Question to the real world pilots who have trained themselves in FS as well.At last! I've started not long ago to take flying lessons to become PP.Naturally I was thinking of using FS for brushing up some techniques, including stall/spin recovery and cross wind lending. All required a handful work with the pedals. My question is: Have you tried the combination of CH pedals and the RealAir C172. Will I will have real (well, close to real) responses? I tried to do it with my MS Sidewinder joystick by using the Z axis but its too annoying. Is it worth to spend the ~100$ for this purpose?Oh.. One more question: How do you find the C152 from Flight1? I'm taking my lessons on C152 so it seems to me better to practice on that though I heard most about the RealAir C172Thanks in advance,Shay

Hey Shay,>Have you tried the combination of CH pedals and the RealAir C172. Will Ihave real (well, close to real) responses? i'm using CH Rudder Pedals and they do increase the realism heavily, however they do not act like real pedals since they are spring loaded which means they will return to the center immediatley if you release them, which doesnt happen in real life very quickly>Is it worth to spend the ~100$ for this purpose?It feels kind of weird having pedals and a joystick, so I went and bought the CH yoke too, which I find to be a nice accessory. Sometimes for me though, if I use the pedals and joystick, when I use the joysticks Z axis and pedals together it gets kind of confused and cancels out the other you arent using as much. I.E. - Your taxiing with the rudder pedals but then you go to turn using the joystick, it wont work. >How do you find the C152 from Flight1? I'm taking my lessons on C152 so it seems to me better to practice on that though I heard most about the RealAir C172I also take lessons on a C-152 and the Flight1 bird is the best you can get. To my tastes however she doesnt fly like the one I fly, she seems to lack much power and stalls way too easily but others have said its spot on. The sounds don't really sound like a C-152 to me, also. The panel and VC on the other hand are fantastic and very complete.Jason :-wave

I use Thrustmaster Elite pedals (never tried CH's) along with a joystick because it's my preference. But as to the RealAir 172; I was making a simulated landing at Sedona, Arizona back with the plane for FS2002 & had one of those "better" simulation experiences! :)With the VC set somewhere in the 54% (what the RealAir defaults to) range for added peripheral vision, I could easily sense the sensations of yaw & speed. It was the first time after all these years that a simulated landing seemed to look and feel like a landing in "so" many ways. Since then, & thanks to the VC's, rudder pedals, and realistic "slipping ability".....my landings are much more fun & worthwhile than ever before.L.Adamson

>I also take lessons on a C-152 and the Flight1 bird is the>best you can get. To my tastes however she doesnt fly like>the one I fly, she seems to lack much power and stalls way too>easily but others have said its spot on. The sounds don't>really sound like a C-152 to me, also. The panel and VC on>the other hand are fantastic and very complete.>I'm one of those that will say "spot on"Just as "gutless" as the real one!! :)L.Adamson

they're good enough. just make sure you don't get used to keeping your feet on them in the braking position (which their design encourages) or you'll need a new set of dentures one of these days.:-lol

I removed the centering spring from my CH pedals and replaced it with a much weaker one from Ace hardware. Lots more realistic at slow speeds, which is when you tend to make larger rudder movements anyway. At higher speeds there isn't the resistance of the real thing, but I prefer it that way.Of course, I have been considering putting a stepper motor with a cam on the centering spring and feeding airspeed from FSUIPC to the stepper so that pedal resistance increases with airspeed, but that'll be for a future incarnation.Richard

Honestly, there is no way that any combination of pedals, stick or yoke in simulation will prepare you for real-world flying -- the sensations are just not real. FS9 can help with becoming familiar with the panel, can help with learning basic VFR - and IFR - navigation techniques. But it cannot help you learn to fly a real airplane. The only way to do that is fly a real airplane in the real sky.

>>> Honestly, there is no way that any combination of pedals,>stick or yoke in simulation will prepare you for real-world>flying -- the sensations are just not real.And from my own experience & others.................. this "is" the case. The sensations come from actually doing it, then it's the "mind" filling in the gaps of the sim; which seems to work quite well. I say the sensation of "yaw" would definately be an example. One thing about it though; using cross-wind or slipping techniques within the desktop sim, provided a good model & rudder pedals are used, can keep the proficiency level up. Since this is something you don't encounter every flight in the real world.I figure that once you've practiced some of these techniques with an actual airplane & instructor; then re-creating & practicing with a sim certainly can be beneficial.L.Adamson

"there is no way that any combination etc. etc."it willhow well you will fly on that first lessonthat's another matter altogether:)

"Honestly, there is no way that any combination of pedals, stick or yoke in simulation will prepare you for real-world flying -- the sensations are just not real."Prior to your first lesson that's somewhat true, but once you've had a few hours the sim definately helps in keeping your hand in.Richard

Guys,Thank you all for your valuable inputs. To sum your feedback, I understand (and agree) that with a good dynamic model (like the RealAir 172 has) the rudders can provide an adequate tool for imitating the procedures of cross-wind lending or stall recovery. It is clear that the sim cannot imitate the real world physical feeling (the peripheral view and the "g" feel in your butt) so you cannot train your reflexes. However, you can simulate real world scenarios, investigate the a/c response and practice procedures. Correct me if I miss-interpreted the responses.By the way, what level of realism you are using in the FS setting? The heist I guess.Thanks again and any further responces will be appreciated.Shay

Shay:>>By the way, what level of realism you are using in the FS setting? The heist I guess.The most important thing is to get a smooth running program. It's better to have realism at 50% and the program running smoothly, than realism at 80% and the plane keeps stopping in mid-air for half a second while the graphics catch up.Richard

Shay,Take both CH Yoke and Pedals. With these you will take out the most of the sim as concerning the reality. Try some side slip as well. As far as the RealAir C172, I think is the better model by far.Vassilis

I didnt thought that realism will effect the FR!Shay

I always run realism at 100%, and then use locations or scenarios to keep the program running smooth. Even when it's recommended to set some of the realism settings lower to handle potentially twitchy torque values..............my rudder pedals seem to handle them well.L.Adamson ---- getting older-- Athlon1900XP/Geforce3Ti500