The wonders of simulators.

[nigel newby]

I have just been playing with my Phoenix sim and have found out I can upscale my model.

What a revelation. I can now see it. Also it flies slower and I can control it better. A real joy to fly again.

Nigel N

[Dave Hess]

You can change everything with your plane under model/edit. It's good fun to see how far back you can move the C of G. Also, if you double the RPM of the propeller, you can convert any plane into one that flies 3D.

If you go to the Flitetest forum, you can find Phoenix models of most of their planes that you can import, then you can try them out before building them. The Sportster is extremely similar to how it flies in real life, though the one you download has been modified. You have to move the C og G back to the correct position and the propeller RPM to 12000 to get it to fly like the real one. That plane is really nice to fly on the simulator and in real life. You can build one in a few evenings.

[Former Member]

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[nigel newby]

Cheers for the info chaps.

[John Rabone]

Can anyone recommend a flight simulator for raw beginner (75 yrs young!). I am thinking of buying a Taranis TX so the sim would need to work with that on Windows ten or MAC...cheers, John R

[John Rabone]

I have bought RealFlight 8 and having problems setting it up. Sometimes the Taranis X9D+ TX worlds and others I have to restart PC or BindTX. When it does work I have following problems,

L Rud Ok. R Rud nothing. L Ail = down Ele. Ele up/down barely moves. R Ail small movement. Up/Down Ele nothing. I guess it's the settings on the TX. Anyone got any ideas please? Cheers, John

[Denis Watkins]

What are you using as a monitor John?

A PC or Laptop or Tablet, or TV

And choose a free model screen, all set to neutral, trims centre and no pre expo or travel settings

One of your model selections should be named Realflight, and used for nothing else, so all your RF set up is there next time

Then each stick and switch movement is verified on-screen to full travel, all corners to calibrate

Calibration needs to be done either on PC or Realflight

Edited By Denis Watkins on 14/07/2019 17:19:20

[DDH]

Civil and military pilot trainees spend hours and hours (and more hours) on flight sims before the ‘real’ thing. A lot of this training is about obtaining competence with very complex avionic system familiarisation and squillions of instrument displays etc. Nonetheless, RC models sims can be a very useful and helpful tool.

In this context, it’s about visio-spatials. Training eye/finger co-ordination is the key. A skill to be learnt/developed, like first riding a bicycle/motorcycle/scooter, driving a motor car, playing golf, such that this co-ordination no longer becomes a conscious response. [Note: if you have found you literally can’t do any of the aforesaid then you will have a big problem with flying!]

While it’s all a matter of personal preference, I’m an RF8 fan. Breeze to install and use (Windows 10). Wonderful graphics with screen shots and flight recording. A number of ‘challenges’ (some may say ‘games'} to aid visio-spatial skill development. A plethora of models to chose from – trainers, other top wing stuff, bottom wing intermediate/advanced, gliders, powered gliders, helis, jets, and even a STOL or two (Harrier, V-22 Osprey). Remarkable how the fight characteristics of all the models are so different. You can alter the visual size of the model without it affecting its aerodynamic behaviour – it’s so you can see it better, but to the flight software it’s the same size. Cunning!

I’ve used a 15.6” laptop and a 28” desktop without issue. Never ceases to amaze how the brain adapts to the visual scale. So, you don’t’ need a big PC monitor.

However, laptop/desktop sims will lack the reality of width of peripheral vision and (especially) the depth-of-field. But, crashes are not an expense!(see my avitar - nose in the ground)

If you have a Spektrum Tx there is a Spektrum WS1000 USB dongle available (about £28) that wi-fi connects, so no cable [don’t know if it works with other brands of Tx].

Just a thought.

Edited By DavidH on 14/07/2019 20:12:36

Edited By DavidH on 14/07/2019 20:13:10

[Pete Collins]

A few years ago I had a sim that, I think, was called a CSM. It had the ability to test fly unique designs. If you had designed a model you entered all of its parameters into the sim and then you could test fly it before you built it. What was amazing was that when you built the actual model it really did have the same flying characteristics and handling as the sim! You could then experiment with CG positions, engine sizes, propellers etc or tweek the design - wingspan aerofoil etc. The only down side was that the graphics were a bit primitive by modern standards, but I was quite happy to live with that. I wish someone still made one like that.

[Former Member]

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