A flight into reality

[Joshu]

I've been spending time on a simulator, even doing aircraft carrier landings. Those guys have got a set of brass ones. From up high the deck looks like a postage stamp, doesn't seem much bigger even when you get up pretty close either. After months of practice, I still only nail one in three landings. I would do a little better in real life, some of the depth perception of a screen vs live is lost. Imagine being lunched from a catapault...... that's gotta rock.

Hey Joe, what kind of sim are you using?

[Joe 1320]

Hey Joe, what kind of sim are you using?

It's FMS. Basically a freeware sim that uses either keystrokes or external joysticks attached via USB. I got my controller and software on ebay for pretty cheap. Not elegant and sophisticated but it works. You can change all the perspectives and let me tell you..... the hardest thing is to land on an aircraft carrier from a distant 90º 2nd person perspective view. Killed myself on the landings more times than anything.

Flying is the easy part, it's the landings that will kill ya.

[Blevyou know]

DO IT!! Man, it's one of the best things I ever decided to do. And one of my life goals met

Jeff,

Your alone on this flight?

That is awesome. I would love to be flying alone. Wow, I can't imagine.

[Joshu]

It's FMS. Basically a freeware sim that uses either keystrokes or external joysticks attached via USB. I got my controller and software on ebay for pretty cheap. Not elegant and sophisticated but it works. You can change all the perspectives and let me tell you..... the hardest thing is to land on an aircraft carrier from a distant 90º 2nd person perspective view. Killed myself on the landings more times than anything.

Flying is the easy part, it's the landings that will kill ya.

How does it compare to Microsoft's Flight Simulator? (if you tried it before)

[JeffM]

Jeff,

Your alone on this flight?

That is awesome. I would love to be flying alone. Wow, I can't imagine.

Yeah, just me and the buzz of the radio up there in the wild blue yonder!

The first time I ever went by myself I was walking out to the airplane with keys in hand, just thinking "OMG OMG OMG". Then I got in, fired it up, taxxied to the runway, aimed down the centerline, tower gave me clearance, and I firewalled the throttle.. Up I went.. Craziest feeling I've ever had as soon as I left the ground..

Seriously - if you're into flying, it's worth all the money in the world. It's a feeling I can't even describe.

'94 White Devil - FMS is just a basic free R/C sim to give you the feel of how the control inputs will make the aircraft act. It's decent for getting you used to that - but as far as physics and dynamics go it's pretty generic. It's free though so you can't expect TOO much

I started flying R/C like 15 years ago before they had sims.. I do use a sim these days (www.reflex-sim.de) but it's pretty much only to practice crazy maneuvers before I try them on my real models.. Lots cheaper that way

[Joe 1320]

- FMS is just a basic free R/C sim to give you the feel of how the control inputs will make the aircraft act. It's decent for getting you used to that - but as far as physics and dynamics go it's pretty generic. It's free though so you can't expect TOO much

I started flying R/C like 15 years ago before they had sims.. I do use a sim these days (www.reflex-sim.de) but it's pretty much only to practice crazy maneuvers before I try them on my real models.. Lots cheaper that way

Yep. What Jeff said. I have quite a few different models on the simulator, a few of them behave similar to the real model that I own. Others aren't quite so close. The simulator's best use is for practicing on an out of trim plane, or to practice things like inverted flight and other tricks before you attempt it on the actual model. Saves big time on parts. There still is nothing like the real thing.