Max Rienhart Posted March 21 Report Posted March 21 What is your Timezone? Est Do you have a joystick or HOTAS? I will Do you have TeamSpeak and Discord installed, as well as a working microphone? yep Do you have VR, TrackIR, or a FreeTrack system for view control? I will What sims are you currently flying? thinking about DCS How did you hear about JG1? Was a previous member back in the Rise Of Flight days. Is there anything else that you'd like us to know? Definitely looking forward to rejoining the fun. Anyone have a discord or teamspeak link ? Quote
Klaiber Posted March 22 Report Posted March 22 Hi @Max Rienhart, its great to hear from you again! JG1 isn’t actively recruiting at the moment. However, if you're interested in re-joining, the best way to get started is to jump online and fly with us. I'll PM you a link to our Discord. And the best people to talk to about getting involved are @Moxy, @Vonrd, and @Flyboy. Looking forward to talking with you more! Quote
Flyboy Posted March 30 Report Posted March 30 On 3/20/2026 at 10:17 PM, Max Rienhart said: What is your Timezone? Est Do you have a joystick or HOTAS? I will Do you have TeamSpeak and Discord installed, as well as a working microphone? yep Do you have VR, TrackIR, or a FreeTrack system for view control? I will What sims are you currently flying? thinking about DCS How did you hear about JG1? Was a previous member back in the Rise Of Flight days. Is there anything else that you'd like us to know? Definitely looking forward to rejoining the fun. Anyone have a discord or teamspeak link ? I can definitely help you get started with DCS and have helped several people from the ground up. I recently put together this starter info document for someone I know nearby. I'm sure it will expand and change over time but it's a place to start. Home Flight Sims Getting Started This covers most of the basics but I’m sure I probably left something out. It will at least get you started and thinking of the direction to go. However, to save yourself a lot of headaches I recommend before any purchase just check with us to make sure you are not going down a wrong path (one example is not to buy DCS or IL2 off of Steam). But I’m confident we can have you up and running quickly. Hardware and Setup Computer - I recommend if you can to visit Micro Center. I have really been impressed with their service, and if you buy the extra warranty it is nice to be able to go in and have them fix or replace whatever is broken. Especially helpful if you aren’t necessarily computer/tech savvy. www.microcenter.com - For the computer itself get the best gaming computer you can afford. I personally really like MSI and have used gaming laptops for years because of my travel. However, you can save money and be able to upgrade your system easier if you stick with a desktop. - Fast processor (CPU). I have always stuck with Intel but AMD is an option. Mine is an i9. - Fast and best graphics card (GPU). Mine currently is a NVidia 4080, but I believe the current version is in the 50’s series. - At least 64 GB RAM. More (128?) is always better. Mine is 64 currently. - I strongly recommend a large gaming hardrive. Yes, you might be able to get by with less, but sims take up a lot of storage and seems to grow larger as time goes. I have 4 TB. Internet - For online gaming this should be fast with low ping rates (below 100 but below 50 is best). I live rural so a few years back went with T-Mobile hotspot where I can get about 400-500 Mbs download with pings around 30. Satellite internet won’t work because of the high ping rates. VR Headset - I have a Pimax Crystal light, but others are using the Quest 3. There are a few others out there but these are the most popular. Quest 3 is cheaper but from what I have heard is a super pain in the butt not only for setup but occasionally wanting to go off and do it’s own thing (updates or whatever). The Pimax is the king I think right now for visual clarity and field of view, etc though will cost more. They are just coming out with the Dream Air I believe which is supposed to be really good. Plenty of youtube videos out there reviewing vr headsets for flight sims. pimax.com Flight Controls - Most of us have the Thrustmaster Warthog setup. The real advantage to this when you are starting out is that it is super easy for me to help setup your initial button configuration. As I say at the beginning, it is a place to start but later you can map your system anyway you want. Since I won’t be sitting next to you and only talking online, I have to describe verbally everything, and if we have the same setup it is easy for me to say something like, “Remember your gear button is the one just aft of your throttle,” etc. I also strongly recommend the Thrustmaster Pendular pedals. https://www.thrustmaster.com/en-us/products/hotas-warthog-flight-stick/ https://www.thrustmaster.com/en-us/products/hotas-warthog-dual-throttle/ https://www.thrustmaster.com/en-us/products/tpr-thrustmaster-pendular-rudder/ (You can also find these on Amazon, and I believe you can get at Micro Center) - There are other good controllers out there also. Some really like WinWing, and the Moza controls are supposed to be good (Moza does a lot of racing sim stuff also). - Stick extensions (no, not Viagra!). This is highly recommended because the longer the flight stick the more finesse of control you can have. warthog-extensions-by-sahaj.com - Force Feedback. I bought the Moza AB9 a few months back and love it. Once you get it tuned in it provides a lot of feel and feeback on the stick. I can feel it rumble when I lower gear or use speedbrakes, and it will start to shake when I get close to stall. Lots of adjustments and tuning options and it reads the aero data right from your sim so it knows what the current AOA and other factors from your sim. - Button boxes and other button options. You will quickly run out of places on your stick and throttle to map buttons. Yes, you can use your mouse to select switches, but it is sometimes difficult to do in VR and when flying. Here’s the ones I have: https://simracing4u.myonline.store/a-65607345/usb-button-boxes-for-sim-racing-and-flight-simulators/pc-usb-button-box-29-functions-for-dcs-il2-microsoft-2020-flight-sim-x-plane11-and-prepa3d/#description (I love this button box and it was priced reasonably) https://www.thrustmaster.com/en-us/products/mfd-cougar-pack/ (these work ok, but not as well as I had hoped for in VR, but they are extra buttons I can program) Sim Chair - This is optional but recommended. Of course