I have to disagree just a tiny bit here
As a lover of both photography and pretty much RC anything, experience goes along way. I started flying RC aircraft about ten years ago and specifically started flying for aerial photography. I started on a 600 size heli with zero flight assistance except a tail gyro. I spent countless hours, days and even years, just practicing the art of hovering a collective pitch rc heli.
AMEN! I started "rotor craft" with a clunker from Tower Hobbies called a "shuttle" I think it was. The GYRO was in my fingers and it was faulty from the factory LOL. I won't even start to mention how many hours I spent in the yard hovering tail in, then nose in, then started figure 8's around the yard. Thank goodness I had neighbors who either couldn't hear well or didn't care about the whine of the nitro engine year round LOL!
** Long Story below **
RealFlight is a good flight sim indeed. I used it for a long time and even had several students come to the club who had been flying on it. One student in particular came to the field and I got hooked up with him. I checked out his plane while we talked to get a feel for his comfort level and experience. It was determined that he had only started the motor and did the initial break-in per the manufacturer's instructions and that was it. His only "flight" experience was on RealFlight on his PC.
He had went All-In and bought everything in one neat package from Tower Hobbies. It was a Tower Trainer package and
IF you followed their suggestions to a "tee" and still ended up crashing they would send you a brand new Tower Trainer (ready to fly) for the cost of Shipping & Handling. I honestly didn't really think it would happen but.....
After checking his plane out carefully it was considered Flight Ready so I put him on the buddy box (
instructor has control of the aircraft and with the flip of a toggle the student had control until the instructor let the switch go and I had the plane again) and "we" taxied out to the runway and powered up. The plane accelerated normally, rotated and in no time at all was climbing like a home sick angel. Once I got to a comfortable altitude I explained to him I was going to give him control so he could get a feel for the controls. I explained I only wanted him to try and maintain straight level flight keeping the wings level. As soon as I gave him the control he started flying around like he had been doing this for years. He was "rusty" in the smoothness but he had muscle memory and already had a good foundation for flight control. The only thing was he had been flying low and fast on RealFlight because if he crashed it just reset. Time and time again I had to take over as he was uncomfortably close to the ground full throttle. I would take over, climb back to cruise altitude and give it back. He would do a couple of loops and next thing you know back down low again. This happened at least half a dozen times and I was getting a bit unhappy because he just wouldn't listen. I explained that on the far end of the field were some large trees that are "airplane magnets" and I didn't want to see him crash. He "understood" but assured me he was under control and flying well "this side" of the trees. I took my eyes off for a split second and looked back and he was low (full throttle) and close to the trees. I tried to switch back but it was too late. His new shiny plane was in the process of being shredded by the limbs of the old oak tree. It looks like a snow storm of balsa, lite ply, and monocote raining down.
Anyway he contacted Tower Hobbies and I had to fill out a form explaining that he WAS operating at an AMA sanctioned field, he WAS on a buddy box with a seasoned instructor and he had destroyed the plane in a crash. Less than a week later a large box arrived with his new airplane. He was no longer interested and sold everything to a fellow club member for a pennies on the dollar.
The moral of this LONG story... get a good flight sim and USE it. I think most all of them currently have many different models of "Quads" as standard now and you can really have some fun while learning some very valuable flying skills.
My personal sim preference is
Phoenix Flight Sim because it has great graphics, isn't a resource hog, and you only buy it once and all upgrades and aircraft expansions are free.
Sorry for the long post LOL
