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Swift427 -> RE: Official Aerobird Swift Thread (4/16/2007 11:54 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: johnpcunningham
Being an engineer I was skeptical of RC simulators. Oh sure, they look fun but are they realistic? I spent the money and bought the FSone simulator (www.fsone.com).
I’m telling everyone out there who is new or thinking about getting into the RC flyers, PLEASE PLEASE buy this simulator first for their going price of $200. (i.e. I have no affiliation with them BTW). Why? You will spend more money on parts, time fixing, frustration, or even ruin your entry or mid level plane trying to fly on your own for the first time
Anyway….here is my review on the FSone simulator.
I loaded up the simulator on my PC. It is 4 CDs and takes about one hour to load, even on a dual core machine with 2GB 667MHz RAM. You MUST MUST have an NVIDIA 5000 series or ATI 9200 series graphics card or better. 128Mb minimum. It will not work without this kind of graphics power. I even tired an ATI rage with 128 MB and it would not run.
Once loaded, I plugged in the USB transmitter controller (no batteries required), ran the calibration and was ready to go. They have many planes you can buy on the market, not just generic planes (Hanger 9, Aerobird extreme, F27B Styker, gliders, E-flight helicopters, jets, etc). You can also choose the panoramic background to match where you fly. It is a real panoramic photograph, not computer animated. Airports, soccer fields, indoor backetball courts, etc. Following the plane is the same as you would see in the sky, like a camera tracking the plane and some autozoom if needed.
I started with the Aerobird Extreme. I practiced until the point I knew I had it right and turns were crisp with no stalls. The next day I went to the soccer field and tossed up my challenger (not part of the sim by the way) and thusly began my very first RC flight ever. I must say it felt as though I was sitting in front of my computer. Perfect flights, no crashes and the landings were all great. Turns were smooth and it looked like I had been doing it for a long time. The $200 spent on the simulator saved my plane and the frustration of repairing. The physics and dynamics were dead on.
So the next outing I had a few crashes and wondered why? I had gotten so good, right? Nope…stupid gusty wind. So ahh haa! I added in 16 and 20 mph gusty winds on the simulator, for here in Austin TX we have had some windy days lately. I see where I was making my mistakes and not turning into or away from the wind properly. Practiced on the simulator and now I have no problems flying in the wind. Problem solved. The FSone’s aerobird extreme and challenger fly so much alike that you should be fine if you only have the challenger.
I tried the RealFlight simulator at the local hobby shop. It isn’t bad but it does not give the realism that I found to be on the FSone. Not even close in my opinion.
Take it from me, a true skeptic, this simulator saved me lots of money and is about as close as you can get to the real thing. See if a buddy can split the cost with you. I’ve already loaned mine out to 3 of mine and they are impressed.
Hope this helps
John (JC)
After too many crashes and not much fun I decided to check out this simulator at a local hobby store. I quickly became a believer and appreciate John's recommendation for the Hangar 9 FS One Precision Flight Simulator. I believe it's worth the initial outlay over the long run. It will save me a lot of frustration and time in making repairs. It'll make flying more enjoyable as it will definitely shorten the learning curve for me, my son and it will be a big plus for my grandson to encourage him instead of frustrating him with too many crashes. Now the three of us can get realistic practice flying different planes and in the process become much better pilots in considerably less time, with considerably fewer crashes, less frustration, less downtime due to repairs, less money leaving my wallet and most importantly more quality time in the field enjoying the X-port accessories.
Thanks John!
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