just wondering if anyone here uses a helicopter flight sim, and what are your thoughts on the simulator.

are there any good simulators that arent too expensive?

last page 28 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...463629&page=28
i have it and works great..using it with Devo 8 but works with mostly every TX that has a jack.

I'm using Clearview ($40) with an Esky 4 channel radio. It won't work with the Esky 6 channels because of servo mixing, this has to be off as it is done in software.

Not too expensive, how about free.
HeliSimRC is free. Just need the controller. Is better than FMS that is also free. You can get one for as little as $12+ shipping. Sure ebay have some cheap ones too.

About 3/4 of the way down the page are links for training. Look for some sims options there.
http://benmlee.com/

"good inexpensive" is usually an oxymoron. See if you can find a used real flight or phoenix sim. I'd rather buy a good used one than a new bad one.

Originally Posted by Druss

"good inexpensive" is usually an oxymoron. See if you can find a used real flight or phoenix sim. I'd rather buy a good used one than a new bad one.

Statement is not necessary true in all cases. Toyotas SUVs are cheap while Range Rovers are very expensive. Guess which one is way more reliable than the other. Don't touch a Range Rover unlesss you don't want your kids to go to college is the wisdom among enthusiasts.

As far as flight sims, the Phoenix I tried at the show and Real Flight at hobby shop was not that much different than the free HeliSimRC I am using. HeliSimRC does work.
Several times I find myself expecting a crash, then my hand just goes on auto pilot from the practice on the sim, and the helicopter stabilze again.

Clearview is good enough for picking up the basics (like learning to hover, fly nose-in, tail-in, side-in, inverted, basic aerobatics, etc.). I think it feels pretty realistic for helis, in general. Although, if your particular model is in the sim, don't expect it to fly exactly like in real life without some tweaking. The best way to use a sim is to practice with lots of different models until you know you can fly any of them.

Also, for the sim to be useful you have to be very deliberate. Don't just buzz around, practice something specific until you are good at it. IMO this grows very boring eventually (another reason not to spend a lot of money on a sim) and I'd rather practice with a real heli.

None of the free sims have as good physics as the better ones. If you're a new pilot you may not notice that but it's true regardless.

As for your comparison of toyota and range rover... I said "good cheap". I don't consider toyota suvs cheap, I consider hyundai and kia suvs cheap. I also didn't say exorbitant = good... The analogy you've used is obviously skewed to back up your own point of view...

Will a free sim help? Yes it will... is a syma a RC heli? Yes it is...

thanks for all the suggestion guys! happy new year

I use Phoenix and it's pretty good, but I find simulators boring. There's no level of skill at which you must fly, since there's no need to fly anyway; therefore no need for a sim. Do whatever's fun. Only use a sim if you think it's fun or want to "learn" faster. Now that I have a sim finally, I find I'd rather learn things at the field, experimenting. The only group who really needs a sim, is 'pro' pilots--but that's not a real job, so who cares.

I have been very happy with Clearview for a couple years now, you can ask and get a second license for free, free updates to the program/models/landscapes, good physics, good forum and customer support. I use the model that has physics that more closely match my needs, regardless of which heli it actually is. You can easily customize your model to a good degree.
Occasionally I use HeliSimRC which is OK for a free program, but not even close to Clearview in terms of physics, even after some basic adjustments.

I find the sim invaluable to practice a new skill before trying it out (and crashing) my cp heli. I used the sim to learn nose-in hover, then circles, then figure 8s. These translated well to my real heli. At the moment I am working on flying tail first on the sim.

You need to use the sim with a specific "flight school" regimen else it does not do much for you.

Chief

I bought a used Phoenix just to get myself oriented in flyin a heli for a month,then sold it and got my money back. Its not like the real thing,but well worth it for beginners.Really helped me alot on my maiden FP flight and saved me alot of crashes.

I find that Clearview feels very much like my Walkera fixed pitch, I have no collective pitch experience, so don't know about that. I can flip a CP over and back again and even land it sometimes on the sim, but would never try it in real life. But the Coaxials in clearview are useless, they all are too easy and feel like a syma s107. You can't crash them while in real life it's very easy to crash a Big Lama. They are good tho if you are starting completely in the blind as the other helis will be impossible to hover for a complete newbie. Clearview suits my needs, plus there are lots of planes I enjoy flying. Can't wait to someday try a real RC plane. They are so easy to fly compared to CP helis, if you pay attention and don't lose orientation.

I just downloaded Clearview's Android apps...pretty neat way for me to get a basic grasp of the visual orientation necessary for RC helis, but not much in the way of physics; I plan to buy a real sim soon