I recently started using Phoenix4 with the "J"update, and while I do get slight stutters on occasion when the frame rate drops below 35 frames per second, most of the time I get a smooth picturewith frame rates above40.

I briefly used Real Flight3 some years back, and was hugely disappointed with the miniature size of their helis,which simply could not be made any bigger on thescreen. I literally needed a microscope to see Real Fights helis, and wound up mothballing it for good after a short, frustrating attempt to use it.That bad experience with Real Flight left a bitter taste for me, and I won't be a customer of theirsin the future,regardless of the number of updated editions thatemerge.

With Phoenix 4 however, you can count the rivets on the helicopter fuselage when you fly it in close, and the flight dynamics are just awesome. The poor performance that some users get out of Phoenix 4J may be entirely due to their computer systems, and not due to any real shortcoming of Phoenix 4j. The online multi-player feature of Phoenix is great as well, with minimal stutters even with several players on line simultaneously.