Obutto and alternatives?

Due to some basement flooding this past spring, I'm going to probably have to ditch my ABC pit build. The issue is, I don't have a room for a dedicated sim pit anywhere else in my house, and don't want to risk damaging my PC or sim gear because the public works dept decided back-washing the sewage system wasn't really that important this year....

That means that I'm going to move my current Ikea Jerker desk (AWESOME work station BTW, despite the name...)to the basement to use as storage shelving, and look to a generic, multi purpose pit that support the following:

-Flight simming, including support kit such as TM MFDs (down the road at least)
-Point and click style gaming (Think Civ 5)
-Mixed control gaming: Think Arma (moving between foot and vehicle control gear) or KSP moving between ship building and flying
-Act as a desk from when I work from home occasionally (If I'm ever back in a work-at-home situation, I'll get a dedicated work space)
-Racing Sims

The ideal monitor arrangement would be 3 ~30" screens (or maybe one larger, higher res screen) and a central touch screen that would allow for gauges and touch controls in flight simming.

My gear is currently in my Sig, but I'd like to be able to move relatively easily between setups. ie: I don't want to have to reach for the screw driver if I decide I want to go from FSX to Civ 5.

I know many love the obutto 'pits, but I also remember seeing someone (might have been the actual manufacturer) posting a sim-cockpit similar to the obutto on the site, but I can't remember what it was called. Just trying to layout all my options.

I'm also open to other suggestions people have.

Any thoughts?

Hey man, I've been in a search of exactly the same kind of desk, for the exact same kind of purposes, for almost half a year. Obutto promises to deliver to these requirements but the price tag and general hassle of getting one was not for me. What worked was getting a fredrik desk (great desk but would have preferred galant for the height adjustability) and getting stationary glides for my office chair. Then, I took off the armrests and screwed in straight metal brackets under both the left and right sides of my office chair where the armrests used to screw on (insert sexual reference here). Finally, a 2x4 was screwed on top of the bracket on each side. This would attend to flight simulation purposes. Yes, all-in-all it's quite a mediocre solution with one disadvantage: no armrests.

If you're good with tools however, construct your own 'office' chair using a car seat. I tried that out myself once to no avail, but if I went through with the project I'm certain it would be really promising.

Check out Volair Sim or Playseat for something pre-made that might satisfy what you're looking for.

Anyway, good luck!

I do flight sims as well as racing sims in my Obutto no problem. You'd probably have to go with the newer one if you want 3 x 30 monitors.

It's also comfy and I can sit in it for hours.

@vsempizdetz

Thanks for the info, Volair sim is actually the Obutto type setup I was thinking of (but couldn't remember the name). Would you be able to show a pic of your setup?

The price for a pit like this is something I'm willing to pay, as a well built sim-pit will last much, much longer than say, a new gaming PC.

I figure if this is more than $500, I'll probably push it back to later in the year though.

@Kestrel
How much of a hassle is it to swap between racing and flying? Also, do you do any mouse/keyboard type gaming in the seat.

@Ghost
Noticeably absent from those comparisons is the Volair pit, which looks to be obuttos closest competitor. As I recall from the last time I looked at Obutto, my head was spinning with all the different mounts and attachments. To be clear, I'm not ruling out the Obutto, but if there's better value to be had, I'm game.

From the Volair site:


On paper, the Volair looks like it has more value than the Obutto, but the question then shifts to build quality. $1000 for a fully loaded evolution pit is a lot, but again, I'm willing to consider the price as this is something that will be with me a long time.

One issue I do see with the Volair, is that it looks like my Saitek Combat rudder pedals might not fit (IIRC, the first gen Obutto pits had this problem as well, rectified with the Evolution pit).

As a heads up the Volair is just a rebranded GT-Omega v.1 cockpit, with some subtle changes to the mounting locations. How I know this is because GT Omega is our UK dealer, and because our US distributor is always on the ball.

I've never used the GT Omega, or the Volair incarnation, but if you want ergonomic use of your keyboard/mouse then I'd be very surprised if either can achieve this, and that's coming from someone that gave up using desks in '06, and have soley been using the obutto cockpits for work & play

Best wishes with your decision though!

Switching between flying and racing I wish was a little easier, but it only takes about 10 minutes for me.

