Should I Switch to VR? August Answers Your Questions!

[K5083]

It's true. As the YouTuber I cited said, this leaves a big gap in the market between cheaper, lower quality units that aren't going to earn many VR converts, and much more expensive units that are a stretch for entry level. There is still a real question whether VR is the future or a fad. A couple of years ago I assumed it was the future, it was just too early for me to adopt. Now some pretty savvy companies seem to be placing their bets on it being a fad. And it's just at the time when the tech seems to be making units even better than the G2, at about the same price point, practical. Since there's not a technical dead end, it must be that these companies think VR isn't catching on with users. Like its inherent shortcomings will always make it a niche thing.

August

[K5083]

This morning before work I felt like flying something with 2 big engines in VR. The choices were a Mosquito in P3D or the P-38 in MSFS, and I elected to cruise around Istanbul in the P-38. All went well until I got her up to altitude and trimmed, then I got the dreaded "your graphics device has encountered an error" dialog and a CTD. This is the kind of annoyance which makes me often choose a different sim for VR flying.

Nevertheless, I persisted. After reboot I pulled up the graphics options to see what might reduce the GPU memory load, which I'm told is what causes this error. Nothing really came to mind. Then I thought about the "Off-Screen Terrain Pre-Cache" setting, which I had at Low on the theory that it would reduce GPU load. As with almost anything in MSFS settings, if you search this on the MS forum you see every possible advice from "Always set on Ultra unless you have a super low-end system" to "My computer is no potato but I get a slide show if I set to anything above Medium." Anyway, I decided to try Ultra.

The results were really good. Reloading the same P-38 flight out of Istanbul, there was less stuttering when looking around, which is the purpose of the pre-cache. You can see why that would be good for VR (or TrackiR) where you're looking around constantly and almost unconsciously. It did not seem to hurt frame rates at all. And, there was no GPU crash (although to be fair, those don't happen most flights). I had a lovely trip down the coast and greased the landing at Canakkale.

It is obvious from the MS forum that your mileage may vary on this, so this is only a suggestion, but if your pre-cache setting isn't dialed up, give it a try. I haven't seen anyone flat-out say that setting this to High or Ultra actually reduces GPU load and increases stability, but I figure it might; the whole point of it is to let your rig process the local scenery when it has the capacity, rather than force it in real time when you turn to look at it. So it might be a win-win for VR users; better visual experience and less GPU stress.

August

[Javis]

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\FSX
C:\Users\{your name}\Documents\Flight Simulator X Files
C:\Users\{your name}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\FSX
C:\Users\{your name}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX

I think these are all the locations of the FSX files if I remember correctly

`

Thanks a lot, DB, very helpfull !

Have them all but 'Documents', probabely because FSX didn't even start yet.

[Javis]

Not sure what your problem could be, Jan. If you're getting the menus and stuff to look OK and only having trouble when you start a flight, I'd suspect a graphics setting issue. I assume you've checked the graphics settings and made sure everything looks OK. Be sure NOT to check the "DirectX 10 preview" box. DirectX 9 is a lot more stable and FlyInside requires it anyway.

August

Thanks, August !

Yes, tried various graphic settings, no change, just the black screen with white cursor arrow no matter what i try/do. Ctrl/Alt/Delete won't even work. Have to shut computer down with the on/off knob ( that didn't have to happen for a looooong time..)

About DirectX, currently i am on DX12, Dxdiag says so... What does that mean when i eventually want to try FlyInside ? (i'm no 'DirectXpert' whatsoever...;-)

Btw, DirectX 10 Preview box is unchecked in the FSX menu.

Thanks again my VR friend.

