modelr
SOH-CM-2025
Don..i read all you typed.and i understand..i DO want the real flight at some point..but i cant afford it now..i cant afford the $40.00 one i posted...the one Jan posted looked ok when i first started to look,you buy the controler,then get the free download...but its restricted...you have to pay an additional 39.95 to basically unlock it and get a few addons...and the planes and helos are 3.99 apiece...that can add up.....now the one im saw and posted i cant find info one...says E-toys..went to the website and that item is not there..ill have to look later when i have more time ( almost dinner,,)..plus i got lost on the E-toys site because they have 1/16th scale RC tanks acouple under 100 bucks...
but i want to ask..would it be ok to buy a cheaper one?..and then save up for the real flight 6.5 later?...just get a start now with this one?...
Dave,
I went and did a little research also. Those cheapie ones are Chinese rip-offs and are left overs from earlier, ie pre Vista/Win7. There is a dll that can be found somewhere, didn't go looking for it, that will allow them to work with Win7. But most of the comments said the program was basically junk. I looked into a couple of the other cheapie brands listed on Amazon, and they are basically the same units, just rebranded. The Chinese do that a lot.
Real Flight. Yes, there is a cheaper version. Real Flight Basic, for $99. Uses different controller, not compatable with full version, nor upgradeable. None of the add-ons work. It does have the same dynamics as the full version, which is G5 comparably. It has 47 of the G5 aircraft, and 6 of the photofields, but does not have the terrain mesh under the scenery. Wind is adjustable, but that is all. Near total weather control is adjustable in full version. No water planes. Also, no head tracking compatability. Yes, TrackIR works in the full version. No multiplayer nor online in Basic. Here is the webpage for info. http://www.realflight.com/basic.html
Your last question: "would it be ok to buy a cheaper one?..and then save up for the real flight 6.5 later?...just get a start now with this one?.."
Sorry, I can't answer that for you. Would I? No. I would start saving for the Real Flight, or a comparable one now. Put that nickel and dime change in a jar, do without some little luxury thing today, or buy fewer of them. Because the money you spend on the junk one will be gone, and you will have to save longer for the good one. And you will not be happy with the cheapie you bought. Search the major hobby outlets for the units they sell. Most of them are decent, and at least useable. Those shops can't afford to carry the junk. The customer base is not big enough to survive long with junk in the inventory. When something my LHS carries turns out to be bad, it is immediately pulled from the shelves. And the big nationwide sellers are even more picky, as a rule. Here are the main ones I deal with, these are the ones I get most of my stuff from:
Tower Hobbies: http://www.towerhobbies.com/ Simulator page http://www.towerhobbies.com/products/realflight/index.html
Horizon Hobbies: http://www.horizonhobby.com/ simulator page http://www.horizonhobby.com/products/phoenix-r-c-pro-simulator-v4-0-w-dx5e-mode-2-RTM40R5510 Note that the Phoenix brand simulator DOES NOT support ANY standard USB controller. The one I listed comes with a real live 5 channel Spectrum DX5 transmitter, which can be used to actually fly an R/C aircraft. Most of the small/medium mini/micro sized aircraft/helis sold by E-Flite, ParkZone, and a few others marked BNF (Bind N Fly) are designed for this transmitter, as well as others made by JR/Spectrum. (Compatible radio signals.) The program is a full featured program, equivilant to the Real Flight program, and is it's biggest competitor in the genre. There is a less expensive, UPFRONT version, which does not include the transmitter, but you MUST
supply your own R/C Transmitter, and purchase the adaptor for it to work. Not all of the off-brand stuff will. All of the major brands used in America will, tho' some do require an adaptor.
As far as I can tell by searching my known/used by me retail sites, these are the only sims presently on the market in the US. All the ones shown on Amazon and other such sites are for the Japanese FMS sytem, including those you looked at. None of them are presently sold by the stores, but still show on their catalogs. All are on long term back order. (The Far East mail order stores do that.) They all point to the same software download site, and all are for older systems, WinXP and older. Sometimes you can get a decent deal from Ebay, but as always there, buyer beware. I've heard the horror stories, but have never had one happen to me, "knock on wood!"
I understand no money. Was there myself for most of my life. No disgrace in that. You learn to cope. In order to afford my first plane I had to give up a lot of stuff, including smoking, drinking, cut back on soda, etc. (Luckily, I didn't drink, so that wasn't hard to do, lol.)(The smoking and soda part was hard, tho'.) My wife took the money I saved each week and put it away till I could afford my plane and equipment, bought one piece at a time. Over time, it was worth it.
Any other questions, let me know. There are a bunch of other R/C guys on here, also. Maybe one of them has some other info they can add, or dispute. Won't bother me, we all have different experiences.
Good luck
Don
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My glow powered airplanes now consist of the J-3, a Piper Super Cub, and a Pilatus Porter.