Simulators
 

I searched around somewhat but found no current posts about simulators. I have been looking at Real Flight, basic, and others but like all want bang for buck. I just need to practice , a beginner here, and winter is hampering somewhat. Not pushing any one manufacture but I would like an opinion on useage of a basic simulator so I could at least get some time in. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. gphil

RE: Simulators
 

I use FSOne and like it. I also have Real Flight and I can see the planes better in FSOne. This will end up being the ford chevy debate.

RE: Simulators
 

We all have our favorite simulators and I think most all of them are very good. I like Just Flight and Aerofly Professional Deluxe. I have a little over 10 years in the hobby and I still fly on multiplayer on my G4.5. They will help with coordination and testing out new manouvers that are quite accurate in some cases, especially the helicopters. Of coarse it's not the same thing as real life "buddy Box" training, but it's enough to get you soloing in no time.

Me I fly the simulators before a very big event, or winter time when I don't fly much. It keeps the rust out of my skills a little.

Set it up on your computer, any of them that you choose, and have some fun and learn at the same time.


Pete

RE: Simulators
 

When you say "bang for buck"...I have to give a shoutout to Clear View.

While its not the best one out there...it does a lot for 40 bucks.  Add to that about 20 more dollars for a cable to connect your own TX to your PC via USB...cant beat it for less than 60 dollars total investment!

Note:  You can use a MS joystick (the one that looks like a PS2 controller with the two thumb sticks on it) for Clear View (and probably other SIMs too).  I prefer to use my own TX so I can gain that "feel" of the gimbals as I practice.

RE: Simulators
 

That comes after you try something new and DON'T total your aircraft in the process as you DID spend the money and invest in a good sim. I have phoenix as I am firstly a heli guy, and that sim has saved my butt on quite a few specific occasions, where each one would have cost me more than double what I paid for my sim. That said, I got more from it when switching over to flying planes also, as it allowed me to get used to the differing feelings the types of planes I want to fly have over say my 50 sized nitro heli has.
It gets back to the old adage of this being a case of "cost over price" - the price of a good sim is higher, but the cost savings it will allow you are priceless! (seriously, you should see just how many aircraft I've totaled on my sim trying new stuff out, and it's not cost me a cent more.)

RE: Simulators
 

I feel like my Real Flight simulator has saved at least 3 planes in my very short time in the hobby.  Probably because once I got the hang of it, I started messing around with jets, helis, 3D, warbirds, multiengines, etc and did some things that I was not ready for in real life.  It doesn't feel the same, look the same, but the muscle memory and orientation practice are good.  Crank up the wind, and set up for random failures, servo reversals, deadsticks and have no worries....<div>I think I ordered it off of Amazon...</div>

RE: Simulators
 

I had realflight, and tried phoenix and liked phoenix much better. Though that's going to be a Ford v. Chevy debate, both have their merits and supporters. I'd definitely recommend Phoenix.

RE: Simulators
 

Funny you mentioned that but your right. In my opinion it all comes down to the individual using them. Some people actually benifit from them and others don't. Case in point, I was a whitness to an individual that had no stick time n a fixed wing aircraft other than using a flight simulator and his skills exceeded those of one with no simulator time. Than again I watched another simulator pilot who showed no skill in the real world environment. I tried the simulator and what it did for me was save money when executing new manuvers. All I had to do was push the reset button after I crashed.

RE: Simulators
 

Go with the sim that has the planes you would like to own someday. Do Not try to save $$$ on this one!
This move is going to save you thousands of $$$!

RE: Simulators
 

I use Realflight 3.5, I have no intentions of upgrading because it serves the purpose just fine. Speaking of saving your plane I try all maneuvers
on my sime first. I had a very hard time with belly in hovering, because the controls are reversed, a friend and Excellent 3D pilot taught me a
trick on how to overcome the reversed controls and after a few hours on the SIM I was able to do it quite easy. I probably would never had tried
this trick without the simulator.

Remember the sim is all about having fun and building muscle memory. I have worked on a specific type of aerobatic mauever for hours and
when I finally got to the field It was great to have he confidence that I knew what inputs I need to accomplish the maneuver. however I find it
more difficult to apply the practice when there is no reset button and if you screw up your plane is gone, but again there is less of a chance
of mistakes when you have some kind of practice.

