Flying Simulators
 

Hey I was thinking about buying one of those flying simulators for the computer. Which is the best one out there to get.

Eddie

RE: Flying Simulators
 

there all pretty good,its like asking what kind of cake do you like, some like choc. some vanilla.
I have the G-3 and I like it, without a doubt its a huge help in learning, highly recomended good support and lots of down loads.

RE: Flying Simulators
 

AeroFlyPro Deluxe,,



NdFrSpeed

RE: Flying Simulators
 

i use the real flight 3.5 really good tool when you're feeling like a flight and it's not the right conditions outside. really keeps your thumbs working in your favor. never used any other sim but i've heard they all are pretty cool and have different features from one another. personal preference i guess is what you call it. just get one and have a ball. mine was 200 bucks

RE: Flying Simulators
 

Real Flight G3.5, Aerofly Professional Deluxe, Reflex XTR, and FS One are all top-shelf flight sims. Reflex XTR often gets mentioned for best physics and most realistic helicopter flight by experienced heli pilots. All of these products are around $200 in price.

The folks who developed Aerofly Professional Deluxe just came out with a new version called Easy Fly 2. Easy Fly 2 is based on the Aerofly Professional Deluxe graphics and physics engine, but it was designed to be a less expensive package. It comes with a variety of helicopters, airplanes, and flying fields and sells for $99, or $129 with dedicated controller. It is less expensive but it isn't expandable like Aerofly Professional Deluxe.

There are other simulators that aren't as well known that are reasonably priced as well. There is a simulator called ClearView that you can buy for $30, and it's available as a free trial download. It's really not too bad as far as graphics and physics considering that it's 80% cheaper than some of the big name simulators.

There is a freeware flight sim called FMS that is well worth the price. It's not very realistic with regard to physics or graphics, but flying with it will teach new pilots control orientation.

Runtime games makes a simulator called the Phoenix R/C simulator. It sells for around $159.99 and boasts realistic float plane physics and graphics. If you want to fly off of water, this is a fairly unique product.

I happen to own Real Flight G3.5 and I like it. I've flown on Aerofly Professional Deluxe, and I like that, too. A good flight sim is a pretty sizable investment, but it will help you build your flying skills and practice when weather won't cooperate with your liesure time.

I absolutely know for certain that the extra time I've spent on my flight simulator at home has prevented two crashes out at the field when I should have lost planes. I reacted to some unexpected flying positions reflexively without thinking about it and put my plane back into safe, upright positions only because I'd done the same thing on the simulator while practicing previously.

My only advice with regard to helping you select a product to purchase - I like having a dedicated simulator flight box so I don't have to use my actual transmitter to fly with. I don't have to worry about recharging after practicing on the simulator, and the controller case that comes with Real Flight G3.5 is an actual Futaba transmitter case, so it's just like flying on my 4YF transmitter.

Good shopping and good luck!

RE: Flying Simulators
 

RFG3 and Reflex have demos you can download. They'll primarily give you an idea on how the sim will look and perform on your computer.

I've had sims for a long time. I started out with Real Flight Deluxe, and got the upgrade to G2. I've been largely unhappy with those products for three reasons. The first reason is my own fault. I purchased the controller box rather than the interface. That was a mistake. I wanted to avoid wear and tear on my transmitter. What I ended up with is a box that's got the feel of Futaba's bottom end radio, which is crap in my opinion. Horrible gimbals and cheap plastic switches. I wouldn't fly my planes with something like that, and I'm not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to fly a simulator with something like that.

My second reason for being unhappy with G2 is that they treat me like a criminal. I've got three CDs to keep track of (RFD, G2 Upgrade, and an Add-On pack). At any time the program will ask me for any of the CDs, just to make sure that I'm an honest man. I dislike paying several hundred dollars for a product and then being treated as though I stole it. There are better copy protection schemes. It doesn't just end there, however. I've got to have a username and password which is tied to my serial number in order to get updates. When I reinstall the software, I can't just update it from the updater, as they can't figure out how to make it work with XP. I've got to dig out a super-secret download site that the support people sent me and download the update from there.

