You know what? I didn’t think VR would change how I fly at my desk. Then I tried it. Now I can’t go back to a flat screen. I’m Kayla, and I’ve spent months flying with the Meta Quest 3, the HP Reverb G2, and the Pimax Crystal. (I put every messy detail into this full breakdown of flying with three VR headsets for flight sims.) I used them with Microsoft Flight Simulator and DCS World. If you’re curious which software really sings in a headset, my deep dive on the best flight sim in VR lays it out. I’ve got notes. I’ve also got a sore neck from one of them, but we’ll get there.
Quick setup note: my PC’s an RTX 4080, Ryzen 7 5800X3D, 32 GB RAM. Nothing too wild, but it helps, and it’s shockingly close to the best flight-sim computer I’ve ever used from my desk. I test with a Honeycomb Alpha yoke, Bravo throttle, and MFG Crosswind pedals. I wear glasses and use prescription inserts.
My First Love: Meta Quest 3 (wireless, cozy, fun)
I’ve spent the most time with the Quest 3. It’s light and easy. I use it wirelessly with Virtual Desktop at 120 Hz, H.265, and a bitrate around 200 Mbps. My router sits one room over. I set DLSS to Quality in MSFS and keep the render scale near 100%. In DCS, I lock motion smoothing at 45 fps. That keeps things smooth.
Real flights I did on Quest 3:
- Sedona (KSEZ), Cessna 172, pattern work at sunset. I could lean forward and see the PAPI lights pop red and white. The rocks looked warm and sharp. The panel text was readable without squinting. Not razor sharp, but good.
- Innsbruck (LOWI), A320neo, ILS into RWY 26 in light snow. The localizer lined up, and I could see the valley walls like I was inside a postcard. I glanced at the PFD and could read the speed tape and the flight mode annunciator. No guessing.
- DCS, F/A-18C, low-level in the Caucasus. I hugged a river at 500 knots. Trees had depth. I could see power lines late, which is fair, but not perfect. Compression blur showed up when I snapped my head, but it faded fast.
Comfort? Good. The stock strap is meh, so I use an elite-style strap. The pancake lenses give a nice sweet spot. Less glare than my G2. Battery lasts about two hours. I keep a USB-C cable nearby for long hauls. I love wireless. But I still like the safety net of a cable on long flights.
What bugged me: Wi-Fi hiccups on busy evenings. If my partner streamed 4K in the living room, I saw a little macro-blocking on the horizon. Not a deal-breaker, but I noticed. Also, black levels in night flying felt gray. Stars didn’t sparkle as much as I wanted. Still, the ease kept me coming back.
The Sharp Old Friend: HP Reverb G2 (wired, clear, picky)
The G2 was my main sim headset for a year. It’s wired, and it’s sharp in the center. I can read tiny gauges. In the C172, the KAP 140 autopilot display is crisp. The VSI marks are clean. But the edges get soft, and the sweet spot is small. If your IPD is off or the headset sits weird, clarity drops. I adjusted the face gasket to pull my eyes closer. That helped a lot.
Real flights I did on G2:
- Boston (KBOS), 737-800, ILS 4R in thick fog. The runway popped into view right above mins. The PFD text was very clear. I could scan fast. No eye strain.
- San Diego (KSAN), TBM 930, RNAV (GPS) RWY 27. The shoreline and the stadium looked crisp in the central view. But looking left at the downwind turn, the blur on the edges made me move my whole head, not just my eyes.
Glare? Yes. Fresnel rings give light streaks around bright HUDs. Night flying had a bit of that “god ray” thing. Also, the cable tugged when I turned. I learned to clip it to my chair. Motion reprojection was hit and miss for me. 45 fps felt okay, but the prop arc shimmered.
Still, for sitting IFR flights with lots of button pushing, the G2 felt like a neat little chart room. Text first. Scenery second.
The Fancy Beast: Pimax Crystal (heavy, stunning, pricey)
I borrowed a Pimax Crystal from a friend for a week. It’s a show-off headset. Big, heavy, but the clarity made me laugh out loud. The lenses are sharp edge to edge. The colors pop. The field of view feels wide, and gauges are easy from the normal seat position. I needed a counterweight and a top strap tweak to stop forehead pressure.
Real flights I did on Crystal:
- New York tour, H145 heli. I crept along the Hudson. Windows, rooftops, bridges — it all had that “real glass” look. I could read tiny labels on the Garmin without leaning in.
- Alaska bush trip, XCub, rain in fall. Droplets looked chunky and real. River sandbars stood out, which helped with quick landings on gravel. I spotted a moose. Okay, maybe it was a stump, but it felt alive.
The trade-offs: weight, price, and setup fuss. You want a strong GPU. I could keep 60–75 fps in clear skies, 45 in heavy cities with motion smoothing. I got a little neck fatigue after two hours. But I also kept grinning. It felt like the future. A heavy, expensive future. Pairing it with something like the Apex flight-sim PC I reviewed hands-on would probably let it stretch its legs.
Comfort, Fit, and Glasses Stuff
I have a narrow face and wear -2.00 inserts.
- Quest 3: best fit for me. Light. Wide sweet spot. No glasses squeeze.
- G2: needed a thinner gasket to get close to the lenses. Then it clicked.
- Crystal: needs time to balance. Once set, it’s comfy, but the weight is there.
Sweat happens. I keep a small fan on my desk. Airflow kills lens fog. Also, a grippy face pad helps if you move a lot in dogfights.
Settings That Saved My Flights
I’m not shy with tweaks. Tinkering feels even better after building my best flight-sim PC for real flights and real frames. Here’s what worked more than once:
- MSFS: DLSS Quality, Terrain LOD 150–200, Clouds High or Ultra, Ambient Occlusion Medium. Motion reprojection ON if I can’t hold 60+.
- DCS: Textures High, Shadows Medium, MSAA x2, FSR upscaling at 0.8 with sharpness around 0.6. Motion smoothing at 45.
- Quest 3 (Virtual Desktop): 120 Hz, H.265, bitrate 180–220 Mbps, Synchronous Spacewarp Auto.
- Network: router within one room, 5 GHz or Wi-Fi 6, PC wired by Ethernet. Family movie night? I ask for an hour of quiet Wi-Fi. Bribes help.
If you're looking to stock your hangar with extra aircraft or scenery to test your new VR setup, the catalog at Abacus Pub is packed with classics that won’t tank your frame rate.
Stuff That Annoyed Me
- Cable dance: G2’s cable caught on the chair. I learned to clip it under the armrest.
- Sweet spot hunting: G2 needed a perfect fit. If it slipped, gauges blurred.
- Night flying grays: Quest 3 blacks looked washed in very dark scenes.
- Neck day: Crystal felt like wearing a small camera. Worth it for short, wow flights. Tough for a 4-hour leg.
Little Moments That Sold Me
- I leaned left in the C172 on base at KSEZ and saw the runway numbers “21” peek out from behind a ridge. My hands lined up the turn without thought. That doesn’t happen on a flat screen.
- In the PMDG 737 at KBWI, I reached for the speed knob and almost hit my real wall. I laughed. Then I missed my speed. It felt real enough to trick me.
- DCS, F-16 cold start. The battery switch felt like it had weight. I heard the hum. I looked down at my virtual knees. My brain bought it.
So… Which One Should You Get?
- Want easy fun and wireless freedom? Get the Quest 3. Great balance. Good price. A few hiccups.
- Want sharp gauges