hou_ge2000

Hi guys, I'm a complete newbie at RC helicopters. I've seen people fly them but I've never touched one myself. I plan to jump into this hobby.

I just ordered a Realflight G2 Flight Simulator. It's on its way now. Meanwhile, I have a couple of question.

Does the simulator teach you the basics of the controls and the radios? such as trimmings and setups.

Is the simulator a VERY close approximation of the real thing? By this I mean if I totally master the beast on the simulator I can immediately buy a RC heli and go out and fly with no problem.

Overall, what do you guys think of Realflight G2?
Thanks.

Spaceman Spiff

My Feedback: (1)

The sim is very close to the real thing except fear factor. Having spining blades and a paycheck in the air, can make a terrible pilot out of you in a hurry. Practice a lot on the sim, but assume nothing, use the trianing gear and keep it real low the first few flights even if you are tearing it up on the sim. Also be sure to get experienced help. Helis are great once you get going but getting started is a chalange.

slovac

Listen to Spaceman ... get help from an experienced pilot before you buy the heli.
The simulator is a great help, but it's not quite the same as the real thing.

taildraggerdave

My Feedback: (1)

I did just what you are talking about. Tore up G2 for quite a while--nose in hover, inverted hover. etc.
Went and got a Raptor 30 V2 ARF and the fear factor is huge. I hovered it with training gear on my first flight after a good heli pilot checked my setup and did the trim flight. There is no doubt that the sim is responsible for that. In real life, I can barely hover nose in (at least keeping it in a semi small area) and I don't even have flight modes programed yet. I've had 3 excursions into forward flight and all have been scary. The heli got too far, too quick, and (apparently) my perception sucks and I can't tell what attitude it's in. Needed verbal coaching all 3 times to get it back.
I'm sticking to hover only until I'm 98% comfortable with nose in, tail in, and both sides.
Best of luck to you and really practice on the sim and burn as much fuel as you can when you get the real heli. Hope this helps.

knpjdad

My Feedback: (2)

I'm the same way, I can tear up up the sim!! (3D All day!) 1" AGL inverted hover no problem!! But put me on my real one, and I'm still hovering and getting the feel for side hovers! Burnt just about 1 1/2 Gallons of fuel now! Oh well, I'm having a great time just doing that!!

Good luck!
RC

Spaceman Spiff

My Feedback: (1)

For me, there is a delay of about 2 to 3 months between mastering something on the simulator and mastering somthing on the heli. Your milage may vary.

hou_ge2000

Hmmm...all these response are making me wonder what's the point of getting a simulator...

Someone tell me I did not just waste $200.

taildraggerdave

My Feedback: (1)

No you did not. How do you figure you wasted money? Go try and hover your heli inverted without first practicing on the sim.......you have unlimited crashes available on the sim.

Spaceman Spiff

My Feedback: (1)

You absoulutely did NOT waste your money!

In 6 months i have learned to do loops, rolls, hover nose in, upside down, traveling flips, inverted popping piros, and i even mowed the grass last week. i probably would not have attempted much of anything had i not already mastered it on the sim. I am working on backwards flight now, its a pain to learn because everything is backwards, i have crashed the sim at least 200 times. It is safe to say i would NEVER try to learn that on a real heli.

I have friends who insist on learning the old fasioned way, they hover.



Even if that sim had cost me 5000$, i would consider it the best money i ever spent on this hobby.

DustOffUH1

My Feedback: (2)

Believe me. I would have spent probably over $500 in crash kits if it wasn't for G2, just learning to hover. Learning to fly a helicopter is NOT an easy thing, for most of us. As stated you did not waste your $ on a sim. They're just getting you ready for the initial OMG feeling. Plus when you haven't flown your real rc heli for a while, the sim is a GREAT warm up
Joe

hou_ge2000

Thanks. It's good to know I made the right investment.

BuzzBomber

My Feedback: (4)

I really can't afford to spend monye on a heli right now, but I want to try it eventually, so I took everyone's advice a few months ago and bought realflight. The way I see it, if each simulator crash equated to one 'live' crash, complete with crash kit @~$60, I'd be out about $1000 by now in parts, etc. Granted, a lot of those were doing stupid stuff I would never try at my skill level in real life. I do know a few guys who learned without a sim, and they have all spent more on replacement parts than on the inital purchase, not to mention the frustration factor. You definitely did the right thing.

rozzibandit

My Feedback: (1)

Take it from me i bought and flew heli before i ever touched a sim and crashed and burned every time!!! I got G2 lite flew for a week on it , went out flew my heli again and had no trouble hovering. Now 3 months later with the help of an experienced pilot and DEFINATELY THE SIMULATOR i am hovering all angles no probs looping and rolling. When a month and half ago i was so discouraged that was about to run it over lol THANK GOD I DIDNT cause it is awesome when you get going . New love in my life tell ya that much. Stick with it once you get the basic hang of it it's all down hill from there pe@ce But make sure you get experienced heli pilot to set up your real heli

hou_ge2000

I tried out my G2 for the first time today! The sound and the graphics are amazing! I think the Sun Dog is the best heli.

