Do you need a simulator?

[Chucksolo69]

RR, your avatar shows an AXN Floater Jet. How do you like flying her. I love mine. It is the plane I can fly anytime regardless of wind.

[drummaker]

Originally Posted by road king 97

You forget the man who dies with the most toys wins. joe

The guy who has bought the most toys? Or the guy who has destroyed the most....

I have destroyed a lot of toys!

don't have many though

[dgholmes59]

Originally Posted by Chucksolo69

AXN Floater Jet... It is the plane I can fly anytime regardless of wind.

+1

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Chucksolo69

RR, your avatar shows an AXN Floater Jet. How do you like flying her. I love mine. It is the plane I can fly anytime regardless of wind.

My avatar is actually a Parkzone Radian, a plane as far above a Floater Jet and Bixler as a Firebird Stratos is above an Air Hogs differential thrust toy.

On every level, in every detail the Radian is vastly superior. But the most telling difference is that the Radian was designed and tested through an extended prototyping process that purposely resulted in a plane with maximal lift/drag ratio, no bad habits at all and an uncanny ability to take advantage of lift. The components are all top notch, radio with more range than you can use, hinges well executed, control horns solid and reliable, no "tip stalling" characteristics whatever, solidly robust motor and speed control.

I'm sure I'd find a way to have fun with a Floater Jet. As a matter of fact, it's a great choice for higher wind conditions and it has a wicked turn of speed that's a blast. But I'd never compare it to a Radian. There's magic in that plane.

And to be fair the Floater Jet isn't sold as a Radian wannabe. It's a legitimate departure from an Easy Star that is set up to fly faster but still retain some of the Easy Star's characteristics. But it's no sailplane. Of all the Hobby King planes, it would be my choice.

[Chucksolo69]

Ok, yeah it's hard to tell in that picture. It just looks like it has the same decals as my AXN. Crazy thing is, I didn't order the plane from HobbyKing. A flying buddy showed up with it one Sunday morning and after seeing him fly it, I had to have it and bought it from him on the spot for $70.00 sans battery and RX. I have a lot of flights on mine and she is still going strong. She is very fast. I fly with a friend who flies one like a jet and never lets off the throttle. It is amazing how fast the AXN is. Our radar gun has clocked it at 73 mph.

I also fly with friends who have the Radian models, one Pro version and one regular. Great planes both.

[Rockin Robbins]

Now that I look at it the decals are amazingly similar!

[liff]

I think that the shortest path to solo flight is with a simulator. The hardest part of RC flight (for beginners) is developing the motor memory and adapting to changes in orientation. With a sim, you get to practice this over and over again. It really helps a lot with the motor memory.

I never can quite grasp how anyone would *only* tether/buddy box once a week as their sole method for training how to fly. To me, it seems like that would drag on forever. In the beginning, I was putting in 20 hours a week on the simulator learning how to fly. You just can't do that with any other method.

Don't get me wrong, its important to have someone help you. Buddy boxing can be a very useful tool, but practical constraints really limit the pace of this. Honestly, if you use the sim for motor memory and use the instructor for the other stuff, I think it works out to be a more efficient management of your time.

I haven't tried RF 6, but RF 5.5 wasn't well suited for small foamies. Just recently, Phoenix updated their stall behavior, and for light electric beginner planes it feels very realistic. None of the sims are perfect, but they are close enough IMO.

[dgholmes59]

Originally Posted by liff

Just recently, Phoenix updated their stall behavior, and for light electric beginner planes it feels very realistic. None of the sims are perfect, but they are close enough IMO.

I just noticed that. I flew on my Phoenix simulator today and noticed it was more realistic. I fly a cap 232 and to hover requires quite a lot of elevator to hold it vertical and the Phoenix simulator was the same way with the cap. RF is not. I really like these two sims.

And I agree with you completely on the muscle memory. I still spend a lot of time on the simulator for just that and will continue to do so. The best thing to do on a simulator is not just fly around and around, but continue to try things you have never done at the airfield. The next thing you know, you will be doing those things at the airfield and it will be automatic.

On the sim, I used to take off roll the aircraft to the right and then turn left when the plane canopy finished the 270 degree roll. I did this for quite a while. One day I was at the field, and without thinking, took off, rolled right and turned left as I had done on the simulator. It scared me at first because I had done it out of pure muscle memory.

