I went into Hobbytown USA yesterday and tested both G3.5 & FS ONE.

I really liked FS ONE b/c the plane I used (P-51) felt very real when it was taxing around. The way it was bumping around and flew definitely impressed me. I then gave it the real test (for me) and used the Firebird Commander and this too felt very real to me, especially since I have this plane and the way it flew on the sim was exactly how I feel it flys in real life. HOwever, I didn't like it when the plane was further out from me. It seemed to really struggle coming back. It seemed the time it took to fly out to that distance, took A LOT longer brining the plane back and it didn't seem real. Kinda hard to explain I guess.

I liked G3.5 and I used the P-51 again (their verison I think is Top Flight's P-51). I think the camera view was more real. It seemed like it kept track of the plane as I was standing on the ground and I can't say I felt this was done correctly by FS ONE. I think FS ONE's view was set up the same. I love the fact that G3.5 will show if one of the landing gear wheels gets broken off and yet the plane will still fly! I was told that it also limits you on the time you can fly. So you can run out of gas! That's real! Can anyone confirm that?

When I spoke to two of the guys working there, one owned the Phoenix sim and he said he thinks it's #1 for helicopters and ok for planes but he said that FS ONE definitely was the worst when it comes to true flying characteristics for planes. However, he confirmed that the Phoenix sim doesn't show the plane break to pieces when it crashes...it simply just stops (very lame IMO) as the whole purpose of a sim is to simulate the entire experience of RC flying which we all know includes BAD crashes.

Then I the other guy said that the Reflex sim apparently has you flying in a giant box. Can anyone confirm this? Meaning, if you fly the plane far enough, it will simply meet the end of the invisable box and crash. Again, lame if this is true.

Looks like I'm back to deciding between G3.5 and FS ONE again.

I think I would like FS ONE more b/c I plan on getting a Hangar 9 Spit or P-51 (I'd only select the P-51 b/c I still think the Spit looks a little funny ((i.e., glossy finish, weird looking cowl or front part of the plane that I can't quite explain but it just doesn't look right) at any rate, I just want the best one that has the most realistic flying characteristics.

Nick