Is Real Flight G2 worth the $200 investment

[EKI16]

Is Real Flight G2 worth the $200 investment? i have flown an R/C glider, it is a little over weight and doesnt glide that good but i can make a few turns on the way down the hill. it uses rudder and elevator, i am pretty good at it too. Does any body think i could benifit from the simulator? i dont really like the $200 investment. would it save money in the long run, like crashing, when getting in to 4 channel airplanes?

[mode1]

I have been flying rc glow and gas for several years. Flew pattern, IMAC. I have, and use, the GP-G2. Sims are a great way to learn, practice, teach. My daughter loves getting in the cockpit of a giant bipe (on the sim) and taking off. loads of fun and great experience. I learned to hover on the sim first.

I learned to fly helis on the G-2. Crashed about $100,000 worth of helis but was good enough with the real one not to crash after all the sim practice. G-2 (or simular) is less expensive than one real crash.

[EKI16]

i would just really like more opinions on it. because $200 can buy a hole new plane one with a motor too. on the other hand the flight sim would be fun also, but is it necessary? i know i would really enjoy the sim, but i would choose the actual plane over the sim.

[wsn]

Please use the search engine. This question had been discussed various time. To make it short: Yes! Simulators are generating routine that helps you avoiding crashes. It is a simple question of amortisation. It is fun, you can try figures you never dared to try with your real one.

Cheers - wolfgang

[Peter Khor]

But $200 for a simulator (w/ controller, make a note) is still rather steep imo; it's priced like s/w was 10 years ago ... then again, there's FMS, but you do get what you pay for I guess.

okay ... maybe I should clarify a little ... I have had a couple dozen of tries on the sticks of G2; if you can't go out and fly due to one thing or another, a sim is great. If you want to try out a new routine (eg, rolling circles) and you can't get alot of actual flying time, a sim is great. If you want to try out some insane plane/combo, a sim is great. For me it's nice, but not $200 nice. eg, with that $$ you can get a nice parkie like the Tantrum and actually go out and practice.

[wsn]

If you crash that tantrum, the money is gone. Say good bye, have a beer and go home. Start your PC and what is there? Your sim! That simple. FMS is as good as the money you invested. You want to know how a turbine flies without investing 6,000? Download a turbine model and just see how it performs and if you are able to control it. Ever wanted to fly an oldtimer but never had the time to build one? Download and try. Hotliner, TOC, F3A-X, helicopters, trubine helicopters, indoor EP or large gas powered ... well this may not be applicable for a G2 but there are others in that price range who do all that.

Cheers - wolfgang

[steve lewin]

Questions of value for money can only be your decision. I think sims are a brilliant idea because I like being able to fly when it's too windy or rainy or dark. However I get on fine using an old copy of CSMv10 (for accuracy) and/or FMS (for fun value).

I decided that RF G2 is not worth the money for me, particularly since the initial cost is only the start and you have to keep paying extra for add-ons to get new models etc. (BTW you can think yourself lucky because it costs nearer $300 over here in the UK)

If you are considering spending some money there are other commercial sims worth looking at including Aerofly Pro and Reflex (which is what wolfgang is talking about I believe).

Steve

[EKI16]

right now i wish i had real flight g2, its too windy to fly right now. or i guess i could be building another plane with the $200. its a tough decision. i really enjoy flight sims, i have Janes USAF,
X-plane, Microsoft Combat Flight sim 1, Microsoft Combat Flight sim 3, 2000 Microsoft Flight sim and 2002, both profesional edition. All are good sims but i never paid $200 for just one sim. tough decision:confused

[gregg f]

$200. is a lot of money. ihave g2 and like it alot.
fwiw. Hobby Lobby has it on sale for $180.00 with add on #1.
...........gregg

[EKI16]

$180 is still alot though, how realistic is G2? can u get glitches sometimes in your radio like real life? do u run out of fuel or battery power? can u select different kinds of batteries, or different nitro content of the glow airplane fuel? just trying to see all of the features of the sim to see if it is worth it to me. real flight web site dosent tell u alot of features.

[sheerLuck]

I started on FMS and eventually bought Real Flight G2. For me personally, FMS has 99% of the value of G2. I learned the basics on FMS before flying at all, then before using ailerons. Did the same before actually flying a Picolo heli. It has helped immensely.

I haven't used G2 that much. I'd have to say it has great visuals, and if I were flying giant scale gasers it's probably the only thing I'd use. I was disappointed in it's support of small electrics like I fly. I was also disappointed that I couldn't run G2 on my thin laptop, since it requires a cdrom for copy protection. FMS works fine on all my PC's.

When I try rolling circles sometime soon, I'll figure out which is best for that stage of flying. However - since I now have capable planes in the air, I may just learn on the real thing !

Larry

[EKI16]

well i dont have alot of money to spend on high performance electric stunt planes. i would like to do loops and stunts with an real airplane but its probably a matter of time when you figure out u cant do a certen stunt at that altitude with that air speed. would it help to spend the $200 to do them on the real flight insted of trying it on a brand new airplane? but then is real flight g2 that accurate to act on what the real plane would do?

