Hi,
I'm interested in getting started in RC airplanes and helicopters. Before I go and buy my first plane, Iwanted to get a little practice in on a simulator. Ihave read about free simulators online, such as FMS, but I will need to get a simulator radio/controller. Does anyone have any recommendations for a simulator controller to use with these sorts of rc flight simulators? Thanks in advance.

You can spend a lot of time trying one thing after another. I would just recommended getting Real Flight Basic for $99 and be done. A good sim is something you can use for a long time after getting in the air with a rc plane. After getting past your initial training, you can use the flight sim to try new moves rather risk your model. And on rainy or windy days, if will give you some stick time.

Worst case scenario, you can recoup some of your money buy selling later. Just my 2 cents. Scoot

Hi spidarx,

I wouldn't try talking you out of the Real Flight Basic package that scooterinvegas mentioned, it's a good value at $99.99. There is also a $69 version of Easy Fly 3 that offers a lot of value:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXXSG5&P=ML

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXXUS8&P=SM

I'm a big fan of the ESky EK2-095A USB simulator controller:

http://www.hobbypartz.com/e4chflsitrki.html

http://www.raidentech.com/e4chflsitrki.html

It comes with the FMS simulator on CD-ROM. I've also used it with the ClearView flight simulator, which you can download at:

http://www.rcflightsim.com

ClearView can be flown in demo mode for 15 minutes, and is only $39.95 to register online for an instant upgrade to the full version.

FMS is good for basic stick orientation. ClearView has vastly superior physics and graphics and is a bargain at $40. The flight modeling and physics are, in some significant ways, better than much more expensive simulator programs.

Tower Hobbies also carries a pretty cool "special edition" of the Easy Fly 3 flight simulator. It has several flyable models and fields, and comes with a Logitech USB game controller that simulates the dual stick control of an RC radio:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXXUS9&P=ML

This is a nice package and a good value at $17.99.

Any of these are good options that can get you flying on your PC for $99 or less.

Good luck and good shopping!

Thank you for both of your informative replys. They were a huge help.