Knife Edge Realflight G2

^{me flying in Realflight G2 (need add on 3 for having raptor 30 & 60 look)}

History 

I bought Realflight deluxe refurbished for 100€ in 2001 with the plastic controller box then the update Realflight G2 for another 100€….expensive at first sight but it save me so much money (at least 100 times more).

Good

– Nice looking, maybe the best graphics on the market today.(see raptor 30 with add on 3)
– Possibility to simulate flight failures,
– Network gaming (if you have a permanent internet access)
– A lot of new color schemes can be found freely on internet (see below in links), but it is only a skins for existing helicopter or airplanes.
– You can build airport but you have a limited number of items.
– You can record your flights and demo, distribute them,
– There is a virtual instructor to learn new tricks,
– Games in games : events like auto rotation, precision landing.

Bad

– Helicopter simulation is no realistic at all ! but I slowly discover why it is so bad (you do not notice it till you do not display the frame rate): go to section : Increase realism
– No graphical editor for airplanes and helicopter : KnifeEdge (the editor) want to sell add on at very high prices.
– Overall bad realism….why ? if you want to recognize a good simulator, measure data on your model and put it into the simulator, if the feeling is different then something is wrong in the physical model.
– Crazy protecting system! you must always have the Realflight CD inserted! and sometimes Realflight is asking you all others CD : RF deluxe, then Cd update the add on 2 then add on 3 etc : it is slow, disturbing and can be easily out-pass with daemon tools (note that version 2.00.570 seem not to accept any virtual CD, Hey knife edge that is not in the software release note !). Why do they not use a dongle instead ?
– The wind affects are not properly modeled, the wind in the sim is linear from the ground up in the real word the height causes a much greater affect. additionally the turbulence is (for want of a better word) “swirling” and has both vertical as well as horizontal components. The settling with power is totally absent from the sim, as a result it is not very useful.
– Flight Model is TOO EASY, and still too SLOW. A way too much inertia.

My Wishes

• Open the physic engine, so we can tune equations or use better equations if CPU power is enough (what do you do with 2800 MHz ????)
• Better simulation of helicopter inertia…
• Better simulation of wind or at least with more tuning options
• Vortex ring problem
• helicopter editor or at least release some converter or open the internal specs of file, Some of us can write an editor.
• A Draganflyer quad-copter!!!!
• Sell a helicopter version/ a airplane version / a full version
• More helicopter lessons (instructor)

overall improve the physic engine, in reality things get worse really faster than in simulator.

When will Knife Edge open their physic engine (equations), so we can tune or rewrite them ??
When will Knife Edge release their format specs so people can build planes editor ?
I would like to say : NEVER since they release quite expensive ad-dons (which bring nothing)

Conclusions

– There is no other simulator which is so nice, even if the physic is so bad.

Increase realism

• Change characteristics in order to match the natural instability of helicopter :
  – edit the aircraft and reduce weight of paddle : raptor 30 has 35 gr, reduce it to 10 gr not less otherwise rolls won’t work anymore.
  – Of course do not fly without wind.
• improve response of heli:
  – edit the aircraft and reduce speed of servos : default is 0.22 sec/60°, reduce it to 0.02 sec/60°
  – reduce exponential on all command.
• Improve physics :
  – deactivate the grass in the airport : it is consuming alone nearly 30 fps on my PC 1
  – As a rule : deactivate every graphics till you did not reach at least 60 fps (or more) in all flight configuration (when you are in front of trees, houses etc, if the frame rate drop, the helicopter is out of control).

The helicopter is difficult to maintain ? to fly ? and you crash in less than 3 second ? welcome back to some reality !!!!!!
As a result on my PC nearly every visual enhancement are switch off, but that is the cost for having a little more reality. (just to say I bought CSM 10.1 on eBay…..)

Which PC for Realflight

What I have noted on PC 2
– If you deactivate nearly everything, the FPS (frame per second) counter seem to reach limit value which is near 90 fps.
– Grass is consuming alone > 20 fps !
– People and in fact increasing number of object to the max let you go between 40 and 45 fps (was below 20 fps on PC 1), which should be enough, but the problem is the frontier between 80 fps and 45 fps, some glitches are encountered and when flying you feel the changes.

My Conclusion

f you want to make a demo, activate every items otherwise deactivate as much items as possible ! in fact nobody is flying beside trees or walls in real life… if you do so maybe your flying field is not well choose. It make no sense to go for a new PC, It seems to me that bad performances, or non linear increase in fps is due to bad programming or overflow in current PC architecture. Remember that a GeForce 2 is 4 times less expensive than a GeForce 4

Links

• Michael Prewitt and his excellent website www.raptortechnique.com (a must in English) is providing helicopter script and color scheme for the raptor 30. note that addon 3 contain the most realistic view of a raptor 30 and 60 look (see the pic on the top of this page). Of course they fly bad… 🙁
• Search with google for the “G2 exchange page”, a lot of airport, color scheme, planes and heli for free.

Connect your own interface for 40€

First you must buy the rc2p from Andreas Pieper (through www.ebay.de ), it allow you to connect any TX to the game port, In Realflight, choose “controller calibration”, then personal and edit. Assign functions as following :

Other keys can be emulated with the keyboard….

Some remarks

• The controller is entirely in the plug (CMS component) and the quality is professional.
• Only regret, it can only controls 4 channels + 1 switch.
• GREAT to use your real TX, feeling is a lot better ! (weight of TX, tension of sticks, position of fingers etc…)
• It is a lot cheaper than the interface provided by Realflight (>230€ in France).

Raptor 60 tweaking : credit to Twobeers (RunRyder)

• Reset the all the gyro settings to original values to start with.
• Go to the Jet Ranger and write down all the tail figures and change the tail figures of the Raptor 60 so that they are the same as the Jet Rangers.
• If you want a faster piro rate double or triple the gyro’s piro rate under the gyro tab of the edit aircraft model.
• Set the gyro to always on under the edit radio page.
• Lower the paddle weights by 5 grams.
• Make the servo’s a little faster.

Raptor 30 tweaking : credit to Mad Scientist (RunRyder)
Download the following file and save it in your “planes” directory

Tips :

• Want to practice auto rotation ? instead of using the switch (throttle cut) use a very small tank (30 cc) and fly….till you run out of fuel.
• Be careful to learn on both sides ! like me you may prefer to turn always from the same side : that’s bad ! and when you go back to field you are petrified….
• With the latest CD burner (philips, acer some plextor), it is possible to out-pass the safe-disk 2 protection of G2 (burner must support EFM (hardware) or be recognized by clone cd in order to use the AWS function (Amplify weak sector)). I prefer to made an image of the CD, then use daemon tool and daemon ui. NO NEED TO INSERT THE CD anymore, Realflight g2 start in 5 seconds, ahhhh marvelous…

below some pics of Realflight G2. More info on www.realflight.com , support on www.knifeedge.com