Does anyone really enjoy thermaling on RF9?

J

jdouglasj

Member
I like RF9 with planes, but not so much with gliders. In real life, it's the reverse: I enjoy the gliders more. What do other glider pilots think? Are there any of you who enjoy flying gliders in RF9? Since I own a Radian and a Conscendo, I fly them in RF9 but they don't seem to thermal in RF9.

When I switch to a more serious glider in Rf9, it stays up much longer but there's nothing much to it. You just fly towards the right arrows.
 
I have not. I will give it a look. However, I don't think it's the plane. Hunting for thermals in real flying is fun and tricky. In RF9, you just fly towards an arrow.

RF9 is great for planes because you can try all sorts of things that you probably wouldn't risk with your $400 plane. And it improves your skills with the sticks.

Neither of those really apply with gliders. I hope I find a fun way to use gliders in RF9, but I haven't found it yet.
 
Have you tried turning off the "arrows",....I know you used to able to do that, not sure about RF9 though, I haven`t flown a glider in RF9 yet using thermals, I prefer slopes... :)
 
jdouglasj said:
I like RF9 with planes, but not so much with gliders. In real life, it's the reverse: I enjoy the gliders more. What do other glider pilots think? Are there any of you who enjoy flying gliders in RF9? Since I own a Radian and a Conscendo, I fly them in RF9 but they don't seem to thermal in RF9.

When I switch to a more serious glider in Rf9, it stays up much longer but there's nothing much to it. You just fly towards the right arrows.
Click to expand...


Turn off the arrows (View>Effects>WIndfield Indicators). Go to chase cam (F3). Model will visually rise from the chase perspective when it hits lift. I'm not a fan of chase mode, but this context feels a lot like flying a real model and chasing lift. For more fun bump the wind up to 2-3 mph and add a little turbulence. Beyond 3mm seems to shred the thermal.

Another trick is to use the Binoculars or autozoom, fly in a path normal to line of sight of pilot perspective (F1) and far enough away to see a good sideview of the model. Watch carefully. Pitching up is usually a fresh headwind, but wing and tail rising together means lift. I've watched pilots fly this way in a contest and didn't see anyone thermalling directly overhead. I haven't had much luck with this in RF9, but I've got a lot to learn and can honestly say the sim feels a lot like the real experience.

Users can also add updraft to nav guide or try the variometer.
 
... and another thing, turn the wind down on the Sierra Nevada range to something reasonable and your thermal and wind-lift hunting will be more enjoyable. Also, check the swap pages there are several powered gliders (one is turbine, another uses folding prop) that can get you up, or keep you up, when needed... also experiment with editing the planes and modifying the CG point (fore aft) ... some of the models tend to be nose-heavy.
I absolutely love sail-planes, and I find the soaring experience in the Sim to be very good; although, I must admit that its taken me a LOT of experimenting and tweaking. Also, there are other airports you can use with tow aloft options... another plane pulls you up and you use (B) to release when the tow plane waggles its wings, then return to the airport... its very realistic (as possible) and also enjoyable. The plane with the built-in turbine can leave the ground on its own power (quickly runs out of fuel) but gets it up so that it can return to the airport. Its very good.

I use the Europhia 2K, Flyzone Calypso, Mistral 3M, Rf 97 (advanced), and the RF 98... see the Swap Pages. I modify all my planes for scaled up vehicle, and then I experiment with scaled physics, including CG placement. I have had some good success making the above models work will in Rf9.5 Sim.

marcus
 
jdouglasj said:
I like RF9 with planes, but not so much with gliders. In real life, it's the reverse: I enjoy the gliders more. What do other glider pilots think? Are there any of you who enjoy flying gliders in RF9? Since I own a Radian and a Conscendo, I fly them in RF9 but they don't seem to thermal in RF9.

When I switch to a more serious glider in Rf9, it stays up much longer but there's nothing much to it. You just fly towards the right arrows.
Click to expand...
I'm new to RC sailplanes. I noticed you fly a Radian on RF9. Just purchased a Radian and RF9. I don't see Radian listed on aircraft list in RF9. Where did you find it? Thanks.
 
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