How closely does this sim replicate real heli flying?

[Rick Rotorhead]

I am interested in buying this sim to save destroying my soon to be obtained Trex :) However, I'd really like to hear some actual user opinion on how realistic (or not) it is. e.g. Does it mimic the heli's lateral drift and rising/falling with wind gusts. How does it stack up against its arch rival 'Realflight G3'? Just what can I expect from this package? Will it work with a Futaba FF9 (super spec) which I plan to be my Trex radio. Very many thanks - Rick

[AV8TOR]

Reflex is the way to go for helicopters as it has the physics down very well. There are two real nice T-Rex models to download from TRexTunning.

[TJRIDE]

I bought the Reflex for my wife and I to learn with, and It's a very good sim in my book. It is fairly close to the real Trex I am flying. I also believe the cost was well worth the Rotor Blades I didn't loose from crashing the Trex in real flights.... My wife has gained a vast amount from it as well. She is hovering right along side of me, We are both very pleased and have never been dissapointed with Reflex XTR.

TJ

[DebianDog]

Take $20-$300 and stick it in a jar ever time you crash and it would be perfect!

[Jafa]

Don't get hung up on the "how realistic" aspect of sims
Nothing is quite like the real thing
The main purpose of the sim is for you to learn how to use the controls instinctively,
and learn the various orientations (hovering and flying)

Reflex and G3 are at the top of the food chain in SIM's
Reflex is harder to setup - G3 is plug and play
Reflex has many more scenes and helis available
G3 is very damped and a bit too easy - Reflex is a bit too hard
Too hard makes flying the real thing easier

It's a matter of personal preference after that

Oh - don't worry about the TREX - you will crash it
it happens all the time - to the best pilots too
it's the nature of micro electric
get used to it

[Rick Rotorhead]

Many thanks. Sounds like the Reflex is the one to get. The reason I ask about how realistic it is in terms of the heli bobbing and weaving - like they naturally do, is that if I only need to learn orientation and practice automatic stick corrections, would not a heli flight game - such as "R/C Helicopter" for Playstation 2 perform the same function for only 1/3 the price of Reflex? What I was hoping to hear is that the Reflex XTR helis are as demanding and have a similar 'feel' to the model that it portrays. If you change models in the sim does that change the way they handle and feel - like two different real model helis? Oh, incidently Jafa I know the sim won't protect my wallet from spares costs, but I just hope that the real crashes might be less severe and/or less frequent after sim practice (I'm already playing about with a cheap artf 'Twister cp' to get the 'hands on' experience and yep! I've stuck her into the dirt quite a few times - but she's cheap to fix up!).
Finally I must ask, is the sim capable of reproducing (with the right stick inputs) full on 3D aerobatics, ie. could you use the sim to learn say funnels or tic tocs?
Finally, Finally, I know its not a game, but...... does Reflex give you any heli positioning games/tasks to play with for a bit of time-out fun, like perhaps flying through hoops or landing on a series of boxes etc
Very many thanks for your help....... Rick

[sabregooch]

As the other posters say, nothing will simulate the real thing, but Reflex sure is close.

I've 'tested' curves and got used to Idle Up using the sim first, just to get an idea of what to expect from the real thing.

Modeling or tweaking the physics is the key to getting it to feel real. Nothing like using the same radio inputs to see reaction or get used to controls.

I'm a newbie - but have been able to fly inverted on the sim, still can't get out of inverted without crashing on the sim - so definately not trying 3D on the real thing yet.

I've lost orientation on the sim - just as the real thing - but at least on the real thing, I haven't let it get so far as to be toast - as on the sim...

Flying sim in wind was a good primer too.

[Rick Rotorhead]

Thanks, so it needs a lot of tweaking to make it handle like a proper model heli. What about my other questions though - can the sim do 3D? Are there any fun games or objectives built into it for light relief, or do you just get a green field with a heli sat on it? Rick

[sabregooch]

Yes the sim can do 3D, the important question is can the pilot!

As far as some sort of 'fantasy' environment - I haven't seen one. There are numerous different environment included and some that users have created, but the ones I've seen are more the realistic variety - I would imagine given users have created their own environments to share, maybe with ingenuity and imagination, such a 'game' environment could be done - it would be cool if that type of environment actually prepared you for sophisticated manuevres come to think of it.

Ironic - most Reflex buyers get it because of the realism, looking to avoid a Playstation like program - but I can see the advantages of a game like simulation if it subliminally or even overtly trained you....

If it were like PacMan and you'd be so busy gobbling up little power pellets, you might not realize it was teaching you forward flight, or something like that.... just a thought.

