The 7 Best Virtual Reality Flight Simulators | 2024

[@dmitrya513]

Must say that Aerofly FS is pretty much underestimated. As real world captain of B-777 I like flying it. It runs perfectly smooth and clear in VR right from the box. The sim definetly lacks some performance calculations, FMS programming and ATC comms. But as for flying itself it is good enough. I'll tell you more. Some "hardcore" sims trying to achieve ultimate realism just spoil the impression by overdoing. While Aerofly FS does just enough. Especially if you keep in mind that even professional FFS-s don't give you 100% of feeling that you have in a real flight. So why be asking of what desktop sim fundamentally unable to give? Of course if you need some button hitting, welcome to MSFS e.t.c. As for me I'm not hungry about it. If you want to feel the fun of flying, Aerofly FS is what you need.

[@laubox]

Thanks Dmitrya for your comment! Much appreciated and I can't agree more! Aerofly is for me still the smoothes vr flight sim. Especially when it comes down to flying commercial planes!

[@CB_883]

Thanks for the comment. I'm new to this and I'd like to try some flight sims since I have the equipment to run it as I already simrace in VR. Looking for some good starting point in flight sims.. Any recommendations?

[@Chris_GSD]

Can the Aerofly simulator display on both VR and the main display simultaneously so I can sit next to my daughter and teach as she flies ?

[@Adam-py6fz]

What do you think of Oculus Quest 3 + PC (MFS2020) + PMDG B777 + Thrustmaster throttles and yoke. A real-World B737 pilot here doing his B777 TR.

[@dmitrya513]

@@Adam-py6fz Lucky you are that you have such an awesome peace of software and peripherals as an aid for your transition. Only one note. Thrustmaster Boeing Yoke TCA doesn't represent real forces on 777 yoke that are much more heavy. Take that in to account to avoid confusion when starting FFS sessions. I'd recommend to use a conventional joystick so that not to believe to much that you hold a real thing.

[@jimlthor]

War Thunder Sim is legit. Its not full on real, more like the FC3 planes or IL2 as far as controls go. Gotta try Simulation EC mode, and pick a populated lobby. I give up on DCS because of terrible VR performance, and have been stuck in WT Sim for the last year Give it another try, except this time, switch to Sim mode.. and instesd of clicking the play button in the bottom right corner, select the Room List and pick a room with players.. its not as Arcadey as hoggit would have you believe. And the damage models are way better than DCS

[@Devil-mn3dc]

DCS was absolutely made for VR and that’s how a lot of us fly it. Just takes some work getting things right because there are so many HMDs out there. Meta is no a good one because it’s not native to working with PC games, so naturally you will jump through more hoops. Pimax is the absolute best for any flight sim.

[@laubox]

Thanks for your comment buddy! Absolutely agree with the Pimax!What I meant was that, unlike VTOL VR or Aerofly FS4, DCS was not built from the ground up with VR in mind. It certainly supports VR natively, and I only play DCS in VR. Fortunately for us, DCS has received some really nice performance upgrades for VR!

[@billcedarheath387]

A recent survey of the DCS community has only 30% using VR and the majority using some form of head tracking, like TrackIR, in the 55% range. 15% fly without any form of tracking or VR at all. By those numbers “A lot” (70%) do not use VR.

[@samuelhayes5198]

Dcs is absolutely not designed for VR, you can hardly read the switch labels without a £3k headset. There's no proper hand/controller interaction that isn't just a workaround of flat screen mode. Lastly it's impossible to see a plane more than a couple hundred metres away without this weird binoculars thing. Much prefer VTOL VR. Most stuff ported to vr just isn't good unfortunately. Don't even get me started on the f-14, why did they think a texture with 99% switches illegible/unlabelled was a good idea?