I have seen older versions of Realflight pretty cheap on Ebay. and you can upgrade to the newer versions if you already have the
realflight interlink controller (it still costs, but no where near as much as a whole setup)

RE: Simulators
 

I'm also a big fan of ClearView, which can be downloaded at http://www.rcflightsim.com and used as a demo on your PC for 15 minutes to test compatibility.

I own RealFlight G5.5 (I started at G3.5 and have upgraded a couple of times) and I like the simulator, but I don't know too many folks that claim it's superior to the other simulators as far as a learning tool. It has some cool multiplayer features and a nice selection of planes, but too much time is spent marketing Real Flight instead of improving Real Flight, in my opionion.

Certain nuances of RC flight are modeled more realistically on the other flight simulators. Trainer slow flight, helicopter flight characteristics, and indoor flight are just three examples where ClearView is better than RealFlight G5.5, in my estimation.

Real Flight has gotten better over the years in some areas. I remember thinking it was weird that a Nexstar trainer would drop like a rock if you cut the throttle back to 2/3rds full on the simulator, but the real plane would want to glide forever even if you chopped the throttle back to idle. The slow flight characteristics of trainer models has improved considerably since G2 Nexstar Edition/G3, but it still doesn't feel as natural to me as the physics and flight modeling in ClearView.

Helicopter flying is something I'm still relatively unskilled at. I have a Thunder Tiger Mini Titan e325 450-class electric heli, and the day that it arrived, I also went out and bought Real Flight G3 Expansion Pack 4. It has the Mini Titan as one of the new models, and it's rendered beautifully right down to the holes in the wooden rotor blades.

I've gone out and put 4 or 5 batteries through my real Mini Titan out at the field, then come home and tried to fly the Mini Titan on Real Flight G4/G5.5, and I haven't been able to do it. The flight modeling and physics are so far off that the simulator model is nothing at all like the real thing.

I've owned some of the Flat Out foamy models in RealFlight and I've flown them in gymnasiums and indoor sports facilities before. When I try to fly the same plane in the same kind of environment on RealFlight, it can't be done. Again, ClearView's physics and aeromodeling of this kind of flying simply feels more natural and more like the real thing.

Registering ClearView for $39.99 and getting a $19.99 ESky USB controller box will give you as good of a training tool as anything on the market. You can spend more, but you'll mostly be paying for fancier graphics and marketing costs. My second choice for "bang for the buck" would be Ikarus' EasyFly 4 simulator. It's available directly from Ikarus for $99 with a USB controller. Either of these options will be as good of a training tool as the much more expensive simulator packages available today.

RE: Simulators
 

Another vote for Phoenix !!

RE: Simulators
 

Golly guys, thanks for all the feed back. There were a few units mentioned here that I had never heard of or seen, but then a real newby and old to boot. Thanks again and I will keep watching for anymore that may come. gphil

RE: Simulators
 

Since the development has been going on for so long now, buying the previous version of whichever one you like is a way to get all the features without spending so much. Realflight G6 is out now, so I'd expect copies of G4 to go for $40-$50 with the controller. The simulators require a pretty good gaming computer to run with all the detail stuff turned up, so if you're not at least running an I5 processor with 1 gb of video memory it's a waste to buy the latest version anyway.

RE: Simulators
 

I am also using the FSOne. Like it a lot since I can use my own TX(JR9303) wireless using the adapter. I use it with the Hangar 9 extra and kep my Tx settings, I have a safety switch programmed that does not let me go past a high idle until ready to fly and it works on the sim too!
Dino ( from Rome, Italy)

RE: Simulators
 

I used FMS (free) and learned the basics to fly helicopters. Then I moved on to Realflight 5.5 and I learned rc planes really quick.
A simulator is not cheap, but it saves you a lot in the long run.

RE: Simulators
 

Jester , You made a good point ! I bet most of the guys are not getting the correct PC. Than they complain that the sim is crap.
EVERY ONE ! Please note : YOU CAN NOT HAVE A GOOD SIMULATOR EXPERANCE , WITH A300.00 COMPUTER! Sorry.

I use a G.P 5.5, With a Dell 8300 xps on a 32" TV, and it is like the real thing. (I know the PC cost 800.00! but It works!)<br type="_moz" />

RE: Simulators
 

The only one i have used is Real Flight so is te only one i can reccomend. It's expensive but very useful to save you $$ at the field.

