FMS v Real RC - What do you like most?

[EJD]

So, how does a free simulator compare against real life?
FMS:
Advantages: You don't have to pay for crashes, and you can have any plane for free.
Drawbacks: No fresh air, not as much fun, no sweet, sweet damage, and no realistic crash sounds, like plowing through stubble, etc.
REAL LIFE:
Advantages: Fun, no landscape tiles to fly off, realistic sounds, swooping down over your freinds.
Drawbacks: Finding a field to fly in, batteries, darkness.

[Scarz]

swooping your friends, while they're walking to pick up their crashed plane is pretty cool... :p

[Arvee]

Flying toward, over, or even near people is NOT cool. Check what your insurance company has to say about it!

[orion1992-12]

I like the feeling I get when i get a plane that's only supposed to go to an altitude of 50 ft but really goes 250ft in high winds. It's also kinda fun to try to do a loop with a plane that's not supposed to do that and divve to the ground to avoid getting dive-bombed.

[squashmypastry]

I always wanted to fly a model plane, but their to expensive and im not responsibe enough :p... So i guess im a sucker for fms

[mattpayne]

my first post..

real life... i really dont want to be crashing as often as i do on here!

how accurate is the dragonfly model?? is it really as robust as it seems here?

[Scarz]

FMS is a means to further your flying skills. I also think it's essential to, and complements real flying.

i think the hardest thing to flying, weather it be real, or fms, is orientation, (flying towards yourself). once you've mastered this, the sky is the limit.

[caism]

For the beginners, FMs is very interesting , as experiences gained, Real thing is more stimulating. I enjoy driving, so I enjoy flying a real model plane too

[RightcoastRC]

yay! first post!

first of all, i would like to praise everyone involved in making this simulator, i cant believe how nice it is compared to those expensive ones, but, im wondering, since i do not have the means to actually fly real RC, is FMS as real as it gets?
Please note that the only model i have ever tried to fly is the Blariot III from ikarus and i could not get it to fly because the battery pack i had i believe was too heavy, so i have no means of comparison.

[shaul_eiz]

RightcoastRC,
Well it is quite similar, if you use a realistic model such as Multiplex Magister. It helps you acquire the automatic flying skills, where your fingertips are doing the thinking. You learn how the plane reacts to combination of stick movements (e.g. rudder+ailerons) and the use of both sticks simultaneously becomes natural.
However, this simulator does not help you in designing your flight: Landing on the airstrip is different, as in real life you have a better grasp of the location of the airstrip in regard to you and the plane. In real life you have to avoid the glare of the sun, or you loose the plane. The wind effect I think is not very realistic yet.
So, flying on the simulator is a good preparation to the real thing, but cannot substitute it.

[Eric Brouwer]

Sims are good for practicing manouvers, and keeping your fingers and mind tuned to the same frequency.

Real flying, on the other hand, is great. No sim can reproduce the feeling of saticfaction. The maiden flight of your plane that took half your yearly salary, spending a couple of months building and glueing it together.... Well, no sim will ever be able to reproduce that first take-off of your new AT6 Texan, and the feeling of doing a roll on the maiden take-off.

How about night flying? Well, I have tried it on the sims, but can not reproduce it at all.