[@samuelhayes5198]

Also the controls is a problem, in VR you need simplified controls as you can't rely on feeling for the right switch in the cockpit while trying to watch an opponent. I get it's a core part of the game but even flat screen is unplayable without atleast £300 in controls

[@dane4472]

@@lauboxhow do I get your guide for dcs vr buttons don’t work for me only throttle and steering I can’t click anything

[@Amir_movahed]

DCS as of now has: 1.DLSS and multicore support to give you better performance in VR. 2.Supports VR natively. 3.Supports Hand tracking natively without a 3rd party software. Nice video overall but there are some misinformation about DCS in the video.

[@SA80TAGE]

beat me to it XD Also there are dynamic campaigns in multiplayer servers, he said DCS lacks that.

[@laubox]

Thanks for the information! What I meant was that, unlike VTOL VR or Aerofly FS4, DCS was not built from the ground up with VR in mind. It certainly supports VR natively, and I only play DCS in VR. Fortunately for us, DCS has received some really nice performance upgrades for VR!

[@laubox]

@@SA80TAGE Calling the dynamic missions that run on the ECW server or referring to them as dynamic campaigns would be a slap in the face to the FALCON BMS development team! The dynamic campaign offered in Falcon BMS is nowhere near what DCS offers.

[@SA80TAGE]

@@laubox I mean, sure, but thats when comparing with other titles, looking at DCS on it's own, it still does have dynamic campaigns.... albeit multiplayer community made ones for sure (let's not completely shit on their hard work, they're not the devs and can only do so much with what they have, they deserve a shout out for stepping up, as do a lot of games online community pillars do). Most I think will allow for the free to play SU(25?) module... just think it's worth mentioning at least, as a stepping stone for those that want to give it a try for free.

[@mrazikcomp]

@@laubox f-22 TAW ;)

[@payt01]

Ok I know Xplane isn't as popular anymore as it once was, before MSFS came to set the new standard, but I think it still deserves a mention if you're going to make a list of best VR flight sims.

[@davidshahin9753]

X-plane is one-of-a-kind flight simulator, a head and a shoulder above the others. Don't kill the messenger please.

[@brandonproctor3639]

I play DCS with Trackir and it’s pretty awesome. Can’t wait to be able to switch to VR. Totally different experience.

[@harf4ng]

For msfs 2020 I would recommend waiting for the new msfs 2024 coming this year. As for myself I fly helicopters in DCS, the Huey, in VR of course, with force feedback stick and seat, and it is amazing.

[@atlasfreeman1310]

What brand/model of FF stick do you use? Been looking at them lately. Hard to find honest reviews. And do you have a fairly powerful PC for that setup? And with what headset?

[@thewatcher5271]

That's Interesting, Can You Fly The Cobra? All I Have Is A Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. What Hardware Are You Running? Thank You. (Like #4)

[@harf4ng]

@@atlasfreeman1310 oculus 2 with a GeForce rtx 3080, and I use a rhino ffb base from VP force control with a curved extension and delta grip from virpil.

[@harf4ng]

@@thewatcher5271 I fly only the huey

[@jatufin]

As an IRL paraglider pilot I play regularly Glider Sim. There are Steam and standalone Quest versions.

[@Innersspidey]

Is the game called glider sim?

[@jatufin]

@@Innersspidey yes

[@timfawzy]

@@jatufin 20 year old PG pilot myself is it realistic?

[@RobinHartJones]

I have both DCS & IL2 and I prefer IL2 because DCS is more of a 'Display Pilot Simulator' and I want a WW2 simulator. As far as WW2 aircraft go, it just recreats a handful of aircraft currently seen in flying displays regardless of whether these aircraft ever saw combat against each other. If you buy Spitfire in DCS it will be a Spitfire IX and you will be flying it against a 1944 model Bf109-K and a 1944 FW190-D. If you want to fly Russian then those 1944 German fighters will be fighting an 1-16 from 1940 ;-) In IL2 you will be facing opponents that actually fought each other at each stage of the war. Also IL2 has a much better combat experience in term of size of maps, number of players and number of servers to choose from.

[@MrSchuits]

Kudos for mentioning Falcon4 BMS. I've spent hundreds of hours in that game, even took part in the European Tiger Meet. Haven't tried VR yet as getting back into the game requires a lot of commitment.