1-unclamp and unplug wheel and store it in closet.
2- unplug racing pedals and store.
3-install joystick stand between legs, plug in my x52.
4-plug in my CH pedals
5-lock in my x52 throttle on my shifter mount. (I store it on here at all times because my DFGT wheel shifter is on the wheel itself.)

Mouse and keyboard games are fine, I play tons of RTS and FPS games on steam with no problem with the keyboard tray.

I doubt I would enjoy racing a FFB wheel on a Volair. Two long parallel tubes supporting the desk/wheel mount? No triangles for rigidity?

I recently purchased the Obutto R3volution and that was only after almost buying the Volair. You are right that the Volair looks great for the price but when looking closely at it I was left feeling it was of a much lower quality. Look at the table top for example. Just a sheet of metal with bent over edges. The keyboard tray is rather small too. You only ever see Volair using mini keyboards with it because if you use a full sized KB you have very little room for a mouse.

Being an avid gamer including first person shooters I need a keyboard tray with room to throw a mouse around.

I think the Volair is a nice cockpit but for a little more money you can have damn near a masterpiece in the Obutto R3volution.

Built mine the other day and its been a pleasure to use.

Thought I'd share. I have more to do but the basics are there...

I love my Obutto R3volution. If you are worried about water, throw some 4x4 or 4x6 runners down and bolt/screw the obutto legs/skids to those to raise it all up.

Hell, make a pontoon platform!

To Agressor blue
Obutto R3volution is not compatible with your MFG pedals...you will need width adjustment plate for that.

Some users reported that other obutto models are to narrow for my pedals too... keep it in mind

We also compared the oZone to the Volair -




We are also creating one for the R3Volution, but keep in mind, Volair's comparison posted prior is full of stuff that is not true. The only thing correct in their comparison to the r3v is that it doesn't come with a triple monitor mount.

That is something you are paying extra for if you are not wanting triple screens. So they give the appearance of value, but in the end, you may be paying for extra's you may never use.

Like what exactly Mike???

Actually your comparison is misleading as Volair pedal base is adjustable (up/down) just like oZone. Saying that Volair is not available with single mount is also false as you can take the arms and have a single monitor config. Lastly, you can have computer interchangeability with Volair just like obutto. In fact probably a better one since you have a larger table (provided standard I may add) vs. little wheel mount.


How about we refer the folks to the independent reviews (including one at SimHQ - Volair Sim Review ) and let them draw own conclusions.

I wanted to respond to AggressorBLUE regarding few items with Volair:

Looks like it has been few months since your post so this may not matter to you anymore but...

1. The Saitek combat rudder pedals WILL fit. It is a tight fit but they work.


2. Lastly, someone asked about keyboard ray being too small for std keyboard - as shown below, a full size keyboard and mouse will fit.




Good luck. Whatever choice you make, any sim cockpit will GREATLY increase your sense of realism and immersion.

As long as we're throwing out SimHQ review links, here's a few...

http://www.simhq.com/_technology3/technology_184a.html
http://www.simhq.com/_technology3/technology_173a.html
http://www.simhq.com/_technology2/technology_151a.html

Volair Sim, claims they are NOT a rebranded GT Omega cockpit (as Obutto claims).

In any case, there are options to pick from. Play nice.

G'day all,

My first time on the forum. I have bought an Obottu Revolution cockpit. Being shipped from the UK to South Africa at the moment.
My concern is that I have MFG crosswind rudder pedals and that the pedals won't fit in the cockpit.

Has anybody done some modifications to their Obutto Rev cockpit to fit wider pedals? Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Thanking you

Any update here, compatability with the crosswinds is a big concern for me.

And thanks for the replies from everyone (including reps from both obutto and Volair. Im still weighing my options at the moment, but Im hoping to pull the trigger in the next month or so.


Also, does anyone have info on how adjustable the monitor mount on the revolution is without the triple monitor package?

Salute all

I received my Obutto R cockpit last week. Took me lots of beer and later Rum and Coke to finish the build. Thinking the alcohol made the build longer. Lol

Received MFG rudder adjustment plate from Milan 2 days before the cockpit arrived from UK.

It fits perfectly. Lots of legroom and the pedals are not close to the frame of the cockpit. There are no issues between the Obutto cockpit and MFG pedals using the adjustment plates.

Cheers

V

I am new to this forum, and don't post much in others but I definitely have an interest in this discussion.

This is an exact posting I made over on Frontier. This is for both Elite: Dangerous and Mechwarrior, plus any other flight sim.