[Javis]

It's true. As the YouTuber I cited said, this leaves a big gap in the market between cheaper, lower quality units that aren't going to earn many VR converts, and much more expensive units that are a stretch for entry level. There is still a real question whether VR is the future or a fad. A couple of years ago I assumed it was the future, it was just too early for me to adopt. Now some pretty savvy companies seem to be placing their bets on it being a fad. And it's just at the time when the tech seems to be making units even better than the G2, at about the same price point, practical. Since there's not a technical dead end, it must be that these companies think VR isn't catching on with users. Like its inherent shortcomings will always make it a niche thing.

August

Boy! am i glad i followed your advice and bought that G2 just recently !

I heard in a video about this unfortunate topic that HP will still cover the G2 for atleast 3 years. That's not too bad, is it ?

I think the 'harsh&sharp' unescapable wall between 'the real world' and VR is the main problem for VR not to catch on like it maybe is suppose to do ?... At the same time that's just what makes it so special, isn't it. The immersion is just not comparable with anything else but the real aircraft. Either you're in the real world OR you are in VR. Can't have both....

I was thinking what about VR on our monitor ??... Ok, not really VR but atleast 3D ! Possibly by wearing glasses much more sophisticated than the ol' carton red en green ones from the past. We'd probabely have the same awesome 3D experience as we have now with our G2 but we can still see out peripherals and easily work with them. Cut back in immersion will be quite a lot but it's only the sun that comes up every morning for free..

For years and years we have been flightsimulating happily (ok, more or less..;-) with FSX and P3D, who could've ever expected something like MSFS would be there around the corner ??.. Let's all think positive and it might just happen again !

Btw, thanks much for your "Off-Screen Terrain Pre-Cache" setting tip, certainly going to give that a try ! (atm mine is indeed at Low..)

[K5083]

More ideas for your FSX issues.

As long as you haven't checked the DirectX 10 preview button, you should be fine. Your PC can handle that even though you have up to DX12 installed.

Be sure the resolution in your graphics settings screen is set to the same as your actual maximum screen resolution. The oversized mouse cursor makes me think maybe it's not.

Here are two things people have tried to fix this black screen problem:

(1) Delete the file fsx.cfg in the AppData\Roaming folder identified by DennyA. Just to make sure, if there's one in the AppData\Local folder, delete that as well. FSX will rebuild the file the next time it runs. You may have to redo your graphics settings after this, but it will not erase your controls setup.

(2) Rename or delete the file logbook.bin in the Documents\Flight Simulator X Files folder. Again, FSX will build a new one.

August

[K5083]

CORRECTION TO ABOVE. It seems I was wrong about DirectX and that Windows recently ceased having automatic support for DX9.

Apparently you should try installing the "DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010)" from Microsoft at this page:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/down...n.aspx?id=8109

See if that helps.

August

[K5083]

I was thinking what about VR on our monitor ??... Ok, not really VR but atleast 3D ! Possibly by wearing glasses much more sophisticated than the ol' carton red en green ones from the past.

Don't think it would work. You'd have to keep your face locked forward looking at the screen for the glasses to work. Any movement would upset the 3D alignment. Even if you could do it, you'd lose the natural head tracking feature, and you'd have to go back to the hat switch to look around, like before TrackIR. Just speaking for myself, I'm done with that! I could just about stand to watch a 3D video on my screen that way, but not to play a sim.

Speaking of 3D videos, one thing that strikes me as problematic about VR is that it doesn't marry up well with sharing your experience. Even taking screenshots when playing in VR is a chore, or even impossible in some sims that can't switch between VR and pancake mode. Sharing a video is pretty much impossible. I'm aware that there are some YouTubers and Twitch streamers who stream their experiences in VR, but they aren't streaming the VR feed, they're streaming the 2D feed, which their monster gaming rigs somehow have the capacity to both render and capture at the same time as they play in VR. Even if your box can do that, what you're sharing is not the VR experience. Your idea about the glasses might be good for those creators, who could then post a video that someone could experience in 3D. Maybe that would make the experience more accessible and enticing for viewers who have not yet taken the plunge. You can do this now on YouTube with a few split-screen videos like this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBa-bCxsZDk, although this one works the "wrong" way, it requires you to cross your eyes so that your left eye is looking at the right half and vice versa.

