So you've become interested in RC helicopters and want to learn how to fly them, but the cost and potential for crashing your new model makes you cautious.
Or perhaps you've been flying for a while, but you're grounded because of repairs after a crash, or you simply want to learn new skills.
An RC helicopter flight simulator is a program or game that simulates the flight of a real RC helicopter, from the controls to the physics of flight, to weather conditions. The best of these is generally rather expensive, running from $130 to $200.
However, with a simulator, the inevitable crashes will not cost you time or money, unlike with a real model - you will be back flying again in the time it takes to load a screen. This means that the flight simulators are an excellent place to gain initial flying skills, polish complicated flying moves, and gain confidence, without worry of damaging an expensive model.
The outlay for a simulator can in fact save you money over time. When you gain your initial skills with a simulator, you avoid crashing your real model and having to make hundreds of dollars in repair to it before you can fly again. Because of this, you can gain your skills and confidence faster.
Also, when you want to try out more complex moves and stunts, you can test them on a simulator first and find out if the stunt is possible, and how it feels.
RC helicopter simulators come in many varieties
Some are truly nothing more than games - fun to play, but very poor simulation of the physics of flight and the handling of the helicopter. Any RC helicopter simulator that is for a game console is likely to be like this, and ineffective for learning on. Other simulators come as 'freeware' or 'shareware' programs for running on computers, where you pay nothing to try it out initially.
If it's shareware, you have to pay to either get more features or use it for more than a limited time. Some of these are very decent and are somewhat helpful for gaining skill; it is best to read reviews to determine which is worth your time. If you have a Macintosh computer, your only choice for a simulator is a freeware one, the AlphaOmega RC Helicopter simulator.
The best simulators are the ones you need to pay for, and are for Windows machines online. The top of the line is the Real Flight Generation 3 RC Flight Simulator, which even comes with a controller that models a real radio so you can get a total immersive experience.
This comes in both full and lite versions, the difference being a matter of options: with the lite version, you do not get the multi-player option or as much control over environmental variables.
It is, however, around $70 less expensive,the RC helicopter flight simulator also comes with the controller, and more than suitable for learning new RC helicopter flying skills.
