Hello all.


Well, I've been practicing on Realflight 8 for about six months and can fly the helis (no expo/full rates) and planes (no expo/full rates) quite well. I have to say that the planes are much easier to fly than the helis. I had a bit of quad, coax and fixed pitch (using SAFE) experience, however when I started flying the collective pitch helis on the sim, it was a nightmare. The sim definitely saved me money in repair costs and added frustration. I feel I'm ready to take my collective helis out of the box and fly them.

I had a question about Realflight 8. I can see all the props (blades) spinning on the planes, however when the helis spool up to full RPM the blades disappear, I only see the rotor spinning. This didn't really bother me at first, however a week ago, when I flew in one of the 'night fields' (Realfight 8) and saw the blades spinning (because they were lit up). I got used to seeing the helis bladeless, however once I saw them it enhanced the experience.

Any ideas on why they (blades) disappear when they reach full RPM? The only thing I can think of is my computer's (laptop) refresh rate.

Thanks.

Mine disappear in between. I see them at low and high rpm. It's because of your computers video card or built in graphics. I don't know exactly what they changed but in 7.5 there is no problem like in 8. Now that they are coming out with RF9 I've decided to move to AccuRC. It angers me they are upgrading so soon with zero compensation for those who just purchased RF8 and the HH Edition add-on. I've been a VERY staunch supporter of the program to this point but it's time to change. I'm sure it's a money grab now that Horizon owns the rights to it. There was always a free .5 version but I guess no more.

Thanks for the Reply BrokeDad. I figured it was my computer. HH sent me the HH Edition disk for free, since I purchased RF8 after Sep 2018. I wound't have paid for it.

I checked out RF9, it does have one thing going for it (didn't look into the software) it has the Spektrum radio included with it. I believe it's the same as the DX6e (which I own) without the computer screen. It's definitely a better looking/feeling transmitter than the one that came with RF8 (although that one is decent and saves wear and tear on your field transmitter). I've got nothing against upgrades as long as they're better than what came before them.

I have to give RF credit, I've flown a few planes and collective pitch helis a few weeks ago and the experience, at least to me, was almost identical to the Sim. It's a wonderful tool for R/C enthusiasts and those interested in aircraft in general.

I have the older Interlink Elite which was made by Futaba. It's a great "radio" for simming. Built quite rugged and even has metal parts.

I don't need any more SAFE equipped helis and I can make my own out of what's on swaps. I don't see much in the way of wanting to spend $99 for plus tax and shipping as it's the same old engine with MAYBE a few tiny tweaks. I'll still keep using my older versions but until there is a major overhaul I'm going to try something different. I also got stuck with RF-X which is a dead product and needs a super computer to run well. I have Phoenix V6 and also Aerofly RC7 Ultimate so it's not like I don't already have choices to my RF7.5 and RF8.

BTW in the editor you can Enable Daytime Lights so they are always on. At least you will see them.

At least RF-X didn't cost more than RF8 (I believe they were the same price when I purchased RF8). I appreciate the fact that RF8 creates software, that has life like physics, without the need for a 'gaming computer'. And as I said, the photo fields look good. I saw the graphics for RF-X (3D), for the amount of computer power needed they appear a tad lack luster. I'll admit the 3D sites (graphics) are horrible on RF8. However, they are made to run on not-so-powerful computers, so ...

As far as SAFE is concerned, I have mixed feelings. Although, it does help beginners fly their helis, the experience is quite different from flying 'normal' collective/fixed pitch. When I first started flying on RF8, deciding to use full rates and no expo (both planes and helis) I had no clue how to fly the helicopters. Using SAFE I could do coordinated turns on my Blade 120s (with very little wind), however when I tried turning the helis on the sim, I was lost. I had to learn how to fly again, and it took me almost six months of dedicated practice to fly them, and that's with having about two years experience with quads, coax and fixed pitch (again using SAFE). I can just imagine how it would be to shut SAFE off and fly normal, without any knowledge of how helis fly. I probably would have given up on them if it wasn't for the Sim. I was flying the planes quite well after a few months, although I still struggled with the helis. I have a new appreciation for the term 'pilot' regarding hobby grade R/Cs, they truly take a great amount of skill to fly. And for those interested in aviation, it's as close to the real thing as you can get (something I've learned speaking to pilots who fly R/C.). I have family who work in aviation, a few months ago a friend of the family, who also works in aviation and is a pilot, tried some of the planes on RF8, he couldn't believe how close to the real thing they were, finding them quite difficult to fly, especially regarding orientation. He never heard of 'hobby grade R/C', to him R/C's were toys bought at retail stores. He was blown away when I took him to one of the larger Hobby Shops near me. And of course, he was also blown away by the price tags on some of the aircraft.