GREAT PLANES REALFLIGHT DELUXE
PRODUCT REVIEW - PART 1
by Mike Mas

It is with great anticipation and excitement that Rotory brings our readers this in-depth review on the RealFlight Deluxe Simulator, distributed by Great Planes. This product is truly on the leading edge of simulator technology. Never before has one simulator brought together both graphics and model simulation to the levels that RealFlight has achieved.

Flight simulators of the past, and there's been some good ones, have offered the model helicopter enthusiast an opportunity to "somewhat feel" what flight with a model was like. The real question has always been posed, can indeed any computer actually simulate the complexities of model helicopter flight? The answer is yes! For the first time ever, this product actually simulates helicopter flight. Now I'm not just talking about pretty graphics, I'm talking about the actual feel and the "inherent instabilities" that are part of helicopter flying. In my opinion; "the RealFlight Simulator will go down with the heading lock gyro as one of the greatest achievements toward the advancement of model helicopters this decade."

After seeing a beta copy of RealFlight Deluxe running at the Great Planes booth at Toledo this year, I contacted Ms. Heather Rose, Marketing Publicity Coordinator for Great Planes and informed her that Rotory was interested in an in-depth review of the product.

RealFlight Deluxe came packaged in two configurations; one with a Futaba transmitter and the other with an interface which allows you to use your own transmitter. The transmitter version plugs directly into the joystick port of the sound card. The supplied transmitter is outfitted with three switches which may be configured in any manner you desire. The default functions are; throttle hold, idle up, and heading hold gyro lock and unlock. As I have said in past reviews of simulators, I prefer not to use my own transmitter for simulation. I don't like having my transmitter sitting on the edge of my computer area where it could get knocked off and damaged. Another reason is, I don't like playing with model programs to avoid a possible error with my real helicopter at the field. The third reason is; when I'm at the field, I want a different feel, since I will always fly my real model in a somewhat different manner.

The "interface" version only comes with an interface, which uses the PC's printer port. You just plug the trainer cord of your transmitter into the interface then select "My Own Computer Radio". The interface supports up to 8 channels. Both versions use the same software supplied on CD. Due to space restrictions I will review the interface version in an upcoming issue of Rotory.

RealFlight Deluxe is designed for Windows 95/98. Installation is straight forward and no different than installing any other program. As soon as the CD is inserted into the drive, you're prompted with; "Would you like to install RealFlight". A typical "Wizard" installation follows.

After the installation, by double clicking the RealFlight icon, in less than a minute, you're at the startup screen. This screen allows you to immediately begin flying or you can select "Simulator Setting" or select "Airport and Aircraft". In addition to these main selections, you can also select the "Help" menu, where an online instruction manual is located.

After I selected the "Sun Dog 60" model for my first choice, I clicked the "Fly Now" button. As the program fired up, for a minute I thought RealFlight was nothing other than a pretty simulator with real live backgrounds and a helicopter that you would swear was real. However, it was apparent within a few seconds that for the first time ever, this simulator model flew like a real helicopter. Without a doubt, there is something happening with this program that was not available until RealFlight surfaced.

Unlike simulators of the past, when the RealFlight model is hovering or flying, you have to fly the model all the time. There is an "instability" factor built into RealFlight that was only available in a real model prior to this simulator. Other simulators with zero wind, appear to be "too stable" to replicate a real model. With most simulators, you can lift off in to hover, turn your head to chat with someone and in most cases, the helicopter will remain in a stable hover.

There's a lot of other things happening with RealFlight, especially in forward flight. As the model enters forward flight, you can feel the effects of aileron effect (advancing blade) and tail rotor over steer. The simulator model behaves like a real helicopter. Autos seem real, for the first time you can feel the rotor speed advantages of a correct approach. As an example, if you land during an auto with slow rotor speed, you can actually see the blades gyrate.

According to Mr. Scott Kemp, President of Knife Edge Software, between 50-80% of the CPU cycles are spent in the physics for the simulator, not the graphics. There are details that I looked at like, "ground friction", I swear I don't know how they got it so exact. I perform a maneuver called a "Skidding Eight", I drag one skid on the asphalt and perform a figure of eight while on the ground. The friction and drag factors feel exactly the same as when I perform this maneuver with my real machines.