Or, maybe this is not worthwhile, maybe without the head tracking and 360 view illusion, the viewer will still not "get it" even with 3D. Last weekend when I persuaded my spouse to try my G2, she thought the 3D was great but initially she was holding her head perfectly still. I said, "Look around." She said, "I am looking around." I said, "Not just with your eyes, turn your head." She did - and THEN it really clicked for her what VR is.

To your comment about isolation from the outside world, have you tried the voice command "flashlight on" and "flashlight off" when using your G2? It opens a low-res. b&w portal to see the real world (actually uses the built-in camera that tracks the hand controllers) within your VR screen. It's not great, but at least you can use it for a few seconds to locate your keyboard or your whiskey glass without bailing out of VR. Apparently this is a standard Windows Mixed Reality voice command, and the G2 supports all of the commands described at this link, https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...0-203e278e588e. I have been meaning to test whether any of the others do anything useful when in MSFS.

August

[Javis]

No FSX for me for the time being, August. I have hung down my head Tom Dooley and i have cried. Done just about anything but throw my rig out the window, all i get is this godforsaking black screen and cursor. Not only deleted everything from the folders DB suggested, i also found an abundage of files still in the Steamapps/common/FSX folder. In any case, deleted everything i could find, reboot and re-install FSX, beautiful black screen only result. (btw, that BIG cursor arrow happend indeed *before* i changed the graphics settings..;-)

Still have the original FSX Deluxe box, maybe i'll try that later. Du moment i am sick of it as you can imagine. The ol' B-25 and F-86 in VR will have to wait until eventually i find a solution.

Btw, i am certainly not unfamiliar with black screens. A very annoying problem has returned for quite some time already on my (relatively) new system: every now and then my monitor screen turns black for a second. Used to have that as well with 2 of my former systems a few years ago. Difference was that the black screen then was accompanied by a warning message saying something like "your display driver stopped responding and has recovered". Now it just turns black with no warning.

Surely it proved i was not the only one with this irritating problem. Also many solutions turned up of which i tried just about all without zero success. Talk about irritating annoyances ! The thought did cross my mind what if FSX not wanting to start has something to do with this black screen problem.

Btw, great tip about the G2 voicecommand "flaslight on/off" ! I'll certainly give that a go ! I bet much better than putting that headset on my forehead !! Hehe..

Thanks again, August!

[K5083]

hung down my head Tom Dooley

Disappointing! I expected this weekend you would say you had FSX running and needed a couple days to rebuild your favorite scenery, then we could wrestle with FlyInside and compare notes on the 3D FSX experience.

Normally I would say to try to stick with Steam Ed and try to make it work; at least that version has received a modicum of support to make it work with more recent OSs. But if you are at a dead end there, maybe the box is worth a try.

You probably logged a lot more hours on these old FSs back in the day than me, so I can't presume to teach you anything. The FSX download from Steam has worked well for me on my last 3 or 4 Win 9/10/11 boxes. That momentary black screen does sound familiar, I think I experienced it on my previous computer before this one.

Currently on MSFS, about a third of my sessions end with a little dialog box saying my graphics card has encountered an error and CTD. The AMD Adrenalin utility is no help, even in the screen devoted to MSFS it just tells me everything is peachy and asks am I sure I don't want to try overclocking? Nice error trapping there AMD.

I will let you know if I find or think of any more possible solutions.

Back to MSFS for a moment. Today I decided to try reactivating the GAIST ship traffic mod which I had turned off for the sake of VR performance. The oceans and Great Lakes were just looking too barren. Pleased to report that GAIST has no impact on frame rates that I can discern, and the ships still look good. I have my AI ship traffic set to 6. All other AI planes and vehicles are still off for now.

August

[K5083]

BTW Jan, when you launch FSX, you are running it as Administrator, correct? I have had all kinds of problems when I forget to do that, so I've set the properties of the exe to always run as admin.

