Reading things while flying in VR: problem

  • How do you guys deal with wanting to read for instance tutorials or charts while in VR...? Taking of the Rift kills immersion: you also have to pause the sim. In 2D, using a monitor, you can easily read a pdf or printed manual while flying. I am also wondering about this because I presume the upcoming Dash will be a bit more complicated than the current default planes and being able to read a manual or anything while flying in VR would be extremely handy.

  • I really don't guess how, but this is exactly, among others, one of the reasons I never felt particularly interested in VR...

    Add to it the "nausea" some users describe, and other problems, the expensivce investment in good hardware to run it, and it's all a no-go for me...

    Limited by Main Thread...

  • Not being able to read charts and stuff is the only thing that makes immersive VR flying not 100% possible for me right now. It would be nice if we could use the iPad from the Cessna 172 for example to access an image location on the PC. Then we could store our charts (or tutorial) on that location and access it from the virtual cockpit.

  • Most of the VR people don't feel nausea, not in this simulator.

    You can overcome nausea too, ask me, I'm a sailor :)

    I use the build in navigation and it brings me to the threshold of the runway, I don't need charts for now.

    Maybe in a later stage if everything gets a little more complicated and you want to fly a vintage plane

    from radio beacon to radio beacon we need something of a clipboard in the cockpit with al frequencies and courses

    and so on and maybe a page on that clipboard with an airport diagram.... Now I think about it some more reserve a

    page or two for some checklists for complicated 3th party planes.

    I think it's al in the pipeline, I hope.

    If you need to learn to fly with all tutorials on your lap... VR might not be a great idea, I learned to fly

    in a time when VR was SiFi :)

  • I use skyvector while in VR... and never feel nauseus. To use skyvector, get OVRDrop through Steam, to enable you to have skyvector as an overlay on the game. Use the touch controller to drag the overlay into or out of your field of view. You'll need to run in steam mode even if you have Rift.

  • Afaik using Steam mode hurts performance a bit. I rather not do that. I don't use Steam VR anyway so I don't feel like installing all that just for this. I'd like IPACS to come up with a nice solution, haha! ;)

  • Afaik using Steam mode hurts performance a bit. I rather not do that. I don't use Steam VR anyway so I don't feel like installing all that just for this. I'd like IPACS to come up with a nice solution, haha! ;)

    Absolutely . I really want iPACS to come up with their own solution. I'm about to get a 1080ti so have stopped worrying about the performance loss. The real issue is that the overlay is clumsy to use and it takes some fiddling to get the best setup for giving it focus ( you can use the mouse and move/zoom the map when you have done this) and restoring focus to the game. At present the kind of flying I like best is in a small GA using VORs and pilotage for navigation which requires me to see a manual flight plan and sectional charts. I occasionally make a navigation mistake, get a bit lost in remote areas and have to recover situational awareness which I enjoy as a challenge, but what I don't enjoy is fiddling around trying to bring skyvector into focus.

  • Guess I'm old school... I lift the rift slightly and read. :)

    Well, slightly lifting doesn't do it for me: I have to take it all off due to glasses I am using. I just did my first flight in the Airbus with the Rift but had to take it off all the time to read the directions from my own tutorial LOL

  • An EFB (Electronic Flight Bag) such as the one in the TFDI Boeing 717 would be perfect. The resolution in Aerofly would allow for a virtual EFB which could be used to read any documents, charts you like.

    I really hope this is a feature we will see more of in the future. TBH at the moment I just don't fly airliners much in VR, but I do a lot on a monitor, which I don't mind. I use VR for more casual flying, but flying airliners in VR can be fun. Not sure I would want to do any long haul flights straight through though. I might have goggle face for a week.

  • Most of the VR people don't feel nausea, not in this simulator.

    Nope, I actually enjoy spinning around wildly and the sensation it causes in VR.

    Devons rig

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  • Could someone please be kind enough to explain the following. 'This computer is VR ready'. Technology is moving to fast for me unfortunately and the old grey matter is struggling.

    The only thing I know of VR is what I have read on these sites or on the net.

