Great Planes RealFlight Deluxe R/C Sim

Real Flight Deluxe R/C Sim**

Manufacturer: Great Planes

Price: $269.99

Review date: 7/8/01

I have always been intrigued by aircraft. From civilian to military birds I enjoy watching them fly and seeing them up close whenever possible. I would love to own my own plane so I can jump to the sky whenever I wish but the reality is an expensive one. Its also not very practical since the time invested is huge- to get your license, to maintain the plane, to get to the airport...

One alternative is model radio controlled (R/C) aircraft. I have investigated this hobby and found many of the same roadblocks to flying a real plane still exist. The hobby can be expensive, maintenance is time and money consuming and flying fields are few and far between. Even if you can find a field, finding a good teacher is another matter. Somewhat of an alternative-alternative is the RealFlight R/C Simulator (RFS) from Great Planes. Great Planes is a well known manufacturer of many R/C controlled planes. They have expanded the hobby with the RFS and the modification to a real Futaba R/C controller so it works with a PC gameport.

For a single investment you get a real controller (modified so it cannot be used for actual R/C control) and the RealFlight R/C Simulator Software. There are a few different versions available including basic, deluxe, and Generation 2. Add-ons are available to increase the variety of aircraft and you can even get a version supporting using your own R/C transmitter if you wish. Prices of the packages start at around $80 and increase from there depending on the gear and software version. I tested the Deluxe version packaged with a 15 pin gameport controller.

Features:

• Futaba controller
• fully functional trims
• professional-style gimbals
• three switches to use for controlling functions such as mixing, flaps, retracts, etc.
• RealPhysics, the most authentic flight replication ever created.
• Offers 200+ ways to alter plane performance—and over 300 ways to fine-tune heli flight.
• Choose from 9 planes to fly, including a P-51 warbird, PT-40¨ Trainer or Ultimate Bipe.
• Fly sport-, scale or competition helis—10 in all
• Includes 5 PhotoField flying sites, plus a Bonus 3D field with an F3C practice course.
• Reproduces sound in doppler-correct stereo and with exclusive Rotosonic heli technology.
• Screen menus and point & click interfaces make it easy to customize and adjust.

System Requirements:

• Windows ME, 98 or 95
• Intel Pentium 200 or above or equivalent processor
• Microsoft Direct3D high performance 3D accelerated video card with 8 MB or more video RAM
• Microsoft DirectX 6.0 (or more recent version) compatible Graphics and Sound card (most are)
• 30 MB available hard drive space
• 16 MB RAM
• 4X CD-ROM drive
• Super VGA monitor
• IBM-Compatible game port

Installation:

The weakest part of the RFS package is the documentation. Since I concentrate on the controller aspect of packages like this I was disappointed to find no details what so ever on the controller although it is obviously the more expensive part of the package. The documentation covers installing the software but not much else. There is a full Word document file that is the manual for the software and controller but you will not discover this until after you install the software.

The RFS controller is a modified Futaba R/C controller. The battery compartment is still intact but the contacts are missing. No where does it say you do not need batteries for operation. You need to deduce this on your own from the missing contacts although somewhere in the documentation it does say you need to provide power to the controller for operation (referring to use of a real R/C controller, not the included modified unit.).

Installation of the software is pretty simple. It takes advantage of auto-play and gets right to work setting you up. It requires at least DirectX 7.0 and will ask to install it if needed. A restart may be required. The first time you run RFS it will give you on screen instructions on setting up (at least calibrating) the R/C controller. I noticed random spiking in the rudder control no matter where or how I had the trim set.

There was an update available on the makers website. To access the download I needed to put in my registration information and CD ID number. Also available is an add on giving the choice of 2 more planes to fly.

Overall, installation could have been very easy. The lack of any instruction dealing with the controller was troublesome simply because I was not sure what I needed to do when- When do I hook it up? Do I need batteries? How is it recognized?

Performance:

Even though I saw spiking in the rudder axis during the calibration I did no have any control issues with the R/C controller. The controller provides "as real as it gets" control for R/C flying- its a R/C controller! Performance was great from a control standpoint. The controller could also be setup as a DirectX 3 axis/4 button controller with throttle for use in other games. Good thing- the RFS Deluxe software was pretty buggy. When it works its great and fun but you never know when you are going to try something that generates a page fault.

I was not able to try some of the flying fields and any of the helicopters. Each of the R/C planes worked in the remaining fields and received extensive workouts. I trashed thousands of dollars worth of virtual R/C planes but was never brought to tears as I would in real life after a disastrous crash. The only crash that upset me was the routine helicopter and certain flying field system crashes generated by the program flaws.

Overall:

I couldn't really complete testing on this one as far as I am concerned. When it worked it worked but it didn't work with everything as described (even after updating the software). Over half the aircraft (every helicopter) and 2 of the flying environments were completely unusable. The controller itself is great- its realistic because it is real.

However, the support software and documentation takes every bit of excitement generated by the controller and sucks it right out of you. Without the support of the software the well implemented controller is essentially useless and not recommended by The Control Center.