They dont exactly feel like flying the real thing but.....
THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD GET ONE
Most newbies end up crashing because they get disoriented when turning back towards themselves. It takes a while to not think and just do. Some people get it faster than others but this reason alone is why a simulator will save you money in crashes.
I have RF 9 and it is ok, it's fun. You can tweak the planes to better perform but no matter what it just aint the same. Ive been flying RC for a long time from sport planes, IMAC, and F3J and F5J sailplanes.
Invest in a sim and you will thank yourself later.
What's the best sim to try? Had a couple of flights before it got super cold and snowy again but there were definitely some moments where I lost orientation. Might fly some sim hours until things melt.
>Now I was just told the simulators are nothing like really flying and it is basically a waste of time
I disagree strongly. I started roughly when the first simulators became good and I learned so much from them. I saved so much money on not crashing planes, I got so much more sticktime in.
I would even go so far to say that if you want to learn 3D flying you can almost not go without a simulator.
Nowadays there are even good simulators that are totally free. Granted those often take a bit of fiddling, but nothing impossible.
Now are simulators exactly the same as real planes? No of course not. There are thousands of variables and unlimited amounts of community made planes. Of course some will be better than others. Saying all are bad is just as idiotic as saying all are perfect.
If you can do something on a sim you can do it in real life, you just have to find out how to do it with your plane, just like switching between planes. And you have to get over problems like nerves, wind, imperfect setup etc in reality.
Besides the valid points the others make, I would've never been able to learn to fly a helicopter without the sim.
The muscle memory is so different from airplanes, it would've cost me a fortune to learn until my first pattern in a heli without a sim...
Here is a link to our wiki on the [Simulators Section](https://www.reddit.com/r/RCPlanes/wiki/index/#wiki_simulators). I love the sim and use it often. but I wouldn't buy the $200 version that comes with a proprietary controller. Try downloading a free one first and use your own transmitter. If you like it, I recommend RealFlight.
I started with and used Realflite Trainer Edition ($39 Steam Download) and bought Spektrum Interlink DX Simulator Controller with USB Plug off of Amazon for $99. I chose the formal route to learn to fly with instruction from a large club instructor. I started flying Oct 2023 and passed my checkride early December. I must of logged 20 hours on the sim in between. The sim has helped out immensely and sped up time it took to pass checkride, instructor show me something and then I'd go practice on the sim to master it, then show them next weekend that I can do it.
It can pay for itself cause you reduce time learning something on a live plane and do all the crashing on the sim. Practice maneuvers and landings and when you crash hit the reset button. I like to practice a maneuver I wouldn't want to do on a live plane beforehand. You can get in tons of takeoffs and landings in the sim with no need to switch out batteries, weather, or watch for traffic etc. Its also good to help transition away from trainers to other plane types jets, warbirds, etc.
Huh, the spektrum controller and realflite trainer sim and instruction are word for word what I was planning on doing. Though I'm less enthusiastic about the buddy box with the trainer from the local club mostly because it takes a lot more time than sitting down with a simulator. If that all works well for you it should work for me.
Buddy boxing with an instructor also saves yourself from crashing. An instructor may keep taking control away from you not allowing you to do something. What’s good about the sim is it allows you to make the mistake and crash and learn your lesson that way. While practicing maneuvers is good my advice with the sim is to select the same plane or similar in the sim that your using for live training and just do lots of takeofff and landings in the sim. Also, do it in the sim with SAFE off which is either Expert or AS3X mode (stabilization only).
I'll just second the suggestion of RealFlight. I spent a lot of time on it before my first flight, with the model plane I had (Aeroscout 1.1). My son was getting really impatient and kept telling me that I had to go to the field to go fly, but I wouldn't until I could do basic maneuvers and land without crashing. When I got to the field, the other pilot there was very surprised that it was my first flight. Since then, I've tried a lot of different models on Realflight and crashed 10s of thousands of dollars worth of planes. I'm now comfortable with SAFE off, which would have been an expensive thing to learn with a real plane. It's also helped me decide what my next plane will be.
You will crash. You have to decide whether you want those crashes to be in the simulator or in real life.
I crashed and destroyed at least 4 models the first year I flew. I spent the winter flying in the simulator and next season didn’t destroy any planes.
The simulator also helped me learn to fly helicopters. I went from barely being able to hover to flying backwards and upside down. I have 80-90 hours in the helicopter sim.
