Do you need a simulator?

[mark786]

I think The best answer is YES! Using a simulator is the BEST way to learn to fly without crashing your model! Simulators have improved a lot in the past couple of years.Am i right please help me

[whitecrest]

I think a few sessions on a buddy box is still the best method, if available. Though simulators have improved, it's very difficult to model actual flight conditions. That said, a simulator can shorten the learning curve very significantly.

[JetPlaneFlyer]

I'm with Whitecrast. An instructor (preferably with buddy box) is far and away the best way to learn how to fly RC models. A sim is better than nothing but doesnt even come close to an instructor.
Not only is an instructor the best way to learn but he can also check your model out, set it up, trim it out etc... No sim in the world will even begin to help with those key issues.

The added bonus is having a buddy to fly with makes the hobby much more fun.

Of course and instructor and a sim are not mutally exclusive, it doesnt have to be one or the other, you can benefit from both.

[Azarr]

I really don't like the sim, it just doesn't give you the same "feel" or spacial awareness.

That being said, it's perfect for developing muscle memory for maneuvers. That's what I use the sim for, practice a new maneuver over and over. A good example is the rolling harrier which requires a rhythmical "stir"

Azarr

[BBCorvette18]

Personally I think a Simulator can get you in the air that said I think your best bet is with live instruction or a combination of both. Use the simulator to get used to the movements of the plane and use the instructor to calm your nerves when you go to do it for real. Cause there is a HUGE difference between a video game and real life.

[rags]

A SIM will save you money. A lot more than they cost. Especially if you are flying Heli's. It can get boring and it is not exactly the same as flight but you can tweak the settings and is pretty close. My SIM has probably saved me a few thousand dollars in the crash learning curve and countless hours of frustration. Again it gets boring but I'd never want to be without it.

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by mark786

I think The best answer is YES! Using a simulator is the BEST way to learn to fly without crashing your model! Simulators have improved a lot in the past couple of years.Am i right please help me

Yup
Start with a simulator, then graduate to a flight instructor with a buddy box. This will cut down your learning time by a significant amount.

[NJSwede]

Simulator and buddy box are not mutually exclusive. Yes, some time on a buddy box is without doubt the best way to earn your wings and get your first plane in the air. However, after having earned my wings a couple of years ago, I still use simulators extensively to practice new maneuvers and perfect existing ones. I spent the other night just doing slow rolls for two hours to make them look clean. I couldn't have done that at the field (especially not with the weather we're having).

[CHELLIE]

IMHO Sims are great for the new RC Pilot, they will teach you the Basics and get you in the air faster and reduce the crashes when first learning how to fly, IMHO this pilot would have controled the Plane a lot better if he had used a Sim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=rayYljVSL9k

[dgholmes59]

Originally Posted by NJSwede

Simulator and buddy box are not mutually exclusive. Yes, some time on a buddy box is without doubt the best way to earn your wings and get your first plane in the air. However, after having earned my wings a couple of years ago, I still use simulators extensively to practice new maneuvers and perfect existing ones. I spent the other night just doing slow rolls for two hours to make them look clean. I couldn't have done that at the field (especially not with the weather we're having).

+1. The simulator is one of the best pieces of RC gear I own. Rolling circles, harrier landings, hovering, would probably not have been possible for me with only a couple of years of flying experience without it. Especially since there was no one at my club that could teach me. I am the only 3d pilot. A few are starting to try it now. They also bought simulators to practice. I agree, saved me also many thousands of dollars.

A simulator is also a great way to learn how to use (program) your new computer radio. Connect it to your simulator and fool with rates, exponential, mixes, etc. and see the airplanes response. This is actually how I learned to operate and program my computer radio. You put in positive exponential when you should have used negative, good to be on a simulator instead of your favorite airplane.

I have both the Phoenix and Realflight simulators. I prefer Realflight 6.5 over Phoenix because the planes fly more real. Simulators are very close to real flying and there is no better tool for training those thumbs (your thumbs and fingers need to move automatically with what your eyes see. You most likely going to crash at some point if they don't). If it has been a while since I have flown, I will practice on the simulator using the wind speed and direction for the day before I go. It really helps a lot! I don't really find my simulator boring. But I am mostly using it to learn new skills or improve on others. And when you can't get out to the airfield, it is the next best thing.

