I havent tried a sim yet, this is my first heli and I figured I would give it a shot first and see what happens. Well the words of an old friend of mine came back"Flying an rc heli is like keeping a marble centered on a pane of glass". Im using the stock battery, but I did put a pair of trainer blades on and they seem to quiet it down a little. I have seen other threads where people have moved thier servo rods in on the arms to limit pitch travel, we will see how that goes. Yea I agree with you Shadow99 on the REAL experience, but man that shipping is starting to add up. My last order I just bought a couple of everything I think I might break, just to be sure!!