It's weird because I could almost do inverted flight, loops..ect, even a couple of successful autorotations, but I CAN"T HOVER! It's so hard to keep the heli at one place. It always have a tendency to drift sideways, how can I correct this? I think my control might be a little sensitive, is there anyway to make it have lower sensitivity?
Thanks

taildraggerdave

My Feedback: (1)

It is that sensitive because a real heli is sensitive. Keep practicing and you will get it. Eventually, You'll be able to set motionless. Treat it like practice and not a video game. I assure you, when your $$$ is out on the pad, you'll thank yourself for the practice. I can hover inverted, flips, rolls, etc on the sim and I'm just getting comfortable with nose in and some forward flight on the real thing. That's all so far. I've been flying a Raptor 30 V2 for about a month now............

hou_ge2000

What about trims? Does that do anything?

I have no problem keeping the heli upright, but it always drift to one side. In fact, I have to lean the heli toward the opposite side in order to stay at one position. The winds are all 0 velocity...

taildraggerdave

My Feedback: (1)

The heli should have a slight right tilt to it. It normally wants to drift to the left because of the main rotor. Move the trims if you want. They work the same as they do on an airplane. Aileron, elevator, rudder, and throttle.
I originally had a bunch of right aileron trim to keep it in one spot and there was a post about everyone else having their trims centered and things being ok. I went back and recentered my aileron trim and have been flying that way ever since.
My real raptor 30 has a slight tilt to the right and it will hover hands off.........

hou_ge2000

YES! Today I had my first major breakthrough![8D]

I finally got a little control on the beast! For the first time I can hover the thing for more than 20 seconds. Now I got more confidence.

It seems the heli always tend to drift to the left (viewed from the back) and slightly toward the back, why?

HenRam

In order for the simulator to work properly... It has to be setup properly... Try to get the settings as close to the actual heli you'll be flying... For instance, if you're using the SunDog, it's setup with -10 at the bottom 0 in the middle and 10 at the top... Most beginners would be running -2 +5 +10 instead... If this is the case setup the heli this way....

Also, take the simulator seriously... Fly it like you're flying a real model... I know you can simply hit the space bar and continue with a new heli, but if you treat it like if you'd crash, you'd lose $1000, you'll learn much faster.

The simulator won't teach you to fly per say... My dad has never flown a heli, but I put him on the sim and he upped the collective... The heli floated around in circles and never crashed... As long as he kept the collective up, it just floated around... eventually it got away from him, but it won't teach you everything... It will however teach you the controls... It will teach you reflex and it will teach you orientation....

The only other factor that makes the sim totally different from the real world... Fear.... I can kick *ss on the sim... I go out to the field and I'm very apprehensive about what I can and can't do. On the sim I fly real close, but when I see those blades spinning in real life, i want to keep that thing away from me as far as I can without loosing it visually. Also on the sim, I always fly behind the flight line, cause I could... nobody is going to die on the sim... In real life... you can't do it...

Keep it as real as possible and it will work out better for you. For me, I'm already used to breaking all the rules on the sim, so my curve is somewhat hindered... I can tell you though, a lot of the moves I've learned on the sim, are a hell of a lot easier on the real heli once they are mastered them.

Jim C.

G2 taught me to fly helis.. 9 yrs of planks probably helped too but shhhhh!! lol i have many many many many hours on the sim and i treat it like im flying my own! and what everyone says about being cautious at the field is true. i think i could do most of the stuff i do on the sim.. but i will only if i get into trouble. if i crash.. its gonna take me awhile to get back in the air again so i keep things simple at the moment. practice practice practice!!!

just remember!! IN LIFE, THERE IS NO SPACEBAR!!!

lv2flyhte2crsh

i have the sim but I does not teach you how to properly trim your Heli. However It gets you over the largest learninig curve you will ever see and that is your ability to keep it from crashing . The Software needs alot of improvement in its ability for explanation of controls what and how it handles when you do several things to it .But as anyone will tell you the ability to crash and not drop another paycheck in it is the most rewarding part about the software.