Poll: Interactive Cockpits

[klem]

I don't think clickable cockpits will add anything useful. We jump into so many different types we would never remember in time where each switch is. Also, it is not at all immersive to be fumbling around for the mouse with your stick hand.

What is much more useful are the programmable button units you can get (Saitek?) where you can lay out the buttons for all the featurers you need and know where they are regardless of the aircraft you are flying. You can lay them out in a representative cockpit layout so that there is some feeling of realism to it - many cockpits were generically similar in their basic layout. Before anyone says "but all cockpits are and should be different" let me say that's ok if you are 'trained on type' and flying that type only for a long period as was the case in RL.

Another method is to cannibalise an old programmable stick and build a panel or two with switches and knobs to suit your needs.... short of where the wife would accuse you of 'building a cockpit'! So far I haven't moved beyond using a second Saitek X45 as prop rpm, aileron trim and flaps plus half a dozen switch functions like Canopy, Hook, etc. It doesn't feel too far from 'the truth' when I push the X45 throttle up for increased RPM or adjust the aileron trim rotary.

Just my 2p