[@jimlthor]

I've tried playing BMS a few times. Tried playing in VR and it started doing some weird stuff. Like it was trying to run at 1000k resolution at 0.5 fps. Dunno what the deal was, but never got it to work right

[@panseethongpt6292]

I used to be a member of the 87th Straydogs since 2000 and stop around early released BMS (I guess). I also haven't tried VR yet, and I agree with you that getting back into the game is now very difficult at this age :P

[@silsahchne7236]

This is going to make a great Christmas gift for myself.

[@andrebullitt7212]

Aces High 3. Not as good graphics-wise as the others and older, but good enough and VR ready also. The community is what is great about this WWII sim. You can talk to the other player while doing combat missions. The comradery and sh#t-talk can be epic. Also the dogfights can be fantastic! Play around weekends if you want a lot of people. I know guys who have played this game for 20yrs. Me about 12 yrs. I truly love this game.

[@riverfisher2123]

Aces high 3 is probably the the best to enjoy with a main arena. It has a very good vr mode. It is never mentioned probably because it cost 14 US dollars a month.

[@andrebullitt7212]

I truly love Aces High 3 and the good friends I have made in this game over the years. It has carried me through some stressful times.

[@BernyBit2Berny]

you bring such joy and knowledge to your viewers, it's amazing!

[@blackhero911]

Combat air patrol 2, X-Plane 11 and 12

[@hooperjp1701]

DCS does has hand tracking. Pain to setup but it is there

[@laubox]

It does, but compared to VTOL VR or Aerofly FS 4 it needs a long long long way to go

[@faymah20]

i like Aerofly FS. Freeland is also adding can flying around planets! Would be nice to mention, because it's already launches on Meta and Steam!

[@ytdlder]

Quick addendum: DCS does offer several types of controller and even handtracking. You don't even have to use a hardware Hotas, if I remember correctly, you can also grab the Stick and Throttle in the plane with your controller / hands! imho, it doesn't work that well and because I'm using physical MFDs and Hotas, you always bump into that when trying to press certain buttons.

[@grandusb5663]

What about xplane 12?

[@DobuleDot]

He doesn't know what x plane is 🤦

[@rajahbtw]

Did you play war thunder in sim mode?

[@Simyazzi]

To be fare warthunder does offer realistic and simulation modes so it will act like a sim and is not easy to fly but in VR has the same experience as DCS.

[@uberdenwolken4564]

Its only dedicated to Gliders bit „Condor Soaring“ is missing. Maybe the graphics are a little bit 2010 but the physics are much better than MSFS and it runs very smooth in VR compared to other flight sims.

[@corycashweigle]

if you want to play war thunder as a simulator you have to play in simulation mode

[@lzedelliott]

Are there any that can be downloaded straight off the meta quest, not through external stuff?

[@Vrboy-k1z]

tanku so much im going to sub

[@NLarsen1989]

You made a video just one month ago showing the hand tracking in DCS so I'm a little confused why you say DCS doesn't have it?

[@laubox]

Yes, that's true. However, if you compare the hand tracking in DCS with VTOL VR or Aerofly FS4, you really can't say DCS has it mastered. Certainly, you can see your hands in DCS, but switching or rotating knobs is extremely clumsy, and in some modules, it doesn't even work. Compared to how VTOL VR or Aerofly FS4 manage it, DCS simply doesn't match up.

[@IgoByaGo]

I bought a 4090 just to run DCS. I use a quest 2, but it works amazing. I am just not going to invest in a Pimax system at this moment.

[@laubox]

Quest 2 will do! Glad you enjoy it. What you flying at the moment?

[@CaptainTiropitenios]

Hi, can you say me how can the oculus 2 track my hands on dcs ? i

[@mr-glizzer3332]

go into vr settings in dcs

[@mallacai]

lockheed martins prepar3d p3d for short, very good sim for VR

[@daniel51404]

Do you need a pc?