RealFlight employs the use of RealPhysics which is based on formulas that take the physical description of the aircraft as input parameters. The actual flight of the helicopter is determined in real-time as it analyzes the physical properties of the heli. By changing the rotor blades, it will effect the helicopter throughout the entire flight envelope. There will be changes in the roll and elevator rate. Other changes such as blade lift and drag are also affected. No where in RealFlight will you find parameters such as "roll rate" or "stall speed". All of these characteristics are calculated in real time based on the physical description of the aircraft's parameters.

Possibly one of the most detailed features of RealFlight is the smoke trail from the exhaust. The smoke actually increases as you add more power. Keep in mind, RealFlight does millions of calculations during a flight since the smoke has to be "transparent" to show the scenery and machine thru the smoke trail.

I use smoke trails all the time when I fly since it always tells me what the helicopter is doing in relation to the wind. This feature, in my opinion, is one of the most important since when you're flying a simulator, you can't feel the wind in your face and you have no idea which way it is blowing. That is unless you look at the wind sock which you're not going to do while flying. With the smoke trail on, I can see exactly which way the wind is blowing and its approximate intensity. There is even a wind noise feature that lets you hear the wind blowing. If all that is not enough, there are even controllable background voices so you'll feel right at home, or should I say right at your local flying field. I call them, hecklers with statements like after a crash, "You now get to pick up the pieces", or "Hey there's young children on the field" or an occasional chuckle or laugh.

HELICOPTER MODELS

There are eleven helicopters and nine airplane models provided in RealFlight Deluxe. The scarey thing about the models is; they all fly just like the real heli they portray. They range from two full 60 size body ships, which include an Ecureuil and Jet Ranger with some serious looking paint jobs. As you get these models streaking across the sky, you can feel the extra speed from the fuselage. However, the transitional feel of the elevator on a fuselage machine is there as well. It takes longer to change direction and the additional weight is also apparent in its performance.

In the 60 category, there is a "Foiler", a competition heli and my favorite RealFlight model, the "Sun Dog 60". For those of you who like to venture from the norm, there's a "Spritzer" 4-stroke machine which flies just like the real thing as well. The acceleration ascents and descents are just like a real 4-stroke. You can feel the extra weight of the engine along with the slow wind- up time. From there we get into the .46 "Dolphin", an acrobatic 3D trainer. Also included is an "Impala", a 30 size machine. The same machine is also available with a real training gear, whiffle balls included. The last 30 machine is a "Schweizer" model powered with a SuperTigre 34. In the mini category, there is an .049 powered heli called the "Finch", which by the way is fixed pitch. I have flown .049 fixed pitch helis and this flies almost identical to the real thing, even the .049 engine sound is there. Last but not least, for those of you who would like to see what all this electric stuff is about, RealFlight includes a machine called the "Watt Not" which has an Astro C-05 motor and a Sanyo KR-1000AE 8 cell pack. To give you an idea of the completeness of RealFlight, in the engine menu of the Watt Not, there are 17 different electric motors to choose from and 12 different battery packs. Just like a real electric hell, there is a curve in the battery pack and after 3-4 minutes you can feel the pack wearing down. Since the electric heli is so quiet, I noticed something (that in most cases would be overlooked with a gas powered heli model) that as the machine gets into ground effect, 1-2 feet off the ground, you can really hear the rotor noise change and increase in intensity. Wow!

While on the subject of sound, RealFlight went all the way. The engine sounds are sampled from real model helicopters. Along with the engine sound you have real "gear train" noise and "rotor disk" sounds as well. Don't forget, if you re-power your RealFlight helicopter be sure to change the engine sound as well since it is a separate menu. While hovering, as you add cyclic, you can actually hear and see the rotor disk "work". Also selectable in the sound menu, are several music scores to choose from for your background music.