RE: Simulators
 

<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; ">Here's my take.  Although I've been flying for quite a while, I purchased a phoenix sim from an RCU member and have had it for a total of one evening so far.  My intention was to practice muscle memory and also give my 3 yr old some sticks to move around and watch video planes go crunch; also as a learning aid when he's ready.  I have no experience with the others other than the demo of RF and therefore will not say one is better.   Pros of phoenix: looks good, the fight of the various planes seems real to me other than the absence of the "ground factor" and associated fear that plagues me in real life.  If someone could sim that, they will have the best selling simulator, hands down.  It works without stutter on my 3 year old sub $500 laptop (newest version of sim installed) at the medium graphic setting; only issue on med setting is a little less realistic appearance when floating on water.  Free updates is a huge plus in my opinion; I know I will have an up to date sim when the kids are ready for some real lessons in a couple of years.<div>
</div><div>Gripes: I got it for planes and there is a noticeable lack of variety of standard Sunday fliers in the "40 size" range.  There is a small selection of trainers and then a jump to large scale and performance planes.  While it is definitely neat to learn how those handle, I would really enjoy practicing with the type of planes that I will normally be flying every weekend; the budget glow engine sport airplanes.  I knew before purchase that I would probably like the plane selection in RF better.  Also, the lack of a standard asphalt runway field with a good runway.  I tried playing with the jets which don't seem to act as well on grass and there isn't any hard runways with enough airspace and room to learn landing correctly.  Kudos to you jet guys, I just can't get used to the spool up time when needing power on approach.</div><div>
</div><div>Other than those gripes I think I will enjoy it and so far don't regret buying it over one of the others.  The free updates is probably what sold me the most.  Please take my apparently long opinion for what it's worth, good luck.</div><div>
</div><div>Jeff</div></div>

RE: Simulators
 

I have or have used almost every simulator out there... my personal preference is Real Flight...(not the basic version) Real Flight just came out with an "improved" helicopter version.

Planes stink in Phoenix... just don't fly right.

One huge advantage of Real Flight is the incredible number of free planes available on the swap pages. You can modify the physics of any aircraft to change the flight characteristics. This is a huge advantage to RF.

I do not like using my flight radio with a simulator... no reason to wear it out and waste the life of the batteries.

You will find that you like what ever product you use, if you spend enough time understanding all the settings and features of the software. This can take a while.

I know that simulators have saved me a lot of planes. The sims have also eaten up a lot of my free time. Always nice to jump on-line and fly with other people on the internet.

RE: Simulators
 

Aerofly Pro Deluxe for me!

RE: Simulators
 

Real Flight Basic is as much as you will ever need in a flight simulator! no need to get fancy ones like the newest 5.5 Real Flight. Not to mention you will be saving yourself a heap of money for planes by paying only 99 Bucks! :D Good luck!

RE: Simulators
 

You can do the exact same thing in Phoenix. I would also like to know how the planes "just don't fly right" in the Phoenix sim.

RE: Simulators
 

No question. Phoenix. Free upgrades.<span class="info"> </span>

RE: Simulators
 

+1 on that, I found Phoenix more use when getting into planes than I did when using it just for Heli's, and their what I brought it for originally! I guess it has a lot to do with the simple fact no two RC models ever fly exactly the same in the real world due to expo, link throws, servos etc etc, I just found a little tweak on a given Phoenix model's expo, response speed etc was all it took to have it fly like on I actually had - heli or plane.
Regardless, of the old brand loyalty deal folks might have, as long as it's one of he higher end sim's like Phoenix, Realflight, Reflex etc, they will all teach you the basics of what it is you are trying to do. True, there is no substitute for real world stick time, but they will get you there (where ever your specific "there" is) cheaper and faster that you can by not having a GOOD quality sim. IMO, the high end sim is one of the best things to ever happen to this hobby - period!.

They can also help in taking the 'edge' of this drug we call RC Modeling when the weather outside is biblical :D


Final passing note on the value of good sims, a few years back, a guy who won our nationals for 3D helis here actually spent 4 or so months prior just going hard core on his sim learning to fly (from scratch) .... came out won the nat's .... yet couldn't do a circuit as he hadn't focused on them! I had 2-3 different folk verify that story when it went around, one guy I trust had even met the dude in question who admitted that to him!!