RealFlight 9.5S vs reality

S

schorschie_GER

New member
Hi guys!

I am new to the RealFlight-/RC-flying world.
Just purchased the new RealFlight sim with the InterLinkDX and really enjoy flying with all types for aircraft.
My question to you experienced guys is: Can I compare that sim feeling with 'real world' flying?
I did practice a couple of hours with the 1.5m Cirrus. In safe mode I don't have any issues to fly, take-off and land the aircraft properly.
Do you think it's a good idea to buy the RC-Cirrus as a starter or should I stick to beginner models like the 1.5 m Apprentice?!

Thanks for your opinion!
Jorg
 
How much experience do you have with any "real world" flying?

The sim models the behavior of the planes very, very closely.

The sim, due to the inherent 2D rendering and restricted monitor view does NOT replicate real world flying. It is about as good as one can get, but it is very different. It does a fantastic job of helping build the eye-hand coordination needed, but is only fair in replicating the actual experience.

If you cannot never crash in the sim with SAFE off, then you need more practice - either in the sim or real life. Pick the plane that allows you to fly consistently well with SAFE off. Make it hard - land from different directions, change the wind speeds and turbulence, cut the throttle at random spots and try to glide to a landing.

Sim work will speed up your transition to real life greatly, but you will still need some amount of stick time in real life - it varies wildly. Seeing the ground and learning to line things up in the real world, as well as the knowledge that things can really be broken, can be a challenge.

I have no experience with the Cirrus, nor do I have the current version of RF to try it out - so can't directly compare. Is it possible to use it in real life as a first plane? Sure. But being faster and more responsive, the risk of damage therefore goes up.
If you can find a club with an instructor program, especially one that uses their own "Apprentice type" planes, that would be the way to go - solo on those, then fly your new Cirrus as your first plane after soloing.

If you simply must learn all on your own, then an Apprentice will give a better chance of success. It is a good one to keep around far into the future as a "knock around, just for fun" plane.

For either though, SAFE is a reasonable attempt to help beginners forestall damage...but it is a crutch that must be abandoned as soon as possible.
 
Had the older Cirrus.. and it´s not a beginners plane by any means. Apprentice as Flapper mention is a way better choice or the Carbon Cub 1.2m. But try to fly without safe , as much as you can. It´ll prepare you better. You could use safe as an "panic" button if you wish for a short period of time, and learn how to save the aircraft instead. Practice in sim and then IRL. If I remember .. the Cirrus in the sim flies close to the real one.
Good luck and fly safe!
 
Thanks for sharing your experience with me. That helped a lot.
I just ordered an E-Flite Carbon Cub S2 1.2 m. No problems to handle the aircraft in the sim without any 'software support'. Now it's time to proof my skills at the sticks.
Once again thanks for your replies.

Cirrus is coming next :)
 
Yes, it's pretty close. I have spent a lot of time in various flight simulators: MSFS, X-Plane, and every version of RealFlight since G3.

In my case, someone gave me an RC Paramotor for Christmas. This is about the simplest aircraft there is: It's got a large propellor on the back and hangs below a parafoil. The only controls are throttle and left/right weight shifting; the pilot uses the throttle to control altitude, and the steering servo pulls on the left and right parafoil cords to bank the aircraft.

I flew this around the hard for a month or so, then picked up a Multiplex Easy Star. After that, I jumped to a nitro powered Kadet Senior and really enjoyed that.

Point being, I flew all of those planes on the first try, without a trainer, since I'd spent so much time in the simulator. Actually flying the planes was so similar to the sim that flying the real thing was easy.

So yes - a good flight sim is a great way to practice before flying the real thing. I'm not going to suggest flying a large or expensive aircraft without a trainer until you're sure you are safe, but I will say that you'll reach that point much quicker if you spend time on the simulator first.
 
Not sayin' that it will be the same, but to illustrate:

Just last week had a new student to train. He is aviation crazy, and had been using Real Flight all winter, and through his busy summer. He is 14. Wants nothing more than to be a pilot for a career. Finally convinced his mom to take him to the field. 5 flights to solo, that same night. Could have done it in 2-3, but we had him fly with 3 different instructors, just to make sure. He did 2 more completely on his own before it got too dark.
I expect to see him tomorrow night (Wed is our training evening) with a new plane, depending on how he cut a deal with his parents for a loan to buy it, in trade for lots of additional lawn mowing and other paid work a 14 yr old can find.

