Great Planes RealFlight R/C simulator

Model Airplane News, Sep 1998 by Ziroli, Nick Sr

MODERN COMPUTER technology has made flightsimulation systems a realistic training aid. I'm referring to full-scale aviation, where pilots can build flight time on the ground at a flight simulator. Military, commercial and private pilots all have simulators available for training. All the scenery and simulated motion are generated by computer.

I can recall, about 25 years ago while at Grumman Aerospace, being involved in a small way with a then state-of-theart flight simulator. It did not use computer-generated scenery as is done today. The view from the cockpit was generated by a camera and projected onto a screen outside the cockpit windshield. The camera moved over a giant terrain map-a scale rendition with buildings, roads and all the details of the area to be flown over. This map was set up vertically against a large wall about two stories high. The camera traveled on what was similar to an X-Y plotting board that followed the pilot's inputs, and it changed speed over the terrain map according to the pilot's inputs. This was very exciting to see in operation; I was even lucky enough to fly it a number of times.

Today's powerful computers make all of this modeling and mechanics unnecessary. Scenery and motion are generated electronically, and the size of required computer hardware has been reduced drastically. The capacity of the computer I am writing this article on would have filled a large room-if not more-at that time, while today, the complete system sits before me on my desk. What's even more amazing are the wonderful, easyto-use software programs that make it possible to put all this computer power to work for you.

We have the opportunity to put a home computer to good use, as the prices have come down to within reach of the average modeler. Flying via computer simulation is a practical means of accumulating flight time. I have owned the Dave Brown Products* simulator for many years. It is a versatile system that made good use of the power and speed of the computers available when it was introduced. I've spent many hours flying that simulator; it's still a very good system. Early simulators lacked realisticlooking models and scenery because of the computer's limited (by today's standards) capability.

Today's computers make the Great Planes* RealFlight R/C Simulator possible. The aircraft are so realistic, you can easily tell a P-51 from a Spacewalker. It's almost like looking at photographs of the nine airplanes available. In fact, the scenery is developed from photographs in what Great Planes calls "Photofield3D Technology." You can choose five fields to operate from.

The system consists of a 6-channel controller in a Futaba transmitter case and a CD disc. This CD is said to be the equivalent of 130 floppy discs. For best performance, a state-of-the-art computer with Windows 95 installed is recommended. RealFlight will run on an Intel Pentium at 90MHz and 12MB of RAM but you will not be able to use the highresolution graphics; for that, you'll need a faster machine and at least 16MB of RAM. A Direct3D-compatible accelerated video card is also highly recommended. Before reviewing RealFlight, I upgraded my system and also added a 17-inch monitor, which I highly recommend. While waiting for the upgrade, I decided to get a second opinion on the installation and operation of the system. I knew my friend Bob Steele was eager to try a simulator, so while I was waiting, I gave it to him to get his input. I knew I would get some good feedback.

As are most Windows 95 programs, RealFlight is easy to install; just install the disc and follow the instructions. I had a problem calibrating the transmitter controls. No matter what I did, I got fluctuations of the control surfaces. Not until I removed my other game controllers did I get good calibration. Bob had no problems with the installation or calibration. The online instructions are very thorough and cover any problem that might arise, and the fix for my calibration difficulty was described in great detail.

Once RealFlight has been installed, you select "Simulator Settings" from the opening screen and other settings that will determine airplane characteristics, flying field, weather, etc. There is a very good sound system included with RealFlight that offers quite realistic recordings of actual engine sounds that match the engine being flown. Engine rpm follow the throttle setting precisely. This is in Doppler-corrected stereo that makes the model sound as if it is crossing the screen when it passes by. One feature that I did not care for was the crash sound effect. It was humorous the first few times, but after that, it was just annoying. Fortunately, this effect can be turned off. A choice of background music is available, as are other noises: crickets, field talk, etc. Jibes from your flying buddies pop up once in a while, such as "What did you cover that with" or "Bring it down where we can see it," or the classic "Does anyone have a glow plug?"

Calibrating the transmitter was a little confusing the first time, but follow the instructions and don't get ahead of yourself; the instructions are very complete. When the settings are correct, pick the "Select Airport" and "Airplane" buttons. The model choices run the gamut and include a PT-40 trainer, powered glider, Cessna trainer, Profile Extra, low-wing fun fly, Ultra Sport, Spacewalker, Ultimate bipe and P-51.