Realistic Helicopter Simulator

Atheraal

Howdy. So, a friend of mine is getting into building RC helicopters. Thing is, he's got the reflexes of a well trained brick. Thus, he's asked me to fly it for him.

What I'm wondering is if there are any RC heli enthusiasts on this board, who could point me toward some good simulators. Anyone?

And, if there turns out to be a goodly amount of said enthusiasts, we could turn this thread into an all-purpose discussion.

Bursar

I have one of those little Air Hog styrofoam things. Probably not a very good RC starter, but it's small and light and somewhat inexpensive, and it sure can take a beating if you accidentally crash it into something (which you will). Also, it doesn't hurt if it runs into you, and it's best indoors where a stray wind won't send it flying.

Atheraal

Yeah, he has one of those that I'll be practicing on first. But a good simulator would be nice too.

Captain K

Jane's Apache Longbow 2 was good times. But that was forever ago, I wonder if it would even run on XP.

Drakenhawk

RC Stunt Copter for PSX. Not sure how hard/easy it is to get these days, but thanks to that game, I knew better than to ever get a real RC heli. I eventually got an air hog (2 actually, brother and I had a blast with them), but it is nothing like a real one, if the game is anything to go by.

Gamespot's review seems like a good place to start.

ben0207

If you're mostly flying it down a yellow tunnel full of floating blocks, I know one...

Saddler

I would say that Airwolf for the NES would be a game that would not be helpful at all. Likewise with M*A*S*H for the Atari.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

Viscountalpha

http://www.nitroplanes.com/exrcflsitrki1.html

This is what you are looking for. I've gotten to try a more expensive demo version at the evergreen air museum before but this is how you train for the real thing. This is also on my list of "DO WANT" items.

Atheraal

Viscountalpha wrote: »

http://www.nitroplanes.com/exrcflsitrki1.html

This is what you are looking for. I've gotten to try a more expensive demo version at the evergreen air museum before but this is how you train for the real thing. This is also on my list of "DO WANT" items.

Yeah, I've got one of those.. probably not the exact same model, but same control scheme. I just need some good software. Ideally, with some kind of game built around it, to make it fun.

Thanks mcdermott, that's more along the lines of what I'm going for. Like I said, though, ideal would be the best of both worlds.

Waka Laka

Flight Simulator X is brilliant if you have a beast of a computer and a decent flightstick.

GrimReaper

If you want actual closest to realistic as possible then X-Plane is your best choice, this program is used by quite a few organisations for flight training and is actually certified by the FAA for training.

The good thing too is that it's available for Windows, OSX and Linux.

Its flight models of planes, helicopters etc are supposedly the best around. (hence it's as close to the real thing as you can get)

There are more than likely flight models for remote control helis too.

EDIT: I actually bought something like X-Plane v5 years ago, i'm tempted to get out my credit card again for 9...

Basticle

Vice City


just kidding. fuck those R.C. Helicopters.

RedDawn

Atheraal wrote: »

Viscountalpha wrote: »

http://www.nitroplanes.com/exrcflsitrki1.html

This is what you are looking for. I've gotten to try a more expensive demo version at the evergreen air museum before but this is how you train for the real thing. This is also on my list of "DO WANT" items.

Yeah, I've got one of those.. probably not the exact same model, but same control scheme. I just need some good software. Ideally, with some kind of game built around it, to make it fun.

Thanks mcdermott, that's more along the lines of what I'm going for. Like I said, though, ideal would be the best of both worlds.

This looks like the software that was talked about in that link.

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html

Though, I have no idea how good it is.

darleysam

Anyone play Sim Copter? I had the demo of that and hated it at first. Then I got the hang of the controls and played the arse off that thing, rescuing people and chasing down criminals.

grouch993

There are a number of places to visit for RC information. I like RunRyder's forums to start. Depends on what equipment I am investigating for other destinations.

The guys at runryder seem to like Phoenix right now. Commercial simulator, believe it is from someplace in Europe. I have RealFlight 3.5 myself, another commercial sim. Another cheap one to look at might be FMS. It is free, I was able to purchase a USB to radio cable and some drivers that were eventually going to be used with the program, but impatience won out.

