flight simulators
 

Has anyone used the 'cheaper' Hong Kong based flight simulators? $50 beats $200 most of the time.
DD</p>

RE: flight simulators
 

If it works, well, you are right. If not, well, then $200 becomes a bargain.

Now RF does have their "lite" version that, I believe, sells for $99.00 which would be a bargain.

CGr.

RE: flight simulators
 

http://rcflightsim.com/

RE: flight simulators
 

How about $17.99 with a controller?

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXXUS9&P=SM

RE: flight simulators
 

Most of these are selling you the controller, then throwing in FMS...

You are not really purchasing a SIM, rather the controller.

Easyfly includes a game like controller... I'd take FMS in that case.

FMS is good for basic flight orientation practice.

It beats not using a sim at all, but the flight modeling is pretty weak and rudimentary at best.

RE: flight simulators
 

Has anyone used the Phoenix R/C Pro Simulator Version 3.0 with DX5e. I've never flown before but already have a few planes coming and I wanted to make sure I got a good flight simulator to save me money on parts from crashing big time.

Is the Phoenix R/C Pro Simulator Version 3.0 with DX5e a good buy or dies anyone know?

Thanks in advance and all feedback is greatly appreciated and welcome!!!

RE: flight simulators
 

The phoenix is what I learned on and still use. I think any of the high end sims are a great $$$ savers.

RE: flight simulators
 

While not running V3 (not sure if Mac compatible like v2.5) ... I run Phoenix V2.5 with a Dx6i, and it is simply fantastic.
Mainly brought it as a heli trainer, but in all fairness, I got more from it switching over to also flying planes ...... IMO - it is well worth the money, and will save you a fortune in crashes.

RE: flight simulators
 

Thank you <span style="text-decoration: underline;">kiwibob72</span> and <u>panhndl</u> for making me feel safe about my purchase!!!! It really makes me feel like I did the correct thing, you guys are great!!! Thank you!!! I can't wait to try the real thing!!!!!! Flying the actual plane!!!! BAM!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!

RE: flight simulators
 

I told some of the folks on this forum Iwas getting the hell cat and they said it was a bad plane to start with and now that I've seen what I have you guys were right. It came with a fligth sim that's prwetty cool, I haven't landed a plane yet since I opened the package 2 hours ago on the flight sim but came close a few times. I have the feeling if I'm not going to be able to land a sim I won't be able to fly the real thing. The sim has saved me a ton of money already. I'm glad I live in the days where we have sims, I would have went through thousands$$$$

This sim also has helicopters.

Just to make sure everything on the hell cat worked I sliced my finger open on the propeller!!!!! That prop really moves!!!!

RE: flight simulators
 

And the sim is often easier than real life....

That is why planes called "trainers" are designed and look the way they do.

These planes help get you through the basics and even into some aerobatics...

RE: flight simulators
 

I can think of one of the things a simm can't do and that's change the way the wind is blowing (I think anyway). I've been trying to land a plane on the sim for the last 4 hours came close a few times but Iguess it just takes some people longer than others.

Tomorrow I get the expensive sim I bought (The Phoenix I think that's what it's called - $170 some odd dollars for just a sim with the controller of course) and hopefully that will be a little easier to manage???

That's all the money I'm going to spend for quite a while on this hobby. If I was married my wife would have killed me!!!! I had a wife once and know what I'm talking about but all women are different but I don't think that would change anything unless we were rich!!!

RE: flight simulators
 

Re: Winds...

Actually they can....

The better sims try to recreate Wind conditions as much as possible...

Realflight supports thermals, micro-bursts, variable winds, updraft emitters, blowing leaves and objects, wakes caused by prop-wash on water, etc., etc.



Re: Time on sim.

Four hours on the sim is just starting out! :D

Many sim users get overly confident that they know how to fly planes once they think they have mastered the sim.

I thought I was ready for the real deal after I mastered flying planes and helis on the sim, including inverted hovering, etc.

Then I went to the airfield and discovered how WRONG I was...

However the sim reduced the amount of training days I required to just TWO... on the third day I got my certification.

No matter how much you practice on the sim, you'll still get the weak knee and "super intense focus" on your first flight alone.

RE: flight simulators
 

Thank you for your knowledge!!!

