will realflight help me learn to fly better? thinking of getting G4 ? y/n ?

The Real Flight simulator will definitely help you. I used it for years.

Sims will help you train your brain to give the correct inputs, but they will not teach you to fly. I recommend sims to people who have already become proficient at flying a trainer. Once you are safe, fly whatever you want.

Personally, I think foam is superior to sims as a training tool....but a properly set-up 3D foamie will cost about the same as a sim.

yes

I couldnt imagine flying anything at all without practicing on a sim for many hours first. Trainers fly the same way any other plane does,so to me,that wouldnt have helped either. Sims teach you orientation......And thats by FAR the hardest,most important,and potentially the most expensive part of learning to fly. Once you get that down,the rest is trivial.

Sure,you could still learn with an instructor,but it would be 10 times as frustraiting not just for you,but for your instructor.....plus it would take ten times as long because you wouldnt have the benifit of just crashing over and over again to learn from. And thats how you learn!!!

You wouldnt even need the newest and best sim like a G4. Yeah,it would be nice...but not needed. I learned using a free sim I downloaded of the internet (FMS flight sim) that I was able to configure to a gaming joystick I had laying around that worked in the same manner as an R/C controller. If I did want to buy a sim,I would probably just buy an old used version like G2 or G3....if that off ebay for much cheaper than a new one.

Whatever you decide..........GET A SIM!!! It'll be the best investment you could make in learning to fly R/C by FAR.

[8D]

I've been using RealFlight G3.5 (hoping to get G4 for x-mas) ever since about a couple months ago when I first got into RC. This has helped me a great deal, and if I keep it up - when I train in the spring, I'll solo in no time ! And to answer your question - YES ! With the G4, if you fly or are into float planes, from what I've seen online and in magazines, this would suit your intrests more than if you weren't into float planes. Although on G4 their is some non-float planes and non-float plane flying sites. I do believe G4 is still the way to go regardless of like or dislike of float planes. On G3.5 I mainly fly the Hobbico Nexstar but, I do enjoy flying the other ones as well. Although the simulator doesn't teach you everything - their is so much more to learn at the field. In my opinion any sim would help you a great deal - you don't need any fancy simulator to learn how to fly.


-- TakingFlight96

Sims are good tools. There's a lot they won't teach you though. They won't teach you all the things you need to know in the pits, properly setting up equipment, how to preflight or anything about field etiquett. They will help you with the actual flying, but becareful, because as it helps practice, it can also help establish bad habits. For example, one bad habit I have to watch for is flying too low. With the sim, I fly low so I don't loose orientation to the field. At the field, I tend to want to fly low and often don't give myself enough goof room making a mistake, radio hit, or deadstick more critical.

On the other hand, they are a great way of trying new manuvers without risking your plane. They can help keep your skills more tuned during the off season too. If you do go with the sim, I strongly recommend trying your hand at editing the planes. I find some are not well setup and others are too forgiving. I often add weight, makes slight adjustments to the CG and drop the power of engines and increase rotational torque.

Scott

Um...I guess in some ways yes, but trust me, you would not want to go from a SIM to anything more than a trainer.


ALWAYS get experienced help...practice A LOT and use the sim as a tool (mentioned above...more than once).

The sim will help, and it's a blast to fly when you can't make it to the field

Austin

I probably flew 200 knife edge passes on G3.5 before I ever tried it at the feild. I hovered in the sim before I ever tried it at the feild. I am now practiceing 4 point rolls before I try it at the feild... G3.5 has paid for it's self by saving me hundreds of crashed airplanes.

As you may or may not have noticed, a KE pass, especially high-alpha KE's are far different on the sim than in reality. 4 pt rolls are about the same...hovering on a SIM is just kinda funny.

Its great when first starting out as well as down the road to practice and experiment with new maneuvers. I dont use it as much anymore but when I am thinking of trying something new, I try it first on RealFlight to see what I can expect.

Actually, I've been practicing KE passes on G4. Just did 15minutes worth with the Tiger. And was also doing point rolls too. Friday at the field I felt like doing those maneuvers with my Tiger60 and kept screwing them up. I've never really wanted to do competition quality until seeing how uncompetitive mine look. So figured to get some really safe practice.

What many people neglect to do is dial some REAL WORLD into their sim. You can't blame the sim makers for setting the wind and turbulence defaults at calm/none, can you? That's how those things install. No wind and no turbulence. And I noticed how bland the flying was compared to RL. Lot's of people don't notice things. Assuming the sim isn't real is one of the first things that happens. Assuming it can't be set to give real world conditions is the next. And there's more.

I've found that most of the models in G3, G3.5, and G4 are perfectly trimmed. Darned if they don't fly really good. At first, I thought they flew too good. And then I got one of my RW models trimmed out really good. And guess what...... It flies like the one in the sim. So just for kicks, one day I got into the sim and moved the CG off in one of the models and darned if it didn't fly more like my RW airplane. Dang if it ain't amazing what can be done with computers these days.

Honest, all it takes sometimes is utilizing the application's functionality a bit more. Lot's of powerful applications get a rap they don't deserve.

On G-2, if you click on view and then click on look at ground, you can fly as high as you want to and still see the ground.

I'm not sure if this is the case with the newer versions of Real Flight.

It's about building muscle memory in the thumbs. Doing so will help limit "Dumb Tumb" manouvers. If you can practice the manouver repeatedly you get to a point where you dont have to think which way to move the sticks... especially that under utilized rudder (untill you want to start doing aerobatics). So with that said. I stand by my statement.