I borrowed my friends flight sim. Is the real thing even close to it. I could take off with most of the planes even the jets. Basic flying was easy. The hard part on the sim qas to land on the runway. I could land the trainer and a couple of the low wingers but never close. It drove me nuts.

It depends on which sim you were using. IMHO, the most realistic one is ReafFlight G2. You can make it easy or realistic, program in wind, has realistic ground handling, etc. About $200.

The secret to landing on the runway is to use some visual landmarks from the background as to when to make your down wind and final turns. Remember, your peripheral vision is EXTREMELY limited when using a sim.

Landing is easier in real life(most of the time). I hadn't played with my Real Flight sim for a while so I broke it out after about 2 weeks of rain earlier this spring. I had a heck of a time getting it in on the run way.

Thats the thing to be honest i reckon sims are only good to get you used to the co-ordination needed for flying rc planes, it is almost impossible to compare a person who is good at "computer Games" to someone who is a experienced flyer, Dont get me wrong i think sims can be a great help at start the but i think as you get better there is no subsistute for practice and experience with real models.

Just my 2cents as you americans say.

I have RealFlight and it's great to learn the basics on - namely reversing directions on aileron/rudder when the plane is coming at you. The wind is not very realistic in terms of buffeting, but you can practice crabs and slips with it turned on.

But it's easy to get disoriented when flying high and the ground is not in the on-screen image. When I fly higher, I lose all reference to the ground, and since the plane is always in the center of the screen, it's hard to tell where you're going if you can't see the ground to get some bearings. I sometimes accidently fly the plane way behind the pits. In real life, you wouldn't have this disorientation.

Also, those RealFlight 2D Sim People don't seem to mind when I pile drive a 40% Ultimate into their pits or spectator stands so I guess that's not very realistic... In real life, I'd be locked up and owe millions in lawsuits or just flat out lynched.

I agree with skydude. The Realflight simulator really helped me on my first flight. Try and make that simulator as real as possible. Use a little wind sometimes, and try to make yourself land on the runways. I personally have only made one landing out of four flights so far, I just made stupid mistakes!! Anyway, spend some hours on the simulator,it will definatly help!

it might help, but the real thing is a whole lot better

If you can't land on the sim don't count on landing at the field. It's harder at the field. Keep practicing and you will get it. Will pay off in spades for you.

I, too, agree that the sim can't replace the "real thing". I have a great deal of trouble finding the runway myself, but can at least make very nice landings where ever I end up. That is the dis-advantage of 2D.
OTOH, the sim is a great way for us newbies to learn orientation and control in the air, especially when the aricraft is headed in our general direction. It is also a fun place to spend a rainy Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Crash all the planes you want/can and keep on going!

dano13

I agree that the realism will depend a great deal on which Sim you've been using. Something like FMS is virtually worthless except as a way to train your thumbs for right and left turns, whereas Real flight or say Aerofly pro with a bit of wind turned on is much better.

I've been flying for about 9 years now, and when I use Real flight I can land on the center of the runway every time. I WILL say that some planes are harder to land than in ral life, primarily because they bounce more than the real ones.

I will also say that I find many of the planes easier to fly because the stall characteristics are no where near as severe on the sims. I'm sure that Great Planes (makers of Real Flight) aren't going to portray their CAP 232 as having a nasty tendency to snap on a slow landing approach, now are they?

Also make sure that the landing realism is turned all the way up if you want to get a true feel for landings.

Welcome to RCU!
Dennis-

I can say that with a simulator I was able to land successfully on my first 5 attempts with my Piper Cub. I have about 5 minutes of buddy box training, more to get jitters out than anything else.

I say it's the only 'investment' you can make in this hobby. That is, it is the only thing you will buy in this hobby that is worth more than its actually cost.

BTW my sim is AFP.

The sim. ( RealFlight) was great for me, the Spacewalker is very realistic and I found that when I actually flew mine, it was almost identical, except that the engine on the simulator was unrealistically powerful, and I wasn't prepared for the tipstall at takeoff when I tried to climb out at too steep an angle. ( soon sorted that out).

Landings I found were similar or a little easier, take offs a little more difficult (longer grass etc.)

I learnt by myself, so the sim was really invaluable, - I don't think that I could have done without it.

Thanks for this post I'm very new to flying, my wife just purchased an my first plane for me. As for the sim. My local hobby shop has one and he lets me use it as often as I want. I have'nt got the nerve to fly my plane yet, hopefully the wind will cooperate with me this weekend. I'll let you know if the sim helped me not to make tooth picks outta my plane on my 1st REAL flight.

Get an instructor mmedrano!! I have Real Flight as well and i would agree about getting disoriented sometimes. Sometimes you just cant seem to find the runway...or you'll find it sooner than expected. The thing to do is to adjust the view settings. You can set where the pilot (you) stands, then where to look. You can tell the pilot to look at a fixed point so you'll always have landmarks in your view. If you do this, you will want the viewport turned on and the plane will become a small speck after a while unless you have a $600 video card. Just throw the viewport in there and youll know which way the plane is facing. Just my 2 cents.

I think the number one difference between simulators and the real thing is there is no sense of "urgency" and/or nervousness while using a simulator. If you crash on a sim...so what...just hit the restart button. It's amazing how much nerves and the need for making split second decisions play a part in flying.
Just my two cents...
Pat

I'm still trying to get my sim to work. It's an FMS. I don't have any control of the plane at all. It's like there aren't any input from the transmitter. Not sure yet what's wrong and would like to get it going to practice.

I learned to fly planes the old fasion way with the buddy box, but when I got into helicopters there was no one around to help so I bought the G2 sim.

There is no doubt in my mind that the sim is worth the money I paid for it. I wish I would have had the sim back in my buddy box days. I'm sure I could have saved a few of those planes that went down when I was learning.

I had the same initial problem. I use a USB cable to my Tx. Using the "Controls" menu, select "Analog control" Next, in the list, select the bottom selection "Serial PIC". With that highlighted, select "Resources". Under "Port" select COM3. Click "OK"

That done, assuming you are using a USB cable, you should be able to go to the "Mapping/Calibration" section. You *should* be able to move your Tx sticks and see the bars move up and down. Mind you, I bought the least expensive USB cable so my transmitter MUST be turned on for it to work. I have a Hitec Laser 6 and it works great set up as above.

Hope this helps!

dano13

Thanks Dano, That sounds like that will work. Where did you find the USB cable?

I'm sure RealFlight and Aerofly are much better, but I don't agree with your virtually worthless claim on FMS, Dennis.

I, like many others, have very limited funds available for R/C. The basic flight equipment took all my initial funds so FMS was my only sim option. I downloaded the virtual SPADs. I got my hands on a good basic R/C flight manual and spent many hours on FMS with my transmitter as the controller. Logged about 60 or 70 hours of FMS sim flight before my first day at the field with an instructor and my plane.

The results? My instructor says I was the fastest student he's ever had. I was doing loops and rolls on my first day of instruction - without the need for his intervention (saves).

Now, does this mean I'm just a talented great flyer? Hardly! I'm an average joe with scarred and arthritic fingers, my depth perception is not the best, and I'm really, really near-sighted. My eight year old grandson also kicks me to pieces on the video games.

What made my solo curve very short was the time I spent learning to fly correctly on FMS. And then doing it over, and over, and over ... before I took my first real flight.

FMS may not have all the bells and whistles but it will do the job well if a guy spends time with it.