I also fly helicopters; my left hand is definitely aware of what yaw control does.
Budgetdude, I have the little one (27%) with an OS 1.60. I have neither the budget nor the storage/transportation capability for one of the big monsters. I intend to get a 30% model when I retire and buy myself a larger POV. But for now, I'm limited to the quarter-scalers. As it is, I'm concerned about how this 27% Extra will fit in my S-10, under a bed cap. It will be "just barely", if it does...
Regarding a sim, I have given that some thought and decided against it. I have some prior sim experience on an older one (NHP) that didn't even come close to the realism of what's available today. But while the graphics are much better, the concept is still the same. I found earlier that a sim was most useful for "ground work"; that is, when the horizon was visible and providing neural feedback, as in hovering. Once you got "upstairs" and lost the horizon line, you also lost a good deal of your mental reference that resulted in a dilution of the visual.
I hope that didn't come out too convoluted. Basically, I think that while the sim would be beneficial in learning the stick movements, the money spent on one would be better spent on fuel. I believe my computer has the horsepower to run a modern sim (RealFright probably excepted), and I may yet get one. But I don't have plans for that right now.
Step One is to get the model flying and trimmed out. I have been offered some pointers/tips by an accomplished IMAC pilot, but I'm not even going to call him until I get the plane trimmed properly; and that will take some time, according to the information I've amassed. My main flying buddy is in with me on this gig, so we can feed off each other...
