I have been practicing on my new flight sim for the past few weeks and am wondering just how helpful they really are. Those that started out usng a flight sim did you notice that your actual plane flew close to how it did while using the sim? What about flying towards you and ladning did the sim make that much difference in learning these skills? I have become quite good on the sim and can take off fly and land whilst heading towards myself without any problems . Does this mean I will be able to do the same with the real thing or is it completely different once you get a real plane in the air?

Regards,

Troy.

Actually I can see my question answered on another post.

there is a similarty with the sim controls and the plane control,and the sim is a big help especially if there is no wind when flying the plane,most of my students using the sim catch on and become r/c pilots faster than students without the sim,but both need an instructor to keep the earth gods away till the thumbs are trained.I'm sure that some will disagree but this has been my experience with students and myself on the sim.

I wrote a couple of articles on R/C flight simulators and posted them on my web page. Simulators can be a lot of help but there can also be serious drawbacks to using simulators. Read the articles and you will see what I mean.

I put in about 20 hours on FMS and my first day flying I did let my friend take off and then he turned the box over to me. I flew about 2 tanks of fuel and then did 3 take offs and landings by myself. Now this is just me and I've flown full scale airplanes, which I feel is very little help when flying RC, but I did it. Since then I've used a buddy box just for safety (didn't have the buddy box the first time out) and will continue to use it for a while. While I can fly by myself, that doesn't mean I should. I just don't want to risk my equipment and the safety of myself and others just for ego's sake. So the gist of all this is that, in my opinion, the simulator is a tremendous help. I just think it gives you a big advantage over someone who doesn't use one.
Hope this helps and good luck!
Danny Mullins

The sim helped me allot, but what I didn't anticipate is the anxiety from the other people flying, spectators, etc... I didn't think this would bother me, but the thought of accidentally flying over spectators, or a mid air makes me very conservative. I had never been around these planes before, they're loud and prop spins fast, kind of intimidating to me...

I'm still flying on leash, and plan to solo after one or two more lessons. I personally think I could have likely made it through a first flight due to simulator time, but I have learned a lot from my instructor; setting up plane, equipment check out, just a lot of little stuff that adds up. Ground handling, take off, and landing, were the things I thought most different. Also, I can't trim my plane as well as my instructor can.

Have fun!