August

[Javis]

BINGO !!

Proved i was only one click away all the time, August : check DX10 Preview ! How about that, huh..

Thought i'd give it one last try for now and search for black screen at the Steam FSX forum (not sure why i forgat about that. I use these Steam forums a lot be it for a few other games i play. Workshops are particularly amazing). Somebody mentioned that MS stopped support for DX9 recently and that it may well cause a black screen on new installations of FSXSE. Adviced to try DX10 Preview mode. Et voila !!

This gentlemen furthermore adviced to patch FSX DX10 mode by installing Steve's latest shaders mods. I remember that from when FSX was still our one and only playground and sky.

Actually very much enjoyed my first glance at FSX again (started up in 2 seconds. Wow!!...;-) First thing i did was hit that 'Fly-By' camera mode. Boy! do i miss that in MSFS !!

Kinda pretty late now or better pretty early.... so i'll get some sleep first then i am going to very much enjoy playing around with FSX the whole day ! Hehe

Vey happy it finally works !

[K5083]

Well ... that's good, but before we break out the champagne, I have to tell you that FlyInside won't work in DX10 and will force your FSX back to DX9 mode. Steve's shaders mod will also go to waste, I'm afraid.

My advice now that you have FSX working is to go download the free trial of FlyInside-FSX and see if it works. The free trial is full featured and works forever, but only for 15 minutes per session. Since FlyInside is still being marketed and supported for FSX-SE, maybe the package includes whatever DLLs are required to patch your FSX so that it still works in DX9, or at least the installer might look for them and offer a link to go get them. If not, I have found the support guys to be responsive and helpful so far.

When you go to run FlyInside, make sure that it, too, is being run in Administrator mode. When you use FlyInside you'll be launching FSX from a batch file rather than directly or from Steam. Set that batch file to run as Admin. This is not mentioned in the documentation and it cost me a couple of hours to figure out when I first tried it.

August

[K5083]

This thread may help you get FSX-SE running in DX9 mode -- or it may not.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/31416...2506577902933/

I checked my own install, from April 2020, and the indicated files/paths are not present in my FSX install. However, I did find them in:

E:\Steam\steamapps\common\Steamworks Shared\_CommonRedist\DirectX\Jun2010

Mine might have already been in my common Steam folder because I was already playing some ancient game from Steam, like Half-Life 1 or something.

So search your entire Steam folder tree for either Jun2010_d3dx9_43_x64.cab or dxsetup.exe and hopefully you should find it.

If not, I think this is just the same as the legacy DX package that I referenced earlier in this thread.

August

[Dangerous Beans]

I think August is right, your missing the DirectX End-User Runtimes.

I wouldn't even bother searching through your Steam folder for it, just download it direct from Microsoft using the link he gave earlier.
Even if it turns out that it isn't the problem installing it wont have any negative effects on your system.

[Javis]

Thank you August and DB ! I suppose i'm getting nearer, i.e. almost there, more or less..

My downloaded 'directx_Jun2010_redist' will not install, it doesn't recognise the folder i want it to install in. Possibly no wonder because i found a '_CommonRedist' folder in exactly the path you describe, August. Good thing there's something like a search system because otherwise i might not have found the 'Jun2010_d3dx9_43_x64.cab' in between the wagonload of cab files with my own eyes... ;-)

Anyway, i thought it best to just run the DXSETUP that i found inside that same folder. Installed fine, no problems there. So now i have the demo of "FlyInside Flight Simulator" running and select the first scenario (flight instructor). Looks fine on my monitor screen but i have no clue how to get it transfered to my G2..... ?? With MSFS i just hit Ctrl/Z et presto i'm in VR.

Possibly also no wonder because i think i downloaded and installed the wrong FFS installation.... : namely "FlyInside Flight Simulator 0.6.0.0 Beta for Oculus, Vive, and Mixed Reality" ....

