Sim- What gives?

[termite]

After reading the forum I decided to buy a sim before my heli. A local guy told me yesterday not to waste my time because the sim won't help me fly the real model. Has anyone had that experience? Everything I have read here seems to suggest that the sim will help alot.....

Mark

[kalonzo]

The simulator will...I think you know what it does already.

I guess you can just jump in and fly an RC helicopter. But that would be just like riding a bike for the first time, you won't know how to control it. Not a good idea, unless you don't mind a few bruses here and there:>

Of course, a simulator won't show you how to fully fly an actual heli, but it will give you a good idea on what to expect from the little mechanical beast.

Originally Posted by termite

After reading the forum I decided to buy a sim before my heli. A local guy told me yesterday not to waste my time because the sim won't help me fly the real model. Has anyone had that experience? Everything I have read here seems to suggest that the sim will help alot.....

Mark

[New-heli-pilot]

Truthfully I find my sim to be harder to fly than my helicopter, so I feel that a sim really helps. For one, if you crash you dont have to pay (this is also bad as you are not scared to crash). Also, if nothing else it teaches you the controls, and develops you helicopter flying instincts.

John

[Nik]

Take my $0.02 with a grain of salt because I don't have a sim or a heli but I'm assuming there is a reason the military has thier guys put in so much time on sims.

I've just started researching transmitters (learned they aren't controllers just yesterday) and sims right now. Figuring I can start with those and it's much easier to ebay if I ****.

Selling 1 borked heil or selling 1 mint controller only used indoor for sims. Seems like an easy plan b to me.

[Aztek1701]

Hi Termite,

New Heli Pilot and Nik are both totally right here. There is a reason that the military and Civillian Jet pilots put a lot of sim time in, because it does teach you.
I cant be sure here but Im guessing the person who told you that sims aint any good had a bad experience with one. In my experience, (and Ive played with 3 sims and I own 1) what it teaches you depends on a couple of factors, 1.. how accurate the sim is... Realflight and Reflex are probably the most accurate 2.. How disciplined YOU are to learning. If you treat the sim like a game and put everything to "Easy" then there is no learning to be had apart from what the sticks do. If you approach the sim as if it was a real heli and practice what you will be doing for real (with wind ect), then there is a lot to be learned as new heli says "develops you helicopter flying instincts"
Sure everybody can like a demon on the sim but when it comes to the real thing its a bit different. Not because the simulated heli flys different but because YOU are different (not wanting to crash the heli). Introduce anxiety into the equation and sims can be a lot different to real life. This is why Civil aviation sims are 3 axis motion base things... To get the anxiety back and Im sure that if on purchasing a model sim, it connected itself to your bank account and every time you crashed it deducted $100.00 from your balance, model sims would be VERY real and people would learn extremely quickly not to crash lol.

So in my opinion sims will teach you but how well depends on the individual.

Hope this helps... Azzy

[hawkman]

I am very suprised by such advice as to not getting a Sim.

Personally I have seen total beginners having a go on my sims and after crashing millions of times in the first 5 minutes they actually start to get the hang of things.

Flying a real model for the first time....especially without an experienced instructor...is very very scary....and thats after 100´s of hours sim time...I was 10 months on two very basic sims....they helped me a lot....so much so that after hovering for 5 minutes and finding it very easy...I was off around the field on my first circuits.

I progressed rapidly....the hardest thing was setting a real model so it would fly ok.....a sim wont teach that...though recent sims do have setting that can be altered so you can experiment.

A sim wont give you that peripheral vision...but taken seriously the sim will give you instinct on the controls.

So....get the best sim you can afford

practice till you get really hot on the controls...and confident

When you can fly the sim models and put them where you want...in terms of landing etc....then you will be ready.

On a real model...dont get too confident

Take things one step at a time

dont get pushed into doing too much too soon, by admiring freinds or partners

keep posting here...we would love to hear how you are getting on.....its a truly magic moment when you first start flying. Its the coolest hobby I know.

Rob

[uneverno]

I started with my heli, and only got a sim (FMS) later. I'd been flying about two months, and was a bit taken aback at how easy it seemed. Then my girfriend tried it and she couldn't keep the sim airborn at all. She's not getting anywhere near my real heli 'til she can

FMS isn't the greatest thing out there, but it's a free download if you want a preview of what sims are about.

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html

You can fly via keyboard if you want - that loads of fun

Regs,
Emil

[hawkman]

FMS did me well enough....the later version had a much better wind option....if the prgram could include idle ups and throttle hold it would be much better.....I used to fly about and use the trim to switch the engine off to simulate autorotations etc....

Taken seriously FMS will get you started....you can buy the controller,cable and software for a very cheap price on some internet stores...its a good buy for those on a budget....

Rob