I've read many posts here and there is a find common theme about the best, good, and should have software. Has anyone ever found a comparison of all the Sims or even a list of what available. I know of only a few, but curious on what I'm missing. I have G2 and think its great, but I'm also interested different sims if they add additional value or features. Here's all I know so far about RC Flight Sims:

G2 - great software, a must have in your software collection. Commercial and cost about 120. Good Tx interface.

FMS - Good software, free, a great place to start with sim software. Build/buy tx interface

Aerofly - I don't have but seems well recommended

Plane Master - Only heard of this for first time today.

Have I led a sheltered life and there are actually lots more ?

I have tried almost every RC flightsim both Freeware and payware and there are HEAPS of them out there !!!

LikeG2 - great software, a must have in your software collection. Commercial and cost about $120.00 US, Good Tx interface.

FMS - Good software, free, a great place to start with sim software. Build/buy tx interface

Aerofly - I don't have but seems well recommended

RC Plane Master is without a doubt the best when it comes to Value for Money at under $50.00 US and is packed with features that you would normally pay as much as $150,00 US or more for !!!! It has everything that caters for the newbie right through to the most experienced flyer !!
RC Plane Master is about the only RC Simulator that you can download a DEMO Version to Try before you buy

http://www.realitycraft.com/

I checked a lot of posts in this forum before buying, and I found that The consensus was between G2 and AFP. Most people have g2, and are happy with it, but the few who have tried AFP *and* G2 said that AFP is more realistic in the flight model.

I tried both AFP and Reflex at a model show in May, about 15 mins on each, and I found Reflex was much more realistic than AFP, so I bought Reflex.

They are both cheaper than G2.

FSM is great for the money....

I tried RC/Planemaster and it was a bit more of a "toy" than a simulator, (the flight model seemed very simplified) plus the menus didn't work very well on my PC.

truflite has the most realistic millennium heli model, according to a mate who owns a millennium, but the graphics are pretty basic.

Havn't tried CSM, Ripmax, or the others, but from what I've read they dont stack up against g2/Afp/Reflex.

So my choice was Reflex....

"You pays your money....."

Si.

Banksy, Yes what you mention about G2/Reflex/AFp are very true BUT I think you have certainly under estimated RC Plane Master and it's capabilites, RC Plane Master has come a very long way in the last few months and offers more than any or most other RC Flightsim Programs and we all must remember, not everyone can afford to spend in excess of $150.00 US when you can buy something like RC Plane Master for under $50.00....so it also comes down the "Value for Money" for most of us.

Maggie,

You are absolutely correct...

I didnt mean to sound so negative about planemaster.

It is very well priced, and looks great, and is certainly the best value for money from the commercial sims...

Hope this is clearer...

And if all the sim manufacturers would submit a free copy of their products, I'd be happy to write a comprehensive and unbiased review.....

Si.

No worries Banksy :-)

Remember RC Plane Master does have a fully working Demo Version . The full version now comes with about 10/12 Aircraft and 10 different Landscapes/sceneries and "UPGRADES" are all FREE once your register !!!

Also Banksy, why not ask the guys from RC Plane Master, they are looking for people to do Reviews :-)

I think I'll see if I get some parcels from AFP/G2/CSM/TruFlite/everyone else before I start writing reviews...

Without using the full version of all these products for a week or so, I dont think it could really be a fair test.

Besides, I'd end up with all except one of the manufacturers mad with me.

Scary...

LOL, yes tell me about it Bansky, I did reviews for Microsoft Flightsim for many years and still do for one add-on Company and you can't keep them all happy at the same time LOL

Well, I've got FMS, Easyfly, Cockpit Master, Ripmax RC Simulator & G2...

FMS is worth the cost of the software but not the cost of the media or the lead to use it..

Easyfly is fine if you happen to live on a small island and fly a Cap 232 (not much in the choice of planes or scenery).

Ripmax sim is actually good value, mostly because it come with that joystick interface and standard Windows driver which allows you to use your Tx with any PC game or sim.

Cockpit Master is also good value if you can get it at the 'sale' price of around $10.. A good add on to the Ripmax sim otherwise you need to pay over $30 just for a lead...

It's not really easy to put a finger on exactly what it is about G2 that makes it better than the others; It certainly looks better: very detailed landscapes comprising of objects that can be moved around, the perspective just seemed better, more visual clues to help set up landings etc.... or maybe spending $200 on it plus a new graphics card made me take it more seriously

So there it is in a nutshell. I'd hve to brush the dust off some of them and give 'em another go to offer a true comparison...

