How many hours on the sim did you have to put in

[bcphill]

So many good comments in this thread already. I just want to add my +1 to this program on HeliFreak. To me at least, the key to using the sim is to use it in a structured manner and track my progress. Before beginning on this program about a year ago, I would only occassionally sim, and I always found it frustrating and boring. After working at it on average 20-30 almost every day for a year, I can say that simming is still pretty boring, but the payoff is ENORMOUS. What the sim teaches is orientations and muscle memory, so your fingers already know what they are supposed to do when you try something new IRL. Basically, following this structured approach to simming has allowed me to progress hugely IRL and has made my real flying so much more enjoyable, because I'm no longer constantly worried about crashing and the resulting down-time from flying.

So my advice: use a program like the above, and sim, sim, and sim some more ;-)

...but don't forget to go out and fly for real every chance you get.

Great Stuff thanks
The link to the thread on helifreak is excellent. Will read again as its too big to digest in one go.

I have an MSRX which i can use for real life practice but will deffo look at a quad or something as i think you need a bit of "fear" so that you treat the some with a bit of respect and not just let it crash when things get a bit difficult.
Ironically I found that on the sim - Tail in is cracked but side on is getting there but still difficult but for the last 2-3 session i jumped in to nose in and while it was harder at first progress is being made better than i expected.

I wish i could write programms as I would love to produce a sim tailored just for beginners or at least with a comprehensive beginner mode, real time feedback and stuff as the hover mode in Pheonix is useless imho.

Bought the lappy to work for a go at lunch so really going for it now.

Phill

[Thor]

The link to the thread on helifreak is excellent. Will read again as its too big to digest in one go.

It is a lot to take in. I have read it at least ten times. Just take it slow - you probably don't really need much past the first few exercises to begin with ;-)

I use Phoenix, too, and its not really helpful as such for hover training. I turn on the F3C box when doing the hover exercises, so at least I have afirm visual reference. I plan to try out Heli-X over the winter, as this allegedly gives better feedback for this kind of training.

[Peteski]

I never found any of the hover training aids in the sims particularly useful. The aim of hovering is pretty obvious and it doesn't matter if you crash on the sim while getting there. Just keep practicing until you can hover on the spot in any orientation.

[Coxy]

Phil -- you are doing really well mate, don't think that your not,, 4 good flights hovering for between 5-12 mins last Saturday... nice one.. all well controlled, forget the more experienced and concentrate on what you need to that hovering orientation, forget the peeps who do the 3d stuff at present and next time your up ask them how long it took them to learn, it was about 14 months before I flew properly, oh and remember the other factor our ages.. lol,, 47 when I started in 2013.. keep at it mate.. your doing fine... do what your comfortable with, its not a sprint, more of a marathon.. with a few biscuits thrown in for good measure..

[atomiccomp]

Phil -- you are doing really well mate, don't think that your not,, 4 good flights hovering for between 5-12 mins last Saturday... nice one.. all well controlled, forget the more experienced and concentrate on what you need to that hovering orientation, forget the peeps who do the 3d stuff at present and next time your up ask them how long it took them to learn, it was about 14 months before I flew properly, oh and remember the other factor our ages.. lol,, 47 when I started in 2013.. keep at it mate.. your doing fine... do what your comfortable with, its not a sprint, more of a marathon.. with a few biscuits thrown in for good measure..

+1 on that, I wouldn't get worked up about doing this or that. Enjoy the flying- that's what it's all about, ultimately you will progress at your own speed main thing is to enjoy it

[bcphill]

Phil -- you are doing really well mate, don't think that your not,, 4 good flights hovering for between 5-12 mins last Saturday... nice one.. all well controlled, forget the more experienced and concentrate on what you need to that hovering orientation, forget the peeps who do the 3d stuff at present and next time your up ask them how long it took them to learn, it was about 14 months before I flew properly, oh and remember the other factor our ages.. lol,, 47 when I started in 2013.. keep at it mate.. your doing fine... do what your comfortable with, its not a sprint, more of a marathon.. with a few biscuits thrown in for good measure..

Thanks Dave.
Yes I am really happy with what I have acheived up to now and love it when I can get up the field. Especially now the legs are off. I am making good progress on the sim and managing to hover in better each time. Dont know when i will have the courage to try it for real yet though LOL.

Will be up tomorrow morning for a couple of hours before going to a firework party so looking forward to that.

Will try and rememebr milk and biccies

Thanks Pal

Phill

[Andy A]

I have just invested in ACCURC sim, which is pretty dam close to the way my T Rex 450 flys.But some how when trying to put it in practice at the field the confidence I had on the sim disapears.There must be a time when it all clicks and falls into place?

[myxiplx]

It just takes time, it takes a little while for things you've learnt on the sim to translate to real life, and it's normal to be more nervous with the physical model. You'll find that the more time you get to fly the 450, the more you'll just find it normal and eventually your real models feel just as easy as the sim to fly.

The two biggest factors for me are stick time and not worrying about a crash. Everybody's different, but I find that my best flying is on the days when I think "sod it, I don't care if I crash, I'm going to have fun today". If you literally don't care whether your helicopter comes home in one piece or in an Ikea bag it can make a huge difference to your confidence in the air.

This hobby really does mess with your head :-)

[Kevinremi]

It just takes time, it takes a little while for things you've learnt on the sim to translate to real life, and it's normal to be more nervous with the physical model. You'll find that the more time you get to fly the 450, the more you'll just find it normal and eventually your real models feel just as easy as the sim to fly.

The two biggest factors for me are stick time and not worrying about a crash. Everybody's different, but I find that my best flying is on the days when I think "sod it, I don't care if I crash, I'm going to have fun today". If you literally don't care whether your helicopter comes home in one piece or in an Ikea bag it can make a huge difference to your confidence in the air.

This hobby really does mess with your head :-)

+1 I am always getting confused and some days my fly seems better when in the simple.!