Pounds

Box Dimensions: 49" X 23" X 18"

FAQ

Q: Are you guys developing any custom mounting brackets so the cockpit could be modified to do fighter jet or warbird sims?
A: Yes! We are indeed working on some mounts so that users can slap on 3rd party hardware (the nice thing with 80/20 aluminum!) and enjoy their favorite fighter jet or warbird sims. We'll work up some prototypes soon and get some pics up here and on social media.

Q: Can you recommend a PC / computer setup or specification that I should use?
A: This has all to do with the simulator software side of things (usually Condor), and anything else you may plan to do with your PC such as general aviation simulation or car racing or just general gaming type stuff. Just remember – we are USB peripheral inputs into Windows, that's it. So nothing on our hardware side is hard, resource intensive, or even special in the Windows world. It sees our rig no diff than it would see a keyboard for instance – just inputs via USB. You can head over to Condor's website for more – but remember if you plan to do other stuff with your PC, in addition to Condor, then you may need an even higher spec on processor, memory, etc. The requirements for Condor itself are quite reasonable, and in general, we would say less demanding than most shooter games, or say MS Flight Sim, etc Condor Soaring PC Requirements There are many config options, but most people can put together a decent Condor box from anywhere between $500 to $1000 USD (again depending and “your results may vary”) We may in the coming months try to work with a custom PC builder so that for USA customers anyway, you could click a link on our site here and it would pre–load a shopping cart on the PC vendor's end of things and preload all the core bits you'd need for that particular config – and maybe offer a “good, better, best” array of say 3 configs from cheap / minimum up to $$$/over the top.

Q: Does your system support VR headsets like Oculus, etc?
A: Just like with the PC spec FAQ – keep in mind our system is just an input device to windows via USB. As for Condor Soaring (the software), YES it does have support for major VR headsets. There are several threads on the forum over at Condor that you may find of interest VR support related

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Unboxing

Just Soaring Video

Documents

FAQ Continued

Q: How long does it take to fully assemble this sim rig?
A: Results vary quite a bit mainly just depending on how “handy” and “engineery” the user is. Building 80/20 aluminum rigs like this do require attention to detail and patience. If you miss inserting a locking nut or something here or there, you have to burn time to unassemble back through several steps to put it back in. We've done a good job of making clear step by step Lego type instructions – but you the consumer / user still have to pay attention to the details and grind through the assembly. It's like a piece of Ikea furniture with a lot of parts basically. So if you just hate building things and can't be bothered, this isn't the product for you. If you look at this like a DIY project and enjoy building things – you'll love it. So with all that said TWO TO FIVE HOURS is a fair range when it comes to building the thing out. It's of course faster / easier with two people, but can totally be done by one person. The tools are basic. The instructions are good. But you do have to gird yourself for some assembly work and the time needed. That last thing we want is to spend a bunch of money shipping you something only to have you find out later you don't like building it or it is “too complicated”.

Q: What is the footprint of the entire unit sitting on the floor / how much space will I need?
A: The assembled frame is 120 x 67 cm (or approx 48″ x 27″) That's on the floor. Depending on your monitor setup, will be wider at the front. With a typical wide gaming monitor you might be pushing 80–ish cm wide and 30 something inches. If you recline the seat in a normal position also adding probably around 25 cm (10″) to the length. So call it 145 cm x 80 cm , or 58″ by 31″ relative to the other bits not on the floor (seat / monitor). You also need to stick the computer / PC somewhere on the front or side of unit.

Q: What is the footprint of the entire unit sitting on the floor / how much space will I need?
A: The assembled frame is 120 x 67 cm (or approx 48″ x 27″) That's on the floor. Depending on your monitor setup, will be wider at the front. With a typical wide gaming monitor you might be pushing 80–ish cm wide and 30 something inches. If you recline the seat in a normal position also adding probably around 25 cm (10″) to the length. So call it 145 cm x 80 cm, or 58″ by 31″ relative to the other bits not on the floor (seat / monitor). You also need to stick the computer / PC somewhere on the front or side of unit.

Q: Do you or will you have support for flight instructors who are teaching students?
A: We often think of an extra set of controls or some command buttons for the instructor as a great thing for students. Flip it around for a moment and think how cool to have CFI's that can practice on the ground, what taking over flight controls looks and feels like. And yes – they can release from tow, or whatever. What we are going to do (quite soon) is just write an app that we'll sell on the site (for very reasonable price) that will allow you to simply buy a run of the mill Logitech flight stick (these are like under $50 USD), install our app, and then plug in a standard flight stick that usually has loads of buttons on it as well – and those buttons can be assigned to do all sorts of things in Condor (air brakes, flaps, tow release, you name it…) In theory, wouldn't be hard to have two full sim rigs connected to simulate tandem cross country or giving the CFI a full set of controls. We are playing with that idea now – but again, technically not a high bar for us, just need to see if some demand there.

Q: Your system comes with everything I need to virtually fly a sailplane in a simulator environment?
A: NO… The Glider Sim Pro , glider simulator cockpit, does not include the following items: Computer, keyboard (wireless is best, we think – and many have a touchpad included so no need mouse!), Mouse, Computer Monitor/Display (or video/power cables), and we don't include the actual simulator software – the most common and by far the best – Condor Soaring. None of these things are included and must be purchased separately. Conceptually just think we are like a few windows peripherals/ USB accessories (hardware that talks to software, we do the hardware).

Q: Currently your flaps support 6 and 7 detent positions only, but what if my glider has less or more flaps positions than that?
A: When we started out, we were looking at the 80/20 rule, and determined most of the performance flapped gliders out there had either 6 or 7 flap positions - so we designed around that. Of course there is Murphy's Law, which then dictated that that Virtual Sailplane Grand Prix world champion (Ben Fest), who won one of our simulators, likes to mostly fly a Ventus 3 on Condor – which has 8 flap positions. So for now, we are going to keep the 6/7 flaps notch plate in the kit, and then we've made a new universal flaps notch plate (and the accompanying firmware that interfaces with windows and Condor) – this plate has one notch in the front (negative or full forward flaps) and one notch in the rear (usually a landing flap) and then a smooth slide in between. For this universal version, we have a special version of flaps firmware that allows pilots to fly basically ANY glider with flaps regardless of whether it is 3, 4, 5, or 8 positions. If you want to fly something like an ASG29 (which has 7 flap positions), the 6/7 flap position notch plate included will work just fine out of the box. So instead of us creating so many custom flaps notch plates, we just focused on the 6 or 7 flap position gliders, then provide an option for a universal plate that only has detents on the very front and back and is just like a “slide” in the middle. And of course since Condor (or any sim for that matter) reports your flaps position on the screen and also the virtual pilot's hand is quite clear on the screen.

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