You're making it unnecessarily complex. The current version of x-plane does VR really well, viewport is in the pilot's seat and all you need for full immersion is a set of rudder pedals and the VR controllers themselves.

Using VR controllers, you can manipulate any modeled knob, switch, throttle, yoke, lever and trim wheel in the cockpit. With rudder pedals, it is as close as it gets to reality. I even felt nauseous after trying out aerobatics in it.

The biggest problem with VR in X-Plane is the headsets aren't high-res enough for the text on the instruments to be clear and readable. It's a bit better on the newer headsets with slightly higher resolution, but then the framerate tends to suffer. There's still a lot of room for improvement.

With Odyssey+'s new SDE filter, and 150% superscaling - I get smooth and really nice looking graphics! I compromise slightly on autogen ground scenery (one notch below ultra) and no ground shadows but everything else is maxed out.

I'm consistently above 45fps using 7700k and titan Xp (3 year old), I'm sure a 2080 or 2080Ti would do better.

HP Reverb was finally released: 2,160 x 2,160 resolution per eye! That's good enough for even reading text in VR!

I actually just lean forward a little bit with my Samsung Odyssey (original) if I want to know the exact figure - but I learned to fly in old 6-pack C152's so I'm quite used to the gauges and can generally tell I'm on the right speed / altitude / power setting pretty easily.

The resolution will get there eventually, but until then, VR flying is pretty awesome short of having multiple large displays wrapping around you.

On the HTC Vive Pro it's a non-issue, especially if you get some supersampling added to it. Crystal clarity. Issue then becomes FPS

My old version of x-plane sorely needs an update, so I'll check this out. Thanks!

This year at PAX East, Thrustmaster had a VR demo of their HOTAS controllers[1], which are intended to allow pilots to access all critical functions of the aircraft without removing their hands from the controls. It's been a long time since my flight sim days, and I've never had such a strong urge to drop a couple thousand dollars on a new gaming PC. (Thankfully I don't have that kind of money available at the moment.)

Your questions are all valid, and I'm sure the answers vary for different people. There's definitely a market though, and hopefully it's enough to motivate continued improvements in the tech.

[1]: http://www.thrustmaster.com/products/hotas-warthog