newbert

Yes - I read that too, Mad1. Nevertheless, I'll chance it. Thanks!

Thanks again, Larry! FWIW - I've decided on the Logitech Yoke with Throttle, and Logitech Pedals. Software will be X-Plane 11 and the SR-20 add-on. Someone else will be gifting him an external CD/DVD drive which he can load the software from. Thanks again for your help, everyone! Bert

Thanks again, Larry. Now I see what you mean about the left-handed joystick. Yeah - that's a BIT too pricey! FWIW - his father just tried overclocking his video card and he says it made quite a difference. He's also looking into increasing his Ram to 16 Gigs. Based on that (even if Ram stays at 8 Gigs), it's looking more and more we'll be going with X-Plane 11. One last question for now. Would the Logitech Yoke and pedals cover all necessary controls? Or is some sort of throttle also needed besides them? (I don't know since I've never flown a plane....) IOW - Does the yoke include a throttle control? Thanks again.

Dominic and Larry - You guys are THE BEST. Thanks so much for your patience with answering my "newbie" questions and for sharing your knowledge which has been spot on! Larry - Did you mean to link to the page of the Cirrus cockpit pictures? Also, if I DON'T get the yoke that I referenced, which specific stick/throttle would you recommend to go along with the Logitech pedals? I don't mind spending some significant $$$ to get him realistic controllers, but the budget is not unlimited. (LOL) He's the kind of kid who doesn't get excited or enthusiastic about things very often. But it really looks like he's got the "Flying Bug", so it's good to see him focused on something that might provide a good future for him. So, I really want to help him out in pursuing this new interest. Thanks again!

Thanks for the good info guys! Since this is supposed to be a surprise, trying the X-Plane demo on my nephew's PC isn't an option unfortunately. I need to be pretty darn sure that what I decide on will run. I see that FS2004 is also available on Amazon, although in short supply currently..... That said, the fact that X-Plane 11 has a Cirrus SR-20 add-on available would certainly fit the bill - if only I was sure that it'll run on his system. Larry - Thanks for explaining where Flight sims fall short of realistic feel. Practicing the procedures is what I had in mind. Related to that thought, I'm considering this and this for his controllers to add some realism .... Would these apply to flying the Cirrus SR-20? Thanks again! EDIT: Whoops, I don't think my nephew's PC has enough RAM (8 Gigs) for X-Plane 11 (16 Gigs required). Right? EDIT 2: Just spoke with his father. His PC is upgradeble and has 2 empty RAM slots available. So RAM may not be an issue after all. So, I guess it comes down to FS2004 vs X-Plane 11. I'd love to get him X-Plane 11 (for the SR-20 add-on), but the question is how to try the demo out on his PC beforehand without him knowing - especially since he only has 8 Gigs Ram at the present time....

Pretty impressive. Based on this info, I suppose that it's possible to run X-Plane 11 on his system. But it looks like it'll involve some tweaking (ie - overclocking). He's not very computer savvy and I live hundreds of miles away so couldn't help him with it. So, I'm not sure how viable an option this is. However, if he gets an external CD drive and I get him FS2002, that might be more straightforward to get running, no? My main question about FS2002 though, is whether it will run under Windows 10? Thanks!

Well that's disappointing. I'll have to change my plans, I guess. Thanks for your response and explanation.

My 16 year old nephew is taking flying lessons in a Cirrus SR-20. I would like to buy him flight sim software and controller for Xmas so that he can "practice" between actual lessons. His PC specs are: CPU: I5 9600 KF (3.7 Ghz, 6 cores) Ram: 8 Gigs OS: Win 10 64 bit Videocard: Nvidea Geforce 1030 All of his current gaming is thru Steam. I'm told that his PC has no CD or DVD Drive so I'm looking for a flight sim that would run on his system, includes the Cirrus SR-20, and is downloadable from Steam. I'd also like to purchase a controller that would reasonably simulate the controls on an SR-20 as well. Could anyone offer suggestions that might fit the bill? Perhaps along with links to purchase from? Thanks! Bert