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Soaring Flight Simulator for PC

Overview | Sailplanes Screenshots, & Videos Flight School, Soaring & Racing 
System Requirements, Hardware Recommendations & Keyboard Commands | Links, Tips & Documents


Antares 18S 
Class: 18 m 
 
Blanik L-13
Class: 2-seat trainer 
 
Diana-2
Class: 15m
 
Duo Discus XL
Class: 20m 2-Seater 
 
The Antares is one of the newer generation high performance sailplanes in the 18m flapped class.
Blanik is the much loved metal trainer from Czechoslovakia. It has been flown all over the world, and is probably the most numerous training glider ever made.
The Diana-2 is the most successful 15m sailplane in World Championships and Sailplane Grand prix in recent years.
The Duo is a very versatile glider. Good in the training role, good for cross country, and competitive in  20m competition. 
Genesis 2
Class: Standard
 
Grunau Baby
Class: Vintage 
 
Standard Cirrus
Class: Club 
 

Revolutionary design, it has a good performance at low speeds, almost matching the LS-8
The classic single seat glider of the 1930’s, made in their hundreds and copied in many countries. 
Nice handling glider, and the leading performer in club class

Optional Add-On Planes (extra cost)
Jonker JS1C 18m & 21m
Class: 18m and Open Class
 
LS8 neo
Class: Standard
 
SG38
Class: Vintage Trainer
 
Swift S1
Class: Aerobatic
 
The 18 has been the top performer in the 18m class for some years. 
The 21 is the current Open class world champion.
Single-seat sailplane with excellent performance and excellent handling. 
This model has the new "neo" winglets.
The Schulgleiter, training glider from the 1930’s
Incredibly dynamic single-seat acrobatic glider
Flight School
Since the beginning, Condor has been used by clubs and businesses to construct full size simulators as shown in the picture opposite. That one is the British Gliding Association simulator, and they rent it out to their member clubs for a small fee. But that is not the only way. Condor has a comprehensive set of training lessons built in, and anyone can teach themselves how to fly in the comfort of their own home on almost any PC with a joystick. We have many stories of this from our community. 

The lessons are split into 4 phases:

  • Basic
    • Preflight Check
    • Effects of Commands
    • Turns
    • Winch Launching
    • Aerotow launching
    • Traffic pattern(circuit) and landing
    • Winch launch failure
  • Intermediate
    • Thermal Soaring
    • Ridge Soaring
    • Wave Soaring
    • Upslope Winds
  • Advanced
    • Starting task and navigation
    • Speed-To-Fly - MacCready Theory
    • Final Glide
  • Acro
    • Loop
    • Stall Turn


System Requirements


PC

To install and run Condor you will need:
  • Windows 7, 8 or 10
  • Intel i5 or i7 CPU.
  • 12 GB of free space on hard drive or SSD
  • A dedicated GPU with 1gb memory. The GPU should have benchmark (www.videocardbenchmark.net) result of 1000 minimum. 4000 is very good, and 8000 perfect. As always more is better An onboard GPU is usable, but with severely reduced graphics settings.
Apple Mac
To install and run Condor you will need:
  • Windows 7, 8 or 10 running in Bootcamp*
  • Intel i5 or i7 CPU.
  • 12 GB of free space on hard drive or SSD
  • A dedicated GPU with 1gb memory. The GPU should have benchmark (www.videocardbenchmark.net) result of 1000 minimum. 4000 is very good, and 8000 perfect. As always more is better An onboard GPU is usable, but with severely reduced graphics settings.
* Note: It may be possible to use other solutions such as Virtual box, or Wine, etc., but we have not evaluated these. If you have success with different solutions on Mac, please let us know by putting in a support form so we can pass the information on to other users.

Hardware Recommendations
For the ultimate experience we recommend using rudder pedals and a joystick with force feedback. Since Condor supports multiple input devices, you can create real analogous controls for all glider controls.
I am often asked to recommend a joystick and rudder pedals for use with Condor.  Below are a few good options which are recommended by myself or other Condor users.
To be able to fly in Condor, you do not need a joystick. The glider can be controlled using mouse or keyboard. However we do strongly suggest that you should use at least a joystick with a twist rudder support.

