Naturalpoint’s TrackIR is probably the second most essential flight sim accessory after a good joystick. It’s essentially a camera sensitive to IR light, but it’s not used to take pictures. When you wear a baseball cap with special reflective spots the camera can work out where your head is (in relation to your monitor). Armed with this information the included software can “track” the motion of your head as you look around.

The end result is that when you’re sat in the cockpit of your virtual plane, you can look around by physically moving your head. Sounds odd but it actually works really well.

(And yes, you look like a dork if you answer the door wearing the hat. So remember to take it off first!)

The new version 5 product quietly slipped onto the website last week with very little announcement – the main enhancement seems to be increased resolution, which translates into smoother tracking.

RCSimulations is the UK supplier and they’re currently selling off the v4 product at under £100, so expect to see the v5 in stock shortly.