How long did it take you to land a plane with the sim?

How long did it take you to master the sim?

RE: flight simulators
 

I don't think you should think of it as "mastering" the sim. It isn't really a game to be beaten, it's a learning tool. I've been flying RealFlight Since version 2 and I don't think I've mastered it yet. I still crash when I do something wrong. I do like to try new things on it that I'd like to learn for real. It saves a ton of money right there. The most basic lesson is to do new things up high. Nobody's ever ruined a plane by driving it into air.:D
I'm flying a new CAP 231EX this year and the sim has already saved that airplane by teaching me that it likes to snaproll with too much elevator input. Learning that on the real thing could have been very costly. It did it on the sim, so after I got the real one trimmed out on the maiden flight, I took it up stairs to see if it would do the same thing. YUP!

RE: flight simulators
 

How many hours or days did it take you before you actually landed a plane safely with a sim?

RE: flight simulators
 

I am using both Real Flight 5.5 and Clearview. I was accomplishing landings within a couple hours or so. I did not really keep track. However, I stuck to the boring high wing trainers and did endless number of touch and go's always trying to duplicate an actual landing pattern. Once you are able to land regularly then try the warbirds. If you are flying warbirdsto start with, they be real intimidating, for sure.

Keep at it and don't get discouraged. It is cheaper to crash digital planes than real planes - I know that for sure. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...sn/biggrin.gif

Good luck and keep at it.

Roger

RE: flight simulators
 

Sims do not fully recreate flying.
When you are flying you are in charge of pretty dangerous stuff and you need to make the right decisions or it could be LITERALLY life and death.</p>

RE: flight simulators
 

I had actually been flying for a year or so before I got the simulator, so landings came pretty easy. The biggest problem I had at first was finding the runway. Using the option to "keep ground in view" helped.

RE: flight simulators
 

Don't worry about "how long" it takes.

Just keep at it, until you no longer worry about landings in any attitude... whether the plane is next to your viewpoint or even far away.

With more advanced 3D airfield sims like Realflight, you can position your viewpoint up high on a tower, far removed from the flight line.

This is good practice for emergency deadstick landings when the plane is far from your view.

Also one thing I recommend to newbies.... and helps GREATLY....

Take the plane out so far that it is only a spec in the simulated sky. You DO NOT want to be able to see how the plane is oriented.
Swirl the sticks around so that you loose the sense of which way the plane is oriented.

Then try to recover and fly the plane ONLY by the way it responds to your stick inputs.

In other words, you want to be able to quickly tell if the plane is upright or inverted, coming towards you or away from you, etc, etc., simply by blipping the controls for a split second.

Once you can do that, you'll always be able to recover your real plane VERY quickly, if you momentarily loose orientations or the sun blinds you for a moment, at the airfield.

This is a very important thing the sims are best at teaching you.

RE: flight simulators
 

This aint one of those times.....

RE: flight simulators
 

+1 on that point, a good high end sim like Phoenix or Realflight will save you thousands in crashes if used for what it is - a training program for anything new you want to learn! (be it landing, or hardcore 3D flight)

RE: flight simulators
 

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!

RE: flight simulators
 

Whats so funny?

RE: flight simulators
 

That's what I needed to hear was how long it took someone on the forum to tell me how long it took them to be able to land, I want to thank all of you *****ally went teh extra miles to help me.

I just got the Spectrum DX5e and it has a really cool laning set up just to learn how to land, It still took me about 15 tries to land it really sweet. Ialso landed a take off from start to finish but it only happened once since I got it from UPS at around 2:00PM and it's 6:55 now.

It's just like a game actually, a real great game. I was very impressed with the way everything worked and how easy they made it to set it up correctly om my pc..

TIMMMAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

RE: flight simulators
 

where you replied to something someone said: Where he said $50 beats $200 most of the time. Your reply was "This aint one of those times....."

RE: flight simulators
 

In fairness, I actually quoted someone on that point, then agreed with it.

As for how long it took anyone to learn how to land, as someone else stated "Don't worry about "how long" it takes.", as it really comes down to what your ability to relate to the aircraft's orientation is and get your thumbs doing the right thing in relation to how the aircraft on track, as well as the specific aircraft you are flying.
A trainer is generally pretty easy and straight forward to land, where as a warbird is a fair amount harder, with a hardcore ultra responsive 3D monster or jet with really high wing loadings per square cm or inch being that much harder again.

