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Note: you Must have RealFlight Simulator version 3.0 or 3.5
This is not a stand alone product! To use Expansion Pack 3 you need to have RealFlight's main simulator product in either version 3.0 or 3.5. If you have 3.0, you can get a free upgrade to 3.5 at Real Flight’s website.
Minimum Requirements:
Suggestions for Optimum Performance:
The G3 Expansion Pack 3 is compatible only with Great Planes RealFlight G3 or above.
Introduction
I was excited to find out that some of the new planes for the expansion pack included a couple I fly in real RC life: the Electrifly Fokker D-VII and the SE5a WWI combat planes. I was interested to see if the simulated models flew like my real RC planes. Also included are the beautiful TopFlite Beechcraft Staggerwing as well as their Cessna 310, planes that really got my attention about the pack. I had long hoped that they would add a weapons option, and the verbiage on the packaging was very promising with regards to that. I was anxious to get started!
11 New Airplanes
4 New Helicopters
5 New Flying Sites
Two new photofields, a 3D city park by day and by night and a new 3D obstacle course.
1 New Vertical Take Off and Land
The Griffin combat VTOL is the newest VTOL to operate on RealFlight.
Videos of the new aircraft
Using Fraps software, I made some videos of the new planes and helicopters so you can see them in action at the five new flying fields. NOTE: The Fraps software can cause some slowdowns and hesitation in the simulator which you may see here, but without Fraps, the Expansion Pack 3 worked very smoothly.
SE5a & Fokker D-VII
The first two planes that I flew were the SE5a and the Fokker D-VII since I have these Electrifly Great Plane models in my own air force. I found the simulated models to be almost right as compared with their real counterparts. In both real model and simulator, the SE5a is the better flyer in my opinion. The only difference I noted is that both of the simulated planes fell off a bit more on the simulator then mine do in real life while doing an axial roll in a slight climb. Overall a very accurate representation of the planes.
Beechcraft Staggerwing and TravelAir Mystery Ship at Nimabry field
The TopFlite Beechcraft Staggerwing is a beautiful model that I saw first hand at the AMA show earlier this year. I am looking forward to seeing the upcoming review of it on RC Power. My friend likes it so much he might do an electric conversion. The TravelAir Mystery Ship reminds me of the Hobby Lobby Gee Bee racer that was in yellow and black at this year’s SEFF. While I have only seen the stills and videos, I love the lines of these planes. Alas so far I have only been able to fly the simulated versions. Here is some video of them at Nimabry field.
The Electrifly Reactor and Riot fly the Obstacle Course # 4 at night.
Sit back and enjoy the view as these planes from Electrifly buzz the Obstacle Course at night - first the Reactor and then the Riot. Please note how the Riot goes from a biplane to a top wing monoplane during the flight.
TopFlite's Cessna 310 and Piper Arrow II
These are two great planes from TopFlite. Check out Dick Pettit's review of the Cessna 310 here on RC Power this past January, and compare how it performs in his in-flight video with my simulator videos below. Retracting the landing gear makes a big difference in the way both of these planes handle just as in real life.
The Electrifly Miglet/XPD-8 and the Great Planes Little Toni
For these videos, I flew the Miglet/XPD-8 from the cockpit.
KE Foamy and the Griffin in separate videos.
The Helicopters
Kinetic 50 and Kinetic 50 trainer at the city park by day and night.
This is a great simulated helicopter. The trainer, with its limited stick movement, is excellent, and the 50 without training gear is a lot of fun to fly.
Augusta A109 at Nimabry Field
This helicopter has a beautiful red, white and blue color scheme and is Knife Edge's own Channel 9 Newscopter. Complete with retractable wheels, she handles very nicely.
Comanche Military Helicopter
Until 2004, the Comanche was in line to become the next great American military helicopter. Soon thereafter, it was canceled, and the funds for it were redistributed to improve the existing helicopters in America's military. The expansion pack’s packaging advertising states: "Fly military missions in a Comanche helicopter or VTOL." I have long hoped they would add a weapons option and I wondered if "military missions" might mean that weapons had been added. The answer is: yes, the Comanche has retractable landing gear and weapons stored on inside racks that can be deployed, but I have yet to determine if or how they can be fired. Darn!
Conclusion
Once again an Expansion Pack has added new life to my RealFlight simulator. I liked Expansion Pack 3 and will spend lots of time playing with certain features. I liked the view of Obstacle Course 4, especially by night as viewed from the cockpit (I saved that experience for those that get their own copy). I liked the city park and its vertical challenges. The Fokker D-VII and the SE5a flew very much like my Electrifly Great Plane models. The Staggerwing and Mystery Ship were beautiful to look at and fun to fly. The Miglet/XPD-8 was a blast to fly from the cockpit view. I had no experience with the Little Toni before this review, but if the model flies like the simulated version (and I bet it does), it is an awesome a plane and can make me look very good. The helicopters were very different from one another (well 3 out of 4) and handled well but quite differently. The Kinetic 50s is a great handling trainer, and I recommend a newbie use this software to gain experience even if their RC helicopter is a different model. This simulated heli is a great place to start the helicopter learning experience. The Comanche and the Augusta A-109 have the feel of heavier, less responsive helicopters and make for a different chopper experience. The Griffin was a fun little challenge and something different to fly.
Pluses:
Minuses:
For those of you who are not yet expert pilots, be sure to use the training material on the main RealFlight 3.0 and 3.5 programs. Editor's note: Jim Bourke, owner of RCGroups.com and E Zone Magazine, is an employee of Knife Edge, the makers of RealFlight. Jim had no input into this review or the article’s editing and did not supply the simulator to the reviewer. Last edited by Angela H; Jul 15, 2007 at 03:05 PM.. |
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Jul 22, 2007, 08:28 PM
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#2 |
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ohh yeah!
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Everett, WA
Posts: 884
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heh, lost your head there with that A109!
Great review, i wish i had the money to buy a simulator... |
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Jul 23, 2007, 12:32 AM
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#3 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Stockton, Ca. USA
Posts: 6,628
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I flew all of the helicopters through myself during the review and the Augusta gave the best view in the process so I went with that clip. In real life I never let my helicopters got close to anyone. Thanks for noticing. Mike
PS: I wonder if there is an "Easter egg" hidden on one of the fields that might activate the weapons on the Comanche? |
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Jul 25, 2007, 11:08 AM
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#4 |
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There is no place like Hodges!
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Out yonder!
Posts: 3,400
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Looks like a nice expansion pack. I have over 100 aircraft on my G3.5 that I downloaded from the KE.com
 Yeah, I wish they had were you could have dogfights with some of the airplane, and helos.
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Jul 25, 2007, 11:11 AM
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#5 |
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There is no place like Hodges!
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Out yonder!
Posts: 3,400
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BTW, I like the mono wing Riot
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