Is this software worth the dosh? I mean $200 for a controller and video games seem high, but if it would potentially save me from crashing a plane or heli then it may be. I never flown RC airplanes before, and would like to start, I am just wondering if Realflight is the way to go....

rearviewmirror,

I have G2 and love it. I think it is worth every penny I paid for it. I think it helped me. I have read other threads of people who don't think as much of it as I do.

Dave Brown makes one also that is a bit cheeper and one call FMS is down loadable for free. Read more about it here
http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...&highlight=FMS

If you don't have an interface and don't want to wait for the program to download you can get it from ebay here
http://search.ebay.com/search/search...m=R2&catref=C3


Hope this helps,
Mikee

Check this one out. It works great, doesn't have all the fansy shamnsy features of G2, but doesn't have the cost either. I would recommend building the interface cable for your TX, instead of using the keyboard. The joystick isn't bad though either. Keep in mind, we are trying to build hand-eye coordination and airplane orientation skills.

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/

Hey rearview,
I also thought it was well worth it, although I have to say I didn't try any of the other sims. I got frustrated with inconsistencies from instructors, and have private land to fly on, and basically taught myself on G2. I had flown around occasionally before, but never took off or landed. It is definitely a little different in 'real life', but if you play around with G2 enough all the control input re. direction, controlling airspeed, etc., become so automatic that when you do go out with a real plane, you just need to get comfortable with that and not think about which way your fingers are moving. I have several planes, and never a crash, and never damage that would have kept me from going right back up. If you get it, play with the wind, and with the faster planes, it will help alot. Also, I just have to say, I have lived in a bunch of cities, and hands down the best group I have met in the hobby are the guys on the south side of Austin, they did fly off Slaughter Lane, and probably still do. If you are nearby, I'd try to get involved there. It'd been different for me had I stayed in Austin.
Good luck!!!

Guys on the Southside of Austin huh? Do you have a name for their club or anything contacts? I live up north off of Parmer Lane, but I am sure I can make it down there to check out their activities. I think there is some clubs in Cedar Pard and Round Rock too. I don't even have a plane yet, but I think I will find it quite embarrising to spend countless hours building and preparing only have it end up in 100 pieces rather quickly. Thanks for the info on the RealFlight software, I might just have to go for it, and since I don't have my own plane or radio I will have to use that faux radio. When you use your own radio does it connected directly to the PC or through the Faux radio?

Learn something that keeps you from crashing once, and you have paid for the software. Learn a new maneuver over two weeks of practice and it will be worth a million!

ReviewMirror,

North of Austin there is the Austin RC Club http://www.austinrc.org They have a flying field off of 290 and Decker Lane. 450ft paved runway, etc.

Also there is the Georgetown club: http://www.geocities.com/gama_rc/ It is a 450ft grass runaway.

Don't know much about the Slaughter Lane flyers myself.....

Later!

go to like ebay and get it from there.

i bought realflight g2 for $140 off of ebay. Saved probably like a good 60-70 bucks

Alot of people badmouth Realflight. Yes, it is expensive. Yes, it is not perfect. I have played around with most of the other sims and I always want to get back to Realflight. I can practice a certain maneuver at home then go the field and do it. It keeps my reflexes honed during the off season. I have seen people show up at the field who have never flown the real thing but have a bunch of simulator time and I am amazed at how fast they progress. My feelings are, if you can afford it, Realflight is the only way to go.

In my opinion, I found Realight G2 with USB Interlink
wasnt worth the money at all. I really dont feel G2 is for
electric flying beginners as it has almost no choice
(as it comes) in flying electric trainers. The program is
very difficult for newbies to edit an existing gas plane
to make it into an electric. Realflight tech support
was no help either. So I sold my G2 package and
purchased Cockpit Master Backyard Edition for
$29.50 (!!!!) and purchased a stand-alone
Realflight USB Interlink transmitter from Tower Hobbies
for $80.00 (CMBE has a patch that works with
the USB interlink) and it has over 20 electrics (including my
Sky Scooter Pro in it) to fly with. Editing planes is
a breeze as well. I am far happier with this $110 package cost than with the $200+ cost of G2. Your mileage may differ
of course.

I've had Realflight since 2000, and G2 since it came out. I don't use it anymore. Lots of people praise it, and I think for what they do with it it's great. I have two problems with it, the first is that it doesn't model stalls and spins correctly. It's impossible to get a plane to spin as it should, and that's a pretty basic thing. The other problem is that I don't have the self-discipline to use it as I should. It's not anywhere near as exciting or interesting as actual flying, and I have a very difficult time "practicing" with any real concentration. Between the physics problems and my tendancy to goof around with it, I don't get much accomplished.

