Great Planes' RealFlight G2 simulator

Flight Journal, Feb 2003

For those who want to check out the world of radio-control flying, the RealFlight G2 simulator from Great Planes is one way to go. It features 31 aircraft (19 planes and 12 helicopters), five flying sites, an instructor's help and much more. The CD comes with a USB InterLink controller that can be slaved to a high-quality transmitter, and the instructions are included on the CD and are available online.

To run the program correctly, your computer must have:

Minimum system requirements

Windows XP, 2000, ME, or 98 (local administrator access required)

* Intel Pentium 300 or equivalent

* DirectX 8.0 (or above) compatible video and sound card

* 313-accelerated video card with 8MB (or more) RAM (VooDoo 1 and VooDoo 2 video cards are not supported)

* 64MB RAM

* 500MB hard-drive space

* 4X CD-ROM drive

Optimum system requirements

* Intel Pentium 600 or equivalent

* 3D-accelerated video card with 16MB (or more) RAM (VooDoo 1 and VooDoo 2 video cards are not supported)

* 128MB RAM

Although it runs without the 3D-accelerated video card, the scenery detail isn't quite as real, and the video seems to start and stop during a flight.

Overall, it is a great learning tool for the new RC pilot and well worth the $249.99 price tag. For more info, visit www.realflight.com; to order, call Great Planes Model Distributors Co. at (800) 682-8948; fax (217) 398-0008; www.greatplanes.com.