I hate kids like that - it comes just too easy!!;)
 
No one has mentioned RealFlight 9.5 VR, as a real world pilot and aircraft owner since 1965, flying RC since the reed sets of the 1950's and RealFlight since version g2 I can honestly tell you RF 9.5 VR is as real as it gets for an 'at field' experience. Realflight even in 2D over the years has helped me immensely in learning to fly many different RC aircraft and locations. All that has been said in this thread in my experience is very true and I believe that if you can consistently fly it in the sim, your chances of flying it at the field are very good. VR makes it 100%
 
I've played a bit with VR, on my not quite up-to-spec laptop, and even there what Irony says is true. It's not a great VR "it all looks real" in my case, but it does overcome the limitations of using a flat monitor for landings/takeoffs and not-too-far-away flying. Last winter my club hosted several on-line combat events in RF, and it was just like doing the same at the field. Worth the additional expense - maybe not at this time, but if you've got the gear for other uses anyway....just don't expect rendering to be on par with the latest/greatest VR games....but it will give you that "at the field" experience.
 
Irony said:
No one has mentioned RealFlight 9.5 VR, as a real world pilot and aircraft owner since 1965, flying RC since the reed sets of the 1950's and RealFlight since version g2 I can honestly tell you RF 9.5 VR is as real as it gets for an 'at field' experience. Realflight even in 2D over the years has helped me immensely in learning to fly many different RC aircraft and locations. All that has been said in this thread in my experience is very true and I believe that if you can consistently fly it in the sim, your chances of flying it at the field are very good. VR makes it 100%
Click to expand...
What VR equipment do you use? I’d quite like to set up VR. Somehow flying rc helicopters in 2D is not the same as reality. It‘s still a shock when I try a new manoeuvre for real, having practiced for a long time in RF. The third dimension makes a big difference.
 
For me, the basic Meta Quest with cable running RF 8. Lenovo Legion 5 with Nvidia 1660Ti. Frame rates are low, and many graphics have to be dialed down. Resolution not great, but useable. Can't fly far away. Useable for close in things like combat, maybe Heli - although I'm not versed in that and couldn't tell you if the low display hampers the experience too much or not. Maybe by Xmas two things will happen - I replace my really old desktop with a true high end gaming system....AND RF comes out with a ver 10 with an updated graphics engine. First more likely than the second.

(edit - oops, I over spec'd the video card in my laptop noted above! Now corrected!)
 
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A long time ago, maybe 25 years or a bit more, I used RF to learn to fly RC. I had a Duraplane trainer and soloed by first time out. No buddy box or trainer of any sort. I also looped and rolled my first solo flight ( in controlled flight). I can't imagine learning it any other way.
 
You did well. I didn’t get out of beginner mode with my UMX Timber. Mind you I did try my first flight in a Football ( soccker) field surrounded by trees. The planes are not like hovering helicopters they move around quickly… turn tree comming up turn… tree oh turn. 😁 I didn’t crash so sim must have helped me too.
 
For @1024kb
Have included my hardware in my signature now, very top end but I need this for other things, mainly X-plane, AeroFly FS and MSFS2020 and you do not need all the power and expense to be happy in VR with RF 9.5s. I do recommend the HP Reverb G2 V2, I have been flying the G2 V1 for about 18 months and paid $600 when released, now the G2 V2 (better cameras) is available from HP, I just bought one for $400 to experiment with multiplayer. Let me know if you have additional questions.
Jim
 
Resurrecting an old thread. Is there any way to make the RF 9.5 model of the e-flite Cirrus SR22T more realistic?

I've been flying the Cirrus a lot in the last couple months. Really like it a lot, but there are some tendencies that I need to get used to (without crashing it hopefully). If I fly inverted and intentionally go into an inverted stall, I usually end up in a knife edge spin or some other scary out of control spin, and sometimes have to flip on safe for a second to break out of it.

But in RF I don't get any of these behaviors and it's way more stable inverted than my actual model.

Is there anything I can do? I have the newer / red version of the Cirrus and fly on 4S, so in RF I did already edit the motor to give me 4S power. That edit seemed to work very well.
 
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