I want to get into rc helicopters, but it's kinda hard to part with all that money. One thing I'm wondering, would it be a good idea for me to get a simulator first? I would probably get real flight g2 if anything. I just am wondering, is it worth it to drop an extra $200 just for a simulator? I mean, couldn't I learn to fly with the real thing just fine if I take it slow? And even if I do crash, how many crashes would it take before the total repair costs add up to $200? I don't know anyone around here that has ever flown an rc heli before, so I'd be doing this on my own.

day-fiend,

Having simulator is not worth. It is a must !!

A sim is worth it's weight in gold. The cost of one crash with a heli could pay for a sim. You will learn to fly a lot faster when using a sim, so to answer your question, yes a sim is well worth the money.

without the sim or a clue on the controls you could easily buy a setup for 1k, crash bad, and need a whole new heli.

The crash cost is probab;y based on how well you can control it to the ground.

Then again i'm far from a pro. Just my opinion. G2 is so much fun too.

Fasa

If the sim was 2000$ it would still be the best investment you can make in this hobby.

its fun too, been using mine for 3 years and it still gets used a few times a week.

Yep what they said. I don't recommend anybody get into heli's without a sim......unless they are stubborn and have real deep pockets!

I'm a newb, starting with the G2 simulator, and currently building a Raptor 50 V2. The sim will give you some serious respect for an RC heli! When you see how difficult it is just to hover, you'll want to put many, many hours into the sim before risking your expensive heli hovering for real! I decided that I needed to at least be able to hover, tail-in, on the sim before I shelled out $$$$ to buy my heli and radio gear. My goal, now, is to be able to hover well in just about any other position (nose-in, left/right side, and at angles) in the sim before trying to hover for real with my heli. I figure, even if I'm just trying to do tail-in hover and it swings around, I want to be confident that I can still control it.

The short answer is YES!!!! It will save you money.

I say yes it will help you and for the price you can not go wrong.[8D]

I agree with all other posts, buy the sim first. It will test your skills and see if it is for you, it will definately save you lots of $ whether you crash in the beginning or crash a year later.

In this hobby with RC Heli's a simulator is a must not a question of how much it costs. Without one you will definately take a lot longer learning and possibly crash. Trust all of the posts they are all valid points.

Alright, thanks everyone for the advice. It sounds like it is definately a good investment. I'll probably look for a used copy of Real Flight G2 and save a few bucks.

Sim is an absolute must. I played on Realflight G2 for 2 years before the real thing, and that space bar LITERALLY save me thousands in "beginner" repair costs. When I finally picked up my real heli (Raptor 50v2), i was doing full forward flight (without training gear) by my fourth tank of fuel, on my first day of flying. By the end of that same first day, I was hovering, landing, and lifting off nose in. Within 6 weeks, I was looping, rolling, and cutting tall grass inverted. If that is not a testament to sims, I don't know what is.
You probably won't want to go to this extreme for time spent on the sim, but at least learning how to hover, nose-in hover (big one), basic FF, and landing will TREMENDOUSLY improve your confidence when it comes time to do it for real.

P.S. by your second "real" crash, you could be well above $200 that the sim cost.

I'm looking to take the heli route also and this post definately answers one of my questions. Now how about a small electric heli, how well does that compare to a raptor 50 and how accurate is the sim? When I say compare I mean in terms of controls and not overall flying behavior.I tried a sim recently and always started to drift when trying to hover and it is nearly impossible to get it back to hover. I'm pretty good with figuring things out and is it really this hard at first? I would like to get the sim and an inexpensive electric model to test my dexterity. I had a friend who flew choppers in the military and he said trying to hover is like rubbing your belly, patting your head, and playing the piano with your toes at the same time.

Smartech Aerohawk, about $150 on eBay, seems a good helicopter for beginners. Add an extra battery for $9, and a trainning gear for $7. Make sure get the 72MHz frequency and mode2 transmitter if you live in the US. The tail is steady enough for beginner to handle, but some people have their tail motors spin out of control though. I learned the basic of hovering like some other beginners here did who had never flown rc helicopters previously, went through the 10 flying lessons provided by Radd's School of Rotary Flight.

