How reliable is a simulator? I have been using an older Real Flight Deluxe and I feel that I have progressed fairly well including real smooth landings. I actually can fly the P-51 easier than anything else. Why? The only thing I do not like is not being able to see the runway until the plane is either on final approach which sometimes is way off. I am still going to fly with an instructor buddy of mine. Just curious what coments I may receive...


Thanks,

Perry

P.S. The plane that I am building is a SIG Kadet Senior ARF with a big Saito...

The guys have tought who have had prior simulator experience are usually way ahead of those who have not.

If you are using anything other than FMS, then simulators are a big help, especially for the beginer. No simulator is 100% accurate and there is no way you can say than you know how to land if you can land on the simulator. But it can teach you many things so than when you fly, you learn quicker than if you didn't use one. In my opinion, the most important thing a simulator can teach a beginer is which way to move the stick to make the plane go where he wants it. Opposite movements when the plane moves towards you is something that takes some getting used to, and a simulator can save you time.

Just don't get a false sense of over-confidence

I agree with SERAFIM.
Sims are helpful but not all that realistic IMO. If you have one then use it but if not then I would rather spend the money on fuel.

A sim is a big help in learning to fly initially... getting the control perspective, learning to bank, turn, do loops & rolls, fly inverted, land, etc. If you have lots of sim time, you should excel very fast. If you can fly in the sim very well... I wouldn't be surprised if you solo after only 3 flights or so, like I did. I had over 100 flights on a heli and sim experience when I started with planes, but I think the sim experience is what helped the most.

I soloed from ONLY using a simulator.

Congratulations! Unfortunately you are by far in the minority.

My son used a sim and soloed after about 10 flights. I was impressed how fast he picked it up. I attribute his use of a sim and the hand and eye coordination of a teenager to his success

By all means use a sim but when it comes time to actually fly RC please join the AMA, find a club and join, and get an instructor.

It will make your RC experience MUCH more pleasurable.

I appreciate the input from everyone! I do realize the fine line of being cocky versus being realistic in comparison of a sim and realflight, and I do have to remind myself from time to time...

Thanks,

Perry

IF your version of flight sim is similiar to the newer versions, you can pick a plane and then ago to the upper left hand corner, click on "view" and where it says "look at ground at all times" or something simliar to this click for this setting. Then you will always be able to see the runway. The one in my LHS won't keep the setting and it has to be reset everytime you pick a new plane. This should help a bit! [8D]

I have the old RealFlight Deluxe as well and I can also fly the Mustang easier than almost every other plane. I think the physics are quite accurate on this sim with one major exception. It doesn't simulate stalls very well at all. You wouldn't want to be landing the real thing as slow as the sim allows you to land the Mustang without incident.
The people above who soloed on 1st, 3rd, or 10th flight are not typical of most beginners. Most beginners without a simulator would take an entire season of flying. These guys did it in their first or second time out to the field and that's pretty impressive. My son is 5 and will learn on this sim before I hand over the controls to one of my planes. I think Realflight Deluxe may be the best investment I've ever made in flying.

I flew on the sim for 30 hours before I even put my plane together and then soloed on my second flight. Not everyone will do that, but of the 10 or so new folks at our club, the ones with sim-time are doing noticeably better than those who come out on weekends. Plus the sim lets you fly on rainy days, and Ill never own all those planes, but I get to fly yhem. The sim is a good thing, dont let anyone tell ya otherwise.

Age wise I have found that 8 years old is a good age to start, young enough to not be too nervous to try flying and old enough to understand the connection between the sticks and the plane. Younger than that and the new flyer doesn't seem to take things seriously, not good. Most new flyers at our club take most of the flying season from June to August to be ready to take their solo test. Having a good reliable engine and a 40 size trainer such as an LT40 really helps. Most that have bought the 60 size trainers such as a PT 60 seem to take longer to get the landings down right due to the faster landing speed. Its not that much faster but if you don't know how to land slow, then a faster landing plane just makes things more frustrating. Even planes that fly a bit faster such as a Goldberg Eagle 2 can add a few extra weekends of training time needed. [8D]

I think they can help alot. (short and simple)

It took me 20 to 25 flights to solo, and my instructor said I had done well, learned quickly. But I didn't have a sim then. I too have the older Real Flight Deluxe, and as Darren said, it does NOT simulate stalls well. I can fly any of the planes much more slowly than is possible in real life. (I've flown a number of the real ones, so....)

I'm a club instructor now and will say that the new guys that have had a lot of sim time solo much more quickly than those who don't.

I will also say that the sim is a great way to practice new manuevers, like inverted flight, knife edge, cuban eights, etc. before trying them with plane that might be re-kitted.
Dennis-

From post#2 “The guys who have had prior simulator experience are usually way ahead of those who have not.�

From post #5 “I wouldn't be surprised if you solo after only 3 flights or so, like I did.�

From post #6 “I soloed from ONLY using a simulator.�

From post#7 “My son used a sim and soloed after about 10 flights.�

From post#12 “Most new flyers at our club take most of the flying season from June to August to be ready to take their solo test.�

From post#14 “It took me 20 to 25 flights to solo, and my instructor said I had done well, learned quickly. But I didn't have a sim then.�

Personally, I soloed after many hours on a sim and 2 control box hand-off flights.

I think you can put all these comments together and decide, but IMHO, computer sims make the learning process much more affordable (both in time and dollars).

R/C flying was always something I wanted to do, but never could figure how I was going to learn without cracking up my investment. A RTF model, that came with a sim, albeit a basic one, (NexStar) hooked me in.

I learned without one and it took about 5 months, 3 months into being solo and haveing not flown for about a month i could see the effects of time not spent on da sticks. on my way home i purchased a sim. i could not beleave the difference it made one week later when i went flying again i was so much better. doing tricks i had never been able to do and haveing the time of my life. three words-use a sim.