[steve lewin]

No simulator is perfectly accurate. For a start you don't fly the real thing with a box over your head and just a monitor shaped hole cut out of it. You have peripheral vision, you feel the wind, you always know where the runway is etc.

All sims ever do is help you. You can learn the control movements for new "stunts" and so on but there is never any guarantee that *your* plane will behave exactly like the one in the sim.

Personally I always try new manouvers in the sim before trying them in the real world. If I can't fly them cleanly every time in the sim then I'm not ready for real world attempts. But just because you get it right in the sim doesn't mean it is bound to be perfect with the real model.

If you're still at the stage of thinking about doing loops and rolls then it will be some time before you outgrow even the free sims like FMS. I'd try one of those and see how you like flying a computer and how much your real flying improves. Then decide if you want to spend real money on a sim.

Steve

[EKI16]

i wasnt excpecting it to be exact to the real model, just some thing that will act very close to it. i did get FMS it is kinda fun to me, it dosent seem that realistic to the actual model. the rudder dosent really work like it should, i cant do snap rolls or hammer head turns. i was also useing my microsoft joystick. to me i think real flight would have be more realistic that this.

can u retract flaps or landing gear in FMS?

how realistic is G2 not the actual flight just things that can happen in real life. can u get glitches sometimes in your radio like real life? do u run out of fuel or battery power? can u select different kinds of batteries, or different nitro content of the glow airplane fuel? just trying to see all of the features of the sim to see if it is worth it to me. real flight web site dosent tell u alot of features.

[BillH]

The aircraft are only as accurate as the data the programmer used to program them with. Most of the programmers probably dont even fly R/C.

IF you ask me, a Flight sim is only good for getting down the eye hand coordination, which is the most basic and most important thing to know.

[HankF]

I think flying a good R/C sim is an enjoyable activity in its own right! Many's the time I haven't been able to fly the real thing for one reason or another but I can always fly the sim. I have most of the sims and I personally think RfG2 is the best so far.

Actually, apart from the equipment, sims are cheap compared to the price of one plane. But the equipment can make a big difference. I use a projector (as well as a regular display) to run my sim and that cost plenty (about $2700). But what a difference it makes with a 6 foot diagonal screen viewed from 6 feet! Several people can gather and enjoy it at the same time swapping the control box around to see who flys 'em best.

Hank

[bullseye000]

It seems most of us have the same opinions. I can't add to musch to the above but I've had it since it's first release and feel I have more than gotten my money back. It's a little steep in price but when it's 10:00pm and 10 degress and snowing out and I feel an itch to fly, I can fire up my sim and fly for a 1/2 hour. It al helps keep me sharp through the winter.

[Gordon1]

Just reiterate what u guys have said. I taught myself to fly via Realflight and the 'real thing' first flight of my model went without a hitch. As I thought 'if the big boys use simulators as part of their training, why not me?' At £140 from 'across the pond' it was money well spent, as £140 over here would only buy u a half decent trainer. Happy flying.

[enephel]

There's been alot of rainy days this year. I wish there was a sim that had a 60 acre lake and you could add skis to any plane and fly in the snow.

[wsn]

A real lake scenery is a large prob. As the waves have their own dynamic influencing the aircraft position, it will call for calculation power. The forces working on the skids and on the aircraft while take-off and landing are VERY complex. The last thing that would kill such an idea is the visual impact. "simulating" a lake surface visually is a real hard job and till now not really solved.


cheers - wolfgang

[HankF]

Wolfgang, I have Stentec's sailing simulator and they do a real nice job of simulating water visuals and dynamics. Maybe get the two together?

Hank

[BillH]

There is a saying, you never ask a pilot what to put into a simulator, you'll end up with a complete airplane!

[wsn]

@Hank: Yepp, I know this one but that technology won't go with my next update ;) ...

Cheers - wolfgang

[surfimp]

Another perspective:

If you're a power pilot, RFG2 seems like a pretty good way to go. I think the best thing about RealFlight is the Interlink controller, but the planes and so forth seem to fly more realistically than FMS.

If you're a heli pilot, RFG2 is about as good of a heli simulation as you could ask for, in terms of graphics & accuracy. I think there may be one or two other sims that are more accurate, in terms of physics, for helis than RFG2, but AFAIK they don't look as good. Whether or not that is important is up to the individual purchaser.

If you're a glider pilot (as I am), then I think probably the best thing to do, if you plan on spending a fair amount of time on the sim, is to purchase the Interlink controller separately and use it with one of the free and very good soaring simulators like Slope Soaring Sim (http://www.rowlhouse.freeserve.co.uk/) (SSS) or CRRC Sim (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crrcsim/). The Interlink is handy because you don't have to charge it or worry about removing the crystal/etc. It's pretty much plug, configure, play, which I like!

While I still own RFG2, I never run it, preferring instead to use the RFG2 Interlink controller with SSS. SSS actually does an excellent job of simulating slope soaring, and it does so over very interesting (and user-configurable) terrains. You can also make your own glider models, if you have access to a 3D program and some spare time. He's even added some rudimentary helicopter support. It's Cool! :)

[BillH]

Yes it is, IT is cheaper to make my friend buy G2 than to let him crash my Terry and think not much of it!

[EKI16]

can i download SSS without having to join yahoo groups?