After downloading and installing, i am now trying "FlyInside FSX Pro 1.96 - for Flight Simulator X". That's the one i want, right ? Why i bothered with the former one first i have no clue. Must say i am getting slowly but certainly a little bit off my rocker here...

So finally i have the FFS for FSX running but, like with my earlier attempt, on my monitor only, no VR....

The difference is that earlier FFS would start-up right away after clicking the FFS icon on my desktop. I could select some stuff from the menu and then i was put in the (2D) cockpit of a Bonanza (IIRC..). After realising my mistake i deleted everything pertaining to FFS and installed the correct version. This now gives me an icon that says 'FlyInside FSX' which i suppose is correct. When i click it i get the normal FSXSE start-up picture and it starts-up normally with the Trike Ultralight above Friday Harbor. The manual of FFS for FSX says that i should first get to select some basic settings where after FFS should start in VR. Not happening here at the moment.... While i click the 'FlyInside FSX' icon FSX just loads like i would've clicked the normal FSX icon.

So what do you think, gentlemen, clearly i am missing something, but what ??....

Have to say i don't know anything about DX9 or DX10 or DXwhatever, not even a clue where to look for it or check it. I just hit the DXsetup.exe from the "...._CommonRedist/DirectX/Jun2010" folder and let it do its work. There ends my knowledge of it. Is it überhaupt possible to check if FFS runs in DX9 mode ?? ...Would it run at all if not ??.... For the time being a mistery to me..

Thanks a lot as always for any hint/tip !

[Dangerous Beans]

Hi Javis
Due to this discussion I got Flyinside up and running again on my rig. I hadn't used it in ages what with having P3Dv5 and MSFS with their native VR to fly.

First the DX redist download just wants a temp folder to install to, its basically a glorified zip file.
Just make a new folder on your desktop and install it to that. Once its finished open the folder and run the setup file that's in it.
You can delete the folder when its done.

Yes FLYINSIDE_FSX_PRO_1.96_VIVE_1000.exe is the right one for you, I use FLYINSIDE_FSX_PRO_1.96_OVR_1300.exe which is the Oculus one.

Once its installed make sure your headset is up and running first so start Steam then start SteamVR, I don't have to start SteamVR my end because Oculus but I assume you will have to.

Now start FlyinsideFSX
You will get some prompts for things like setting a view centring button, registering or demo and it will probably want to change a few settings in your FSX.cfg for you.
It will also want you to restart Flyinside between some of the prompts.
That should be it.

[Javis]

Hi Javis
Due to this discussion I got Flyinside up and running again on my rig. I hadn't used it in ages what with having P3Dv5 and MSFS with their native VR to fly.

First the DX redist download just wants a temp folder to install to, its basically a glorified zip file.
Just make a new folder on your desktop and install it to that. Once its finished open the folder and run the setup file that's in it.
You can delete the folder when its done.

I already have that, DB. It sits in C: Program Files(x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Steamworks Shared/_CommonRedist. Wasn't aware of that at first and that's probabely why a new install wouldn't work.

Once its installed make sure your headset is up and running first so start Steam then start SteamVR, I don't have to start SteamVR my end because Oculus but I assume you will have to.

With the HP Reverb G2 we don't need SteamVR neither, it's "Windows Mixed Reality" that does the trick for us. Everything works flawlessly this way in MSFS regarding VR.

Now start FlyinsideFSX
You will get some prompts for things like setting a view centring button, registering or demo and it will probably want to change a few settings in your FSX.cfg for you.
It will also want you to restart Flyinside between some of the prompts.
That should be it.

Well, here's where the shoe doesn't fit, DB. I click the 'FlyInside FSX' icon on my desktop and all that's happening is that FSX loads up normally. No prompts for settings, no registering the demo, no requests for restart FlyInside, nothing like that at all. Just FSX with the default Trike flight on my monitor. No VR whatsoever. (my G2 just shows the VR welcome scenario. Here's where i hit Ctrl/Z in MSFS and i am in glorious VR..)

