I know absolutely nothing about RC planes but I saw G4 in a hobby store...

P

Papa Deuce

New member
and it looked like a whole lot of fun. I read that it has a 357 page manual, and this scares me.... Can a total noob buy this and play it? I imagine it has tutorials built in.

Thanks.... BTW, and I'm not kidding, my name is Chuck Yeager, but I was not named after the pilot. :)
 
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its pretty self explanatory, the only thing that could be hard is to learn to fly,
i am Kenneth Cameron Brown
if you need any help just give me a ring I'll try in help you.
 
I believe that "play it" is a poor choice of words. Let me explain.

The G4 is a very sophisticated and advanced R/C model flight simulator. Its main purpose for being is to teach you how to fly an R/C plane, from the extreme basics, right up to advanced aerobatic moves.

It is probably the most expensive simulator out there, but for your money you get three CDs full of airfields that can be flown from as is, or modified to your requirements and tastes. The same is true of the many airplanes that come with the package, and even to a limited degree, the controller which is based on a very popular Futaba transmitter/controller.

Time after time you will read posts verifying that the simulator is extremely accurate at duplicating the characteristics of many well-known R/C models. I have even found it so accurate that I was able to try out different airfoils and sizes of control surfaces, etc. in a simulated model before I built a plane to the specifications that I worked up with the simulator. It flew almost identically to the simulated model!

If you want to "play" with a flight simulator, you can certainly get less expensive ones to do that with. But if you want a real practical tool to learn how to fly, increase your flying ability beyond the basics, and even help you to design or redesign aircraft to your specific needs, you can't beat the G4 !

Clear Skies, and light winds Jim
 
Jim, yeah, I winced as I put in "play". I know you folks are serious about this and it is a very expensive hobby.

I don't imagine that I would ever buy a plane, but this just looked like a whole lot of fun, in and of itself. But I am not usually very technical, and I just want to make sure that it is accessible by someone who knows NOTHING about how to fly an RC plane.

Thank You.
 
Give it a shot. It's tons of fun and you will end up learning how to fly even if you don't plan to pursue the hobby in meatspace.

Just be certain that you have a fairly powerful computer otherwise you'll end up back here on the forums wondering why the sim doesn't run smoothly (or at all).
 
How knows, after you use it for a while you might be up for the task. This hobby is so much easier and "cheaper" to get into these days.
 
Haole said:
Give it a shot. It's tons of fun and you will end up learning how to fly even if you don't plan to pursue the hobby in meatspace.

Just be certain that you have a fairly powerful computer otherwise you'll end up back here on the forums wondering why the sim doesn't run smoothly (or at all).
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2.4 Ghz duo core, 512MB NVidia board... 4 gig RAM... I imagine that should be fine. Yes?
 
I'm Jim Bourke, General Manager of Knife Edge Software, the makers of RealFlight.

RealFlight is a lot of fun. We certainly think of it as a simulation around here, but most users I meet comment on how much fun they have while learning. It is a ton of fun to fly model planes, and I think you'll learn a great deal about them even if you just goof around and crash into the buildings.

I've learned a lot of my own R/C skills from flying RealFlight. Today, in fact, I was flying a friend's model when one of the wings fell off. I was able to bring it in and land it with only one wing. There is no way I could have become proficient at that sort of thing without a simulator.

But at the same time, there is no way I would practice on RealFlight if it wasn't fun. So the two go together.

I think the fact that you came here to ask about it probably indicates that you are pretty intrigued with the idea of playing with the sim, and I would be very, very surprised if you were unhappy with the purchase. I know I have a vested interest in maintaining that opinion, but I truly offer these words to encourage R/C in general, not to profit from an additional sale (which are better than ever, by the way).

If you purchase the sim and elect to make no further progress in the greater hobby of R/C, you will not be alone. A lot of people buy it just to enjoy the software, not as a stepping stone to real world modeling.

My best to you as you make your decision.

Jim
 
Thank You Jim.... My wife has just told me that Santa might just have it in my stocking! In the meantime, I will go back to Hobby Hut and watch it some more, maybe even get some hands on time.

Chuck
 
Papa Deuce said:
I don't imagine that I would ever buy a plane.
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Hah! I thought the same thing.

Give it time!

YOU WILL get the "bug", you have it already!

As much fun as the simulator is, it is nothing like the first solo RC flight.

Everyone says the same thing... your knees go whobbly on you after you land the plane, and you can barely stand the excitement.

38 planes later, I'm still buying them... my wife stopped asking about those "big packages" that arrive every few weeks. At least she KNOWS where to find me on weekends.
 
opjose said:
Hah! I thought the same thing.

Give it time!

YOU WILL get the "bug", you have it already!

As much fun as the simulator is, it is nothing like the first solo RC flight.

Everyone says the same thing... your knees go whobbly on you after you land the plane, and you can barely stand the excitement.

38 planes later, I'm still buying them... my wife stopped asking about those "big packages" that arrive every few weeks. At least she KNOWS where to find me on weekends.
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I can't deny curiosity for the last few years. But my life is too busy for a hobby that actually gets me outside. I work FT, and I own a DJ business.

I have ALMOST bought a really cheap RC, but decided that that is probably a bad idea, and I can't have an expensive hobby that I really can't enjoy.

I may download the demo.
 
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Keep telling yourself that...

And I'll keep looking for your AMA number appearing in the roster... :D :D :D
 
Re; This great hobby of model aircraft. Yes, it can be expensive but a good sim can take some of the sting out of that. Do bear in mind though that however good the sim is, in actual R/C flying, you WILL crash in your early days (and. through various reasons, from time to time in your progress,) after all, anybody who puts a plane up high where gravity can get it must be a nut. That said, when you take you undamaged model back home after a great day's flying, I know of no better feeling.
Get your sim, practice, practice and then, still more practice, and, maybe, we will welcome you to this wonderful hobby. Best of luck Brian.
 
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Two things:

Planes are a LOT easier to fly then helicopters. If you do get G4 try learning to fly fixed wing models first.

You CAN have a lot of fun with a cheap RC plane:

http://hobbyzone.com/rc_planes_hobbyzone_super_cub.htm

I got a Super Cub a year or so ago and it has been a blast. It is pretty tough, you can usually fix it with some packing tape, and parts are cheap and available too. I now have several other, more sophisticated planes but I never go to the field without the cub.
 
Y'all are pretty sure I'm getting a plane.... :D

We'll see.... maybe in the spring after I try the RealFlight for a few months.
 
jbourke said:
I've learned a lot of my own R/C skills from flying RealFlight. Today, in fact, I was flying a friend's model when one of the wings fell off. I was able to bring it in and land it with only one wing. There is no way I could have become proficient at that sort of thing without a simulator.
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Jim didn't go into enough detail about this. Anyone curious should watch the footage on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxvRUYl3b3E
It's pretty amazing.
 
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