Sim = real flight?

[DDragon]

Well, the snow is falling outside and it looks like I'm stuck on the sim for the next 4 months. I was wondering is good sim skills equates to good real-time heli skills? I'm trying to get some good hovering happening and thanks to G3.5 I'm pretty good on the sim now. In fact, I can even go from a hover to an inverted hover with very little problems.

Still working on the drift problems... but getting there.

So back to the questions, all this sim time will help my real-time skills?

[Gimbal Lock]

It helps me. The more time I spend on the sim, the better I fly. After a busy week w/o sim flying, I get really jittery.

To me flying the sim allows me to fly more smoothly w/o thinking.

I still suck tho:lol:

[istandalone]

i think we all do to some degree or other. i do find the sim to help me quite a bit, but for me going through 4 or 5 packs helps more. stick time baby.

[Gimbal Lock]

Right-o standalone!

Stick time is the thing. Sim time helps me make the most of the stick time!

I've been traveling since 9 nov, no sim, no heli, but I'm headed to the field now!

[fiveoboy01]

The sim time will help the most in providing your brain with the correct stick movements for a given orientation. These will translate to your fingers while flying the real thing without thinking about it.

If you have to pause to think about which way to push the stick, you're likely going to crash.

[piwko4]

Right-o standalone!

Stick time is the thing. Sim time helps me make the most of the stick time!

I've been traveling since 9 nov, no sim, no heli, but I'm headed to the field now!

Just wondering if you got back yet, and if the heli is still in one piece

[trexflyer02]

The sim time will help the most in providing your brain with the correct stick movements for a given orientation. These will translate to your fingers while flying the real thing without thinking about it.

If you have to pause to think about which way to push the stick, you're likely going to crash.
EXACTLY. :thumbup: It's for letting your fingers learn the muscle memory for doing certain things, so when you go out on the field they know what to do!

[fllyer]

EXACTLY. :thumbup: It's for letting your fingers learn the muscle memory for doing certain things, so when you go out on the field they know what to do!


The hard part is letting what was learned on the sim override the fear of crashing the real thing. At least it is for me. :dontknow

[fiveoboy01]

The hard part is letting what was learned on the sim override the fear of crashing the real thing. At least it is for me. :dontknow

Oh yes, I definitely agree with you.

I can do all sorts of things on the sim that I am not yet attempting with the real thing:oops:

[Gimbal Lock]

Just wondering if you got back yet, and if the heli is still in one piece

I'm happy to say that both I and the bird came back fully assembled :YeaBaby:

Knock on wood, I've only crashed once, and that was because I lost orientation, inverted when I caused it to piro when I wanted to punch out. It was the first time I really pushed the real thing as hard as I do the sim, and I let myself fly far too hard, far too soon and far too loowww.

I could feel the lack of sim/flying time, and the travel weariness in today's flying though, my confidence was way low, and I was thinking instead of flying.

[jaywhy]

Yes and no...

I didn't understand when I first started with only sim time, that there are differences. Mainly bank account/pucker factor - but other things like WIND, and the sim is not a perfect replication of actual flying.

Muscle memory yes, fearless learning of new moves yes, but it's not the real bird, in real air - physics SIMULATION isn't the real deal.

I know when I started really flying my actual bird - I took a break from the sim - because I knew the sim wasn't teaching me what the real thing was, that I lacked and needed. Like how my machine bogged, and got bullied by the wind...

Mostly, find a sim model that is as close to your real heli as possible, and bump up the wind & gusts. It's better to keep the sim practice rather than not over those cold months!

[Rogan]

I almost only fly in the wind - welcome to the Clyde Valley - but I don't like using wind on the sim.


After you've come to terms with the basics of wind - bobbing, flying upwind/downwind - I think the wind effects are just a hinderance to learning new things.

[rdlohr]

I agree with all that has been said. Regular sim is a must and no replacement for real stick time. There is another side to the problem too. After simming a lot with no penalty for crashing, I sometimes attempt things in real life that I'm not ready to do yet. I have to tell my self for instance "no inverted tail in". I fly inverted tail in regularly on the sim, but still crash it regularly so I should risk my real bird.

Rick