you can build your own, but having a prebuilt one makes setup easier. Dan bought his at Micro Center and I got a Volair (volairsim.com). There are other ones out there on the market also, but if you prefer to have a center mounted stick like I prefer make sure it supports that. - Buttkicker. Some have this and recommend but I don’t have it yet: thebuttkicker.com Software Flight Sims - DCS (Digital Combat Simulator). DO NOT BUY THE STEAM VERSION! This is very important because if you do you can’t switch back and forth between Steam and non Steam. Get and buy direct: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/ This is the sim most of us fly jets (and some WW2) on and is highly realistic. It is the one featured in the video of my setup with the VR and F-5. The actual setup is best done while we are online together and talking on Discord. This way I can take you step by step through the process while looking at my own setup and talking you through things. The game download is free and you get the Caucasus map and a couple free planes, but they make their money when you buy other aircraft and maps. They usually have good sales once a quarter or so, which is the time to buy what you can. Here is my recommended list of maps/planes to start in order: o F-5E. Full fidelity (clickable cockpit where most all the switches work with mouse control or you can map it to your buttons) and a great first trainer aircraft. Similar to the T-38 it is the best one to get you started in basic setup, formation, BFM (Basic Fighter Maneuvers) and ACM (Air Combat Maneuvers). I start most people here. o Syria Map. Very popular map often used. o Flaming Cliffs package. If you buy the whole thing you get a lot of non fidelity (non clickable) aircraft. These are basic setups in your buttons but very fun to fly. I love flying the A-10A, Su-25, Su-33, F-15C from this package. o Mig-21. Great OPFOR aircraft and chance to experience something completely different. o F-4E. This is also a greatly modelled aircraft, full fidelity, and you can have AI or human in backseat. o UH-1H Huey. If you’re into helicopters this is a fun aircraft and good to learn. I had no idea what VRS was until a retired Navy Captain who flew them in Desert Storm helped me online where I got into his helo right seat and he showed me how to fly it. o L-39. Tandem seat trainer, light attack aircraft. I have used this for teaching basic and instrument flying, formation, etc. by sitting in their backseat and able to take control at anytime. Even has a hood I can activate for the pilot up front. o For WW2, the easiest to fly is the Bf-109. I also have the P-51, Spitfire and F4U Corsair though they are much more difficult for engine management. o Other maps in order: Sinai, Persian Gulf, Marianas, Germany. There are others also but not used as much for me at this time. o There are a lot of other aircraft you can get so it depends on what you want to do. I have the F-16, F-14, F-18 and many others, but I have mostly stuck to earlier coldwar aircraft like the F-5, F-4 and Mig-21. Not as much automation and you really have to learn how to fly and maintain SA. - IL2. This sim has both WW1 and WW2. I don’t care so much about the WW2 in this sim but fly WW1 (Flying Circus) quite a bit. Got Dan into this recently also and he is loving it. They are having a big sale right now so if you are at all interested I would buy this right away. You can get all four volumes at one time for only $75 https://il2-series.com/en/store/item/circus-deluxe/ - MSFS (Microsoft Flight Sim). I have the 2020 version but I have heard they worked out the bugs of the newer 2024 version and it is good. I don’t fly it much anymore but occasionally is a good one for guests to showcase flying around different areas/cities for some sightseeing. Other Software - Discord. This is the main place we meet and join up in a group chat room. You can get this free. My Discord ID is flyboy25 with my displayed name/handle JG1_Flyboy so you can find me and send a friend request then I can invite you to join the channels we use. You need to start thinking of a callsign. Mine is Flyboy, Dan is Dino. Then we have Driver, Hawg and Muffin also from ABX. Others are Patriot (my cousin in Utah), Moxy, Mouce, Vonrd, etc. Recommend callsign with one or two syllables max. - XRNeckSafer. This helps with checking six. Instead of having to completely wreck your neck by twisting all the way around, you can customize it so, say when you look just past your shoulder it “shifts” a bit faster so you can see directly behind you. We can set this up later. - VoiceAttack. This software lets you use voice commands for anything you want. Some guys will use it for basic aircraft commands such as saying “Gear Up” to raise gear, but I like to keep stuff like that in physical buttons I manipulate. I will use it however for things I would normally use my voice for, such as requesting a “Bogey Dope” over the radio or talking to Jester (my back seat AI WSO in the F-4). voiceattack.com - SRS. This is the addon program that connects to DCS radios and makes them realistic. Anyone on the same UHF frequency for instance, can hear/talk to each other. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO1sr5rEY5E - TacView. I really should use this more for debriefing, but it shows your basic tracks and flight in 3D for analyzing your flight and where you can discuss what went right/wrong. www.tacview.net/product/about/en/ Training Videos These will help get you started and give an idea of things. F-5: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3kOAM2N1YJdjop7QMK9T0hjSMg8u_WDS Mig-21: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3kOAM2N1YJclSbSie2UF0NPnUAkX-bJU The Ops Center. Great channel by ex AF fighter instructor. Below is the different series in order. Formation Flying: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lsxDAAQ1vo&list=PLd5Qdmhmp3Y6ltDJ8GUzSoTJFFwT01_-M Formation to BFM: The Extended Trail Exercise: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd5Qdmhmp3Y4IjS7i7skN938cp0MkwfaF Basic Fighter Maneuvers (BFM) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd5Qdmhmp3Y5-SDJjOzuUqV3m3mmuieTQ Air Combat Maneuvers (ACM) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd5Qdmhmp3Y6ePAmWQ4_eG596CE645sCF Flyboy Server I do a lot of mission building for DCS and have my own server. Here is a link to my server information: https://forum.jg1.org/topic/17036-flyboy-server-information/ Klaiber, Vonrd and Stuka 3 Quote
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