My ESky flight simulator with FMS just arrived yesterday along with some Falcon 40 helicopter parts I ordered from RaidenTech. I did get a chance to try the ESky controller with the ClearView flight sim and it worked wonderfully with Clearview. Any simulator that will accept a generic USB joystick should work well with the ESky controller.

Windows XP automatically recognized and installed the controller. For best results, you will want to go to your Windows Control Panel > Game Controllers menu and callibrate the ESky controller in Windows first. You will also want to callibrate it again within whichever flight sim program you choose to use it with.

The ESky controller operates surprisingly well once you get it dialed in. I flew it with the included FMS 2.0 Alpha 8.3 that came on the included CD along with some ESky helicopter .wmv videos. The version of FMS included on the CD is actually slightly outdated as FMS 2.0 Alpha 8.5 is currently available. It also contains only the basic minimal assortment of planes and landscapes; you will want to find some FMS fan websites that have aircraft and fields to download.

If you purchase the ESky controller with FMS for $19.99 and then register for the full version of ClearView for $39.95, you'll have a good controller and two flight simulators all for less than $60. ClearView is downloadable in demo form from www.rcflightsim.com and you can try it out for about 15 minutes of flying time to make sure it runs OK on your PC. After that, you will need to register it.

I don't have access to copies of Reflex XTR, Phoenix R/C, Aerofly PD, EasyFly 2, or FSOne to try them with the ESky controller. My impression is that the ESky controller will probably work with any Simulator that will accept a USB cable connected to a standard transmitter.

FMS certainly isn't the ideal simulator, but it is fun to play with and it will help teach basic orientation. A little bit of "googling" and you can find dozens of additional aircraft and flying fields to add to FMS. ClearView's physics modelling is really pretty good, and it looks awfully nice as well. I was enjoying shooting touch-and-goes with the aileron trainer included with the demo.

Combining the ESky USB controller and FMS CD with the ClearView simulator looks like a good way to maximize your hobby dollars if you're interested in flying when it's raining or when you're sitting at your computer in your jammies at 11:00PM at night.

I agree; I purchased an adapter to plug my Futaba 6EXP into my USB port, and it came with FMS as well ($9.99 on ebay from Hong Kong for the package). The graphics/program is a bit crude, but it does do a great job of helping with orientation, which seems to be the biggest mistake I make as a beginner. I am excited to search online for the upgrades for this program. At $Fr.ee, the price is just right! On your advice, I downloaded Clearview's demo version, and am really happy with this software. As you said, any generic USB interface controller will work, as does my Futaba 6EXP with the USB adapter. The graphics are much better here, and I will definitely be purchasing the full software next paycheck. At $40, it is both great for learning some moves, as well as hours of sheer entertainment. So, if you have a radio with a trainer option, $50.00 can get you plugged in to your computer and training on some decent flight simulation software.

You just gatta dial it in.lol Just like you dial in your RC models

Download the 2.85 version of FMS this way you can run Photolistic sceneries.
The 2.85 has an option to TRUN OFF the FIXED camera view so the model won't stay stuck(FIEXED) to the center of the
screen.lol

Download the the Ratty scenery from rc-sim..becuase the instructions and the .scn file are in english.lol
Open the .scn with NOTEPAD..and check it out.
You can alter the name of the TEXTURE to just have it say down, up left, front, right, back.

Notice the instructions also say.."TURN OFF the FOG"
The instuctions would be that TEXT file that no one reads.lmao

Then go to HELI-X.net and download another FREE flight sim..now you have three flight sims for $60.
You can add CRRCsim...and have 4.lol
The text say you gatta assign idle up 1 to your keyboard in order for the engine to start in Heli-x.

anyway, you can copy and paste the scenery folder from heli-x on to your desktop or where ever you keep your files.
and you can link into a couple of more sites for photolistic sceneries in skybox formate. (the RATTY scenery is in skybox format)
There's over 70 sceneries that late time I check one of the site for Heli-x...he also make sceneries for other sims. (equirectangular)

anyway, use the Ratty .scn file as master .scn..but the toyosu scenery that I made is better, because the bottom panel gets display..if you're using vista.
The photolistics sceneries from rc-sim for FMS are kind of wack...(improper fisheyes.)
There's a crash and 3d image and text added to the .scn file.
I just remane the texture assgn name to 0,1,2,3,4,5...kind of like Prefight's skyboxes.lol
I duuno aout you all..but i have the Titan scenery in all of my sims.

You just have to makesure when you assign names of an image..you assign it exactly the same that's in the .scn file.
If it say UP ...assign UP not TOP or down as down...not bottom.

Convert all of the skybox images from .jpg into .bmp (24bit) to use in FMS.
You can leave it as .jpg for Clearview....LakeJohnson scnery for Cleavrview is also in skybox format.
Use the lake Johnson or hidden lake as a guide to set up skyboxes in Clearview.


if you're still not tired.lol...that's why you just buy sims.lol
You can use Blender (Free 3d software) to convert model from FMS , Clearview, Heli-x.

if those crazy sounds in FMS are not to your liking...I dunno...switch out the .wav files
The same for CRRCsim... you can adjust the sound frequency in whatever files CRRCsim use the .exe it's model.

In FMS it's the .par . You can use NOTEPAD to open it and adjust the model's parimeters.
or you can use the par edit addOn . It's in the programfiles/FMS folder.

You can pretty much use NOTEAD the open those perimeter files of different models for the veriouse sims.


I converted one of the heli-x sceneries back into equirectangular (360x180)...this image can be use in other sims
such as G3/4, aerofly, reflex. Or I can use it in a Virtaul cam thing of ma roo

When you went to windows xp game controller what did you select?

flyx, thanks for all that! I had no idea you could download so many planes, backgrounds, etc. Just downloaded a couple low-wing planes that I've been pretty interested in, and boy I'm not ready for an Extra300s! The cherokee doesn't seem to be a bad plane though for first low-wing.

Anyway, thanks, FMS just got a lot more fun!

goirish,

after you click on the gamepad icon in control panel.
you should see a window...click on advance
advance will being up a menu of veriouse gampad or control drivers you have.
Select the driver for your controller.

Then select perperties, this will bring up the calibration and setting menu.
This calibrates that controller only for the OS.

After that you still need to calibrate/assign within the sim/software itself.

My system identified the ESky controller as "ADC" when it installed it.

Now the other way around. As you know you can obtain veriouse Free sceneries for veriouse sims from RC-sim and many other sites.
You can also obtain equirectangular images from Flick.com. These guys take pano as a hobbie.

Anyway, If you wish to have those sceneries in the sim that you own. You just need to convert the images into the formate that
your sim will allow you do. Example, in Preflight you can load as sphere mapping or skybox.

FMS and Heli-x can use SKYBOXES of course.

Here is an example of how I converted one of the Reflex's pano (equirectangular)
The Reflex's images comes as 8160x3060...it's incomplete. 1000 pixel of the bottom had been cropped off.
You don't see the missing portion becuase it's the shot under the camera's pod..and it is neglectable.
However you still need to return the image back into 2:1 ratio or 360x180, (do not resize the image.....add back by increasing the canvas size)
otherwise your pano will get displayed funkie or incorrectly.

You must do this even if you wish to use the pano for aerofly or G3/4


To get rid of the white circle of the missing shot . i simply just inverted the original pano...shrink the hiegth and layer it to
the bottom of the equirectangular. This will give me what some people call...sterographics or mini planets when converted into a skybox.
I use GIMP...gimp is a FREEWARE.
I also use Cube the Sphere for SKYBOX conversion, this too was a FREEWARE.