Ready to start buying !!

[scubacrazy123]

Hi again all.
Following on from my previous thread,

http://www.rcheliaddict.co.uk/beginn...-question.html ,

I have decided to follow the good advice given and get a good sim and a Tx.
I am thinking of the Spektrum DX6i, and Phoenix, so I can obviously use the Tx when I get a real heli.
I have also read a fair bit about Realflight. Obviously both have their followers and fans, but why is Phoenix the "favourite" over anything else?
I know there are plenty of threads on the subject, but sometimes the more I read, the more confused it becomes.
I am going to order in the next day or 2, so any advice is welcome.
Thanks to all in advance.
Cheers,
Gary.

[Planehazza]

Can't really help you about Phoenix - I got it because like you say it's "the favourite" so I can fly it online. Are you planning on going nitro at any point? Personally I would try to get at least 7ch setup, so that you can use a governor if you ever do go nitro.

Enjoy it whatever you get

[Scautura]

I think it comes down to a few things - between Phoenix and RealFlight, they are the two best R/C flight sims available (alternating in which is better as time goes by), but you pay twice as much for RF, and end up with "another useless controller". With Phoenix, you use the controller you know and use on a regular basis for flying your models, so everything feels "right".

Also, Phoenix updates on a regular basis with new aircraft and sites (freely downloadable from within the software), new patches, whereas RF charges for addons (there are models made by the public which are available free, however, unlike Phoenix, which only allows modified versions of the aircraft that already exist in the software)

Not to mention it's British.

[trillian]

I started with RealFlight G 3.5, partly because it came with a controller and partly because I had tried someone else's and thought it was very good.

I have also tried Reflex XTR.

I still think RF is better for fixed-wing aircraft but the heli physics are better in Phoenix, probably as good as it gets.

Either one will get you up to the point of hovering and the basic feel of the controls for flying around. I basically learned all the painful beginner stuff on RealFlight before doing it on the real thing and when I got my first heli I could pretty much fly it without crashing. But when I got Phoenix I recall how different it felt and being a bit worried as to which one was more correct. Looking back that may have just been due to differences in the setup of the models in the two sims (I used to worry about all sorts of things back then that didn't matter as much as I thought).

I haven't used RF in a long time now so it would be interesting to try it again now and see what I think.

Looking back I think the differences are pretty minor and the fact of the matter is that neither one will perfectly duplicate real life so there's always going to be some adjustment from the way the helis in the sim fly to the real thing.

Both allow editing of the various models etc.

[Mart61]

I think your choices are very wise, Gary.

I have no experience of any other sims other than Phoenix. Perhaps the good thing about it is it commonality. There are scores of us on here that use it and can offer advice if needed.

It also gives free upgrades pretty much for life. Buy it once and, when the software updates are released, you get them for free via download!

If your budget won't run to a DX7 right now, then go for the DX6i. It's were many of us started and it's a great radio. You only need the 7th channel that the DX7 will give you if you want to run a governor on a nitro heli. I am still flying my 600NSP on 6 channels as I have yet to fit the governor. It works fine for me.

[unwind-protect]

6 channels can work perfectly well with a governor, unless you want to change/ tune headspeed in flight (for example, higher headspeed for 3d flying). Merely flying upside down doesn't require that.

I can't deny that the DX7 is far better built, though!

[scubacrazy123]

Well thank you all for the quick replies !
I don't think I can justify spending the extra on a DX7 yet, as I think the DX6i will satisfy my needs for the foreseeable future, although I would like to think that at some point in the future I will be moving on to Nitros, by which time there may be something even better on the radio front !!

Thanks for confirming my thoughts on Phoenix. I have no interest in fixed wing aircraft, so the heli side of the sim is the only thing I am getting it for.

So, all I need to do now is find somewhere to send my money !!

Thanks again.
Gary.