RealFlight 8

I grew up not far from Sloan Field (Bombardier School) which was between Odessa and Midland, Texas. Thus, I saw most of the old war birds when they were brand new. One of my favorites was the Billy Mitchell B-25, and I love to fly that lumbering old beast in the RF-8. It is fun to get up speed on the runway and then give it full flaps. It will head upward at a considerable angle (unlike the real B-25. If I leave it at full throttle, the plane will do a loop and head down the runway up-side-down, if I pull up (actually downward) in time. My friends get large charge while watching an old B-25 buzzing the runway in that down-side-up attitude. LOL David R. LeMaster, Ed.D. Lt. Colonel, USAF Retired Midland, Texas

works a treat for getting the hand eye co-ord back into the swing of things following a long hiatus from the RC helis ( and odd plane)

yes

Playability The Playability of RealFlight 8 is amongst the best simulators I have used in relation to the realistic physics of the models. From the moment I plug in the Interlink USB Transmitter the SIM instantly maps all the primary channels I require to fly my model. Should I wish to make any channel adjustments I can easily make this in the menu. The Interlink transmitter however whilst is an easy to use product for RealFlight is also is a source of great confusion and frustration for some that are new to RealFlight. Simply put without a RealFlight compatible USB controller or dongle you are not able to use the Simulator. AccuRC or another Simulator such as PhoenixRC maybe a better choice in this regard however as you can simply use a cheaper dongle to connect any transmitter to their software. Once you have however plugged in your controller and take-off instantly the physics of the models becomes a very apparent strong point of this software. From performing Aileron Tic-Tocs to Autorotation’s you can feel the weight of the model as realistically as I would fly a model in real life. Sounds The sounds of the models whilst flying I feel does sound a little tinny and may struggle to capture an absolutely realistic representation of some models, I believe it is still a fair representation for a SIM from the revving of a nitro engine to the flutter of blades as you come in to land an auto. Graphics RealFlight has highly detailed models with reflective canopy's and photorealistic fields all rendered through Direct X 9. Whilst one of the more demanding Simulators on a GPU you will also experience fantastic graphic fidelity through a range of post processing effects including bloom and depth of field. Whilst, these effects create a uniquely gorgeous flying experience I have found some people using the SIM to lose depth perception using too many of these additional effects which can also negatively affect your frame rate and flying. I have previously used this SIM however on a Nvidia GTX 970 4GB GPU pushing well over 60FPS and my recommendations for getting a good experience with RealFlight is to lower the depth of field settings until you have smooth performance, find a suitable camera angle and fly. Mods and Community In relation to the RC and RealFlight community as a whole it is always expanding and if you want to look into downloading additional new Aircraft and Airports you can visit the knifeedge.com Swap pages. Adding an additional aircraft of airport is as simple as extracting the new files into your C:\Users\YourUserName\Documents\RealFlight 8 folder and reloading the simulator. Verdict Overall RealFlight 8 is one of the most photorealistic experiences you will have flying a remote-control model without leaving the house. The physics of the models provide a unique sense of weight to each one flown and provides a great training platform for anyone looking to getting into Remote Control Planes, Helicopters and drones. If you are new to RealFlight, as I alluded to before you will need to also purchase the InterLink DX controller for an additional cost to get the most out of the software. In reviewing RealFlight 8 I have used multiple other RC Aircraft Simulators including the early editions of RealFlight, PhoenixRC, neXt and AccuRC. I have over 10 years’ experience in building, maintaining and flying model RC Helicopters from 250 size all the way up to 700. I also have extensive experience in both electric and Nitro models. In taking the above into account I have reviewed the product on Playability, Sound, Graphics and Modding. RealFlight is without a doubt still the premier product for learning how to fly a Remote-Control Helicopter model.

very realistic

good practice