Flying the 737 in VR with the Oculus Rift

VR Flight in the 737 with X-Plane 11

Have you ever been sitting in a commercial airline and wondered what it would be like to fly in the captains chair. Well, I think it has crossed my mind. A few days ago when I made this video, I really felt like I was in charge of a massive aircraft.

It may have not been the smoothest ride for my passengers, however I didn’t hear any complaining.

What’s in the video

In this video I show you what its like to fly the 737 in X-Plane 11. I start out sitting on the runway in this massive beast. When you look down from the window with the VR headset, you really start to appreciate the size of the plane you are flying. It truly brings you into this plane and gives you that captain feeling.

I am flying X-Plane 11 and Fly Inside, running it on the Oculus Rift with touch controls. I have a Saitek Yoke with throttle quadrant and a pair of rudder pedals (Amazon Affiliate Links Above). The trim wheel I use is actually DIY, as I used a Playstation 2 racing wheel for this.  This is a great setup for me and would be for anyone looking to get into VR Flight.

The Computer

So, in order to get this amazing feeling of flight in the 737, I needed to start with a decent computer. I don’t have the top of the line computer, but I also don’t have a slow computer. I will go over a few specifications below, but if you are interested in learning more, I suggest you check out my other post, which goes into more details about my computer. Do you need the absolute best VR flight computer?

I am running the i5-7600k CPU with a GTX 1060 (6GB version). This is strong enough to run this game between 30 and 40 frames per second. Now if you know anything about  VR, you are probably saying “Don’t you need at least 60 to feel immersed in the game”. Well, that is true that the higher the frame rate is better in VR, however with Fly Inside, it runs the headset at a fast paced 90 frames per second. So when you move your head from side to side, it feels like there is no lag moving your head around. You can notice the 30 frames per second if you turn your head to the side on the runway and stare at the buildings. Its not that bad, but as in any game running at 30 frames per second, you can see it when movement is fast.

My settings are on fairly high. I turn off anything to do with reflections but I leave the scene detail on high (not maximum). I have been able to put it on maximum, but the frame rate drops and it isn’t worth it for me. If you want everything maxed out, then you will probably need a 1080 or 1080ti graphics card.  Learn more about my X-Plane 11 settings in my post titled, What VR Settings do I use for X-Plane 11?

What about the Oculus Touch…Did it work?

I have found that the Oculus touch worked pretty good in this flight. You can see me struggle with it at one point, but that is more user error, then the game. It appears that fly inside must have made an improvement in the touch controls in there last update. I found the controls to be more user friendly then they were in the old version of fly inside. Just in case you were wondering, Fly Inside is a program that I use to allow VR to work on X-Plane 11.

Now, would I say, you could fly the plane entirely with VR Touch controllers… I wouldn’t recommend it. It would really get difficult to do. Having something physical like a joystick, or yoke would be preferred. If you interested in getting the Oculus Rift, Yoke or Rudder Pedals, I’ll leave a link below.  Please note that the links will be affiliate links with Amazon. If you use the links, I really appreciate it because I get a small advertising commission which helps me to put out more great content. It doesn’t affect your purchase in any way. I want to mention, that I only promote these products because they are the ones that I use and love.  At least take a look at them and see what you think. They work great for me. Thanks for watching!

Video Link’s from video and blog post (Amazon Affiliate Links)

Logitech G Saitek PRO Flight Yoke System

Logitech G PRO Flight Rudder Pedal

Oculus Rift + Touch Controllers