Because of all the rain I have not been flying much this year. I am thinking about buying a Simulator but know nothing about them. Would it help a rookie pilot keep sharp?. Any suggestions I would really appreciate it.

Do a search or even a bit of casual reading on this forum, there are lots of stories of guys who learned to fly very quickly with the help of a sim. I've yet to hear anything about it hurting, or any way in which it could hurt.

i didn't use a sim untill i ruined my avistar, after that i was kinda iffy in the air, so i got the FMS sim, it help me out alot, it also helped releive some of my nerves since the avi episode. i think the sims help out a lot, play it when you can't outside

The only problem I have noticed is the simulators instill over confidence. We need one with a good "bouncy, irregular grass runway" setting, a "$200 has been deducted from your checking account balance" after crunches and a random engine konk-out feature.

They do a great job of teaching the differences between heading-at-you and heading-away-from-you control response to new pilots.

I'd say they help.

i think that would be cool, make it like a game

Yes, they help.

And those are some great suggestions Charlie!
(In fact, the original Dave Brown sim, used to flash up a screen after a crash estimating the cost of repairs. I don't know why they did away with that.)

As a beginner, I found FMS very helpful especially regarding orientation when the plane is moving toward you. The lack of wind settings in FMS led me to purchase AeroFly Pro. The terrain can be made as rough as you want off the runway, and winds can bet set in any strength from any direction and even made to be gusty. Additionally, the winds interact with geographic features and objects in the sim to produce turbulence or updrafts.

Now I can practice landings in a 60 degree crosswind gusting at 15 to 20 mph. It has definitely made me more confident and a better pilot as well. Less than the price of one plane.

Hi guy's, I am new. anyway, before i start flying (kedet LT-25) at the local feld, I want to get a sim. what would be the best sim for around 200$ ? (canadian money)

Plain and simple, they help a lot. I like the G2 sim the best. Haven't played them all though. I talked to an old friend last night that has been flying for a long time. He is going to buy one too. They are not only good for you, they are fun.

the G2 is the only way to go...i work out on mine all the time...i crashed 3 planes before i got the sim...cents then i have not crashed one...

it's not a good idea,but if you are teaching yourself to fly...get the sim and a cheep park flyer...use the sim to get used to how the plane flys...then take the p flyer to your high school and practice.

if you crash the p flyer...it can be fixed very easy...

john

I bought the Real Flight Sim, several months before buying my first plane. It is good but not 100%, but my newbie advice to other newbies, don't fly without a sim and a instructor. The sim is great at giving you a feel at the controls and turning, but when you go to the field for the first time it is different that flying the sim.

Hope this helps

Rodney

Although there is no substitute for the real thing, I made a dramatic improvement in my flying after using RealFlight. It took the fear of falling out of the sky from me. I was able to try tricks and spins and slam the sticks in the corners to see what would happen, obviously without the risk. I was afraid to try that for real since I didn't know what would happen and I had no idea how much time I'd have to save it.

When I got to the field, I was more confident that if I tried a flat spin, and let off the sticks, I'd have plenty of time to save it (assuming I tried it 3 mistakes high).

It was truly a night and day difference for me. I went from flying in circles with a 3D plane to actually trying things it was made for.

PS,

After you use the Sim and are tired of it, put it up for sale here and recoup some of your money.

at the sepulveda basin, a kid i talked to had spend the past couple months on the simulator, but had never flown a plane in real life. he got up there on a buddy box, and the instructor never took over. the kid did all the takeoffs and landings. i hope this answers your question

I highly recommend the Real Flight G2 simulator. You can setup various weather conditions (wind, for out here in Colorado!) You can have it randomly throw various failures at you like; Rich Fuel, Radio Interference, Failed Servos etc...

It's not "just like" the real thing but I've found it pretty darn close.

I found mine at a somewhat local hobby store for $189

Theres a thread in here somewhere thats called Simulator which turned out to be a lng diskussion about what Sim to buy. Lots of people go for the G2 but personally I prefer a new Product called RC-Planemaster. check a Demo Download @ www.realitycraft.com

Good thing about it ist the pretty realistic characteristics of the planes. I started with that one and I had about the same experience as the kid mentioned above. My instructor only took over once when big gust flipped my trainer right over.

Rev

oh yeah, and Its @ round $50 if you buy it online... might be worth a thought

I wasn't sure about realflight, but I recently decided that when finances allow, I want to try helis. Well, after some minor initial setup issues, I am very happy with it. Just from my experience so far, if you go with G2, spend some time setting up the viewport so that the flight looks realistic, but the plane doesn't go out of sight directly after takeoff. Those extra binocular viewports and such are handy for trying new thing, but I try to do without, since I don't have binoculovision in real life. Sorry if the preceding was worded confusingly.

the only drawback that sims have is that your view is only about 12-14 inches as opposed to about 150 degrees, so you have this kind of tunnel vision. don't worry about lining the thing up on the runway. the only way to get out of that is to zoom out all the way and increase the visual scale of the plane. but then you have distortion twards the middle of the screen.

Last weekend we had someone who actually was hindered by a simulator.

They configured the radio with most of the controls backwards and learnd to fly that way. They came to the field with the plane set up backwards also.

I could understand the elevator being backwards. A noobie might think stick up is "up". But they had the ailerons backwards also.

They did not do well in flight, but no problems. We sent them back home to learn the simulator the right way.

obviously he hadn't talked to anyone or asked for help. it also kinda takes a lack of common sense to make that mistake and learn that way. amazing...

This first time I flew a simple trainer with a friend of mine, using the buddy box of course, I had great difficulty in orienting the plane when it was coming at me as opposed to flying away from me. He suggested the AeroFly Pro simulator which I promptly purhcased and started using. The 2nd time I flew, after about 10-15 sessions on the trainer, and I was flying it without any trouble at all. I feel it helped me greatly.