On Wednesday, January 29, 2014 12:44:51 PM UTC-5, Tom Gardner wrote:
For someone's reaction while "on" a rollercoaster (which is a good
analogue of flying a glider in several ways, some of which are
relevant to this discussion), have a look at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax6YbaUyRi4

I don't think that riding a roller coaster and soaring are quite the same experience. You can't keep your eyes on the horizon on a coaster and that is one good way to tame motion sickness in a glider.

That said, the fact that you can get motion sickness in VR is widely accepted. As noted in your youtube clip, it especially comes to fore when the person is moving around and having inner ear sensations that don't match the visuals. Whether that will happen in Condor with VR is an open question. It's premature to 'say nay'.

I had motion sickness on my first three glider rides and then my brain adapted. Perhaps the same thing will happen with Condor. Many people experience the carry-over of skills from real flying to Condor (and vice-versa). I'd think that motion sickness in a real glider is more of a problem, because your inner ear experiences G-forces that don't match what you are seeing. Sitting in a chair and flying Condor would weaken those confusing inner ear sensations and maybe that would make them less of a problem.

Some people get motion sickness in high end aircraft simulators, but they are still rather useful.

The neurological explanation for motion sickness is pretty interesting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_sickness