where do i find a good simulater to learn with?

They have one on ebay right now.

There are two exceptional sims; one is Great Planes "Real Flight", available from Tower Hobbies and cost about $200; the second is a sim called "Aerofly Pro". I don't know where to buy Aerofly, or how much it costs, but I believe the cost is a bit less than RF.

FMS is a free simulator, but it doesn't have adjustable parameters like wind speed, or the ability to change engines or control throws in the planes. To use FMS you would need to get an interface cable off the internet to connect your transmitter to your PC. (The other two come with a "box", or fake transmitter.) The interfaces for FMS can be purchased for about $25 shipped. Do a search for Matt Clements.
Dennis-

Aerofly Pro is 139.00 now at www.aeroflypro.com this includes the expansion pack. I would strongly recommend going over to the rc simulator forum and reading some opinions. Personally I would regard RF G2 (real flight generation 2) as a waste of money, not nearly as realistic in flight characteristics as Aerofly Pro (AFP) and being 60 dollars more for an inferior product seems a little unreasonable to me.

If you havent downloaded FMS--do it and practice on it until you are as proficient as you want. Then consider upgrading, (remember FMS is free - a cable can be purchased for ~$20 to connect you transmitter directly to your comp) FMS be all that you want or need. I used FMS and believe it is truly great, not just because its freeware, but because its reasonably good.

As far as "pro" sims AFP is my vote.

Interesting how opinions differ. I've used both and find Real Flight the more realsitic as far as the physics of the flying goes. The graphics in Aerofly are better though.
Dennis-

Wow, thats the exact opposite of my experience, IMO RFG2 seems to have marginally better graphics with better surface and sky detail. The easy way to test the physics (for me) is to take a 3d plane and hover a couple feet off of the deck and watch your inputs vs. whats happening on-screen; IMHO there are no physics that will provide realisim in RFG2 for 3D.

Any sim is better than no sim.

Even flying an old version of MicroSoft's Flight simulator using a 1980's style cheapie joystick can be helpful in gaining some "feel" for flying the models. Simply set the sim to "Tower View" and select a Cessna 172/182 or similar airplane and its very much like flying an RC trainer.

FMS is not bad, and is usually the sim that they sell on E-Bay wiht a TX adapter for about $15 to $20. The TX adapter makes it a passable deal. FMS is free for download (shareware or freeware... I forget which) and includes instructions for making the adapter.

RipMax makes an OK sim wiht a set of tasks to try to complete. The tasks are not easy for the average sport modeler to do to the satisfaction of the program. (If you can do them all the way the computer wants you to... you are doing very well.) Graphics are not as good as Real Flight G2 and aircraft selection is limited. This sim shows you the debris field when you crash. (its very hard to have debris cover the whole runway.)

Dave Brown's flight sim is good. It gves a repair cost estimate when youcrash. Its possible for it to tell you it will cost $600 to repair the $300 value trainer. (if you go straght down full power and try to drill a hole to China.)

RealFlight G2 is about as good as the sims get. But the realizm ends when the model hits the dirt... it just bounces some and then starts smoking.

**********

Obviously... its somewhat entertaining to see how big a wreck you can make with the sims that show the results. But remember that preventing the wrecks of the models is the whole point of using the sim as a training aid.

I used RealFlight to train for about a month before I got my trainer going. I found it to be highly realistic. What I did on the sim I could exactly duplicate out at the field. I think some planes definitely fly more realistically than others. That might be why people have divergent opinions. For example the Fokker Triplane in the expansion pack lumbers along at a speed that absolutely defines gravity. Other planes, for example, the "Fandango" electric flyer are so quirky I can bearly keep it them in the air -- but then that's great practice too.

In the end, I feel that RealFlight was well worth the money and not something I'll stop using now that I've solo'd. It's great practice to take a quirky plane with dangerous tip stall characteristics and put it into a spin and then try to recover. It's fun practicing left thumb only flying (rudder and throttle) before trying it out on the real plane. Later when I get better I can imagine myself working through whole routines on RF before the real deal.

Can you learn without a good sim (or any sim at all)? Of course, but don't expect it to be any cheaper!

I have FMS(with out cable) and enjoy flying the Me262 into the clubhouse, hehehe
Should knock a few cobwebs out!

Its a great sim to mess around with and you can also download other planes for it(like SPADS etc)

Zimbo

does any one no if the g2 flight simulater is any good

FMS is a great sim when used with a cable- BUT The included aircraft are spotty as far as realism. I have coded my own aircraft and have re-created the models to match my real planes..

I currently have all my personal models built in FMS-- See photo and gallery..

$15-20 cables??? Where? Everywhere I looked they were $45+shipping[]

No kidding my Futaba> USB cost $60.

I went to Ebay and type in "fms cable" in the search box and found several of them. Starting price @ $16.99 with Buy It Now

RealFlight G2 vs. AeroFly Pro
Realistic:
G2: more realistic for .40 - .60 size planes
AFP: better for 3D and scale planes

Graphics: AFP better

Physics: AFP better


You decide. Make sure you visit the Flight Simulator Software forum before buying the sim
Good luck

Just go to e-bay and search for FMS Cable

I used RealFlight G2 to learn to fly planes and helis, it's very realistic, and an excellent simulator to learn on. One advantage RFG2 has over all of the others is that it comes with a USB controller made by Futaba. This controller looks and feels like a Futaba TX, and it allows you to buy the sim and start learning to fly before you invest $$$ in a radio system. This controller also acts as a USB interface for your own TX, if you chose to use it instead. With the included USB controller, it's just " plug & play", no screwing around with getting the right USB interface converter, cables, and programming your radio properly to work with the sim. Even though I have a Futaba 9C, I still just use the USB controller that came with RFG2, because it's so much more convenient to use.

I'm currently using Real Flight G3 and in the opinion of my father it is very realistic. As for graphics, they're good enough for me...

All for the round plug Futaba.[] Nothing for the new square plug.

If you run a JR radio, and you want to use FMS, there is a way to do it with a cord you buy at radio shack. Here is what you do. D/L FMS--it's free. Then, D/L a little program called smart propo. Do a google search for smart propo and you'll find it. Now, you install smart propo. This allows you to hook up your JR transmitter into your sound card (the in or mic port on the sound card). This is where the radio shack cable comes in. Go to Radio shack and buy a mini pin to mini pin, monoural stereo cable (it looks like the JR trainer cord--if you already have a Jr trainer cord, use it instead!). Hook one end of the trainer cord (or stereo cable) into your trainer port, and the other end into your mic or input on the sound card. It will work. Now, With windows XP, it actually doesn't work with some systems for some reason (The website explains this). I couldn't get it to work on my desktop, but it worked like a dream on my laptop (both are running windows XP)--go figure that. Anyway, it's worth a try. If it doesn't work, you've lost nothing but a little time. If it does work, then you have a free trainer that you can use your own transmitter with. I now run real flight G2--I bought it because I wanted to use my desktop for flight, and I thought it would be better than FMS. It is better than FMS. Don't buy the G2 lite, though. You can't customize anything with it. I bought g2 when it went on sale as g3 was coming out. I'm glad I did. It works for me, and I saved almost a 100 bucks over the price of g3. I know some people swear by g3, and if I get into big bad 3d flying, I might upgrade. I agree with the above post, you can't hardly hover on g2. The camera angle is always changine, which throws you off, and the physics just aren't good enough (or, maybe the pilot isn't ! ). Anyway, for what I do (practice pattern stuff and aerobatic stuff, takeoffs and landings), I like it. I don't know about aerofly, I've heard good things about it though. If you are going to buy one of these, I would think either one would serve its purpose well.