    I take it then that there is something within the computer that helps the VR. Does the goggle plug into a USB port?

    Many thanks for any reply.

    Taranakian. (Jim)

    Computer: PB Gaming 62000 Skylake Core i5 6600, Quad Core 3.3Ghz with Premium Cooling, 16GB DDR4 Gaming Ram, 250GB SSD, 2TB HHD, N'VIDEA GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5, DIRECTX12 Gaming Graphic's Card, VR Ready, Windows10 Home Edition, 64bit, 2 x 24" Widescreen HDMI 1080p VDU's

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    Amateur Radio Station: ZL2BMH

  • Could someone please be kind enough to explain the following. 'This computer is VR ready'. Technology is moving to fast for me unfortunately and the old grey matter is struggling.

    The only thing I know of VR is what I have read on these sites or on the net.

    I take it then that there is something within the computer that helps the VR. Does the goggle plug into a USB port?

    Many thanks for any reply.

    Taranakian. (Jim)

    Computer graphics hardware is a point where some of the older hardware would struggle with VR. The VR ready sticker is just informing you that the system has the graphical capabilities to create a good vr experience.

    VR headsets as they are today plug into a USB3 port (as part of the positional tracking) and and HDMI port (for the video display)

  • The VR goggles plug into one USB port, the sensor (that watches the goggles for head movement) plugs into a second USB port and there is also a sensor plugged into a 3rd USB that allows the remote controller to talk to the computer. The googles need the horsepower of the PC to send the images to the goggles at a fast enough rate to avoid stuttering. Think of it as strapping two pc monitors to your head, you still need the pc to send the graphics to the monitors.

    And if you think AFFS2 is good on a monitor you would be in utter disbelief if you tried it in VR.

    One of my favorite things is to take someone who has never experienced VR, sit them in my sim seat, strap the Rift goggles on them, load up AFFS2 and stick them in a Hornet or Eagle over the Grand Canyon... the inevitable ear to ear grin is priceless. :)

    Edited 2 times, last by Mr. Bean (June 26, 2017 at 5:05 AM).

    • Official Post

    Jet-Pack - could you let us know where the thinking is up to in IPACS regarding in cockpit reading options? Do you have any ideas in development?

    In the C172 on the right seat there is a tablet device with a map on it. Obvious that that is some kind of test to get an electronic flight back in the cockpit.

    I'm also just guessing that that may be the plan but I don't have all info here either.

    Regards,

    Jan

    Regards,

    Jan

  • Thanks Jan. Your input is always appreciated. Perhaps one of your colleagues will chip in with something extra. I know i'm probably alone with this, but i'd find a solution to this more useful than a Q400, although both would be nice :) Until VR trchnology steps up its screen resolution i'm sticking with simpler aircraft.

    In the C172 on the right seat there is a tablet device with a map on it. Obvious that that is some kind of test to get an electronic flight back in the cockpit.

    I'm also just guessing that that may be the plan but I don't have all info here either.

    Regards,

    Jan

  • To those lovely people who explained all about 'VR Ready' to me, I would like to thank each of you. I really appreciate you giving your time.

    I understand now.

    Regards and many thanks again.

    Jim.

    Computer: PB Gaming 62000 Skylake Core i5 6600, Quad Core 3.3Ghz with Premium Cooling, 16GB DDR4 Gaming Ram, 250GB SSD, 2TB HHD, N'VIDEA GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5, DIRECTX12 Gaming Graphic's Card, VR Ready, Windows10 Home Edition, 64bit, 2 x 24" Widescreen HDMI 1080p VDU's

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    Amateur Radio Station: ZL2BMH

  • Could someone please be kind enough to explain the following. 'This computer is VR ready'. Technology is moving to fast for me unfortunately and the old grey matter is struggling.


    The only thing I know of VR is what I have read on these sites or on the net.


    I take it then that there is something within the computer that helps the VR. Does the goggle plug into a USB port?


    Many thanks for any reply.

    Taranakian. (Jim)

    I've created a small article on my unofficial Aerofly fansite regarding your question, you might be interested in reading it: http://www.aeroflycentral.com/articles/64