Phoenix phoenix-sim.com - Uses link cable to your transceiver.
RealFlight knifeedge.com - Comes with usb transceiver, but can use your radio.
FMS (don't have a link handy) - free, but have read the physics are iffy.
Reflex ? - have seen adverts, but don't know about this one.

Milky28

The most realistic one I have used is Phoenix - http://phoenix-sim.com/welcome.htm It has helped my flying immensely. You might also look into Reflex XTR or Real Flight G4. Those are all in the $160 - $220 range, but are a great investment considering a crash or two can easily cost you more than that. For a cheaper option, Clearview - http://rcflightsim.com/ is $40, and is ok for learning the basics.

I spent hours and hours on a sim before I attempted the real thing, would have been much more expensive if I hadn't. I still use the sim all the time to practice new 3D moves out before I risk the heli itself. Also, the forums at rcgroups.com has a dedicated simulator section, so you might wanna steer himi that way as well.

El Guaco

http://www.realflight.com/

If you're wanting to learn to fly R/C planes or helicopters, you won't find a better system than this, IMHO. I fly R/C airplanes, and it's a great learning and practice tool that ultimately will save you $ and frustration because you'll be less likely to crash the real thing when you finally get out there.

Second, flying R/C helicopters is not trivial. It's a degree of difficulty harder than flying airplanes and is not for the timid. Steady hands and a keen eye for 3-D spacialization is required. I had a hard enough time learning not to get my left-right reversed when an R/C plane is flying towards me, and the few times I tried the helicopters in Real flight I think I hurt my brain and I crashed often.

grouch993

RADDs flight school can help out learning to fly a helicopter. I was foolish and started out with a micro. Larger is more stable and easier to learn with, but also very expensive. Had to sell my RC setup, but kept the simulator. Spare parts were costing a bit much.

It sounds like your friend needs to work on a radio for a while and learn how to handle those. Counter rotating blade helicopter is a lot cheaper and easier to start out.

Balance was a pretty big thing to make flight easier. The blades, battery placement, etc.

webguy20

Just FYI, as someone who does fly RC helicopters,(poorly) no amount of sim time is going to keep you from running into the ground at least once. I would recommend you and your friend get some of the smaller dual rotor helicopters and learn to fly those, as they are cheap to fix, like the CX and CX2. They are considered micro but are about a foot long. Practice in a gymnasium or somewhere outside that has no wind.

As far as flight sims go, check out this forum, they can probably help you alot more than we can!

http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/

Edit! For flying in a sim or in real life, when your starting out always fly the helicopter with the tail facing you. That way left is left and right is right.

Idoliside

One word....SimCopter....

darleysam

Idoliside wrote: »

One word....SimCopter....

I knew someone else out there had played it.

MayGodHaveMercy

I was on Youtube looking for RC videos....

This is fantastic.

Idoliside

darleysam wrote: »

Idoliside wrote: »

One word....SimCopter....

I knew someone else out there had played it.

Too right, the idea you could make the cities in SimCity 2000 and fly through them. Irrisistable. The game wasnt that bad either.
Streets Of Sim City also gained some fun, purely for the editor though where you could make any city or building.

darleysam

Sorry to say I never played the full thing, but that was such a neat idea. I just wasted hours in the demo, battling fires, storms, criminals and terrible framerates.

Viscountalpha

El Guaco wrote: »

http://www.realflight.com/

If you're wanting to learn to fly R/C planes or helicopters, you won't find a better system than this, IMHO. I fly R/C airplanes, and it's a great learning and practice tool that ultimately will save you $ and frustration because you'll be less likely to crash the real thing when you finally get out there.

Second, flying R/C helicopters is not trivial. It's a degree of difficulty harder than flying airplanes and is not for the timid. Steady hands and a keen eye for 3-D spacialization is required. I had a hard enough time learning not to get my left-right reversed when an R/C plane is flying towards me, and the few times I tried the helicopters in Real flight I think I hurt my brain and I crashed often.

Thats what I used at evergreen air museum. Man.. It just fun to play with.

Error

RC Stunt Copter really was a fantastic RC Copter simulater.