Personally I think $200 worth of fuel and time at the field will make you a far better flier than $200 for Realflight and the same amount of time. That's not possible for everyone, what with winter and all. I'm done flying until April, and I'll probably spend 20 minutes with RF between now and then. I tire of it quickly.

Rearview,

I have both G2 and Cockpit Master BE. I've never tried FMS.

My opinion...

If you are into computers then I would recommend it. It's about 4 computer games (in cost). I pull it out every week or so to play around and I use it to practice specific things (I'm still pretty new, so its a short list) like rolls and landings (lots of landings).

Not to upset anyone, I think there is a group of "old timers" who underestimate the value of a sim to a never before flown pilot. I saw this pretty clearly at my club this summer. On the other hand, I wouldn't EVER recommend that someone could learn to fly a gas trainer with just a sim.

However, as was said in another post, G2 isn't particularly good for electrics. I actually got Cockpit Master before G2 and taught myself to fly a slowflyer (Merlin) with it. I used a 2 joystick gamepad to control it, and found that was nearly as good as having a real radio in terms of learning how to deal with plane orientation.

So, I would recommend it if buying a $200 computer game isn't that big a deal to you.

GB

PS Oh, and despite being able to handle a parkflyer and having G2, it still took me quite a few flights on a buddy box to get the hang of a gas trainer.

Have fun...

Hey Anthony .. If you live in the Parmer area, stick to ARCA or G-Town .. the slaughter lane area is nice but a big HAUL ! ... Also, there are a collective group of heli fliers that go out to Leander HS on the weekends, and the old executive Airpark on Howard has a section of strip that they have permission to use.

I had FMS and it's okay .. but the graphics are terrible. But they make interfaces to use your actual radio. Monday I'm going to get my new radio (8103) and I got some extra X-mas money so I'm going to bite the bullet and get G2 ... I disagree with the comment that $200.00 of fuel and time is worth the experience .. there may be some truth to that, but at about $60-$100 per heli crash it won't take long to add up - once you buy G2 you can crash all you want for free. And like some people said, even if the program is not perfect, and can't do ALL the maneuvers correctly, at least you get used to the feeling of the sticks to help you with the basics. There are some that have done ALL of their training with G2, and some people do it before they fly, and once with their instructor it significantly helps the learning curve.

On the worst side, if you spend $199.00 on it, they REALLY hold their value .. most go for $150.00 or more on here or Ebay, so even if you decide to sell it, once you've tried it you can get most of your money back out of it .. and they sell FAST. I say go for it .. hey, when do you want to hook up to fly or even BS ?

I have never flown an actual R/C airplane, nor do i even own one yet.

I live in Ohio, so it is just too cold to fly outside right now (well, i would fly if i had the choice but none of the clubs do, and im not going to fly without an instructor). I've only used realflight g2 for 2 days so far (because its a christmas gift, but i was able to test it out before it was put under the tree)...but from what i have learned so far...i know it is going to help me A LOT!

It's the PERFECT thing for any newbie, especially in winter months when it is too cold to fly. Everyone i have talked to has recommended it (people here, everyone at the club im joining). And when it does warm up finally, and i go out for my first flight....i know i will be far more advanced then the normal newbie flyer.

Like i said before, i only paid $140 of of ebay for it...so i saved a good amount of money on it. Would i have paid the full price for it if it wasnt for ebay? YOU BET I WOULD!

hey, im a college student and i prefer the free crashes over the expensive ones

It's a nice program, but definitely not without its flaws, like most other software.
I don't like the price... but given that RC is a niche market, I can understand it.
They might never make their money back, let alone profit, if they charged typical game prices.
Being that they are in business to make a profit, it's perfectly understandable
Especially since it isn't in your everyday computer stores...
which to me was a marketing blunder, by the way... they could've charged less
and tripled or quadrupled sales, with the right angle. It could have sold hundreds (thousands?)
of copies just based on impulse buys... just like the "toy" park flyers are selling right now.

It boils down to "what it's worth to someone serious about RC", the way it's sold currently.
(Much like some of the specialty items for auto racers, fishermen, boaters, motocross freaks, etc...)
Wanna play? Gotta pay. I still figure on picking up a copy of my own soon
RF G2 is pretty much the accepted standard now, and the multiplayer mode is the kicker.