Made my first attempt at hovering yesterday. Used my instructors Raptor (mine is being set up). Much more intimidating than flying fixed wings, and I'm still learning how to do that. I was thinking about learning to fly these myself, and I am sooooo glad I chose to go with an instructor. I don't think my Rappy would have survived more than 5 sec of flight. With its destruction would have came my instant exit to this awesome hobby. I know crashes are inevitable, but after spending $1200 I can't afford a major repair bill at this time.

We didn't use the buddy box, which may have contributed to my shaky hands, because I didn't want to crash his heli. However when the Rappy tried to get away from me, he simply made minor corrections under my thumbs. Had I been alone, and with my rappy, it would have been toast

Hopefully I'll get the hang this with another week of practice. Anyone who sees a heli fly will most likely go out and buy one, completely amazing machines.

THANKS TO EVERYONE here who gave me advice as to what equipment to purchase and what to look out for. Hopefully as my knowledge increases I'll be able to help some other noobs out there.

Thanks again

If not go get it......
It will be a great tool from know on in anything planes and Heli.. :idea:

I agree!!

Osmax2 is right a flight sim will pay for it's self. Just make sure your computer is up to running Realflight G2 before you buy it.

Good point, gotta have a good computer, other sims are good also, I like my G2 though, its alot of fun to fly online with others too!

I've been thinking of upgrading my RF deluxe to G2 but I'm pretty sure my old VooDoo3 3000 16mb video card would croak under the pressure. I guess it's time to upgrade to a GeForce!

Are you kidding!? :stupid: Throw away your P4s and Athlon XPs and get a 486!!! Nothing can compare to the POWER of Aerochopper on a 486! SUPER COOL POWER MACHINE!!!! WHOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!! :rainfro:




BTW, just so you don't think I'm crazy I AM being sarcastic.



P.S. Is G2 that much better than aerochopper? I know the graphics, setup options, and multiplayer compatibility are but what about the physics of flight part? LOL, kind of annoying to use a boot CD everytime I want to run aerochopper on my PC.

Faster the CPU , more Mem on video, and more ram you have would really be nice.

When buying software look on box and make sure you are way above the minum and what they recomend.
:idea:

LOL, OSMAX2 made had a good idea.
Try to at least double what's on the box.


Here's how I see it when it comes to games/flight sims.
Flight sims need a good PC if they have any kind of grahics on them, for example MSFS98s min requirment is a 486... That game barely runs on a P90!! Heck, I can even bog down a 1 GHz machine with a GeForce 256 with that game (In full rez near scenery). <By bog down I mean FPS below 24> (interseting fact, back in the old days a PC would not be considered IBM compatible unless it could run the original MSFS. )
I know MSFS and G2 are completely different but hey, they still are flight sims! I have a friend who used to use MSFS98 to practice RC flight from the tower view!


EXAMPLE

Manufactuer Minimum:
Pentium II 300 or higher
64 Megs of RAM
Soundblaster compatable sound card
2X CD ROM (4X for cinima)
8 megs of video RAM
Hahaha! Sure it will *RUN*! Make you wanna run, too... out the window!

What you SHOULD have:
Pentium III 550
128 (98 and ME) 256 (XP) MB RAM
Soundblaster compatible sound card
8X or higher CD ROM
16 Megs of video RAM NOT INTEGRATED
It'll run fine but won't look very good.

Screamer:
AMD Athlon XP processor/Pentium 4
512 MB DDR RAM
Sound blaster audigy w/5.1 DSS
40X CDRW or DVD or CDROM
64 Meg Geforce2/3/4 (NON MX) or Radeon 7500/8500
Win98SE (as most gamers prefer) or XP OS
NOW WE'RE TALKIN'!!
Oh, don't forget to tweak the graphics to the max.

lol, GHz don't mean a thing if you don't have the video and RAM to back that 3D up!

If minimum requirments say video needs to be at least 16 then you need a GOOD card, if they say 32 then if you don't have a radeon 7500/8500 or GeForce 2/3/4 (NON MX) you'll be in lag city.

Of course this goes without saying but in 7 years You mind be able to find a "screamer" in a yard sale for $5.... If you want to wait that long to play todays games with style.

I don't have a flight sim. I was planning on getting one, Just was not sure if it was worth the 200 bucks for G2. I think I'll try and pick one up this week. I guess it will pay for itself if it can prevent one crash.

Thanks agian.

I too am a firm believer in flight sims. I started with out one and it didn't take me long to figure out that at the rate I was going it would be a long expensive learning process. After a couple crashes I got the sim and started using it and it got me back in the air. Just remember if the sim saves you from 2 crashes it has paid for it's self. It's also a great help learning new maneuvers and orientations before trying them on the real thing.

Hey Bluto, I am running RF Deluxe with a VooDoo3 Video card and it works just fine and I am running most all of the high vid options.

I also think the sim is a very money saving item, although I learned to hover and do forward flight before I got my first sim, I still didnt crash, the key is not to go farther than your able!! Anyhow, the sim is not 100% real, but, it helps alot with orientation, and just plain getting used to what the sticks do, thats why there so priceless, and like you have said, a couple crashes and its paid off!!

Hivoltage, My Voodoo card runs RF deluxe just fine I have all the video options on too, what I meant was if I upgrade to G2 I would need a better vid card it's a little more complex than deluxe and requires a pretty good card.

OOPS...That is what I meant to say., my Voodoo3 card runs G2 with no problems whatsoever.

I had no help what-so-ever with my heli, I'm the only one in our club that flies one. I just followed the manual for setup and Practice, Practice, Practice on RF G2. It will pay for itself I promise, be sure to turn the wind on though, make it real.
I don't have a voodoo 3 card but I'm very familiar with them and it will run RF G2 fine.

i just got it working with my readio so...

G2 works fine with the VooDoo 3.

I'm running a PII 400, with 256Mb ram, and a ATI Radeon DDR card. The OS I'm using is XP Pro. For the longest time I was using a VooDoo 3 with no problems. The only reason I switched is that I wanted the dual head.

It will run a lot better if you turn off the extras like picnic tables, tents and such. With all the stuff on, it will be basically a video game as you may want to try and land on the table under the tent etc.

I use G2 to learn new stick movements before I try it on the real thing. It will really pay off when you learn to hover inverted, as well as fly backwards.

Dean

G2 no worky on my PII450 w/ 512RAM and Viper 330 video. Has a good soundtrack though:-). I'm upgrading to an AthlonXP 2ghz w/ 512RAM and GeForce4 4400ti video. That should take care of it ! A little frustrating looking at that $200 sim radio on my desk and nothing to hook it up to. Wife's 1st paycheck is next month. Can't wait, might have to float the credit card and pay the interest for instant gratification. He-he.

Fissy, I think the problem is your video card. If I recall the Viper is only a 4Mb card. If you can get a new system good on ya, but you may want to just upgrade the video card to a 16mb or better first.