ORIGINAL: orenda635
I bought the original Real Flight a few years ago, and it sucked bad. Very unrealistic, though it was more primitive than what's out there today. I tried the G3 demo as well, and IMO, it hasn't improved that much. Planes feel very clunky in the sim, not smooth as they do in real life. Not to mention the fact that they're over priced. One of my gripes with G3 is the fact that you can't buy just the software. You have to pay for the controller. Since I already have an interlink, that makes little sense. Hangar 9's sim comes with just the software though, yet it too is very expensive. I see no need for them to cost so much since similar programs, such as Microsoft's Flight Simulator series, are nowhere near that expensive.
With a good instructor, flight sims are totally unnecessary.
You don't have to spend $200, there are some good budget RC flight sims out there, orenda635. The Clearview flight sim is only $30 for the full registered version, and they have a free downloadable trial you can get at
http://www.rcflightsim.com Clearview's graphics and physics aren't in the same class as Real Flight G3.5, but with a properly configured controller, it does fly fairly good and is well worth the $30 asking price.
The FMS flight simulator isn't quite as impressive with regard to graphics, sound, or physics, but the price (free) is certainly fair. Even FMS can help a new pilot practice with regard to control orientation. Raidentech.com has a USB E-Sky flight sim controller bundled with the FMS simulator on CD for $19.99. You can download FMS or simply learn more about it by visiting:
http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html
For $49.99 you get get the E-SKY USB controller with the FMS CD
and a fully registered copy of the Clearview simulator. Two full flight sims with a dedicated radio controller all for the price of an XBox game is a pretty good deal.
I didn't discuss it in-depth previously, but the EasyFly2 flight sim might be the best bargain on the market for an advanced physics flight simulator. EasyFly2 was developed by IPACS, the same folks who developed Aerofly Professional Deluxe. EasyFly2 uses the same graphics and physics engines as APD, it simply offers a more streamlined package with fewer models and flying sites. It's $99.99 with a transmitter interface cable, or $129.99 with a USB game controller. You can learn more about EasyFly2 simply by visiting the dedicated web site at
http://www.easyfly2.com
You might think flight sims are "totally unnecessary" orenda635, but then so are 4-stroke engines, computer radios, electric starters, and a lot of other things that make the hobby more convenient, more diverse, and more fun. Flight Simulators are one of the hottest segments of the hobby right now and there are more and more quality products competing for marketshare.
I stated in my initial post that a flight simulator isn't a necessity. I just think it's nice to be able to practice inverted flat spins at 11:30PM while I'm in my jammies!