Aerofly http://www.aerofly.de/

FMS http://www.netpackx.com/html/fms_interfaces.html

Great Planes http://www.realflight.com/

RC Plane Master http://www.realitycraft.com/index.htm

Reflex http://www.hobbico.com/reflex/

Ripmax http://www.ripmax.com/FS_Simulators.html

Dave Brown RCFS http://www.dbproducts.com/



I have Aerofly Pro. I like the ability to modify the airplanes. Wings, airfoils, weight, power, propeller diameter and pitch. There’s no end to the fun you can have and the experimentation you can try.

Tons of free aircraft down loads out there too

Anyway! What simulator do you have and what do you think of it?

Paul

The Hobbico/Reflex page is nice BUT ...

Take that! - more detailed and first hand stuff.

I have realflight 2 and FMS, I use both with wingman rumblepad. Before anybody gets upset, it is a legal copy of realflight, moved to europe and I need to be a new transmitter 8-(. I like the scenery and airplanes for FMS, of course the flight modelling is far more accruate in RealFlight 2.

I have Dave Browns RCFS - which, for some reason, is not a choice in the poll.

Dan

I also have DB RCFS 2000 in addition to several of the others. RCFS is the one that I primarily use so I would have to vote for that one if it were on the list.

Oops sorry I asked for a moderator to add DBFS to the poll.

I have and train on the Realflight G2. I have just finished building a LMH 117 and wanted to be prepared to fly it. My 6,9,&11 yo boys think they are just playing but are getting pretty good at flying heli's and planes. I gave my 9 yo the ok to give the LMH its maiden voyage and will probably look for a plane for them to fly.

I have the Great Planes RealFlight G2 simulator with all the upgrades and the Add-On volumes 1 thru 4. I enjoy it, it allows me to "sharpen" my flying skills when I can't get out to the field.

Just my 2 cents......

Best regards,
Mike

I've got the RF-G2 which is the best I have I think, I've got Dave Brown RCFS 2001 too which is really not that great flight mechanically, FMS is ok to play with but most flight models are so unreal it's not much of a learning tool. My suprise one is the Easyfly sim from Ikarus, the Aerofly Pro people, I think they cut their teeth on better graphix with Easyfly when moving up from the old Aerofly and it's really a nice little sim. I picked it up for $30 with a controller and have loved it, found a few really good downloadable planes as well. It's not as realistic looking as G2 but on a few of the planes I think it has an even more realistic flight model.

CharlesP

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Realflight G2, with Add-ons.

Great piece of software, plus I got it for free.

I have Real Flight G2. No experience with other sims. This one works well. I am a beginner and am glad that I bought sim. A lot harder then it looks. Landings are the worst. Depth perception on sims is poor, I can land alot better at the field.

Real Flight G2. Very nice software, especially full version, because you can edit/add your plane, field, etc. However, not without a problem - CAN NOT MAKE ONLINE UPDATES WORKING no matter what I tried. [>:]

ekrcflyer : The only way i found to update G2 was to register your copy. I had G2 for about a year and liked it. I bought aerofly pro and then sold G2 ,i think aerofly pro fly's more realistic. [8D] TomBob

G2 and it rocks! Have learned to hover on G2. Have a lot of cool planes that I downloaded as well as the add ons. And it has quite a few parameters you can toy with too.

I am having trouble updating as well.(?)

Which sims do I use - in no particular order:

FMS
Aerofly (original)
Cockpitmaster Backyard Edition
Preflight
Piccofly

Cliff

G2 with updates. I have been flying RC for more than 25 years and feel that this allows me to sharpen my skills without the rebuilding penalty when I make a pilot error!

RC Plane Master and FMS. RC Plane Master is a great sim for $50. Download the demo and try it out.

I too Have R/C PlaneMaster, and my serial FMS interface works with it. It's right up with there with the other R/C sims as it has Add-ons like the rest, and at 50 bucks you can't beat it. I wouldn't pay for RealFlight G2 simulator, it cost's too much

Real Flight G-2 and FMS.

RF-G2 is very demanding of computer resources and apparently does not like to live with other software. (IE MS office)
I had almost no end of problems getting it to work. Crashed my system several times. Win-98. Complete system reinstall was needed to get it working. As soon as I added MS office it was crap again. I understand that it works good with XP but Bill Gates is not getting any more of my money for fixes that should be included as an upgrade. You better have a fast computer. Support is very poor considering the price is that of a complete basic computer system these days. For the price you should be able to build your own models, not just redecorate the ones they sell you. (Modifing color schemes requires 3rd party software) Add ons are expensive as well. It's the "price is no object" winner but a dedicated computer system was a hidden cost for me. Very realistic performance and included dummy 2 stick transmitter (by Futaba) are the +++'s.
Does not support some popular video cards. $$$. Does not support "All JR" Xmtr.s. Requires at least 2-3 times the recommended hardare that is stated on the box for decent performance. I would say 1100mhz processor and 256meg of fast RAM with a Supported video card w 64 meg of RAM are minimums to display all the options. Less, and you will be turning off some of the extras to avoid jerky display and or sound.
Overall value ...Poor! I invested over $400 to get it working not including countless hours rebuilding my system after crashes. I could have built another RC plane in less time than it took to get it working.
Would not buy again!

