Simulator or not?

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member
Hi,

Anybody that has read my thread about chargers knows that I got a FT mini mustang and a mini guinea which are both 4ch planes. I have never flown a 4ch plane before. I've been thinking about getting a simulator to practice flying 4ch plane before I fly the real thing. Would getting a sim be a good investment?

I have a walkera Devo 7, Are there any cheap sims that will work with that transmitter?

Thanks.
 

kilroy07

Legendary member
four channel really do fly differently than three... (at least in my own experience....)
I just picked up this cheap simulator on Amazon;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HL7QPGR/?tag=lstir-20
Due to the recommendation from @buzzbomb
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/what-to-fly-first-every-simulated-ft-plane.56571/

It is a hoot!!
It's given me the ability to fly the mustang (and crash it) again, and again...
I even have flown it inverted and on knife edge... for a short while....
(Now to see if that translates to real life.) ;)
 

buzzbomb

I know nothing!
Hi,

Anybody that has read my thread about chargers knows that I got a FT mini mustang and a mini guinea which are both 4ch planes. I have never flown a 4ch plane before. I've been thinking about getting a simulator to practice flying 4ch plane before I fly the real thing. Would getting a sim be a good investment?

I have a walkera Devo 7, Are there any cheap sims that will work with that transmitter?

Thanks.
I read this a couple of hours ago, and I've been waiting for others with more knowledge to chime in. Yes, the ten or fifteen bucks for the Phoenix sim is totally worth it. It seems to be true to life enough, that you can crash a ton planes a lot, and get a pretty good idea of how to crash less in RL. Plus, it's just a lot of darn good fun!

From my small research though, your trans doesn't have a trainer port. You can't just plug and play. I've seen where there are ways around that, but I can't point you towards them. I saw it, didn't need it, and just kept on researching whatever I was researching at the time. That's where I'm waiting for the more experienced pilots to chime in.
 

d8veh

Elite member
The Devo 7 does have a trainer port, which is marked DSC on the back left side bottom of the transmitter, so it should work with the 22 in 1 Flight Simulator Cable.

If your transmitter doesn’t have a trainer port, you can get the interlink version of the simulator, which has exactly the same software as the 22 in 1 cable, but instead of the cable and dongle, you get a dummy transmitter that connects to your PC with a USB cable. Just tobe on the safe side with this Chinese knock-off stuff, make sure that your PC has protection against malware etc before installing anything. I bought a very cheap Chinese Android tablet and shortly after I added accounts with passwords, I started getting unauthorised activity in those accounts.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LGWDZFL/?tag=lstir-20
 

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member
Thanks for all the help!

I forgot to mention that I don't have PC, we only have a MacBook Air with no CD port.

Any other way I could get a sim?
 

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member
Will the Phoenix simulator work will my MacBook Air?

I have no Idea what simulator I should get so someone is going to have to help me.
 

davidkdk

Member
I'm just about to jump into Phoenix and RealFlight as well... so I've been doing a bit a research lately. Neither RealFlight nor Phoenix will run natively on a Mac. Your easiest and least aggravating process will be Parallels. I've run Parallels a lot on my Mac mini so I know it works really well. My sim situation is different than yours because I'm using an Intel NUC... but... if I were running a Mac, I'd use Parallels. You could also go with BootCamp on your Mac, but I've no experience with that.

Since you must run Windows to run either sim, you're left with the choice of sim. I'm getting both.

However, I have the same problem with a CD Drive. RealFlight 8 is available as a download from RealFlight and Tower Hobbies... so no problem there. With Phoenix, you're stuck... you must have access to a CD Drive. My solution is to get a sub $30 drive from B&H when I get to Florida next week. There is no shortage of CD/DVD drives available from Amazon etc. for under $30.
 

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member
I'm just about to jump into Phoenix and RealFlight as well... so I've been doing a bit a research lately. Neither RealFlight nor Phoenix will run natively on a Mac. Your easiest and least aggravating process will be Parallels. I've run Parallels a lot on my Mac mini so I know it works really well. My sim situation is different than yours because I'm using an Intel NUC... but... if I were running a Mac, I'd use Parallels. You could also go with BootCamp on your Mac, but I've no experience with that.

Since you must run Windows to run either sim, you're left with the choice of sim. I'm getting both.

However, I have the same problem with a CD Drive. RealFlight 8 is available as a download from RealFlight and Tower Hobbies... so no problem there. With Phoenix, you're stuck... you must have access to a CD Drive. My solution is to get a sub $30 drive from B&H when I get to Florida next week. There is no shortage of CD/DVD drives available from Amazon etc. for under $30.


Thanks for the help.

I don't have a Full time job yet so I can't spend to much money on Parallels or a CD Drive. If I am going to get a Simulator it has to be downloadable from the internet and pretty cheap.
 

davidkdk

Member
It doesn't seem like you'd be able to run RealFlight or Phoenix anyway. A MacBook Air uses Intel integrated graphics which will not run either sim well... if at all.
 

d8veh

Elite member
Hi,

I Have been doing some research and I came across this simulator. http://absolutesim.com

I just wanted to get some of your thoughts on it.

Thanks
Why make life difficult for yourself. The 22 in 1 cable is a well-known quantity. You can get it as cheap as $10. It works perfectly with your own transmitter, and best of all, you can fly all the Flitetest planes. Why would you want to look at anything else?
 

jaredstrees

Well-known member
Skip the sim and build some foamboard planes. crash and learn on a few dollars if you've got the electronics. Try the bloody wonder. I learned ailerons on that plane. It builds quick, tough as nails and will fly on a variety of power systems.

I've never liked sims, to me it does not translate well.
 

davidkdk

Member
Why make life difficult for yourself. The 22 in 1 cable is a well-known quantity. You can get it as cheap as $10. It works perfectly with your own transmitter, and best of all, you can fly all the Flitetest planes. Why would you want to look at anything else?
Unfortunately, he can't run Phoenix on his machine... a MacBook Air.