Concerning the over 300 editable parameters for helicopters, I assure you that they are not there for just looks. Each parameter that you change makes a difference in the flight characteristics of the selected helicopter. Don't expect the helicopter's appearance to change as you make changes in the design. For instance, if you change a muffler from a tuned pipe to a Hatori muffler, the physical characteristics stay the same, the changes you make show up in the performance of the model.

For an example, after taking the "Sun Dog 60" model and copying it. I went in to the engine menu and changed the OS 60 engine to a SuperTigre 90. As soon as I flew the machine , I could feel the difference immediately. Just like if you changed it in a real model, the engine felt almost powerless when compared to the 60, since the gear ratio was now off. Aside from the power, the model felt real torquey and the tail rotor was twisting severely to the right as throttle was added. While playing another day, I changed out the 680 mm blades and replaced them with a set of 546 mm blades. Just like on a real model, the rpm was considerably higher, the machine had little vertical performance and you had to have your act together to pull off an auto.

CHOOSING AIRPORTS

Flying your RealFlight model in its virtual world is somewhat like flying your helicopter in the Texas Astro Dome. The real scenery is placed around you on the walls of the dome. The sky is placed above you in sections as well. As long as you fly within your world or dome, everything seems normal. If you lift off and fly towards the scenery, eventually you'll reach the walls of the scenery and fly right through them. Once you fly through or above the scenery, you can look back and see the flat panels that create your virtual world.

The only exception to this is with the "Rainbow Canyon" airport. This airport does not use real scenery but instead uses a computer generated world. At Rainbow Canyon, you can modify the mountains, terrain color and texture, change the cloud pattern or color of the sky. When you're in this airport, you will need to select the "Use 3D Terrain" option prior to taking off. Press the F6 key on the keyboard for the "Chase Plane" view, and you can fly up through and around the mountains and water to your hearts content, or until you run out of fuel.

RealFlight Deluxe uses real background images to give the feel of really being out at the field. There are five different and unique flying sites or airports. All provide a completely different environment. There are mountains, hills, water, buildings, sheds, you name it. If you're not pleased with what you see, you can customize a field to match your own flying field at home or perhaps the AMA site at Muncie. If F3C contests are your bag, you can add a 10 meter pad with flags. If that doesn't make you happy, you can add the judges to the field. Still not happy, add some bleachers for the spectators. After flying competition for so many years, RealFlight finally enabled me to buzz the judges for a bad score.

REQUIREMENTS SECTION

When it comes to RealFlight, if you are looking for realism, you will have to have a powerful computer as well as a decent 3D graphics card. For this review we tried two different computers. The first was a Celerion based Hewlett Packard running at 460 MHz. This machine was factory equipped with a ATI Rage Pro video graphics board with 8 meg of video ram. RealFlight ran exceptionally well with this configuration. Graphics ran smooth and simulation felt real. Nothing else was added to this PC.

The second machine was a Pentium III based Hewlett Packard running at 450 MHz. This HP was equipped with the same Rage ATI Pro graphics board with 8 meg of video ram as was the Celerion machine. Immediately after the installation, I could see a difference. At first glance, you would swear you were looking at a video tape of someone flying a helicopter around. After spending 2-3 days flying this configuration and being totally satisfied that there was no way to improve the simulator, I purchased and installed the VooDoo3 3000 AGP graphics board (www.3dfx.com) which comes with 16 meg of video ram. This board provides 7 million triangles/sec and 333 megatexels/sec, and comes with a TV/S-Video out connector. I found it at Best Buy for $149.95

RealFlight now looked better than ever. The frame rate was glass smooth. The transparency feature was unbelievable. The smoke trail now looked so real you would swear they were using Morgan 30% fuel. Looking thru the canopy was like looking thru a real Lexan canopy. As you peer through the windshield you can see the servos and wires, even the battery pack equipped with rubber bands was clearly in view.