[@JustCallMe3d]

Now I just need literally every piece of hardware in order to play any of those * crying inside *

[@ProfShibe]

You don’t. the controllers are fine unless you want it 1:1 as realistic as possible

[@JFlogerzi]

VTOL is motion controllers only. Honestly Give it a try.

[@sEkhintcheck]

Hello, I want to ask if its possible to play IL-2 on VR without a joystick. Is it playable fully on VR?

[@axeman999]

What headset is best for flight sims?

[@freedmt]

DCS HAS a handtracking, just like VTOL VR, you have just to enable it in the settings.

[@wojciechwelman9360]

The first gogle white , it is working with xbox series x ?

[@peterivera7022]

Xplane !! works great in VR.

[@Edge6D]

Is Xplane dead ? Somehow FS2020 is a mess with my Quest 2 on my motion rig, I really cannot get motion compensation to work correctly. And yes, that is the next step : a motion rig. Simulating a flying plane just feels dead and dumb on a fixed chair after you played it on a motion rig. My best experiences were with DCS and Xplane.

[@kelvindeen]

@laubox are there any good native quest 3 flight sim games? For the people that don't own a top tier gaming pc

[@aliyilmazkoclar]

Ultrawings 2

[@claudita1707]

World Flight, it uses Google Earth 3DVR Maps, you can take off, land or just fly anywhere in the world. There are 3 aircrafts to choose from, including a helicopter.

[@Sebster1123]

Do you need computer for all games to have them?

[@laubox]

Yes. These are all pcvr games

[@huntermassey5475]

Can you use vr controllers to control yoke is msfs like you can in Aerofly

[@Bellthorian]

The community did not develop the dynamic campaign in Falcon BMS. It was part of the original Falcon 4 game. SO that makes is more infuriating that DCS doesn't have one.

[@BraydenJones-ob2rf]

People who want VROL VR on quest 2 free

[@Caterpillarlover5]

Is it free or are you just saying how to get it free?

[@Warboss777]

have you even tried war thunder simulator mode??

[@dalemckenzie335]

DCS Does have hand tracking... was implemented for the Mosquito

[@diegom8]

This would be a nice "procedures" trainer, but without the flight controls you don't get the proper transfer of training that would be needed to "control" the plane.

[@xander1121]

aww man you didnt mention the straight arcade flight sim that is vr chat flight sims

[@clarkie39]

Warthunder on simulator battles with full sim controls is not really an arcade game it can be a challenge keeping the plane in the air during dogfights if to aggressive with the controls.

[@Legendz5150]

I wish more VR flight sims had the virtual hands. It'd really be fun to put my index controllers to full use.

[@aaronbugaiski2487]

Sims are certainly a lot of fun and fast becoming a legitimate practice tool for pilots but VR is still lacking as far as a practice tool. You cant use a yoke/or stick with rudder pedals and have the VR controls in your hand at the same time. They need something like the old Nintendo power glove so you can use a real stick and still be able to move switches in the cockpit. Maybe there is something already idk

[@rmcflying1817]

0:58 how do I get that game I looked it up on my quest store but nothing to do with flying showed up

[@pancakeguy1]

i believe most of theese games are on steam vr.

[@Chris_GSD]

Can the Aerofly simulator display on both VR and the main display simultaneously so I can sit next to my daughter and teach as she flies ?

[@Staqs-vf8lt]

VTOL vr is not on the App Store for some reason 😢

[@LynxVr-bq5tb]

how can i get aerofly fs4 with no pc only a quest 3

[@liensixx2812]

Try ACES HIGH III

[@classifiedmp]

I think if you were honest you would have included x-plane but instead you include arcade style "games". I can only assume you are plugging for MSFS, which I own but still find x-plane a better VR platform.

[@GodzillaGoesGaga]

Which headsets are the best for MSFS ?

[@ValkyrieAngel303]

Can you play these right off the meta quest 3? No gaming of needed?

[@JFlogerzi]

No most if not all are PCVR. When people say "Native" or Stand-alone is what your looking for. Sadly there is really not anything.