Buying a simulator was the best thing my instructor recommended. Yep, started on the simulator, crashed 100s of times and then buddy boxed with an instructor. My instructor said I had the best skills for a student he had ever taught and I soloed the fastest. The simulator has allowed me to progress past even my instructor in some skills. He just bought himself a simulator in December.

[mclarkson]

Clearly, you don't need a simulator. Or a buddy box, or even an instructor.

Plenty of folks have learned by just throwing planes into the air and trying to keep them from coming back down too quickly.

[hayofstacks]

I like simulators for when it rainy or bad weather. I leave the wind off because it seems rediculously random the way the plane pitches up and down compared to actual wind.

[solentlife]

People forget that you can in fact set up a sim to mimic a maiden ... get someone else to alter the trims, control responses and wind etc. on the sim ... then hand Tx to you straight of to fly. Certainly makes it a different ball-game then.

But I agree that a sim is a great tool used in conjunction with instructor / club etc.

I wish I had one 40 odd yrs ago !

Nigel

[Unclebuck21228]

Yes I like having a sim. Having recently soloed with an instructor it helps me keep in practice when the weather, work or life in general keep me from flying.

[solentlife]

My Tx and Sim are in my bag now for travel out to work assignment ... tried before but always had too much rubbish in bags that I never used ! So some of that is out today ... TX + Sim disk IN !

For anyone interested - a post on another thread reckoned RC Planemaster didn't run on Win 7 ... WRONG ! It runs fine on Win 7 Starter which is 32bit.

Nigel

[mclarkson]

Every time I think of getting a sim, I end up using the money to buy something else instead. Usually more planes and parts.

[solentlife]

Originally Posted by mclarkson

Every time I think of getting a sim, I end up using the money to buy something else instead. Usually more planes and parts.

Only thing with sims - you quickly lose interest, unlike on the field. The other point to note is the lack of knowing what is around you. The sim cannot provide what you see in yoyr peripheral vision. But still a good investment.

Nigel

[mark786]

Originally Posted by kyleservicetech

Yup
Start with a simulator, then graduate to a flight instructor with a buddy box. This will cut down your learning time by a significant amount.

thanks for reply and help me more plese

[mark786]

i m confused what to do use it or not

[slipstick]

Do you need a sim - No.
Is a sim useful and will it help with learning - Yes.

If you already have sim it's definitely worth using it....but it helps to plan what you're going to do with the plane and then practise until you can do it right every time. Just playing about with the sim is fun but it isn't as useful.

If you can only afford EITHER a sim or a real trainer then the real model will teach you better and more quickly. Particularly if you can get someone to help you with it.

Steve

[dgholmes59]

Originally Posted by mark786

i m confused what to do use it or not

Originally Posted by mark786

I think The best answer is YES! Using a simulator is the BEST way to learn to fly without crashing your model! Simulators have improved a lot in the past couple of years.Am i right please help me

Mark, you answered your own question in your very first post.

[hayofstacks]

Flying is 90% instint, in my opinion. If your interested in flight, it doesn't take much to understand what has to happen for the plane to move. Getting it to move with the controller is another story.

Get a transmiter style contoller for any flight sim, and I see your chances increasing drastically. As soon as you know what to do with your thumbs, it would suprise me to see you get in the air your first flight, instructor or not.

Getting it down in one peice is the real challenge once you know how to use the controls, and a flight simulator will help you with both of these.

[JetPlaneFlyer]

Originally Posted by mark786

i m confused what to do use it or not

I'm not sure why you are confused.
Everyone who has replied has said simulators are helpful... The only point of any debate is if they are the single best way to learn to fly. I for one would say that while they are good they are not as good as a human instructor, but using both a sim and a human instructor is the best of both worlds.

[mark786]

Originally Posted by dgholmes59

Mark, you answered your own question in your very first post.

yes i know but some people confused me brother so i can say that what can i do

[mark786]

Originally Posted by JetPlaneFlyer

I'm not sure why you are confused.
Everyone who has replied has said simulators are helpful... The only point of any debate is if they are the single best way to learn to fly. I for one would say that while they are good they are not as good as a human instructor, but using both a sim and a human instructor is the best of both worlds.

yes brother you are right i m not confused for using a simulators bt i am confused for chosing sim or human instructor.