Riggerinva, with all you testing did you ever try Aerofly, how did it compare ?

Maggie, appreciate your enthusiasim about Plane Master, but having checked your profile on this board, it appears that you work for them or have some direct relationship with them.

Elevator_up,

Short answer is no... I just happen to have gone through a few sims over a period of time 'till I got to a decent one.

First off, I got FMS for about $15 off of ebay, shortly after I found Easyfly also on ebay for a similar price. Stuck with that for a while and was thinking about G2 for some time. Then I found CM on here for $10 but of course that had no lead so I used it with a joystick. A short while later I found a used copy of the Ripmax sim on ebay which also enabled me to use the Tx interface with CM. Then I finally splashed out on G2.

tiggerinva,

I have EasyFly and have found 40+ planes, heli's and some more scenery on the net.

How would you compare the actual flight characteristics against G2 or indeed the real thing, given that lack of choice within EasyFly is not really an issue.

The main reason for the question is the I am about to get a TT Raptor 30 Heli and hoping to get a step ahead with sim time.

Cheers,
Alistair

I haven't the foggiest, I don't fly helicopters. However, the helicopter guys all seem to like G2 so that must mean something....


The only extras I found of interest for Easyfly were a couple of aircraft cariers and maybe one or two planes....So where are all these 'add ons" are they of decent quality?

tiggerinva,

Try these, you may have to sort through them a bit, but I have managed to use most of these and a few more.

http://www.rodeo.onlinehome.de/easyfly/easyfly.htm
http://membres.lycos.fr/williamrohmer/easyfly.html
http://www.aeromodelisme.org/simulat...y/?page=avions

Best of luck

Alistair.

tiggerinva,

Try these, you may have to sort through them a bit, but I have managed to use most of these and a few more.

http://www.rodeo.onlinehome.de/easyfly/easyfly.htm
http://membres.lycos.fr/williamrohmer/easyfly.html
http://www.aeromodelisme.org/simulat...y/?page=avions

Best of luck

Alistair.

I've got quite a few of the sims, some paid for, some free but I'm suprised no one has menetioned Preflight (www.preflightsim.com) in this thread yet. It's reasonably good and it's TOTALLY FREE! Unlike the other free sim, FMS, the helis aren't too bad (it was enough to get my Corona off the ground!)

Cliff

Hi elevator_up , No I don't work for them nor do I have any dirrect relationship with them at all, yes I do love their program, that is for sure and yes I have made some sceneries/landscapes for RC Plane Master. But if you ever visit Flightsim.com or Avsim.com you will see I have made many add-ons for MSFS, X-Plane, Fly!! and many others as well, even MSTS, but my love for RC, both in real life and on my computer will always be there and after almost 50 years of it...I think it will always be that way:-)

Sure, the price on Planemaster looks good, but the interface cable for my transmitter is $42 more.

What's the deal with the other packages? I know FMS has plans and your can get a cable for $19. But is that going to work as well as these more expensive intefaces?

Do all the simulators have some sort of transmitter interface? If so, how does the pricing run on them?

Thanks! I'm a newbie to all this so pardon my ignorance!

chall,
Instead of buing a new interface cable for each new sim (BTW, $19 FMS cable only works under Windows 98/ME), you can buy a universal gameport or USB interface, which will work with (almost) all simulators. Only those sims, which intentionally disable support for all 3rd-party interfaces (like it's done in RealFlight G2-Interlink) will not work with such interfaces. Everything else, e.g. non-Interlink G2, AeroFLY and AeroFLY Pro, RC Plane Master, FMS, PRE-Flight, etc., will work fine (I tested such an interface with all aforementioned sims).

Right now a TX-to-Gameport interface can be purchased for about $30 (only $10 more that a FMS-only Win98 cable), e.g. here:
www.milehighwings.com/joystick.htm
and I expect the price of a game port cable to fall even lower as USB interfaces gain momentum.

Maggie,
Thanks for your reply. While I did not understand all the abbreviations you used ( ie ... msts), I look forward to hearing about your past learnings and experiences on this board. I'm sure you must know of plenty of sources of RC sim stuff.

Alistair,
Thanks for those links, I'll look into them later...

bluesky123,
Those inferface are the cheapest I've seen for a seperate 3rd party lead. At tht price they are almost worth buying

The game port interfaces are down to $25:
new price in MileHighWings store