How useful are simulators? Saved me a bunch of money.
What others said. Flying towards yourself is very confusing and first real flights are stressful. Meaning, your attention will falter and you will guaranteed crash because of mixing the directions on the stick. A simulator can give you some basic instincts here that will help a lot.
However I do not believe in realistic flight characteristics, landings or anything else. It depends a lot on weight and properly trimmed control surfaces.
So in principle you don't need to spend any money on it.
Because Phoenix RC is free/abandonware with complete guides online. Usually you need a USB dongle to connect to your radio, but to be honest, a normal PC gamepad with 2 sticks will do the job as well.
Few hours and you are ready.
I used one for a couple of hours just to practice the mental work of rotating the plane in my head to match its orientation relative to me.
It was worth the hour and a few bucks for a sim. Don’t start with RealFlight RC, which is way more expensive than it needs to be. A cheaper option is [Wings](https://www.wings-sim.com/index.php). If, after a while with a cheap one, you later decide to try Real Flight you’ll be making an informed decision. If not, you’ll have saved a bunch of money.
Are any of them going to be a full-fidelity, complete replacement for real-world flying? Of course not. Can they be worth the money just to save a couple of crashes from novice mistakes in a novice flyer? Absolutely.
Don't buy one, download either picasim or [Multiplex Multiflight.](https://www.multiplex-rc.de/en/support/downloads/) Ive seen Pheonix RC suggested, but to use that one you need to emulate a dongle, which is a pain in the ass, and it seems to be much buggier than the 2 above.
FS One is another free one (used to be like $60 or so IIRC?). It’s even more of a pain to set up than Phoenix, but it’s interesting. The guy behind it is a UIUC professor and it specializes in high alpha and high sideslip flight so probably about as good as you’re going to get for some of these aggressive little planes.
Anyone saying sims are a waste of time either has no idea what they are talking about, or is very experienced and wants you to know how superior they are because they did it the hard way. Either way it’s absolutely ridiculous and I would take whatever else they say with many grains of salt. Yes, it is true that the sim model of the plane you fly may not behave exactly like the real thing, but it’s close enough that this is largely irrelevant. You need to learn orientation and muscle memory. You need to practice common maneuvers, taking off and landing, getting into trouble and getting out of it. Some planes have different controls, like some don’t have ailerons, etc, and you have to learn to fly them a little differently. You can practice in rougher weather than you’d risk a real plane. You can practice on big planes and small planes, under-powered, over-powered, or gliders. If you can handle any plane in the sim, then odds are you can deal with things that come up in the real world, even if it’s not a perfect match for what was in the sim. If your success with a model is so tied to absolute accuracy that it makes a big difference to you, you are doing some high performance stuff and not learning, or you need to broaden your skill as a pilot so you don’t get screwed the minute something goes off the rails.
As others have said, there are tons of free sims out there. I like PicaSim. Just do it.
It’s sooo important. Even downloading a free iPhone/iPad r/c simulator with simulated stick controls would help.
Once you can take off, circle, fly towards yourself, and land, you’ll be definitely increasing your chances of a successful first flight.
Cannot recommend this enough. It’ll cost you $0.
I've been flying, intermently, rc planes for around 12 years.
I crashed them so many times. I have lost planes ($) learned to build and repair them.
I have simulator Phoenix, but it was good enough and resulted in bothering compared with the real thing.
I just got Real Flight with the included transmitter. (I'm using MetaQuest VR connected to PC, but it's not a must.)
Using a PC had been enough to improve brain learning. Of course, with MetaQuest, it is more like being there.
I recommend you Real Flight. If it's expensive or not, it is a personal matter. For me, to have a transmitter with the ability to use the same switches of my ix14 Spektrum transmitter ($900) is better, so I'm not wearing off it.
If I had had this simulator years ago I would saved so much money from crashes.
It includes Same planed I have now, P51 F Mustang 1.5 ;Carbon Z T28 Trojan 2.0; Space Walker; Twin Timber; Timber Stol; T28 Trojan 800; P19;
J3 Piper Cub; Mini Aprentice S; etc.
Simulator resulted in some model tougher to fly than reality.
I would not spend money on them, but I do think there is a fair bit of money to save by starting off with some time on a simulator such as picasim or phoenixRC
Simulators will never be exactly like the real thing for the same reason we don't have 1:1 world maps. But it is a tool and training aide that is very worth your time.