Some say how boring the sim is or that only real flying is the way to learn, but I believe if you really want to push your flying to the next level in the least amount of time, the simulator is the way to go. And the main reason, you are not nervous about crashing the pretty plane on the simulator. You need to have that same feeling at the airfield and that comes with muscle memory.

[Rockin Robbins]

Heck no, you don't need a simulator at all! If you did there wouldn't be an RC flier over 50 years old.

[dgholmes59]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

Heck no, you don't need a simulator at all! If you did there wouldn't be an RC flier over 50 years old.

Agreed, partially. I turn 53 this year and just started flying RC planes 2-1/2 years ago with a PT60. Started with the Phoenix simulator and buddy boxed with an instructor. Probably have 10 times or more hours flying on a simulator than real flying. I can now fly just about anything and prefer flying 3D 30% gas planes.

I bought my dad the same simulator a few years ago and taught him to fly as well. He has soloed after buddy boxing about 4 times. He is 74. We don't get to fly together often because he doesn't live close and I bet he would not be as good as he is with buddy boxing alone. He is also impatient and would have probably quit by now if it were not for the simulator and had to soley buddy box.

I would agree, not required, but highly recommended. Also, not just for young beginners. Some of us don't have 20 years to learn this great hobby well. Just my opinion.

[liff]

Originally Posted by dgholmes59

I just noticed that. I flew on my Phoenix simulator today and noticed it was more realistic. I fly a cap 232 and to hover requires quite a lot of elevator to hold it vertical and the Phoenix simulator was the same way with the cap. RF is not. I really like these two sims.

And I agree with you completely on the muscle memory. I still spend a lot of time on the simulator for just that and will continue to do so. The best thing to do on a simulator is not just fly around and around, but continue to try things you have never done at the airfield. The next thing you know, you will be doing those things at the airfield and it will be automatic.

On the sim, I used to take off roll the aircraft to the right and then turn left when the plane canopy finished the 270 degree roll. I did this for quite a while. One day I was at the field, and without thinking, took off, rolled right and turned left as I had done on the simulator. It scared me at first because I had done it out of pure muscle memory.

Some say how boring the sim is or that only real flying is the way to learn, but I believe if you really want to push your flying to the next level in the least amount of time, the simulator is the way to go. And the main reason, you are not nervous about crashing the pretty plane on the simulator. You need to have that same feeling at the airfield and that comes with muscle memory.

It was the same way for me. I can only imagine how many planes I would have went through when I was trying to learn how to fly inverted... I would have never even practiced this if it hadn't been for the simulator. Planes are too damned expensive for that kind of thing.

I too still spend a lot of time on the simulator, and you are right - you need to push yourself. Doing the things you never would do in real life is a great way to improve your skills. That is the real benefit of the simulator...

[liff]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

Heck no, you don't need a simulator at all! If you did there wouldn't be an RC flier over 50 years old.

I don't think anything is technically required. There are plenty of people that go out and just learn how to fly by constantly repairing and/or rebuying their plane and trying again.

Considering the sim is really the cost of a cheap plane, its definitely a good alternative to this. Its not like you can't use the sim and also buddy box, so I really just consider it another training tool.

[dgholmes59]

Originally Posted by liff

It was the same way for me. I can only imagine how many planes I would have went through when I was trying to learn how to fly inverted... I would have never even practiced this if it hadn't been for the simulator. Planes are too damned expensive for that kind of thing.

I too still spend a lot of time on the simulator, and you are right - you need to push yourself. Doing the things you never would do in real life is a great way to improve your skills. That is the real benefit of the simulator...

I have to share another experience with you. I was so excited a few months back. I harrier'ed my $900 cap in for a landing after practicing it on the simulator about a 100 times. I had done it many times with my small electric, but no way I would have tried it with my cap without the practice because of the expense. I would have been too nervous and most likely crashed. Others at the field were also surprised I would do it with my 28%er. It was actually a little easier than the simulator because my cap does not tip stall as bad as the one on the simulator.

[NJSwede]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

Heck no, you don't need a simulator at all! If you did there wouldn't be an RC flier over 50 years old.

You don't need a cellphone, regular phone, car, stove or fridge either. You'll survive perfectly well without them. But they're all handy tools that make life easier (or at least are supposed to). And the same goes for the simulator. You sure don't need it. However, I wouldn't have dared to do a 1 foot off the ground hover or inverted harrier if I hadn't done it 1000 times in the sim first.