So to answer you query re how long it took someone to learn how to land?, as each and every single aircraft is different (even two of the same model will normally have differing setups specific to the pilot) ....... how long is a piece of string??

RE: flight simulators
 

Brian,

You made the right choice. It took me a couple hours to get to where I landed a trainer. The only thing that is easier in real life than on the simulator is your depth perception. It took me longer to be able to actually put the plane down on the runway rather than in the grass than it did to actually land well. Its just sort of hard to line stuff up on a computer screen.

Definately play with the controls on the Phoenix sim because you can change weather, flying location, model, views, etc. I've been working on crosswind landings pretty hardcore lately since I had a little mishap a couple weeks ago with plane on a landing. The sim allowed me to practice work with the rudder over and over and over. Flying slips isn't the easiest thing to do and landing them is even harder, but we're in the windy times out here on the plains so its pretty essential to learn to fly them well.

In fact tonight, I took my new Alpha 450 Sport out in almost a 90 degree to the runway 8-12 mph crosswind and did about 30 touch and goes on the plane. I did some real landings to practice what I've been working on in the sim. That plane weighs about 25 ounces so a 10 mph crosswind is pretty dang tough for someone with very little expirience like me.

To give you an idea, I worked on pretty much nothing but landing for what seemed like forever but was most likely like a few weeks. Once I became decent at one plane, I'd go grab another. Then I realized that the planes are set up only at 50% speed at first. You can configure them to 100%, but I'd stick with 50% till it starts getting too easy. Things happen pretty fast at 100%.

I bought my simulator in December. I now have a Top Flite Cessna 182, E Flite Alpha 450 Sport, Great Planes Easy Sport (maiden tomorrow woohoo!), Great Planes Giant Big Stik, Supercub LP, and my new one, the Aeroworks Sport Cub S2. I have killed a Mustang PTS, Parkzone T-28 BNF and Parkzone Ultra Micro T-28. The mustang went down because I don't really know how to tune an engine and it died on final on me. The T-28 BNF died several times, but gorilla glue kept putting humpty dumpty together again until it slipped on a hand launch and broke in two. The ultra micro was just really too light for our winds out here to work very well.

I buddy corded once, had my trainer take off and land for me, while I flew the in the middle (2x), and then solo'd when I showed up to the field and no one was there to help me. So, the 3rd time I went flying, I solo'd because of all the sim work I had been able to do. If I knew how to tune a motor, I might even still have the Mustang PTS. It was a really fun plane.

The $200 will allow you to practice when you can't otherwise go fly. Think of it as your first plane. $200 ain't cheap until you look at the alternative. I personally think that someone could completely teach themselves to fly an electric plane entirely by simulator and reading websites like RCU. When you get into gas, glow and larger models, help will be required, but for the smaller, park flyer electric models, I don't think that help is much required as long as you spend a lot of sim time prior to going out to fly for the first time. Also, I'd strongly suggest a 3 channel only for your first plane if you decied to teach yourself. If you elect to seek out an instructor, I'd just wait to buy a plane that your instructor is cool with.

Anyway, enjoy it. This is a really great hobby. I've been driving rc cars and boats for years but was always a little intimidated by planes. I finally broke down and just odered a plane and sim and have been absolutely obsessed since.

RE: flight simulators
 

That's kick ass!!!! Thank you for all that knowledge. To tell you the truth I had no plans of obtaining a trainer, I was just going to fly the sim until I got really comfortable with it and take my plane out the day I think I have it down well and I'm doing tricky tricks, touch-downs with ease and a host of other things..

It sure is taking me a long time, just on a sim, I haven't even tried to fly my real planes yet. I just started using the Pheonix sim since yesterday and I've only landed it twice then I went into a section on one of the menus that says landing trainer and it puts you in perfect position to land it took me maybe 15 or 20 times before I even landed it in landing mode. I have a feeling this is going to take me quite a while to really do well. Ihave to Ihave to much money involved. My bday was yesterday and I ordered and bought all kinds of stuff just for this hobby, I even paid almost 200 for the simulator alone. The funny thing is that it all got to me by my birthday!!!! I've learned quite a lot since I started delving into this hobby after seeing it when I was a kid around 10 and thought that it was really cool, it took 35 years for it to finally hit me again which is good because I'm more laid back and relaxed than when I was 10!!!! I was the kid swinging from the <strike>shandaleers</strike>!!!

