simulator

[wayneswan]

hey im a bit curious about this simulator technology that you all seem to recogmend, without stateing the obvious what benafits does it offer and is it available to download off the internet.

im in the process of bying my first heli mini titan and from my previous posts on this website various experts have advised me to buy a si
m first.

Without sounding stupid, this system obviously runs off your pc and you will obviously need your remote for your heli in order to use the simulator effectively, or am I totally wrong as to what ive just said. One thing about this program is surely it cuts out the middle man (flying clubs etc)

surely if you can learn to fly a heli on this program you could possibly avoid the cost of going to a flying school and coughing out huge sums
of money to be trained by a expert. well guys thanks once again for all your help, im shure that many of us first timers will value the advise that you guys share with us
wayne

[Raptormadsteve]

Hi Wayne
A sim is purely a training aid no more and no less if you by a sim you can
learn the basices like oriention and get the silly mistakes out of the way
without the expence of a crash. Yes there are downloadable sims like
fms free from the net but basic not realistic. Then you have good sims
like http://www.phoenix-sim.com/pages/news.htm with training prog
built in. And yes i use this one phoenix and in my oppinion the best on
the market today. If you use a sim in conjunction with learning with an
instructor progress is much quicker for most. If you decide to buy phoenix
it will be the best aid you'll buy.
Regards Steve

[stuartetheridge]

Hi Wayne

Ok firstly you are correct in that you will require a TX in order to use the sim. Its pointless using any sort of joystick or keyboard. Obviously you need it to be as realistic as possible.

Im not going to get into reccomendations on the sim itself as there are far more qualified people on here to do that for you but you will see that certain sims come with a specific controller whereas others will require you to use the Tx you have for your mini titan - probably for the best anyway as it will therefore be as close to the real thing as possible.

On your other point - make no mistake sims are an excellent training aid but are no substitute for real stick time. Yes they will teach you some instinctive reactions but even the most cutting edge sim differs from the real deal IMO.
I don't think, for the forseeble future the sim will replacing good solid training from someone who knows there stuff. Having said that if the purchase of a sim saves you from just one crash its been a worthwhile investment.

To sum up sims - excellent and worthwhile training aid, no replacement for real stick time.

Hope this helps a little

Stu

[BobJ]

Hi

A sim is a must and will cut down your learning time a lot and is something that will always be useful no matter what level of flying you are at, however a sim can't (yet) teach you how to set up a heli or engine or get rid of the fear factor the first time you try something new, this is where a good flight school will be able to help and is again money well spent.
As for huge sums of money, I don't know of any flight schools that are exactly coining it in, how much would you supply you models and time for and expect to make a basic living out of it:-)

Cheers
Bob J

[Disc]

Er I don't use a sim at all...

My advice is join a Club 1st.

a Sim cannot replace a Club by any means or the Advice you'll get.

As others have said Stick time is a big plus.

I am currently looking at a new Intel Mac and considering a sim to help me advance my flying quicker.

Oh without a Sim I can fly around loop/roll/stall turn nose in and funny enough land

But join a good Club should be the 1st thing you do

[ghyuheli]

You can get the good one like G3 (paid sim) or a free one like FMS Free Sim

[golddust]

Well, a sim will save you big bundles of money thats for sure. Will it cut out the 'middle man' ? I am not too sure. Though when I manage to get a heli anywhere near ready to fly, I will be getting it checked over by the afore mentioned 'middle man'. :-)

[petervdb]

I learnt on my own about 15 odd years ago on a Morely MXB. I got to learn how to rebuild a helicopter very well indeed. It was frustrating but I persevered.

My thoughts are that there is no substitution for actual flying hours. However you can significantly reduce the heavy landings but using a mixture of flying schools, simulators and good club membership. However which ever way you look at it you pay for learning to fly, either through buying plently of spares as you learn on your own, or via flying schools. I think one of the best routes would be to join a good club and go there regularly. Get hold of a good sim to practice the finer points at home before trying to put them into practice at the club under the eye of the club experts.

Good luck.