heya,

i'm very interested in getting in the air with a small aircraft. the lhs owner suggested that i get my self a simulator and proper transmitter to learn from that before i get my self a kit, which seems logical. i have a couple of brushless trucks so charging and batteries won't be a problem.

are there any simulators along with a decent transmitter you guys can recommend? the lhs owner said i can connect a transmitter to my laptop and practice with that, said some of the simulators are very realistic, but his prices are always super-size inflated, so i gotta buy from the US. i'll be spending a good few weeks on it before i get my self a kit

in relation to the transmitter, i would prefer buying a good one once, can i use airtronics/sanwa? i have good experience with their surface radios

thanks!

Good sims cost a big bunch. If you live close to any clubs you may be better off going out to one and asking if there is a club instructor. A lot of us have our own trainer and buddy box and teach for no cost. Just bring your own fuel.You can buy a good trainer for the price of a sim. I have a sim and loan it to my new students until after they have soloed. A sim can be a good learning tool but an instructor is way better.

I second that. I have G4.5 by Great Planes and Aerofly Pro deluxe and they are expensive. I bought them for something to play around with during the winter months in between builds. It's best to join a club and ask for lessons. The simulators have come a long ways, but they still aren't the same as the real thing.


Pete

definatly check with the local club before spending any money. Radio espacailly as you want one that is compatable with the guy that will teach you. Sims are ok but no real replacement for actual flying

All the above explained is true.

There are some free simulators that are good for starting creating the proper reflexes and understanding aerodynamics:

http://n.ethz.ch/~mmoeller/fms/index_e.html

http://rcdeskpilot.com/

http://www.realflight.com/free-g5-demo.html

For those, you can use just the keyboard or any transmitter that you choose plus a proper cable interface.

There are some rebates for Airtronics airplane radio systems currently,........and yes, they are good and you can use them:

http://www.hobbypeople.net/index.php...ft-radios.html

I like the Phoenix Simulator the best. You can get it with a DX5e, that is a real transmitter (it's basic, but all a beginner needs for a bit): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...MYDDKYZ57NZY9W

So in this way you're getting an awesome simulator and a transmitter that can be used with the sim and used to fly a plane.

Where as RealFlight has a controller, but it can't double as a transmitter, so you'll still be spending $$$ to get one. I had RealFlight and didn't really like it, I thought the interface was too convoluted, especially next to Phoenix Simulator, which I find to be much more intuitive. RF has the advantage of a zillion user models, which is nice, but Phoenix also has free updates for life, RF you have to pay each time.

A simulator is great, and can be really helpful, especially when working with an instructor. I find them best to learn stick maneuvers and orientations during various maneuvers. i.e. get a feel for the plane flying at you, away from you, doing rolls, 3D moves, etc. You can slow down time, so that you can really hone in your stick movements and gradually get it back to real time, which is really helpful for complicated maneuvers that you just can't do that with a real plane.

However great they are though, nothing though compares to the real thing.

I Have seen a 17 year old, bypass a trainer .  He simed for 1 Mo. than went to a hanger9 Showtime and flew it 50+ flights till it was crashed by me.<div>Another 30 year old did the same with a Hanger 9 P51 </div><div>
</div><div>So It is possible to save the trainer $ for a faster plane. However sometime you will still have to come back to some basic training.</div>

if you can afford it, i would pony up and get Real Flight G5.5. It easily has the most community support in addition to flying sites and models available for free download. Most of the pros from the 3d community (including 3dhobbyshop, extremeflightrc, etc) also use Real Flight.

I would think long and hard about getting Phoenix solely because it comes with a DX5e radio. It's a very basic radio that you'll probably not end up using very often.

You can get it w/o the DX5 and use it with whatever transmitter. In which case its a lot cheaper than RF. My point was that for the same price as RF, you can get a sim that's just as good plus a radio that can be used to fly planes, and the DX5 is a solid beginner radio.

But that's just my 2¢, there isn't a right or wrong answer.

Everyone is saying that RealFlight sim is expensive.  Mine was 200 bucks at my LHS.   In the big scheme of things, that is cheap for this hobby.  Crash a plane that you have 4 or 500 in and see how that feels.

But I do agree that if you get a guy to train you with a buddy chord it is even better. 

From personal experience, Phoenix is a fantastic tool. While they are NEVER exactly like the real thing (spacial understanding is never the same, and the physics of each model differ some form the real life model they are copying, but then no two aircraft ever fly the same), they do come VERY close, and will help with thumb control and basic flight principals & technique.
As for the DX5 - well that will bind to any of the 5 channel or less 'Bind-N-Fly' aircraft from Parkzone or E-flight, so if you have looked at them already, keep it in mind!