Lastly, the upgrade options for Real Flight stink. The first whiff of this that I got was my G2 upgrade. With RFD, we were given some free planes to download. I seem to remember a Cub and an F4U. Once I upgraded to G2, those disappeared--and came back in an add-on. Nice way to do business and treat loyal customers. I've been shopping for a new sim lately, and asked KnifeEdge what it would cost me to upgrade to G3. Full-price. No thanks. They've burned me enough. When RFG4 comes out, I imagine all the current G3 customers will get the shaft, just as the G2 customers did.

All of this is why I purchased Reflex XTR this weekend. They give upgrades away, asking you to only pay what you believe they're worth. That's a business model that shows an appreciation for customers. I paid $125 for the software, buying it used. I can't see paying full price for sim software, because there's an active second-hand market. Any of the different sims can be had for $120-$130 on a pretty regular basis.

Whatever you buy, give some serious thought to using your own transmitter. Train like you fly, and fly like you train. Using a cheap box with a poor feel won't provide the same experience, if you have a decent transmitter. If you've got a module-based transmitter, pull out the module and the battery will go an incredibly long time between charges. If you don't have a module, make sure you extend a couple of segments of the antenna, as you need to let the RF energy out of the box--otherwise things will get hot.

RE: Flying Simulators
 

i know there all good,but for flying aerobatics and practice,ive found AFP Deluxe to be the best,,,,,helicopters,,XTR,,but not for planes,,and yes,,get one you can use your own TX with,,the only way to do it,,set them up the same,


NdFrSpeed

RE: Flying Simulators
 

when I got my G-3 I have gotten the down loads and upgrades for free from www.knifeedge.com without hassle also there is quite alot of planes for free designed by people who allow you to swap/download them for free also I have upgraded to the 3.5 and it works great.for the disatisfied go into a electronics store with your last years model camera or T.V. and tell them you want a upgrade for a discount because you bought it there last year,you will get a good laugh out of them but thats about all.
the G-2 is far inferior to the G-3 or 3.5 the graphics are better along with the physics it is also on a new software platform so the upgrades are not tranferable between G-2 and G-3 systems.

RE: Flying Simulators
 

How much is that one?

RE: Flying Simulators
 

199.$$ from www.towerhobbies.com I think they have a 30.$ off for a 200.$ purchase deal going, there always throwing some sort of discount deal around so I guess about 170.$$ I would go to there web site and check it out for your self I think there is a free demo down load there also

RE: Flying Simulators
 

That's a very nice description of the consumer electronics industry. Perhaps you aren't well versed in the software industry? :) Software upgrades are generally provided at a discount from the full-version. The purpose of that, of course, is to get people to upgrade--giving the company a revenue stream. Another purpose is to maintain a user base. Yet another is to keep people from switching to competing products.

KnifeEdge has done absolutely nothing to make me want to continue using their products. Poor service, poorly designed copy protection, and an upgrade policy that literally pushed me to their competition. If you enjoy purchasing from a company such as that, please do so. I'll spend my money where I see more value and appreciation, thanks. That's the nice thing about capitalism. You're free to make your choices, and I'm free to make mine.

RE: Flying Simulators
 

All i can tell you is G3 or 3.5 doesnt even compare with the realism of the AeroFlyPro Deluxe,,


NdFrSpeed

RE: Flying Simulators
 

Hello Eddie. I have FS ONE. It cost $199 I think it is. It is a great simulator. My instructor was very impressed with my handling of the plane. He said he would have bet money I had flown before. I had to convince him I had never flown before and only flew using the simulator. I hight recommend it www.FSONE.com

RE: Flying Simulators
 

One thing to note is regardless of which simulator you want, make sure that your computer can handle it.

The superior graphics that come with today's Sims require a computer with superior graphic capabilities.

