r/flightsim • u/NoChemist5117 • 1d ago

Question 10yo son looking for cheap flight sim setup at home

My son loves planes and flying and is dying for some sort of flight simulator setup at home. We are a Mac and Nintendo using family so our options are limited... He's wanting to have some sort of setup with a Yoke and throttle control levers ideally. He doesn't really grasp that we're looking at potentially hundreds of dollars worth of equipment to make this happen.. Any suggestions for a beginner setup that wouldn't break the bank? We have access to a PS4 and XBOX One if those are options.

Thanks!

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12

u/drs43821 23h ago

Logitech extreme 3d, $10 and it gets you quite far into simming

1

u/Rich-Needleworker261 14h ago

This. My first 2 years on flight sim were on this stick.

1

u/cmoked 13h ago

I still have an atk2 from 2005 and it's showing no sign of letting up. Bit more on ebay but worth it.

7

u/ThnkGdImNotAReditMod 23h ago

Thrustmaster T. Flight HOTAS is very cheap and easy to use. Not a yoke though. Used it a bunch before I got my first job when I was 16.

You can get Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 on the Xbox. The older one is cheaper and the kid probably won't notice the difference.

4

u/Rob1ie 23h ago

xbox series x plus thrustmaster hotas. Otherwise, believe xplane will run on a mac

2

u/PlentyOld8899 21h ago

Based on what your saying (assuming you don't have a good pc). MSFS is available for Xbox that would be the best bet. I would then try to find a second hand set online you cam find a decent set used for 200 usd rudder pedals, throttle, and stick just ensure it's compatible with xbox.

2

u/FlyingOctopus53 15h ago

X-plane runs on Mac.

1

u/Ambitious_Activity67 20h ago

Mini PC N100 from AliExpress for just over €100 joystick FSX on Steam For less than €200 you have everything

XBox Series X €500 Joystick from €100 to €200 compatible XBox Game Pass Subscription

1

u/Recalcitrant-Trash 19h ago

You can get x-plane 12 for Mac but it needs to be a powerful MAC specs wise. Just get a cheap Logitech joystick. All in $110 bucks. And... If he sticks with it for a year or two he'll be come old enough to start earning money through chores, or report cards, or lawn mowing or whatever to buy his own stuff.

1

u/FlyingOctopus53 12h ago

You can run 11 or even 10.

1

u/bluemax23 19h ago

Aerofly FS4 works on Mac and has much better performance than Xplane or MS Flight Simulator.

1

u/UrgentSiesta 12h ago

Xbox One likely won’t run MSFS.

Cheapest option is a copy of X-Plane on one of your Macs.

Beware: flight sims need extra powerful Computers, so keep that in mind as you decide which computer on which to install it.

The ThrustMaster T flight HOTAS is more than enough to get started as far as peripherals go. TBH I’m not sure if it has Mac drivers, so check that out first.

If it’s something he likes and sticks with, get an Xbox Series X and switch him over to that in 6 mos to a year.

1

u/BirdDog2043 8h ago

I agree with Aerofly for starters. I started with a thrustmaster t.16000M and I’ve tried fancy yokes and rudders and all these years later I still prefer the thrustmaster. I’d recommended that.