Joystick
The Logitech Extreme 3D Pro Joystick seems to be the joystick of choice for most Condor users - including myself.  It is a nice, low cost option.  It has a twist handle which is great for rudder control if not using rudder pedals.  If you are using rudder pedals you won't need the twist feature, but it won't hurt either.  Details are available in the price list below.

Rudder Pedals
Many experienced Condor users and recommend the Logitech or Thrustmaster rudder pedals.  They are highly recommended when practicing cross-wind take-offs and landings, slips, skids, slow flight, stalls, spins, and aerobatics.  Details are available in the price list below.

Are Rudder Pedals Necessary When Using Condor?
I am often asked whether rudder pedals are required, or highly recommended, or...?  My opinion, and the opinion of several experienced Condor users is:

  • Rudder pedals are not absolutely necessary.  Most joysticks offer a twist action that can be used for rudder control, or you can enable "auto-rudder" in Condor.
  • Rudder pedals are very highly recommended for anyone using Condor to learn how to fly gliders, or using Condor to practice flying skills such as cross-wind take-offs and landings, slips, skids, slow flight, stalls, spins, or aerobatics.
  • Rudder pedals are probably not necessary for cross-country soaring and contest flying.  Experienced users tell me that they enable the "auto-rudder" feature when flying cross-country or racing - because it is more about how you find lift and how fast you fly than about how well you work the rudder.

Keyboard Commands - Commonly Used

  • R: Release
  • P: Pause
  • Delete: Trimmer up
  • Insert: Trimmer down
  • F12: Trimmer Center
  • N: Airbrakes In
  • B: Airbrakes Out
  • F: Flaps up
  • V: Flaps down
  • G: Cycle landing gear up or down
  • . (period): Wheel brake
  • Home: MacCready Up
  • End: MacCready Down
  • M: PDA Next Screen
  • Page Up: PDA Zoom In
  • Page Down: Handheld Zoom Out
  • Right Ctrl: Toggle between Cruise mode and Climb mode
  • H: Lift helpers (see the thermals!)
  • J: Task Helpers
  • Q: Miracle (bump the glider up hundreds of feet instantly)
  • w: Dump water ballast
  • T: Smoke
  • +: Zoom in
  • -: Zoom out
  • Y: Panel Zoom
  • ]: Vario Volume Up
  • [: Vario Volume Down
  • Esc: Menu
  • Tab: Show classification
  • *: Show Icons
  • ' (tilde): HUD (heads up display) toggle
  • F1: Cockpit View
  • F2: External View
  • F3: Chase View
  • F4: Tower View
  • F5: Towplane View
  • F6: Fly-by View
  • F7: Padlock View
  • F8: New Player View
  • F9: Replay Camera

Links

Documents

Manual
Online Condor2 Manual - Click on the small PDF icon at the top-right of the page to view and download and print the entire manual as a PDF file.

*** The documents below were written for the original version of Condor - not Condor2. However, they are about 95% accurate for Condor2.

Tips
CondorTips
 - by Paul Remde
Condor Orientation - by Scott Manley
Getting Started with Condor Soaring Simulator - by Frank Paynter

Condor Corner Articles
Frank Paynter and Scott Manley are writing an excellent column for Soaring magazine called Condor Corner.   Many of their articles are available here:
CondorCorner-2010-04.pdf - An Introduction to Condor Corner and Condor, by Frank Paynter and Scott Manley
CondorCorner-2010-05.pdf - What’s the problem? (Airplanes make lousy classrooms, Classrooms make lousy aircraft), by Scott Manley
CondorCorner-2010-07.pdf - Condor as a Competition Trainer, by Frank Paynter
CondorCorner-2010-08.pdf - Why Glider Flight Simulation?, by Scott Manley - CFIG
CondorCorner-2010-09.pdf - Parowan, Utah and Condor, by Frank Paynter
CondorCorner-2010-10.pdf - Glider Flight Simulation and the Curriculum, by Scott Manley - CFIG
CondorCorner-2010-11.pdf - Setting up and flying a short cross-country flight, by Frank Paynter


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