It's clear that me hitting the 'FlyInside FSX' icon doesn't initiate the actual program for some reason (DX9/DX10 ??...). 'FlyInsideFSX.exe' sits inside the FSX folder together with 'FlyInsideAnnotator.exe' and 'FlyInsideLoader.dll' (during install it picked this FSX folder automatically..)

Thanks much for your reply, DB !

Edit: i just realise something: may well be that FSX still has the DX10 Preview mode checked ! I'll look into it and report back. (feeling that must be it ! ;-)

(3 minutes later) Nah.....it's not. Bummer ! DirectX 10 Preview is not checked (i had it checked to take care of the black screen), i'm sure i did not uncheck it. Maybe it's like it needs to checked with each FSX session.... In any case nothing changed...

[K5083]

Jan, you are close. I just have one tip.

YOU MUST RUN FlyInsideFSX IN ADMINISTRATOR MODE!

So don't double-left-click it. Right-click it and run as Administrator. Or, before you run it, right-click it and open the Properties menu and set it to run as Administrator all the time.

What is happening to you sounds like what happened to me until I figured this out.

When you do this right, the first time, you'll get the dialog box asking you to confirm that it can set all the settings it needs (DirectX9, no shadows, etc.).

Also, you WILL need to load SteamVR first, or at least Steam. Our G2s may not require it, but FlyInside does. You actually have to launch WMR and then Steam/SteamVR on top of that before starting FlyInside. Launch your Steam app as if you wanted to look at your game library, then you can close it again, the steam thingie will still be active in your system tray. If you forget to do this, FlyInside FSX will remind you.

Good luck!

August

[Javis]

BINGO v1.02 !!!
Thanks very much, August ! SteamVR is Bingo !

Heck, who could've thought this thing wants it all.

Anyway, very glad it finally works ! Diner is served so no time to explore anything further but at first VR glance it looks great and works fine !

Thanks a lot again August and DB !! Happy FSX VR camper here !!

Cheers,
Jan

[K5083]

Whew, excellent. Please let us know what you think of experiencing your own masterpiece airplanes in 3D. Then we can talk about our other favorite planes and 3D in FSX vs. 3D in MSFS. I will have a few more tips as well.

August

[Dangerous Beans]

Excellent glad you got it working.
Even though I'm running Oculus I have found that some VR programs still require me to run SteamVR.

[Javis]

Thanks, guys !!

This is gonna take a while....

I have to more or less 'learn' FSX again. Quite a different puppy compared to MSFS, i mean not only graphically. To my pleasant surprise i still have a ton of B-25 and F-86 stuff available including beta zip files. So i have atleast the F-86 working in glorious FSX VR ! Wow!! Magical !

First inquiry if i may : do i need the G2 controllers to work with the cockpit switches, knobs, handles, etc in FSX ? In MSFS i have the cursor alright but in FSX i can't seem to get it going for now. So i'm flying our precious Sabre without the pilot figure and helmet/chute still on the wing... ;-) (wasn't there a key combo to get the pilot on board and the helmet/chute off the wing ?... A quick glance thru the manual nothing about that...bummer! ;-)

I have the B-25 show up in VR FSX as well (wonderful to see in VR too for the first time ! ) but no gauges. Found a gauges zip file ( all so long ago !...) and tried that but then FSX hangs up. I'll get it going somehow i'm sure. ( first tried buying the B-25 7th edition from the Maam-Sim shop but that reminds me of a shoe shop here of which the shop window looks like to have been setup in the early 50's and left like that..;-) There's a funny payment system of which i can't make heads nore tails. No go. Tried to contact Bill (Rambow, Maam-Sim boss) but to no avail sofar)

The C-47 works fine, gauges and all ! Just need to get access to the knobs and switches. A wonderful trip down memory lane especially hearing Tom's, Skip's and Kate's voices again. Been so much fun getting this all together ( and that's all because i posted a more or less sarcastic comment regarding someone who thought that Daniel's initial text2speech crew interaction was not up to scratch..;-) Quite amazing to see it all in 3D now no matter that the textures and mesh are old school today.