FMS is not as slick but it worked first try and has worked flawlessly ever since. Just don't move the models from their original folders and it stays happy. Price is FREE off the Net. or you can buy it packaged with a CD and cable for your Xmtr. for $20-30 with a boatload of models. www.virtualrcflight.com is the source I used and they helped me fix up a Xmtr. cable for my Micropro 8000 (Also works with my Ace Silver 7) so I don't need the fancy RF-G2 interface. The graphics are not nearly as nice but they will help you maintain and or improve your piloting skills. Many models to choose from and they can be "adjusted" but not as easily as RF. The thing is, there are so many free models available you won't have any trouble finding something you like. Even slope soarers. Simpler graphics requires less computing power and it shares the computer with other products in a friendly manner. Flight is realistic but landings are a bit easier than they should be. Winch and Hand Launch are available for take off! Documentation is not complete but there is enough to get you flying and a little poking around on the Net will find answers to most anything.
The simple audio is a little cartoonish but if you fly by sound you will end up having trouble when someones engine is running near you, at the field. Insallation on Win98 was a snap. On XP it was perplexing but I had no exprience loading anything into XP and it took several hours to find the right "switches". Still light years easier than the "other Sim".
Overall value ....Excellent.
Try this one first!

IMHO, you should SIM with the same Xmtr you fly. At least the same control layout. You will probably spend more hours in the SIM than actually flying. You will develop reactions and skills based on that SIM experiencel. I lost a plane because I confused a retract switch with a dual rate switch at the field. This was directly related to my practicing on the SIM with a different switch layout. DUMB!
Also, my experience with these SIM programs may be differen than yours. Without the help of www.virtualrcflight.com I would never have gotten my custom Single Stick Xmtrs working. These guys seem to be modelers and willing to help. Real Flight support was dismally disapointing and consisted mostly of berating both my self assembled equipment and my computer skills.

Tom

I have RealFlight G2 with all the updates and add ons. Im on it just about every day.
NEDYOB

AFP and man I'm speechless....It's just like real flying but now I have 33% 3D planes. ROCKS !!!!! And gas is free. So are new planes.

And I can do crazy stuff that I'd never attemp on a real plane. 4 point rolls 2 feet off the ground. Hovering while bouncing the rudder off the ground. Inverted fly-byes 2 inches off the ground. Yeah man. This is the bomb. I'm really getting good on this thing.

I used to be kind of bummed out because of winter and not being able to fly as much (and as comfortable). Now with AFP I'm flying anytime I want. Very cool. By the time spring comes I'm going to be flying a lot better.

Joe

Joe, great summary of the AFP !

Requires at least 2-3 times the recommended hardare that is stated on the box for decent performance. I would say 1100mhz processor and 256meg of fast RAM with a Supported video card w 64 meg of RAM are minimums to display all the options. Less, and you will be turning off some of the extras to avoid jerky display and or sound.
Overall value ...Poor!

Sorry..... I'll have to disagree with that statement. I ran RealFlight G2 with all the Add-Ons on a p3-450mhz, 128MB ram, 16MB video card. Sure, I had to turn off some of the "extra" graphics in order to get it to run smoothly, but it did run. No glitches, no hiccups, no problems getting along with my other software. I was ( and am ) well pleased with it. Also ran the software on my "old" computer too! Still no problems.

Like Ricky Nelson sang...... "you can't please everyone....." (from Garden Party)

All in all, I'll "take" my G2 with all the updates, Add-On's and such and have myself a ball. IMHO, it's still the biggest "bang for the buck".

Best regards,
Mike

RealFlight G2 Lite and FMS. I am able to crash planes equally well on both systems. FMS is a really great free simulator. G2 has nice graphics and options but, with add-ons did set me back a bit. Haven't tried any of the others.

I have G2 and AFP.

I've been using G2 for about 3 years now and I love it. I taught myself to fly RC with it (along with some background homework of course).

AFP is new for me. I got it because I started flying 3D this past fall. After about 6 hours of time on it I'm very impressed. I still think G2 is a better, more robust beginner's tool but this thing is a great step up. The hovering feels more natural and I'm especially charged up because of how much better I can flat spin. The programmed physics seem to wrap the plane from all directions, and so far it seems to respond to unusual attitudes much better than G2. I could hover in G2 but it seemed to get confused sometimes with the nose pointed up. AFP feels fluid all around.

Chuck