Realflight Website:
http://www.realflight.com/
Retailer website
http://www.towerhobbies.com/
Try it out you can usually find one you can try for free at a good sized hobby shop.
I have FMS and realflight. After first try of Realflight I never look back. You really get what you pay for.
Also these RC sims are reproducing the flight characteristics of RC models, NOT THE REAL PLANE. You give description of real plane you won't get the same response as a RC model.
As to the A-10 in realflight add-on 3, don't expect too much. It is one of those plane models in real flight add-on that have some issues. It floats too much when you try to land.
ORIGINAL: websterphreaky
ORIGINAL: RysiuM
Yes, I used FMS. I found FMS is often "to easy" to fly - quite unrealistic. There are many aspects of flying physics not implemented in there therefore many models don't fly like a real one, especially at the low speed or high angle of attack. Actually for A-10 it may by OK, as A-10 supposed to fly on the wing and that part of simulation is OK in FMS. But as soon as you slow down to stall speed and then apply control inputs the FMS does not behave naturally. For most propeller powered planes I found Real Flight (G2 or G3) quite good. I simulated GWS C-47 which in the simulation flies 100% like my real one with the only exception of taxi - the real model is not as responsive to the rudder input as the simulated one. I have also simulated few 3D planes and RF was very accurate - saved me few bucks as I was prepared for weired slow speed behaviour during the maiden flight.
I don't have all disks for RF so I did not try A-10, but I'm going to buy Add-Ons Vol3 with Warthog, then I will be able to modify all values to Guanli model's data. Then I can tell.
I've tried the Demo's of "ClearView RC Simulator" (kind of cheezy, the scenery is just a picture file), "RC Flight Master" ( either cheezy picture scenery or computer generated files not much better than FMS), and the nicest one but expesive "PRE-Flight RC Simulator" (too limited on flight models). I couldn't find any info on your Real Flight simulator. Where is that one listed on the web?
I disagree on the flight physics employed in FMS and I think most of their serious sim model developers would too. I talked to a couple of the FMS model developers and they have told me that they put in 12 to 20 hours of computer design time on the available kit planes and heli's airframes and flight characteristics files. My son and I are working one guy on a sim model of a super accurate 1/7th scale "gas" AH-1G Cobra we are building from scratch. I flew the AH-1G in Nam. The Dev is telling me to plan for a good 30 hours computer time from him based on the info we give him.
Perhaps some of the FMS sim devs are sloppy on the physics, but I noticed that two of the three Simulator programs above, either use the same FMS models or let you import the FMS sim models. They can't be bad if "pay for" Simulators uses those sim models.
Anyway, we're hoping that the sim model we're having made will be accurate enough to practice with.