I'm looking to take the heli route also and this post definately answers one of my questions. Now how about a small electric heli, how well does that compare to a raptor 50 and how accurate is the sim? When I say compare I mean in terms of controls and not overall flying behavior.I tried a sim recently and always started to drift when trying to hover and it is nearly impossible to get it back to hover. I'm pretty good with figuring things out and is it really this hard at first? I would like to get the sim and an inexpensive electric model to test my dexterity. I had a friend who flew choppers in the military and he said trying to hover is like rubbing your belly, patting your head, and playing the piano with your toes at the same time.