[Jafa]

The sim can easily do 3D - I practice piro flips in both G3 and Reflex
Some of the moves are easier or harder than real life
Knife edge things, like aileron tic tocs are less realistic
but it does not matter, still teaches you how to do them

AeroFly and RealFlight have games/objectives
They get real tedious and things like balloon poping are annoying
cos of the 2D perspective - hard to hit them

[Rick Rotorhead]

Many thanks, I've got a better idea now of what you get for your money. I will definitely give it a go - at least I can then 'fly' when its wet and windy. I think game like objectives would make a great training aid if done in a serious and realistic way. landing on boxes would teach precision hover and flying through hoops or markers teach coordination for rapid directional change in ff etc. Anyhow, thanks again for the info - I've just got to buy it now, then see if I can configure it to the Futaba FF9 (I see some people have had problems with that).
Cheers, Rick

[H0ndaJunkie]

I owned Realflight G3, now I own Reflex........ I like Reflex much better.

I learned to fly on the simulator, and my first real heli flight was a success. Even though the real thing "feels" different, I know how to control it, and that's what matters.

[dabba]

I have the FF9 Super and xtr works fine as did my FF9 non super.
XTR has a hover training and acro training program built in.
g3/g2 aerofly are both very game like xtr seems much more realistic to me.

[david.read]

XTR is the way to go!!! I had G2 first and learned on it, bought a Fury and invested in XTR... The graphics are much better and the realism is as good as it needs to be.

The only thing it doesn't simulate is the engine bogging down.

David

[Jafa]

XTR can simulate bogging - many models are configured with unrealisticly high power

G3 is much better than G2

[leslie]

Hi All,

I've been using Reflex XTR for a while. It is very realistic, physics wise. No sim wil get you past the mashing of a virtual bird and the psychological dilema of mashing a real 800.00+ bird.

The sim is amusing, the real thing makes you sweat!

Cheers,
Leslie

[dodgey]

It's interesting indeed. I recently bought G3 - the only reason over XTR was the supplied controller. It's really very very very nice to have and be able to take to the office etc and not having to worry about lugging around and programming my main TX. I DO hanker for XTR as it looks a touch nicer , and a fair fre people say that it's a little more tricky.

In G3 - going back to your original post - regarding realism. Everyone is right - it's about learning orientations etc - but I'm completely with you. If you are going to spend over £120 on a sim, might as well make it as real as possible for entertainment value. In G3 - I was completely happy with it - up to a point. I found the hovering far too stable. So I've increased wind, gusts and direction changes, and now, its harder to hover than in real life! :mrgreen: BUT - I love this because when I'm practicing orientations, or flying into new orientations, the sudden gusts throw you off and force you to react instinctively, rather than thinking ahead. I found I could hover all day left side in, but put in a crisis I would often panic and mess it up. With gusts of wind in the mix, this is constantly happening so you soon convert from "planning ahead" each movement to doing it instinctively. I'm assuming you can do exactly the same in XTR.

The one annoyance with G3 is that you can take off and the helis go straight up, whereas with the real ones you have to apply cyclic when you take off to counter the rotational torque. i.e. I can simply hit collective and climb to a hover whereas if I did that in real life the heli would tip over (on grass)

[broncoholic7]

Helihobby sells XTR with a contoller.

http://www.helihobby.com/html/reflex3d.html

I like the idea of using my own radio as you get good practice with it and learn how to use it properly.

b7

[Rick Rotorhead]

Well , I just bought it, so I guess I can answer my own question now!!!
XTR is very very real in appearance of sites and models. The plane models handle exactly like real models, even in subtle ways (like when you reduce power when nearly landed and the model kind of floats as you bleed off the last bit of excess airspeed before doing the proper landing flair out). Spins, stall turns, inverted etc all very very realistic. Great to fly/play with when the weather is bad too. As for copters, well I'm not experienced enough to pass judgement, but the little electric 'Joker CX' is everso like my real Twister(=Blade) CP in handling and hover.
So I'm learning nose and side -in, now. Naturally I could'nt resist going mad with big Nitro heli sims and trying crazy 3D trick that are like waaaaay beyond me (read 'crash' for that!!!) What tremendous fun and an excellent learning tool.
One small problem is that the Dongle is often not seen by the program and I have to keep restarting Reflex XTR numerous times whilst plugging in the USB until it decides to run for me - that aside its brilliant......Rick

[litespeed]

When you start getting the hang of flying the heli you can change the time expansion factor. The way it come from the "factory" it's set on 1.5 or 1.2, I forget since it's been so long, and the heli's are really slow compared to real life. It caused me to crash a couple times thinking I had a lot more time than I actually did. Anyway I changed it to 0.8 and it's pretty realistic, atleast to me anyway. That makes the logo 10 real close to my Swift as far as flight and realistic speeds for response times.

Make sure you fly the real heli a lot to or like me you can get your timing off since the sim is so much more forgiving!

Tom

[Rick Rotorhead]

Thanks litespeed. I didn't know about the expansion factor. I just cjecked mine and it was factory set on 1 - which is ok. I experimented with other settings like 1/2 speed which is so slow as to be relaxing and now have set mine to 0.9.
Thanks again for that one :)

[litespeed]

No problem!

Hope it saves you real heli the way it did/does mine!!!

Tom

[Nick117]

How much money is the rtx with a controller, and is there a good sim under 1oo that i can buy a cheap controller to go with it. Thanks to any replys.