How do you go about finding a trainer???

RE: flight simulators
 

The transmitter I have can recharge batteries, double AA's and was wondering if I can recharge Duracell or Panasonic batteries or do they have to have a special kind??? If so where do you find AA's that are rechargable because i don't recall seeing those ever????

RE: flight simulators
 

An option might be to try a local club (if they are around) and see if they have a club trainer and a buddy box setup available to newbies.
As while Phoenix is great at getting your thumb memory in good shape (I use it myself), it does not lend towards adding any of the nerves that come into play when you finally get out on your real aircraft (my nitro heli STILL makes me nervous 15 months on - they ain't cheap to repair!!!), nor can you be sure it 100% replicates the response of a given aircraft until you fly one (that's why you can adjust all the parameters in Phoenix - all aircraft are different in how they fly).

As for trainers and finding one, try your local hobby shop, or one of the many online websites. This might be a good place to start: [link]http://www.hangar-9.com/Products/Trainers.aspx[/link].
Otherwise, e-bay.

RE: flight simulators
 

I'm having a heck of a time once I get the plane in the air on the sim to try to land it. My takes off's are nice and then once I get it 100 to 200 yards away I have a hard time of bringing it back to land. I've only been able to do that twice and that was yesterday. I haven't been able to do it yet today. I'll call those full flights or is there a name for it?

RE: flight simulators
 

Thank you for the info!!!! I'll gladly take the largest and smallest advice I can get!!!

RE: flight simulators
 

Walmart back near the cameras. You can NOT recharge Duracell's or any other batteries of that type. They MUST say "rechargeable" on them.

RE: flight simulators
 

Now think about if that happens with your real plane. You will be driving home with your plane in a trash bag. That sucks.

You really need to get a easy to fly first plane that is easy to repair. Look at the Parkzone Super Cub LP or the T-28. NOT the little mirco ones. The full sized ones....

RE: flight simulators
 

As usual thank you all for all your help on this new hobby. Do they have stufff where you can win trophies or something along those lines where you compete against other RC flyers?

I just bought a SuperCub LP this week, it was realy easy to put together except the landing gear gave me a little pain in the ass and one of the members from this forum told me what to do and it worked like a charm!!!!

The SuperCub I have has the blue on the front of the big wings and blue numbers with rubber bands holding the front wings on. Is that the model you're refering to?

RE: flight simulators
 

The Super Cub LP that I was referring to is this one. http://secure.hobbyzone.com/search/HBZ7300.html The Phoenix simulator actually has that very plane available to learn and I think it flies very close to how the real thing flys. After you get decent with the Cub with absolutely no wind, add in some weather like 3 mph winds with gusts 3 mph, stuff like that. Nothing too rough at first just so you can feel how it will bounce around in the wind. As it gets easier, add another level of difficulty. Add thermals, turn the simulator speed up from 50% to 75 or 100%. It really is a pretty amazing program.

On a side note, my maiden of the Great Planes Easy Sport didn't go well. [sm=cry_smile.gif] We *think* the aileron linkage caught on the wing mount and caused the plane to go into a shallow turn. Well, we tried to trim out of it, turn out of it, etc., but the plane wouldn't come back to level. Unfortunately it eventually became a steep bank that was uncontrollable. Not sure if I'm going to rebuild or buy something different.

RE: flight simulators
 

Recently purchased the Aerofly 5.5 for my Mac. Everything is really nice and very realistic, a little difficult on downloads but with online assistance it's a snap? (for them) I had realflight several years ago nd I prefer the Aerofly.

RE: flight simulators
 

YES, that's the same exact model I have!!!!

RE: flight simulators
 

The SuperCub LP from the link is the exact one Ibought. That guy who you usually talk to on the phone is very cool and shares all kins of knowledge with me about the hobby.

This seems like much more than a hobby!!!!