Simulating Times

When I started investigating RC planes I, being a good geek, of course turned to the Internet looking for information.

One of the first things I encountered was people talking about flying simulators for model planes. And there was some debate over their usefulness as well.

With a bit of investigation I found out there was a free (as in beer) model plane simulator called FMS (Flight Model Simulator). You can get it of my website (as well as some useful training models, or from the FMS homepage.

I downloaded it and had a play. I also found a model for it called the "Vortex Extreme" which was a pretty close fit for the Electrafun (my "real" plane).

On the matter of using a simulator versus not using a simulator I have heard arguments put such as:

1. Just being able to reset a crashed plane doesn't give you a healthy training ethic and teach you to fear consequences the way you should.
2. No amount of simulation prepares you for the real thing.
3. The best way to learn to fly is with an experienced pilot helping you, not using a simulator.

Looking at these arguments I would put these counter points:

1. Seeing a virtual crash as an undesirable result is really down to the mental attitude of the person using the simulator.
2. Nothing prepares you for the adrenaline shot the first time you put your plane in the air. Your heart will race, you will be all thumbs on the controls etc. However, if you have spent the time on the simulator at least you wont have to concsiously think about how to make the plane climb, for example. Your left thumb will automatically pull back on the stick.
3. I've choosen not to have an experienced instructor help me.

In addition the simulator gives you many advantages:

1. You can teach your hands/brain the correct muscle memory for your controls (If you use similar control layout - see below).
2. You can practice flying in adverse conditions. My hours flying the vortex extreme in high winds (for that plane) in the simulator doubtless contributed to my meagre success at the field today (when the wind was beyond what was ideal for the Electrafun).
3. You can practice landings. You can practice landings. You can practice landings.
4. It gives you an outlet for those days when you can't/shouldn't fly because of the weather that is much cheaper and safer than the real thing.
5. You can fly 20 or 30 simulated flights in a couple of hours. More if you are just doing a take off/land practice. Those sorts of hours of experience can't be easily gathered at the field.

I would absolutely recommend using the simulator to anyone. No it doesn't one hundred percent match the real experience but you will learn a lot from using it.

There is one final, quite important point. To get the best value from the simulator you need to use a control layout that approximates your actual radio set. I used keyboard at first, and then took my first flight. The result, I made quite a few mistakes about which controls I should be using, because I was used to tapping keys.

After that I read some articles about FMS describing how to rig your radio up to it, so you can use your actual radio set to drive the plane in FMS. That was interesting, but looked way more complicated than I was bothered with. However, there was one other great suggestion I read: Buy yourself a playstation style controller for your PC (one that has two "sticks" that you can use with your thumb). Once you have the correct stick configured for the correct control in FMS you now have a tool which is helping your brain learn that to turn right, the right thumb moves right. To put the nose down, push up with the left thumb etc. Throttle - push up with right thumb to open etc.

This is one of the most important things your simulator will teach you. It will train your mind so that you don't hesitate when trying to control the plane because you can't remember whether you pull back on the left or right stick to climb. It will also mean that after that moment of hesitation, you don't get it wrong (and close the throttle leading to a stall, instead of climbing).

Use the simulator - they make sense.

FMS will also give you an opportunity to try and fly a whole lot of other planes. Perhaps just go with the model that matches your plane for a while.