As for the ability to teach you, there was a national 3D heli champ here a few years back who spend a few months on a sim and with almost no real world time went out and won the nationals. That speaks for itself I think!!

woooahhh, heaps of feedback, i can really see the community love in this forum haha

i can understand what everyone is saying about, no matter how good a sim is, its not like real practice. its just that there are two issues holding me back from joining a club and buying a trainer. i'm moving countries in 9 months time, so i really need to keep my personal properties to a minimum. also, i live in Auckland - New Zealand, its seriously 4 seasons in a day unless its full swing summer, just when you get to the park, it starts pouring down with rain [:@]. i always hear the guys at the lhs complain about never getting to fly unless its between dec-feb... so for now, a flight sim is probably all the flying i can manage with my situation.

i'm not looking for a sim which comes with a radio, i prefer purchasing a good transmitter that i can continue to use for my model afterwards, so in that sense, its not a worry whether the sim comes with one or not. i will be using the simulator for about a year, as i will be getting back into RC after i settle down after my move.

since the realflight sim has so many features and big support, i think i will go with that. now i need to choose a transmitter, this will require a lot of research i know
but just as a place to start, which 5/6channel radio would you guys recommend? i stayed away from spektrum surface radios, as my neighbour and his son have two dx3s, both have massive range issues and the radio's telemetry reads incorrectly no matter what. i have the airtronics mt4 telemetry which i absolutely love, for that reason i lean towards airtronics.

my transmitter budget is $200 US MAX, i can't exceed that.

so far, i've seen these two:
[link=http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/61_433/products_id/178235/n/Airtronics-SD-5G-5-Channel-24GHz-Radio-System-TX-RX-Only]Airtronics SD-5G 5-Channel 2.4GHz Radio System (TX/RX Only)[/link]
[link=http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/61_433/products_id/185138/n/Airtronics-SD-6G-6-Channel-24GHz-Radio-System-w-RX-600-Receiver]Airtronics SD-6G 6-Channel 2.4GHz Radio System w/RX-600 Receiver[/link]

thanks so much for your help so far everyone, i reallllllly appreciate it!

kiwibob72~ kia ora mate

Those Airtronics are solid radios. One thing with Spektrum, is that all of the BNF/PNP planes from eflite/parkzone, etc are only compatible with Spektrum, which if you have any interest in any of those or the micros, then spektrum might be worth a look. They're solid radios, nothing to worry about.

If it was me, I'd opt for the 6 channel one, or you could always look for a nice used one in the classifieds, could probably get more bang for your buck that way.

Hey there Umar, as an ex 'Jaffa' myself, I can agree with the weather issues you have, though oddly enough, with the sea breezes we get down here in summer (20 knot ones at times) - winter offers the best flying when it's not snowing!
As for Specktrum, my Dx6i has not missed a beat in almost 2 years. I have flown my plane and heli (both nitro) on it with not a single issue other than a rip-off after market receiver c#@**ing out.
Just DON'T run them on a 4.8 volt power supply, keep them on a 5cell Nimh 6volt RX pack at a minimum, and from my experience they are PERFECT! (other than me needing more channels for my heli and mustang)
That said, If I had the chance to buy again, I'd be looking at one of them Futuba 7ch FASST systems on 'Trade Me' for like NZ$380, a bit more than US$200 (well, it is today at least - tomorrow??) but you'll love the extra programming etc you get from it. I think they guy is in Tauranga from memory.
Also, as for support, Phoenix offer all system upgrades and new models FREE, and when it comes to feedback from them via e-mail, they have proven to be quite good so far!

Jafa hahaha (for those outside of NZ, its the abbreviation for, just another f***ing Aucklander)

support is quite important, and considering all the packs for realfight are expansion packs, i think it would total up quite quickly, so i'll take your word for it and get the Phoenix!

that dx6i looks really attractive (i know thats just superficial, but its nice!). the only problem is it's out of my price range, so i'll go with the airtronics radio instead



i'll be going with the 6 channel airtronics. thing is, i don't buy through the classifieds on forums, most members don't wanna deal with the hassel of posting internationally. also, amainhobbies have very good postage costs, they probably receive a discount and pass it onto their customers.

with everything included in my amainhobbies cart incl. the phoenix simulator, airtronics SD-6G 6-Channel and adaptor shipping, i can see a total of $350. like people said here, its pricier than buying a trainer plane, but since i come from a bashing-style monster truck background in surface rc, i'm sure i would have gone through the same amount of costs in repairs for a trainer plane [X(]

Your right re the saving the sim will offer, I have crashed hundreds of VERY expensive heli's and aircraft within my sim, and it has not cost me another cent!

IMO - the thing to take into account and remember with a sim is that it is designed as a LEARNING TOOL - and not a game (it's easy to make that mistake and just bash) .... try not to get caught up doing anything fancy, just take the basic trainer, practice take-off's, landings and basic circuits, figure 8's etc till you can do them in your sleep. There are some training programs within that should help (least there are for heli's)
Then start messing around with adding wind, it'll start shaking up things and adding that real world feeling before you try to teach yourself how to deal with tip stalls etc. only when your happy should you look to learn the same with the more high performance aircraft.
Overall, understand what you want/need to learn from the sim, get your thumb memory trained, and you'll be fine with that first trainer - or whatever you decide to get.

My sim has saved me from many crashes, and has been one of the best investments I ever made within this hobby, enjoy and welcome to the addiction (I sold all my cars yachts etc once I got the hang of my first heli)

If getting a instructor is not easy for you to do, than a sim is the way to go. I taught my 7yr old on
RF5 and he can fly and somewhat land my slowstik. What i think this can help with is mastering
the old left/right going away, coming at you turning thing, help making it become reflex instead of thinking about
it. Though the sim will never replace the shakey hands,fast heartbeat and tingle in the nads on the first few flights,
it will help master some basic skills in how a rc aircraft react to inputs from the pilot. Nothing can replace a real instructor
but the sim will help get you there to, just dont get caught up in wanting fly a p-51 as you first plane...slow and low wing
loading is your friend.

I think the 5 ch Airtronics is about 50 bucks cheaper than the 6.  It will probably be a loooong time before you need that extra channel.    I am talking years.