Beefjack105

I Wanted to raise the question if the flight or air traffic simulators help improve aviation knowledge and could it benefit you in becoming a pilot?

for example, there's this game I've discovered called tower! 3d pro, its basically air traffic control simulator. let me know your thoughts:

rgburrill

Seriously? There is a game that allows you to cause mid-air crashes?

DGrant

My Feedback: (4)

The only thing that really makes someone a better RC pilot is practice, with a real life RC plane. An RC flight sim program will help to develop some skills... as they're decently designed to help develop muscle memory, and directional skills to some degree... but the only thing that gives a pilot real world experience is..(drum roll please... FLYING A PLANE.

One can know nearly every aspect of aerodynamics, and that's a great start, but there's again only one thing that will teach a pilot how far, and which way to move those sticks on that transmitter... and to operate them all at one time to guide the plane correctly.

I would say enjoy your game, but don't expect it to correlate into teaching you to fly an RC plane. Interestingly though, in my experience of teaching kids and younger people, those that are good at video games in general do seem to pick up a bit quicker... but I would also surmise they have alot of experience just generally manipulating all sorts of controls... I've also found I've always been pretty good at catching onto video games, and I attribute some of that to flying RC for over 40yrs...

So there is a slight relevance to it, but not enough to say anything other then hands-on flying will get a person to the solo stage. It's akin to playing a musical instrument really.. your fingers have to be trained to go where your brain tells them too.. but before that, your brain needs to learn. Just because you might know what C, D, G chords are on a guitar doesn't mean your fingers can change them up rapidly enough to play the music.... same for RC.. brain and fingers have to learn. You might get good at that game, but that won't help alot for flying a plane. Sorry.

init4fun

You don't specify if your talking RC model airplane pilot or full scale manned flight pilot , but either way I'll go out on a limb and say yes , the right flight simulator will offer you a chance to become familiar with the controls and develop the automatic reactions needed without risking actual aircraft (be they model or full scale) . The above two respondents do have a point that the final learning to become a fully proficient pilot will naturally have to involve piloting real life aircraft , but for just getting the basics down of which stick does what , and how much stick movement is too much , the well designed simulator* is such a valuable learning tool that the airlines have spent literally millions (if not Billions) developing simulators that completely mimic the flight deck experience of piloting an actual real life aircraft .

* I have no idea whether "tower! 3d pro" is a well designed real learning tool or just another useless video game , but with that "3d pro" attached to it I'm getting the impression of it being more toy than tool .....

Mark Powell

I dunno about air traffic control but a flight simulator (even a model one) certainly can help you learn to fly. At the very least it can show you what the basic controls are for.

And flying R/C models is a big help too. Full size planes are MUCH easier to fly than models. You don't get such things as 'apparent aileron reversal' when it's coming towards you as being in it facing the front 'coming towards you' never happens, it doesn't get too small to see which way it's going, and it doesn't get the wrong way up without you noticing.