Phoenix Sim - best bang for the buck?

Hello again dear friends...
Since in this hobby every mistake costs money, pride and frustration, I am sure that like me, many of you consider using a simulator for practice and only later try flying on the real heli...
Since I am always trying to find the best value for money I can tell you what I found regarding heli sims:

• RCheli sim free sim, good for learning orientations, but in my opinion the physics and graphic detail is not so good...still not bad for a free sim if you want to start;

• HeliX version 0.9, is the free version of the well known german sim which you can download here, the official version is 4.2, and I can say I like this free sim a lot, the physics and graphics are much improved, but of course the full version 4.2 which is about 60 euro has many extra features...I can recommend the 0.9 if you want a good free heli simulator, and additionally you can find some extra heli models on some rc forums;
• Clearview SE, this time by releasing this version, they give you the free sim but you must pay for the models you purchase...In my case I bought a set of 1 terrain and 4 helis for 2 usd each, total of 10 usd, and saved the rest up to 49 usd if I remember correctly. The graphics is acceptable, but the physics is not close to real.. For example T-rex450 helis spin with maybe 5 or 6 full 360 degrees in one second and this is far from real...The only model that was closer to reality in terms of handling was the TREX700...Of course that you can fine tune the models but is in a more difficult manner by editing some parameters which you don't really understand what they do...anyway in my opinion if you buy something it should work right away...so as a bottom line I think the Heli-x v.0.9 is better here...

And finally I decided enough frustration caused by bad physics, small number of helis and airfields to try on...I decided to buy a real sim, and I choose the Phoenix v.4 sim which is known for good heli physics, good graphics and maybe most important free future up-grades...preety cool, huh? The main competitor is the Real Flight but on this one, just understanding which version you must buy and which add-on version it works with, caused me a headache :)
The content is simple and it has a short installation guide, the version 4 DVD and most important the bundle cable, which is mainly the "key" to protect their sim against copying it...
The installation is simple, after that make sure the usb bundle is connected and the TX is on and you will be prompted for setup and calibration..After this is done, you can edit dual rates and other adjustments you need.
Just a tip: since I have a Walkera devo10 and the Phoenix comes with stereo 3.5mm Jack, but the walkera needs a mono jack, I just plugged in my universal sim cable in the tx, turn on the TX which thinks now it's in trainer mode, and replace the universal stereo jack with the phoenix mono jack with the TX on, and it works...I still plan to buy a normal stereo to mono converter but just want to let you know it can work like this also...
After I am more used to it, I might come back with a review of the sim's menu, settings, and so on...

 Below is the movie I made showing you basically the unboxing of the sim...



Likes:
+good price and free lifetime up-grades;
+good heli physics
+good overall graphics
+infinity scope, allowing to fly FPV like in a 3 d generated landscape
 Dislikes:
-considering the usb bundle is the hardware key to using the sim, the exit points of the electronic box is not perfectly tight, so I suggest putting some heat sleeve to ensure a long life of the assembly;

you can see there's quite a gap between the main wire and the rubber attached to the box

I hope you found the info useful and I really recommend using a sim, since it's easy to re-start after a crash on a sim, instead of real life, when you carry all the bits in a bag :(