I have RFG2 and really want to practice landings and some flight patterns (in other ways, a beginner). The default weather conditions do not appear to be very realistic. Any recommendations on weather settings that will make things a little more realistic for me? Thanks in advance.

on the top left go to Airport, then scroll down to Weather Conditions. there you can set wind speed, gusts, thermal activity, etc. that will make it more realistic. make the wind fast enough and you can fly with zero groundspeed and get really good at correcting for the wind, etc. hth

The weather settings are hyper sensitive, so just enter light settings such as 3-8 mph winds, light to middle settings for gusts, middle settings for themals, etc. Note the wind sock's reactions and orientation to the runway and reset the wind direction to the runway, etc.