R/C Flight Simulators- Do they work?

In the dark days before R/C flight simulators if you wanted to learn how to fly radio control aircraft, you had to learn by trial and error. Even if you had an instructor to help you,  at some point you would feel comfortable enough to take the controls yourself.  That is usually when it happens.  One little OOPS! and you just gave you model it’s first dirt nap.  It used to be part of the learning process.  You also would have to be a fairly decent craftsman and have an assortment of glues, epoxies, balsa wood, and spare parts to continue learning the intricacies of flight.  Sadly, many would-be R/C enthusiasts gave up flying soon after the beautiful trainer they just spent 6 weeks building was reduced to a pile of balsa wood scrap.  For me, it was nothing more than my hard head and nasty disposition that kept me trying to succeed.  I wasn’t going to let a little thing like gravity get in my way!  Admittedly however, I spent way more time building and repairing than I did actually flying.  Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy spending time in the shop, but I would rather spend it building my latest craft than repairing yesterdays mistakes.

So why would anyone attempt to learn how to fly an rc aircraft without a simulator?  Common sense tells us that it is a lot cheaper and easier to crash a “simulated airplane” than a real one.  I think the answer is just plain excitement.  I have been guilty myself of skipping the instructions on my new, super awesome, whatchmacallit,  because I just couldn’t wait to try it out.  But with R/C aircraft, you really have to slow down and pay attention to the details.  One tiny mistake can spell disaster.  The only thing you will have to be thankful for is that you were not sitting in the cockpit at the time!

The next obvious question is “Do they really work?”  The short answer is “Yes”.  If you can take off, fly and land the simulated model then your chances of success are greatly improved.  Notice I said “chances of success” and not “guarantee of success”.  Although RC flight simulators do a great job “simulating” actual flight, they are still not a replacement for actual field time.  But, since pilot error is still the most common reason for crashes (full scale and miniature) it makes sense to spend a good deal of time on a simulator.  Military and civilian flight training programs invest millions of dollars in the latest flight simulators to train their pilots.  Why?  It’s still cheaper than crashing a real plane!

The fact is, most folks who are interested in purchasing a R/C flight simulator have already crashed their first plane and are convinced they do not want to do it again.  If you would like to learn more about RC Flight Simulators, check out my reviews.