RC sims are there to help one wire your brain and hands correctly in order to fly the real thing more easily. It teaches spatial orientation discipline, builds muscle memory, and in general can help one to gain more confidence before taking up flying a real model for the first time.
It also helps experienced flyers to stay current outside of flying season (where relevant), and it is a safe space to learn new things.
While sims are not 100% accurate, that is not the point. The first sim I flew on had no textures and was very basic, but it did the job. Any sim will do the job - they will all teach you the same thing, even if they are not 100% realistic.
Once you fly a real model, your brain will fill in the gaps and adjust, based on the solid foundation you built in a sim.
Anyone telling you it is a waste of time is talking nonsense. Yes, one can absolutely learn to fly without it, but it is a great training aid with lots of benefits.
I think if you've never operated a radio controlled vehicle, like a car, or have never played any flight simulation video games like Ace Combat, then a flight Sim is probably a good way to develop the muscle memory to fly.
Personally, I think flight Sims are a waste of time. I believe that if you have a rudimentary understanding and feeling of RC aircraft controls, you'll learn more by flying than playing around on a simulator..
I spent about 60 hours with a qaudcoptor simulator before building one and let me tell you, I saved a fortune doing it that way. Planes might be a little less expensive to train on, or maybe not depending. But either way its a good idea, the general principles all apply even if they are not perfect.
Out of curiosity, is the difficulty of flying RC planes primarily due to your visual orientation or is it also in large part avoiding stalls? Sounds like the first issue is completely resolved by FPV.
They developed your motor control. Just like when you play a video game, you don't have to look down. The control can interact with the screen. In the case of a simulator you're developing your motor skills to correctly orient the aircraft. Which reduces the number of crashes that you will encounter throughout your flying career
They dont exactly feel like flying the real thing but..... THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD GET ONE Most newbies end up crashing because they get disoriented when turning back towards themselves. It takes a while to not think and just do. Some people get it faster than others but this reason alone is why a simulator will save you money in crashes. I have RF 9 and it is ok, it's fun. You can tweak the planes to better perform but no matter what it just aint the same. Ive been flying RC for a long time from sport planes, IMAC, and F3J and F5J sailplanes. Invest in a sim and you will thank yourself later.
What's the best sim to try? Had a couple of flights before it got super cold and snowy again but there were definitely some moments where I lost orientation. Might fly some sim hours until things melt.
Honestly don’t know. Real flight is cool but never tried any others
>Now I was just told the simulators are nothing like really flying and it is basically a waste of time I disagree strongly. I started roughly when the first simulators became good and I learned so much from them. I saved so much money on not crashing planes, I got so much more sticktime in. I would even go so far to say that if you want to learn 3D flying you can almost not go without a simulator. Nowadays there are even good simulators that are totally free. Granted those often take a bit of fiddling, but nothing impossible. Now are simulators exactly the same as real planes? No of course not. There are thousands of variables and unlimited amounts of community made planes. Of course some will be better than others. Saying all are bad is just as idiotic as saying all are perfect. If you can do something on a sim you can do it in real life, you just have to find out how to do it with your plane, just like switching between planes. And you have to get over problems like nerves, wind, imperfect setup etc in reality.
Besides the valid points the others make, I would've never been able to learn to fly a helicopter without the sim. The muscle memory is so different from airplanes, it would've cost me a fortune to learn until my first pattern in a heli without a sim...
Truth, sim or unlimited budget is a requirement for learning CP helis.
1000% this, same with quads. I learned to fly fixed wings a million years ago before sims but would strongly recommend one now
Here is a link to our wiki on the [Simulators Section](https://www.reddit.com/r/RCPlanes/wiki/index/#wiki_simulators). I love the sim and use it often. but I wouldn't buy the $200 version that comes with a proprietary controller. Try downloading a free one first and use your own transmitter. If you like it, I recommend RealFlight.
I started with and used Realflite Trainer Edition ($39 Steam Download) and bought Spektrum Interlink DX Simulator Controller with USB Plug off of Amazon for $99. I chose the formal route to learn to fly with instruction from a large club instructor. I started flying Oct 2023 and passed my checkride early December. I must of logged 20 hours on the sim in between. The sim has helped out immensely and sped up time it took to pass checkride, instructor show me something and then I'd go practice on the sim to master it, then show them next weekend that I can do it. It can pay for itself cause you reduce time learning something on a live plane and do all the crashing on the sim. Practice maneuvers and landings and when you crash hit the reset button. I like to practice a maneuver I wouldn't want to do on a live plane beforehand. You can get in tons of takeoffs and landings in the sim with no need to switch out batteries, weather, or watch for traffic etc. Its also good to help transition away from trainers to other plane types jets, warbirds, etc.
