Mode One

I don't think Vhayne is wanting to be "Unsafe" with his flying. I see that he lacks understanding of the process of flying safely, a position every beginner is in. It's my opinion that the simulator is one of the greatest teaching tools ever brought to this hobby and they help immensely with the learning process and shorten the beginners time between first flight and solo. They also help good and great R/Cers because they allow them to try difficult maneuvers without fear of loss of your ac. I'm all for simulators! I wish I had one, so I could get stick time during our long Winters up here in Northern Minnesota.

Lightfoot

My Feedback: (1)

There is the magic phrase, "teaching tools". I wrote a couple of articles about the value of R/C simulators for an online magazine a few years ago. The magazine is now defunct but the articles are on my web page under the Beginner's Information section. The whole point of the articles boils down to simulators being valuable teaching tools but are no subsitute for stick time with an instructor.

mwarren400

There's a big difference between actual flying and simulator flying when it comes to maneuvers that require amounts of testicular fortitude. There are some amazing things I've done on a sim...that I doubt if I'll ever attempt with a plane that costs more than a couple hundred bucks.

Hovering down on the deck and flying towards or over myself or the pits in the sim ...is a bad habit. Elevators dropping straight down towards me...same thing. We all like to try wild takeoffs and super low flight, and tricks beyond our ability. As long as you dont start practicing them at the field with the same disreagard for the plane or yourself or other pilots safety. Point is ...if you crash and hit reset ...but havent learned anything from why you crashed ...you havent gained any experience. My real life crashes have taught me about a lot about how to avoid future crashes.

ibflying

Sorry I'm behind a little I know..I just wanted to point out that these are just the few of the many points that have to be unlearned from a sim. I know, I do them too! I'm a new-bee. I have never flown before; this spring will be my first time out. The Sim has taught me how to take a plane off the ground and how to land it. It gives me an overview of flying, so when I do approach an instructor I can speak intelligently and have an idea of what he is talking about. Sims are a great introduction to flying, they give you, the future pilot, an opportunity to see what its like to fly a model plane. There are a few basic disciplines that are learned from a Sim, how to take off, land, fly (maybe not the ‘right way’) around the pattern and of course have fun. Over all I think Sims are a great STEPPING STONE to flying.

Vhayne

Well guys, I was finally able to meet my future instructor yesterday at the field after work. He seemed happy and willing to teach me everything there is to know about getting started and learning how to fly properly. I asked him how he feels about the simulators......

He told me to get it. That he recommends for me to. He said, basically the same thing alot of you guys have said, that those with sim experience before-hand learn ALOT quicker than those without. Sure you might pickup some bad-habits, but the amount of good that you learn totally outweighs that. And we'd work on any bad habits that develop. I'm sure some of you will disagree, but I'm just doing what my instructor is telling me to do. It just so happens, it's what I wanted to do in the first place. lol Of course, if he didn't want me to use a sim, then I'd have to reconsider, because I want to be a good student, not a defiant one.

My main purpose in this thread was to get an idea of some of the biggest bad habits that can be formed by using a sim before you fly. By reading this thread, before I've actually used a sim, it will help me to watch out for those habits that might form, and hopefully to catch and correct myself properly. So I feel this thread was a good success, and I again, thank you all for contributing.



Just another thing....no matter how much sim time I have before, I will not fly for real until my instructor has me on a buddy box, and sets me loose.

britbrat

Smart lad -- good survival instincts

saramos

Vhayne,
The way you approached this question, and with you following the advice of your instructor, show that you have good analytical skills that will be of value to you as you learn and explore this hobby.
Have great fun!!

Scott

Dauntae

Vhayne
I've had a few students who love to yank and bank as you put it and I tell them it's not good to learn flying like that But I always explain why I feel this way, I have the students do large level circles then the other direction then move to figure eights because it is actually harder to do than sharp turns, It requires much more precise movements with the sticks to keep the plane turning slowly and smoothly,(trains there thumbs) I do let them do what I call free fly time to try a few things so not to let them get bored and teach them to do a loop because I explain when to throttle back, it gives them a good example of when throttle control comes into play and I have them do the loop there way then I have them do it my way and my way it looks so much more graceful to them than screaming out of it at full throttle. So if you master those fine movements it will start to become second nature, you will notice even when your just goofing around having fun trying new stuff you will be keeping the plane under much better control with little tweaks on the sticks before you need a major correction. And I am a big supporter of the sims also, I am one of the oddballs that never had a trainer, Just a sim but keep in mind there is a difference between the sim and the real plane, The sim is best for orientation and trying a new stunt that you have no idea how to do. So if your teacher has you doing these things that seem boring just be patient, He is just trying to teach you how to make minor corrections that later on may save you from needing to make a major correction that makes everyone else scatter for cover.... I've seen that happen a few times.

OH and welcome to the hobby
Dauntae

TexasAirBoss

My Feedback: (22)

I'm rather shocked by all the negative comments about sims.
Personally, I think flying is intuitive and relatively easy to do. But because we aren't in the plane, orientation is constantly changing. Thats the big challenge to flying these things. Practice is the only way to overcome this issue. The more practice, the better. Sims help tremendously with orientation.
You have to walk before you can run. You can clean up your act easily enough later. ( As long as you don't have an adverse reaction to criticism and you don't have an idiot for an instructor. )

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

It seems people are confusing comments suggesting that a person should get some instruction BEFORE using the sim with criticism of the sim. I don't think anyone has criticized use of a sim, some of us are just suggesting that it's better to learn "good" habits and then reinforce them than developing "bad" habits and then trying to unlearn them.
For some people it may be easy to change. For others, it's not so easy. It still seems easier to get some instruction early so it's necessary to have to "clean up your act".