RC flight simulators are generally

used as a learning tool to practice

flying RC aircraft, or they can just

be a fun and relaxing program to play

with on your computer. The one I use

and highly recommend is RealFlight.

The RC helicopter simulation is in my

opinion, the best on the market.

If you are undecided between airplanes or helicopters, a simulator might help you out. The good ones have a large number of both planes and helicopters, so you can fly dozens of different aircraft to get a better feel for each.

So do you really need a RC Flight Simulator to learn how to fly a RC helicopter or RC airplane? The simple answer to that is NO! Thousands of us have learned to fly without one - including me. When I was learning to fly RC helicopters, personal computers didn’t have enough power to create realistic physics of flight or realistic landscapes to fly in.

Yes - I now own a flight simulator - they are just plain fun! They are not just for learning how to fly - you can practice aerobatics on them as well and do things that you wouldn’t even think twice about doing with your real model helicopter or airplane.

If you ask top ranking RC aerobatic helicopter pilots around the world, you will find out most of them also use simulators to practice on.

What makes a good RC Flight Simulator? That is an easy one – realism - the more real the better. That’s not just flight physics or graphics - the method of controlling your RC helicopter is just as if not more important.

Please look at my RC Flight Simulator "TIPS" section for what to look for in a simulator, how to set up your simulator for realistic performance, and my own recommendations.

If you think you can learn to fly a RC helicopter with a free RC helicopter simulator - not likely! Click on that link to find out why.

I have seen some advertisements and even heard some people in the RC hobby industry claiming that if you can fly a RC plane or helicopter on a simulator, you will have no problem flying real RC models. WRONG! A simulator is nothing more than a tool – it doesn’t come close to replicating all aspects of the RC helicopter or airplane.

RC flight simulators don’t teach you how to build a helicopter or set it up – they don’t teach you how to start or tune an engine, or even do simple maintenance on your RC model. No matter how good simulators get – they will never replace hands on experience.

I hear a lot of questions right now…something like “if you and thousands of other RC heli pilots learned without a simulator, and there are limitations, why should I even bother? I could save that money to get a better or bigger helicopter.”

That is partially true. If it boils down to getting a RC helicopter simulator or spending that extra money to get a better RC helicopter set up – spend your money on the helicopter. However - I know for a fact, if I had a simulator program when I was learning, it would have paid for its self.

I would have saved money on nitro fuel while learning, and on a few sets rotor blades that I broke. Bottom line – simulators save time and money. So try to budget one into your RC hobby if at all possible.

One last point to consider when deciding if you should get a flight simulator when you are first starting out - Do you plan to take lessons from an experienced RC helicopter instructor?

Learning from an instructor is the best way to go because they can help you with your helicopter set up as well. Most instructors will also tell you of the many benefits of simulators.

Unfortunately, there are many more people wanting to learn to fly RC helicopters than there are qualified RC heli instructors. Most of us have to learn on our own (yes I learned on my own) and the RC flight simulator will make that process much quicker and enjoyable. So even if you take lessons from an instructor, your learning curve will still be quicker if you supplement it with a simulator - I promise.