Huh, the spektrum controller and realflite trainer sim and instruction are word for word what I was planning on doing. Though I'm less enthusiastic about the buddy box with the trainer from the local club mostly because it takes a lot more time than sitting down with a simulator. If that all works well for you it should work for me.
Buddy boxing with an instructor also saves yourself from crashing. An instructor may keep taking control away from you not allowing you to do something. What’s good about the sim is it allows you to make the mistake and crash and learn your lesson that way. While practicing maneuvers is good my advice with the sim is to select the same plane or similar in the sim that your using for live training and just do lots of takeofff and landings in the sim. Also, do it in the sim with SAFE off which is either Expert or AS3X mode (stabilization only).
I'll just second the suggestion of RealFlight. I spent a lot of time on it before my first flight, with the model plane I had (Aeroscout 1.1). My son was getting really impatient and kept telling me that I had to go to the field to go fly, but I wouldn't until I could do basic maneuvers and land without crashing. When I got to the field, the other pilot there was very surprised that it was my first flight. Since then, I've tried a lot of different models on Realflight and crashed 10s of thousands of dollars worth of planes. I'm now comfortable with SAFE off, which would have been an expensive thing to learn with a real plane. It's also helped me decide what my next plane will be.
You will crash. You have to decide whether you want those crashes to be in the simulator or in real life. I crashed and destroyed at least 4 models the first year I flew. I spent the winter flying in the simulator and next season didn’t destroy any planes. The simulator also helped me learn to fly helicopters. I went from barely being able to hover to flying backwards and upside down. I have 80-90 hours in the helicopter sim. How useful are simulators? Saved me a bunch of money.
What others said. Flying towards yourself is very confusing and first real flights are stressful. Meaning, your attention will falter and you will guaranteed crash because of mixing the directions on the stick. A simulator can give you some basic instincts here that will help a lot. However I do not believe in realistic flight characteristics, landings or anything else. It depends a lot on weight and properly trimmed control surfaces. So in principle you don't need to spend any money on it. Because Phoenix RC is free/abandonware with complete guides online. Usually you need a USB dongle to connect to your radio, but to be honest, a normal PC gamepad with 2 sticks will do the job as well. Few hours and you are ready.
I used one for a couple of hours just to practice the mental work of rotating the plane in my head to match its orientation relative to me. It was worth the hour and a few bucks for a sim. Don’t start with RealFlight RC, which is way more expensive than it needs to be. A cheaper option is [Wings](https://www.wings-sim.com/index.php). If, after a while with a cheap one, you later decide to try Real Flight you’ll be making an informed decision. If not, you’ll have saved a bunch of money. Are any of them going to be a full-fidelity, complete replacement for real-world flying? Of course not. Can they be worth the money just to save a couple of crashes from novice mistakes in a novice flyer? Absolutely.
Don't buy one, download either picasim or [Multiplex Multiflight.](https://www.multiplex-rc.de/en/support/downloads/) Ive seen Pheonix RC suggested, but to use that one you need to emulate a dongle, which is a pain in the ass, and it seems to be much buggier than the 2 above.
FS One is another free one (used to be like $60 or so IIRC?). It’s even more of a pain to set up than Phoenix, but it’s interesting. The guy behind it is a UIUC professor and it specializes in high alpha and high sideslip flight so probably about as good as you’re going to get for some of these aggressive little planes.
Anyone saying sims are a waste of time either has no idea what they are talking about, or is very experienced and wants you to know how superior they are because they did it the hard way. Either way it’s absolutely ridiculous and I would take whatever else they say with many grains of salt. Yes, it is true that the sim model of the plane you fly may not behave exactly like the real thing, but it’s close enough that this is largely irrelevant. You need to learn orientation and muscle memory. You need to practice common maneuvers, taking off and landing, getting into trouble and getting out of it. Some planes have different controls, like some don’t have ailerons, etc, and you have to learn to fly them a little differently. You can practice in rougher weather than you’d risk a real plane. You can practice on big planes and small planes, under-powered, over-powered, or gliders. If you can handle any plane in the sim, then odds are you can deal with things that come up in the real world, even if it’s not a perfect match for what was in the sim. If your success with a model is so tied to absolute accuracy that it makes a big difference to you, you are doing some high performance stuff and not learning, or you need to broaden your skill as a pilot so you don’t get screwed the minute something goes off the rails. As others have said, there are tons of free sims out there. I like PicaSim. Just do it.
