simulators

[PappaBear]

Hands up all those who use a simulator. My guess is almost everyone has at some point including me. Its a wonderful training aid, it really is. However it does have one flaw, and its this. If you crash with a simulator, it is always going to be pilot error. It can't be anything else. It can't be radio failure or interference, and it can't be the model design or the weather. So it has to be the pilot.

Heres the problem, the simulator does not tell you the mistake that made the model crash, or how to prevent it from happening again. So with this in mind, if you continue to crash, all you are doing is perfecting your mistakes.

[stevepmcg]

RE: simulators

I use Phoenix 5. And the thing about the crashing is while it cannot tell you what you did wrong you can try again and make a change to what you do to see if you can figure out what you did wrong. I think this is something most people should do before they start flying. I know when I first got on it I was crashing ALL the time now not so much (it helped get used to how much you need to input on your controller also).

[Flygirl]

RE: simulators

They didn't have computers when I learned to fly but I did use them to learn to fly helicopters and I still kept crashing them in real life. I gave helis up.... LOL!

[stevepmcg]

RE: simulators

Lauren, that is where the Blade 200SRX with safe came in handy *LOL*

[Flygirl]

RE: simulators

Ya know Steve, that came out a couple of months after I said "no more!" and took up multirotors with FPV instead. Those I don't crash! LOL! I actually could fly fixed pitch okay but collective pitch? Uh uh, no way! I'm horrible at it.... LOL!

[Rocketeer]

RE: simulators

Greetings,

Flight Simulator's..... don't leave home without it!!!!

It's raining out this evening.... but what will I be doing later....... FLYING!!!

Outstanding!!


Clear Skies and Monitors,

Bill L.
In Okla.

[Loneflier]

RE: simulators

I have 2 different simulators, the Phoenix and Realflight 7.  Both work well. I started with the Phoenix since it is carries a lot of Horizon Hobby planes on it and that is what I was learning with at the time. The graphics are not a slick as the Realflight, which has turned out to be my favorite in terms of realism. Both have advantages and disadvantages. The main thing with either one is that they don't do a great job of take offs or landings. It is almost impossible to do a stall on landing for either one, and there is no real torque roll modeled for either on a take off roll either. However, that is where the real flying comes in! Simulators are great, but they can't replace the real thing, they can however, prepare you for the real thing!

[stevepmcg]

RE: simulators

Lauren,

Yeah I decided I will never be a CP flier. I got a red Bull CP Heli on special and I ended up selling it on after I decided it was not for me. Took the money from that and another heli I sold on ebay and invested in the 200SRX. I'm happy with it just haven't flown as much as I am working on getting my plane skills up.

[doctormike]

RE: simulators

Hands up all those who use a simulator. My guess is almost everyone has at some point including me. Its a wonderful training aid, it really is. However it does have one flaw, and its this.  If you crash with a simulator, it is always going to be pilot error. It can't be anything else. It can't be radio failure or interference, and it can't be the model design or the weather. So it has to be the pilot.

Heres the problem, the simulator does not tell you the mistake that made the model crash, or how to prevent it from happening again.  So with this in mind, if you continue to crash, all you are doing is perfecting your mistakes.

Hi, Martin. Simulators seem to expect a beginner to know what makes an airplane fly. I suggest to a beginner to, first, pick up a book (or go on line) and learn the basics of flight. So many newbees start flying RC without a clue. Thanks, Doc

[PappaBear]

RE: simulators

Hands up all those who use a simulator. My guess is almost everyone has at some point including me. Its a wonderful training aid, it really is. However it does have one flaw, and its this.  If you crash with a simulator, it is always going to be pilot error. It can't be anything else. It can't be radio failure or interference, and it can't be the model design or the weather. So it has to be the pilot.

Heres the problem, the simulator does not tell you the mistake that made the model crash, or how to prevent it from happening again.  So with this in mind, if you continue to crash, all you are doing is perfecting your mistakes.

Hi, Martin. Simulators seem to expect a beginner to know what makes an airplane fly. I suggest to a beginner to, first, pick up a book (or go on line) and learn the basics of flight. So many newbees start flying RC without a clue. Thanks, Doc

Hi Mike, You are right, and thats my whole point. A simulator will not tell you why you crashed. I wonder how many pilots for example realize the stalling speed goes up when the model is in a bank.

[Tom603]

RE: simulators

My two cents on simulators. My first kit was balsa and covering,  everyone told me not to be too much of a perfectionist as it will crash.
I work on airplanes for a living and was born Anal, when I finished this airplane (even though a trainer- Great Planes PT-40) it was a work of art. The resulting problem is now I was afraid to fly it and crash it. After a lot of thought, I purchased a Real Flight Sim. It cost less than I had tied up in my freshly built airplane. The one big advantage that I realized is this thing will educate ur thumbs. When things go bad, you don't have to think about what to do, it is more of a reaction than thinking. I was on the sim for 8 months, a lot of it winter. First flight was humbling, was on a buddy box, and the instructor turned me loose after my knees quit shaking.......  BTW the airplane has over a hundred flights on her and is perched on my rack in the shop, a little modified but still in one piece.... Simulators will keep you sharp, as needed, when hard earned money is flying around on radio waves.