RE: Flying Simulators
 

good point MINNFLYER. When I got my sim I couldn't fly more than 10 secs without skipping and freezing and it was a 2003 computer. You need a good graphic card and lots of RAM

RE: Flying Simulators
 

That's true!

G.3.5 is SOOO much better!

AFDP planes fly like they are on rails... very unrealistic.

Let's not get into how awful the helis are.

----

Big ranting debate begins....

;)

RE: Flying Simulators
 

yes well all my 35% and bigger planes fly like there on rails,,just like the sim,,LOL



NdFrSpeed.

RE: Flying Simulators
 

Here you go Eddie take a look at this. This is on the Model Airplane New. As I have said I really like the FS ONE and so do the reviewers. I also tried the GS but like the FS a lot better

http://www.modelairplanenews.com/reviews/flightsims.asp

RE: Flying Simulators
 

Wow thanks guys this has given me alot to think about and now I feel like I need a new computer too. LOL

RE: Flying Simulators
 

I think I need two jobs now.

RE: Flying Simulators
 

when I first got my G-3 I had some problems with the program running properly on a older comp.it will do fine as long as your graphics carg is fairly up to date it should drive the sim just fine I got a Nvidea G force 6600 and the sim works great including the upgrades.
if you use the help line on the knifeedge site they will verify for you that your comp. has the hardware to run the programs for there sim before you buy there system.

hey Mike in Min. look at where I live, San Francisco, the Hub of tech. silicone valley etc... I know plenty about electronics and software design and retail, and what I don't know I can research fairly easy.
www.knifeedge.com has plenty of info as well as free software for the G-3 and free upgrades to the next 2 versions up to 3.5 at no extra cost. buy what you like of course its a personal choice.
I have had plenty of sucess with my sim so its what I would recomend.

RE: Flying Simulators
 

Where a person lives has little to do with what they know. Living in San Fran doesn't, by nature, impart any sort of knowledge about the software industry. :)

The point I was making is simply this: Know the upgrade policies of the company before you invest in their products. I took it for granted that as an existing customer who was previously given an upgrade path to a new version that I would continue to have an upgrade path to future versions. KE made their product no more attractive to me than their competitors' products, which is largely why they lost my business. There were other reasons, yes, but the devil you know and all of that :)

Upgrade policies from whole version to whole version are common in the software industry. Want the most obvious example? Windows Vista.

I think it's great that KE has allowed 3.0 owners to get the update to 3.5 free. From what I've read, 3.0 was a marginal product that didn't deliver what it promised.

RE: Flying Simulators
 

I like Real Flight G3.5 bought mine used from RCU and use it all the time to keep me sharp. Mine runs from a Dell XPS Gen 600 w/ 2G ram, G-Force 7800 GPU and X-Fi 3-D srround sound it runs very smooth. It's even more fun with three 19" flat panels from a Matrox unit. I can have multi views up and in dual player mode we each get a screen as well as half the center one.

RE: Flying Simulators
 

thats not cool at all (jealousy setting in):D:D

that looks awesome now if i can convince my parents to let me put one in my room

RE: Flying Simulators
 

Flight Simulators?

Well, I played Yahoo Pool on the computer and got up to a 2700 rating. I'll bet if I keep practicing on it I might be able to go to Las Vegas and beat the Pro's in Real pool!

I also played Sega Golf and shot a 57, 15 under par for 18 holes! I average 7 under par every round so I'm ready to take on Tiger Woods in a Real tournament!

As far as flight simulators? I think they're great if you are bored at home with nothing else to do! Whoever invented that was one-smart-money-making-guy!

Take your plane to the flying field and it's a whole new ball game!

Rather than buy a simulator, I'll save my $200 towards a nice plane and get me an instructor that will take off and land it for me while I learn to fly it while it's in the air.

And if I get bored at home I'll just work on building a new plane or play more "FREE" Yahoo Pool or Sega Golf!

Who knows! You keep practicing on that simulator and you just might be the next world champ!

Good Luck.....:)