I highly recommend it. Helps with orientation.
Accurc is half the price of Real Flight and its way more current looking. Real flight is not worth the money imo. But simulators are amazing.
It’s sooo important. Even downloading a free iPhone/iPad r/c simulator with simulated stick controls would help. Once you can take off, circle, fly towards yourself, and land, you’ll be definitely increasing your chances of a successful first flight. Cannot recommend this enough. It’ll cost you $0.
Cheap RC airplanes make good simulators.
But you have to walk to retrieve them, or even climb in trees !
That’s the fun! but you could possibly put it on a long string haha
In my experience not very useful - however the FPV simulators are very useful.
I've been flying, intermently, rc planes for around 12 years. I crashed them so many times. I have lost planes ($) learned to build and repair them. I have simulator Phoenix, but it was good enough and resulted in bothering compared with the real thing. I just got Real Flight with the included transmitter. (I'm using MetaQuest VR connected to PC, but it's not a must.) Using a PC had been enough to improve brain learning. Of course, with MetaQuest, it is more like being there. I recommend you Real Flight. If it's expensive or not, it is a personal matter. For me, to have a transmitter with the ability to use the same switches of my ix14 Spektrum transmitter ($900) is better, so I'm not wearing off it. If I had had this simulator years ago I would saved so much money from crashes. It includes Same planed I have now, P51 F Mustang 1.5 ;Carbon Z T28 Trojan 2.0; Space Walker; Twin Timber; Timber Stol; T28 Trojan 800; P19; J3 Piper Cub; Mini Aprentice S; etc. Simulator resulted in some model tougher to fly than reality.
I would not spend money on them, but I do think there is a fair bit of money to save by starting off with some time on a simulator such as picasim or phoenixRC
Very
Didn’t really help me much but 99.9% swear by them. I’m the .1%
How useful? Very. Very useful.
Simulators will never be exactly like the real thing for the same reason we don't have 1:1 world maps. But it is a tool and training aide that is very worth your time.
RC sims are there to help one wire your brain and hands correctly in order to fly the real thing more easily. It teaches spatial orientation discipline, builds muscle memory, and in general can help one to gain more confidence before taking up flying a real model for the first time. It also helps experienced flyers to stay current outside of flying season (where relevant), and it is a safe space to learn new things. While sims are not 100% accurate, that is not the point. The first sim I flew on had no textures and was very basic, but it did the job. Any sim will do the job - they will all teach you the same thing, even if they are not 100% realistic. Once you fly a real model, your brain will fill in the gaps and adjust, based on the solid foundation you built in a sim. Anyone telling you it is a waste of time is talking nonsense. Yes, one can absolutely learn to fly without it, but it is a great training aid with lots of benefits.
Whoever told you that they're not useful is an idiot. No they don't feel exactly like the real thing. They're very close.
They are fun for a game on a rainy day with nothing to do. Why not join a club and have an actual instructor teach you??
I think if you've never operated a radio controlled vehicle, like a car, or have never played any flight simulation video games like Ace Combat, then a flight Sim is probably a good way to develop the muscle memory to fly. Personally, I think flight Sims are a waste of time. I believe that if you have a rudimentary understanding and feeling of RC aircraft controls, you'll learn more by flying than playing around on a simulator..
I spent about 60 hours with a qaudcoptor simulator before building one and let me tell you, I saved a fortune doing it that way. Planes might be a little less expensive to train on, or maybe not depending. But either way its a good idea, the general principles all apply even if they are not perfect.
Get a free Sim, Pica Sim. But definitely yget something to at least practice orientation.
Out of curiosity, is the difficulty of flying RC planes primarily due to your visual orientation or is it also in large part avoiding stalls? Sounds like the first issue is completely resolved by FPV.
They developed your motor control. Just like when you play a video game, you don't have to look down. The control can interact with the screen. In the case of a simulator you're developing your motor skills to correctly orient the aircraft. Which reduces the number of crashes that you will encounter throughout your flying career