[Rocketeer]

RE: simulators

Greetings Tom603,

You nailed it, man!!

That is one of the truly great benefits of the RC flight simulator!!!

Bill L.
In Okla.

[Pauly]

RE: simulators

I sometimes feel like the simulator can spoil you because there is a reset button and if you crash it's as if no big deal I'll just hit reset and start all over. I'm a rookie and don't have much time behind the stick, but I do feel like the simulator has helped a great deal with my comfort level. When I fly my Pandora or Apprentice I still have a crash feel and need to worry more on flying and rather then trying not to crash, but when I'm on the simulator there is worry because there is a reset button. That is one thing a friend told me about the simulator and to just be careful on flying it and try not to let it spoil my flying because it can help you a great deal and it can also create a lot of bad habits at the same time. Just a thought I would share after reading all the comments and wanted to give my 2 cents worth.

[Hippie 64]

RE: simulators

Yea Paul your right but the Sim is mainly to help teach you habits. A habit of turning the correct direction on instinct without thinking . The best way is to set yourself a goal . Then do nothing til its achieved . Practice touch n go or making yourself land in a certain area only . Do them over and over . Add wind give it a certain direction, fly into the sun . Anything because all these will happen .

Just thoughts

Bryan 

[Rocketeer]

RE: simulators

Greetings Pauly,

I totally understand your point. The simulator can llull one toward a false sense of security and/or insecurity.

However, the key to flying on the simulator as it is in real life, is to learn NOT to crash. Obviously.

Where the difference lies is, with the simulator you can take full advantage of the one key ingredient that live flying (at least when learning) can't provide, unless you have an unlimited expense/checking account, and that's the benefit of repetition!!
To be able to practice and repeat the good and to not repeat the bad.
And it's all relative... the more you repeat, the less bad and more good you become. Over and over and over again!!

Keep in mind also that unless your simulator allows you to truly "simulate" real world conditions it will always be difficult to transition from one mode to the other.
Most sims default to pristine weather conditions. A rare occurrence no matter where you live. You really need to employ things like wind and direction, different sky conditions, flying surfaces, runway lengths and directions as close to your real flying conditions as possible.

I live in Oklahoma where, yeah, you've heard the song. It would be silly for me to practice on a simulator and not add various wind conditions and to practice (and repeat) how they effect takeoffs, flight characteristics and of course landings.

The more your simulator can really simulate your flying environment and the more time you spend with it, in time you won't be able to feel the difference between one or the other. Physically or mentally.

Just have fun!!

Clear Skies

Bill L.
In Okla.

[Grossman56]

RE: simulators

I'm with you guys!  The Sim undoubtedly saved me hundreds of dollars on repairs.  It got the mental program developed and helped solve some of the troubles I had in live flight.
If the weather is poor and I feel the need for speed, I'm on the Sim flying.
At our field, there is almost always a crosswind, so I program the Sim with that in mind and practice landings.  I preset the Sim so that I can return to my base leg when I reset and not have to loose my concentration on landing.
We were talking this over this morning in our debrief/critique of our flights (see "All Us Newbies...")
Take offs are usually pretty straight forward (unless your an old guy and leave your gyro on and its not set up right) and after you have flown quite a bit, flights are pretty routine.  The one thing that costs you money is landing.  Any New person is scared to death of landings so they keep putting off flying.  The Sim is the one tool where you can land, land, land all day from the same point and get it down.  Did that with the Mustang and have done that with the Pitts.  Just found the model in the Sim and felt it out.  It may not be perfect, but that combined with chatting with people who own or fly the same model sets you up with the greatest chance for success.

Grossman56

[Pauly]

RE: simulators

Thanks guys it would be cool if Real Flight did like the Flight Simulator to where you can down load true weather conditions to your location. I'm starting to get out to the field and learn more and do more actual stick time. And yes if it wasn't for the simulator there's no telling how many thousand's and thousand's of dollars that the reset button saved me on.

[Rocketeer]

RE: simulators

Greetings Pauly,

Sounds like you're on the right track.

How do you get to Carnage Hall???  Practice, Practice, Practice!!!


Good Luck

Bill L.
In OKla.

[Grossman56]

RE: simulators

I think Bill means 'Carnegie Hall"
Carnage is when you have all your airplanes lined up on the side of the field then fly one straight in to them.

:shy: :angel: :@

Grossman56

[Rocketeer]

RE: simulators

Greetings GMan,

So much for auto-correct and spell checker!!
Indeed the former would not be a pretty sight.

But, you get my drift....


BIll L.
IN OKla.