While I'm not here to sell computers, if you have to look at a new system for RealFlight, I would take a close look at the new Hewlett Packard systems. I ended up with the 8570 (http://206.135.2.177/hppavilion/pavilion/8000.cfm) which comes with a Pentium III processor at 450 MHz. It has a 19gig ultra DMA drive, 32x CD, 8 meg ATI Rage ProTurbo with a AGP slot for upgrades, a built in CD writer, which now works just like a hard drive. The system comes standard with a premium Polk audio system w/speakers. I found the unit at Best Buy for $1399.95

Could there be anything wrong with a program that has as much to offer as RealFlight? The only problem, that I felt worth mentioning, is when the model is flying close in and over your head, something happens to the model's flight. If you lift off from where the machine sits on the runway, as it get over your head, at times, it will actually invert itself. It becomes frustrating when practicing aerobatics or autos close in. When flying the airplane models, the problem is barely noticeable since model airplanes generally approach the pilot at right and left angles. I spoke to Scott Kemp, program designer of Knife Edge Software, and he said that if needed, there would be a patch in future updates which will be available at their upgrade site. Would I let this be a factor in purchasing RealFlight? Definitely not, since you may upgrade your system on the internet.

Technical Data

Lets look at some of the technical data and features of RealFlight Deluxe. RealFlight uses PhotoField graphics technology, it's a native 32-bit Windows program. PhotoField technology offers great graphics and unparalleled rendering. Keep in mind that RealFlight Deluxe requires the use of an accelerated 3D card for the helicopters. Through the use of DirectX technology, RealFlight offers realism and performance that until now, was not attainable. RealFlight is presently the only flight simulator to employ the use of accelerated 3D cards. If you would like additional information on "DirectX" check out (http://www.microsoft.com/directx/default.asp).

Video Cards - Computers equipped with modern 3D cards are capable of acceleration up to 500% faster than their standard counterparts. Many older 3D accelerated cards cannot offer the same acceleration. To obtain the maximum performance from your RealFlight simulator, you should consider purchasing a modern 3D card. To ensure compatibility, be sure the card supports Direct3D.

Video Ram - There are several things that take up video RAM. The bottom line is that 4MB is an acceptable amount of RAM for a 3D video card. This will let you run at 640x480x16 or 800x600x16. If you want to run at a higher resolution than that, then you should get 8MB of RAM or an AGP card which can put textures in main RAM rather than VRAM. 8MB of RAM instead of 4MB will not make RealFlight run faster, it will only allow higher resolutions.

Sound - RealFlight employs doppler-correct VirtualRevolution sound technology, heightening the realistic effect with true recordings of a variety of power plants including 2-stroke and 4- stroke engines throughout their rpm range. RotoSonics creates realistic helicopter sounds that accurately model the sounds of autorotations and other aggressive maneuvers such as flips and tumbles. The CD-quality soundtrack features a variety of musical styles and original compositions which includes ambient sounds that are typically heard at flying sites.

Stereo Effects - As the aircraft crosses the field, the engine sounds follow; just like its R/C counterpart. The exclusive RealPhysics technology calculates hundreds of thousands of floating point operations each second, delivering real time flight performance.

In order to use your sound card with RealFlight, the sound card must support Microsoft's DirectSound. There are two types of sound cards for the purposes of RealFlight. They are 8-bit sound cards (Older cards like the old Sound Blaster cards) and 16-bit sound cards. Many of the 16 bit sound cards now accelerate the mixing of multiple sounds. RealFlight will take advantage of any acceleration that the card supports. This acceleration will free up your CPU thereby increasing the frame rate.

CONCLUSION

If you are considering RealFlight, you will need a powerful computer with an accelerated 3D card or you won't be able to take advantage of the features that set it aside from other simulators. If you have to upgrade your system, you'll have to make the call - is it worth the investment of the new system and the simulator to have a more realistic simulation? Keep in mind, you can still sharpen your simulator skills with other simulators, you don't have to have this high degree of realism to learn.

What more can I say, RealFlight is a state of the art flight simulator. It will be the game to beat for companies who offer simulator products. The team at Knife Edge Software consisting of Scott Kemp President, Angela Kemp, Jim Coleman and Tom Godin have brought the realism of model helicopters to everyone's desktop.

If you're looking for the ultimate in simulation and you have the power under the hood, then RealFlight Deluxe could be for you.

Part 2: Menus