I have been wanting a good playseat for a while and have found a few (not so)inexpensive options. I would like to know if anyone has any of these or knows of anyone who has them or has considered these or other options.

Things to consider.

Must have options for any flavor: Hotas (or dual joysticks), rudders, Flight Stick/Driving Wheel, keyboard tray, mouse tray, Triple Monitor support and be sturdy enough to support people bigger than me. I weigh in at around 280 and am 6'2". No it is not muscle, not even close.

What I will be connecting is Thrustmaster Hotas WartHog, Saitek Combat Pro flight rudders, Logitech 510S keyboard (wider than most) and an Anker Mouse. I also have a Sennheiser Headset and a Oculus Rift Dev kit that will all be part of my environment.

Obutto R3Volution http://www.mainperformancepc.com/pro...gaming-cockpit

Obutto Ozone http://www.mainperformancepc.com/cat...aming-cockpit/

Volair Sim http://www.volairsim.com/Home.php (out of stock, supposed to ship early April) East coast delivery

Speedmaster Flight http://speedmaster2.de/index_en.html (Out of stock, "production issues") Germany delivery.

So far, I like the construction of the speedmaster, but I like the options of the Volair as an all in one. The R3Volution seems to have quite a few add-op's and both Obutto products become pricy when mirroring the options available to the Volair Sim.

To be honest, I am surprised I have not seen the Speedmaster seat referenced anywhere because it looks to be very well built. I am looking for ideas and additional suggestions because I know I didn't list all the possible good ones.

If anyone has cooked up some drawings for a metal based one, I would love to see them as well. I can always have one of my customers who does welding build it for me.

Keep in mind, the obutto pits are positioned as both desks/workstations, AND sim platforms. The speedmaster won't replace your work desk, and by extension, provide a comfortable place to play point-and-click style titles like FPS games.

That means a major advantage is the obutto can save space by playing multiple rolls and "deleting" your home work desk. Makes it easier to sell to the "acquisitions officer" of the house too, if you know what I mean

The Obutto also looks to have a more comfortable chair than the speedmaster.

The Volair pit looks to be a decent alternative to the obutto on all the above points, although it seems to lack the amount of adjustment options. I'm not sure it would play as nice with my MFG pedals as the R3volution would either. In general, I'd be more willing to buy the obutto pit without trying it first, as it's range of adjustment options would allow me to find a configuration that works, versus the Volair which looks to be less flexible. If I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me Volair owners!

FWIW, you can also check out playseats, a rough alternative to the speedmaster:
http://www.playseat.com/

I used to own one, and used it with my Fanatec wheel for playing Forza. It was nice, but It would get uncomfortable after a few hours of use. The leather would get hot, and my back would begin to ache. Sold it because I was moving away from forza and wanted to finance a new PC build.

Ok, here's my question.

I do Flight Simming (With CH Products, so none of your pre-drilled mounting options works for me, oh well) and Race Simming.

I can easily mount both my HOTAS and Race wheel with either the Obutto or the Volair, but. . .

Has anyone found a good setup for using both the flight pedals (CH Pro-Pedals) and the Racing Pedals (Logitech G27 in my case) that doesn't involve completely removing one set of pedals to switch to the other?

Not in an off the shelf model, but SHQ user DudleyAZ came up with an ingenious way to both slide out the wheel(scroll down):
http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3361640/Re_Another_Pit_Makes_Progress

And to quickly swap pedals:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2286818/59/Please_show_off_your_pit

^An example of elegant engineering. He's really just using available space and a few hinges.

I'm very familiar with DudleyAZ's pit. I even have his sketchup drawings of it around here somewhere. That was what I initially intended on building, starting about April 2012. Well, real life, a lack of tools, money, and tons of other things got in the way of actually taking the build from the initial planning stages to beginning actual construction. Such is life.

I figure that if I start with the Obbutto R3velotion, which meets almost all of my initial design goals, as the 'core' of the project, then I can save a great deal of design and construction time (and based on DudleyAZ's estimate a ton of money to). Just gotta figure out the pedal swap is all.

Do you sell adjustment plates? I did not see them on the site and is the only thing holding me back from purchasing. I would like it to work in my Obutto O-zone.

Could you tell me how you were able to order the adjustment plate? I did not locate it on the site.

Thank you very much in advance.

Contact milan directly (contact info should be on the site). And he'll get you setup