[@thomasyantorno1734]

I have been playing DCS for about 5 years and VR is extremely difficult to get to work smoothly

[@deimos2k6]

flying with hand tracking it's a pain in the ass. Better using a real flight stick and gas throttle and enjoying the fabulous immersion in VR.

[@joedirtthe3rd]

Only play Sim Mode for War Thunder.

[@عبدالعزيز-ف2ز8ج]

Try dcs

[@thekirby53]

@@عبدالعزيز-ف2ز8ج some people dont wanna pay money for each plane. WT is totally free thus easier to get into, also offers FAAARRRR more planes.

[@FUNRobster]

I am really curious how you manage to get MSFS2020 to look so nice. I've tried it, but it looks so incredibly bad....

[@TomášKučera-c2e]

HOW CAN I PLAY VTOL VR, ONLY WITH META 3 pls?

[@mikhailgregovszki7478]

I used to love X-Plane... was fun just to try a bunch of different aircraft. I remember struggling to figure out how to land the harrier. Also some cool fictional I think Japanese plane that had massive power and could go in space. Does it have virtual controls? I really don't like breaking immersion without having hands to manipulate controls in the plane. I do play a lot of VTOL VR and gotta say it is probably the smoothest experience for all VR flight sims, but I get bored with the graphics pretty quick. I really like scenery in my games.

[@NorthernAnt]

How immersive are these games? I’ve never played VR? Considering one

[@hellnet88]

it is very immersive - if I get you right. It is mindblowing immersive. When i m landing on a aircraft carrier, I feel like i was mooving fast and now i stop and i m pushed against my seat. But it is impossible - becouse I was sitting on my ass all the time and was not moving fast. My brain was totally descieved. Flying in VR felt much better than everything else in VR. I was playing game named - Warplanes : Battle over Pacific

[@Head-Tr1ck]

VTOL vr is probably the best one for a newbie to flight sims. It's simple enough to keep you captivated, but detailed enough that it can compete with other games of the same genre, DCS for example.

[@MrJohnnyseven]

Warthunder does have a simulator mode

[@terrylandess6072]

Oh. Falcon still lives? Geez I put a lot of hours in that long ago. The 3 ring binder flight manual (with fold out map) is still epic (about 2 1/2 - 3 inches thick) and is a reminder to me how developers keep getting cheaper and cheaper. Bought my Rift before they made hand controllers which was fine. Not interested in waving my arms around - a KB/M or flight stick is what I want to use. Too bad tings have changed were you NEED them instead of being a choice with multiple inputs for program access.

[@mikegreene8461]

One can be the pilot and the udder the co-pilot. Udder?

[@Darthfader20]

Is it available on meta

[@Time4utube]

Can you send link to A Pre Built PC..VR gaming Pc

[@jeffmorgan9427]

Check out will my pc run it. It will give you specs and websites to buy the pc you need.

[@BellatrixLugosi]

xplane 12 crying at back corner

[@meatloafgaming3045]

What’s the first game called? I want to play.

[@ghost-root]

flight simulator 2020

[@Aviator381]

Which ones are not on steam

[@nathanwalton4555]

Il-2 doesn't need to be on steam

[@Aviator381]

@@nathanwalton4555 the games

[@mikereisswolff4662]

DCS also can run without Steam. You can purchase modules from the developer's website, the core game with one or two maps and aircraft is free, there is also a 14-day free trial period for some aircraft.

[@Aviator381]

@@mikereisswolff4662 on what the vr store think not

[@ismailhossin7540]

0:24 0:27

[@osloarizaga]

I'm watching this for no reason…

[@billwright7054]

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be a stand alone new sim.

[@JarppaGuru]

yes still no finger tracking even i done it, but no commercial aplication

[@crooker2]

Msfs is simply the best simulator. But it's vr implementation is awful unless you have a control stick or yoke. I think the best experience I've had personally flying in VR is VTOL VR.

[@matthewharris2463]

I agree

[@mikereisswolff4662]

MSFS 2020 was disappointing to me, because I wanted it to have all those activities included that are now coming in 2024. F.e. at release of 2020 bush flight missions didn't work and training missions were woefully incomplete. I guess I have must spending more time in MSFS2020 downloading the patches with sn awfully slow installer than actually flying.

