Hardware and Software Requirements for Beginners

Here we explain the hardware and software you need to be able to participate in the OFS as a beginner in flight simulation. The following questions will be answered:

  • Which computer must I have?
  • Do I need an expensive joystick and pedals?
  • What is TrackIR and VR and do I have to buy it?
  • What software do I need to have installed?

2. Software

What additional software do I need to have installed?  

The OFS is a website and only needs a browser to use it.  

For the practical courses, the respective simulation software and, if necessary, the respective aircraft (if not included in the standard scope of delivery) are of course required.  

For the communication between each other in the practical sessions, Teamspeak has proven to be optimal in the last years.  Teamspeak (short TS) is available free of charge and can be ordered here.  

If we use further software or mods in certain courses, we point this out separately!  


Tacview

However, we would still like to recommend a software because it is simply good and useful for flight data analysis. In addition, the basic version is free of charge.  This is the tool Tacview.  

In some courses we like to use Tacview in debriefing for online telemetry data evaluation after the flight.  This is incredibly practical, but also requires a full version on the client side.  But the purchase of the full version is not obligatory!  Even with the free basic version you can do great analyses.  If you would like to take advantage of the possibility to take your test flight offline, i.e. in single player mode, a Tacview is absolutely necessary.  Before you buy a paid version of Tacview, talk to us, because there is usually a discount when ordering several licenses and we sometimes have free licenses available.