Interesting analogy, but the problem is that flying RC helis is even harder than the real deal. The reason being that when you are inside a real heli, your body becomes it's own gyroscope, AND your perspective never changes...forward is alway forward, left and right are always the same. With the RC, it's hanging out in front of you, so you are flying by sight alone, and when it turns around (nose-in), everything becomes opposite. Pushing forward on the stick brings it toward you instead of away, and right input will take the heli to your left, etc.
Learning to hover is one of the most difficult things to do, especially nose-in, but it is the fundamental building block for all other things. The real name for a helicopter is a "rotary wing aircraft". And, since the "wings" are in constant motion, the heli wants to be in constant motion, hence this is why it starts to drift when you want to hover...this is a constant. With an airplane, once you have it trimmed, you can point it in a direction, and it will go in that direction until told different, but a heli requires CONSTANT input to fly and especially hold it still in a hover. This is why I tout the sims SO much, because even though it may not react exactly like the real thing, it still teaches the "muscle memory" for what you need to do. The most common newbie mistake for hovering is overcorrecting. If the heli is set up & trimmed properly, you shouldn't need to do more than "touch" the stick to keep it still, but it is constant predictive action that almost becomes a sixth sense, where you will know what the heli is going to do before it happens, and you input the proper reactions almost before it happens. This is like the balance of riding a bike, except it's more like a unicycle on top of a beach ball...once you learn it, you never forget. It just takes a good bit of practice to become proficient enough where you don't even think about picking it up and turning the nose towards yourself, and keeping it rock steady.

I would also recommend a nitro over an elctric, especially for learning. The larger nitros are much more stable, where the little electrics can be blown over with the slightest gust of breeze.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

I got the G2 used it for one-two weeks before heli was done went out sat. And was hovering on the first tank one the third tank or so had a fly away and brought it back to a safe landing with a little puckering if you know what I mean if it where not for the G2 I would be doing a vary large repair right now and not getting ready to go fly. In a word get one if it saves you one crash it has paid for its self.

Question to alll ..... What if u dont have a computer that has the necessary requirements to load that software??? Then what???

Hi, I am a Computer Technician and I suggest you try to meet the minimums at least or don't waste your money on it until you can meet the min. specs as these types of software are demanding especially on the video card. If you don't meet the specs and are lucky enough to get the simulator to work, it may not accurately help you with your training and flight. But if you wish to try the most common things that happen are below. (These are not the only things but the most probable)

Usually one of two things will happen:

1. It will load and work but be really slow and jittery. Could possibly set all settings as low as possible and maybe get it to work.

2. It will not run at all and you will either need to upgrade your computer, purchase a new computer to meet the specs or try to sell the simulator on a forum or ebay because most places will not return opened software.

Hope this helps.

There goes your answer day_fiend if u have the requirements for the game get it if not... then u would have to spend more money on upgrading ur PC... Good luck.

Well I certainly meet the requirements... I recently built a computer from parts with some of the best hardware available. I also purchased a used copy of G2 off the RCU classifieds. It should be here any day now... I can't wait to try it out! Thanks for everyone's input, you guys convinced me that the simulator is well worth the money. I'll post my own opinion about it after I've had it for a while.

Would it be beneficial to purchase the G2 with all the goodies or get the "lite" version?

Get the full version. I dont think you can use on any of the add-on Cds which gives you alot more helis and flying fields at a later date. I also dont think you can change many (if any) of the heli flying characteristics which allows you to try and reconfigure a stock heli to one that starts to feel like your own heli. This gets quite important as when you start using the sim a lot, you want it to try and react as if it was your own up in the sky. It is never perfect but you can certainly get quite close. You also get a lot more helis and planes on the full version.

Have you seen the new Reflex XTR? It's a good sim to, very realistic.