[@crooker2]

@@mikereisswolff4662 The MAIN thing for me was the rendered scenery so I could actually fly over places I knew, and see the rendered satellite images on the topography. But it did lack the 'what now?' or the 'game' elements, and (of course) the VR was non-existent. But I'm sure I'll be a launch-day purchaser of FS2024 as well.

[@SA80TAGE]

DCS:World _does_ have dynamic campaigns, ran on multiplayer servers. Enigmas Cold War Server, Contention Server for example

[@patrickcrowley5258]

Multiplayer campaigns don’t quite count. If it were single player it would be closer to the Falcon BMS one.

[@laubox]

Calling the dynamic missions that run on the ECW server or referring to them as dynamic campaigns would be a slap in the face to the FALCON BMS development team! The dynamic campaign offered in Falcon BMS is nowhere near what DCS offers.

[@AdrianTaylorUK]

No, dcs does not have dynamic campaigns. Long promised by ED, but not there. Falcon’s dynamic campaign is widely held as being the platinum standard, esp when you consider it was implemented for a pentium 2. DCS has scripted campaigns. The closest thing to bms’ campaigns is liberation but that’s turn based and dcs can barely cope with the number of units required.

[@Morgansquad]

Aerofly is 218gb Geezus

[@ShikaiXu]

x plane

[@小葡萄-e9f]

X-Plane

[@elite_beast]

Do you need pc

[@Tom-90210]

Best way

[@jeromesimpson-ud5df]

help so much

[@I2AT]

X-plane?

[@IndigoFlamegaming12]

Ace combat 7

[@stevejones924]

Aerofly? What’s that? Lol

[@terrystokes7893]

PC is necessary 😂

[@Lardnapkin]

I came here for the accent

[@I_Krypton_I]

When did War Thunder have time to become a simulation...?

[@JuanVance-q2f]

Harris Sandra Walker Lisa Thomas Michelle

[@gabrielarangel6022]

I'd like to give my pilot husband VR goggles. Can someone help me by pointing out what I need to buy to give my husband the gift of his life? Can you please list all I need to buy (for the least amount possible)? Thank you ever so kindly.

[@a5cent]

If he's on PC, Pimax Light is easily the best choice for flight simulators, although it's still expensive. That will also require a very graphics card.

[@andrealioce4341]

VtolVR and War Thunder aren't exactly flight simulators: the first has simulator mechanics but does not depict any real aircraft so it's not properly a simulator IMHO, the latter depicts real aircraft but has quite arcade mechanics. X-plane is a simulator and has VR. Condor 2 also is a simulator and has VR.

[@banana-fc7uy]

game name please

[@aasciutti]

No free option? Only pay, pay and pay....

[@JaxsonTrissal]

Try plane vr ITS FREE!

[@demonofyou4]

Bro you lost me after you said dcs was not made for vr

[@only_016]

Its not made for VR

[@Twisted_Throttle77]

DCS sucks compared to IL-2 multiplayer. Not even close. Runs flawless online with VR and the servers are really fun

[@DuppyBoii187]

Il2 runs better but it's kind of missing everything post ww2. If they throw a mig 23 in a cold war game I'll play it over dcs.

[@BradleyMoon-u1e]

Boo your a liar the games don’t exist

[@Head-Tr1ck]

You need a PC and steam to play them. I don't expect you to know what those mean, considering your age, if in fact that's you in your profile picture.

[@jpht1964]

Don’t bother vr in MSFS, it’s completely unplayable.

[@ruban7875]

Is it? Mine runs clear and smooth with good graphics.

[@andrealioce4341]

Mine too.

[@sovu9399]

VTol Vr hands down.

[@Head-Tr1ck]

Agreed.

[@faymah20]

i like Aerofly FS. Freeland is also adding can flying around planets! Would be nice to mention, because it's already launches on Meta and Steam!