Still just messing about of course but now that it's all working it sure was worth the trouble to set it up ! Having a lotta fun with trips down memory lane in 3D !

Cheers,
Jan

[K5083]

Glad you are making progress! OK, there's a lot to say here.

First of all, try this patch to get your gauges back in the B-25. https://flyawaysimulation.com/downlo...tchell-update/ This appears to be the official MAAM patch to bring the FS9 B-25 up to v7 (FSX).

Next, to prevent some airplanes from causing your FSX screen to go black until you restart, you need to open the panel.cfg file in all of the Panel folders for each plane you add. Look for any instance of either the following two lines. Some planes have them, some don't.

render_3d_window=1

child_3d=1

If you see either of these, you need to kill it, either by changing the 1 to a 0 or deleting or commenting out that line. The MAAM B-25 has the second one.

Your question about cockpit and menu controls deserves its own post so I'll stop this one here.

August

[K5083]

OK, cockpit controls. No, you do not need the G2 controllers. You can do it all with the headset, joystick, and your mouse.

First, you need to be able to bring up the FlyInside menu when you want it. When you setup the program you mapped a button/key for "Show/Hide Flyinside Window". Pressing that when you are in your plane should bring up FI window floating in front of you. If it doesn't, it's out of your field of view and you must press the button for "Recenter Head Position," which you also mapped during setup, and it will move in front of you from wherever it was.

Go into the Menu of that. In Settings, make sure you have enabled "3D Mouse Mode," "Hide Mouse When Not Moved," and "Show Tooltips."

Then go to Bindings. Bind buttons for "Recenter Mouse Position," "Show/Hide Mouse Cursor," and "Interact".

When you load a plane, there should be a mouse pointer (the usual Windows arrow) on the screen. If you don't see it, try moving your mouse, pressing "Show/Hide Mouse Cursor," and "Recenter Mouse Position" until it appears. You can move it with your mouse pointer, and when it moves over a switch that you can manipulate, it will show a tooltip and you can use your left mouse button and scroll wheel to operate it just as you would in 2D.

Note that this is a bit wonky and doesn't work all the time. Sometimes I load a plane and the mouse cursor appears, but doesn't respond to the mouse. I don't yet know why. But it does work for me in both the B-25 and Sabre at least most of the time.

Now here's another cool tip. You know all those instrument views like the radio stack, GPS, autopilot etc. that you can pop up in FSX using Shift-1, Shift-2, and so on? They work in FLyInside as well. Just open one using the Shift- keystroke or by taking off your headset and using the menu in the mirror window on your screen. You'll then see it in the 3D cockpit surrounded by a blue border with four manipulation icons on top. Those are for moving, resizing, changing the distance, and closing that window. You interact with this window by pressing the "Interact" button, which causes a blue dot to appear directly in front of you, then moving your head to look at the pop=up window. To move, resize, and redistance the window, move the blue dot over the relevant icon, hold down the "Interact" button, and move your head. It takes a while to get used to but once you do, it is way better than the MSFS VR interface. You can also manipulate the controls on these panels by moving the blue dot over them and clicking interact. If there are dials, you are supposed to be able to increment or decrement them by mapping the Increment and Decrement keys in the FI menu, but that isn't working for me yet. Regardless, it is cool to be able to pop up a GPS, move it around just like a tablet in MSFS, and control it using the headset and joystick in any plane.

I can't answer your question about the F-86 because my F-86 is in the proper configuration when I load it, and I don't know how to do any of that stuff with the helmet and chute on the wing. Maybe that's because I'm using somebody's FSX conversion of that plane and those features may have been eliminated for the conversion.

August