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QQQq DR> .... I  want to know if anyone has used those R/C
 DR> Control programs for the Home  Computer? Do they work? Are they worth
 DR> the price?? I see Tower hobby has 2  different IBM Trainer Programs.. I
 KB> 
 KB> I started flying RC aircraft 2 years ago and found that the
 KB> Microsoft Flight Simulator was helpful in mastering the "control
 KB> reversal" skill and the altered perceptions of flying an RC
 KB> airplane as opposed to flying a full sized (Cessna 182) airplane.
 KB> I suppose it should also be helpful in learning basic flying
 KB> skills though, personally, I learned those earlier, not from MS
 KB> Flight Simulator so I'm not well qualified to comment on that
 KB> aspect. Flight Simulator was surprisingly realistic to me. You'll
 KB> want to configure it for the Cessna airplane, the Control Tower
 KB> view, and a reasonable (10 or so) zoom factor to give adequate
 KB> visibility. I haven't seen or used the RC simulators you mentioned
 KB> but one can speculate that they have been optimized for RC
 KB> training wheras the Microsoft one hasn't. One problem you might
 KB> face with the Microsoft choice is the scarcity of joysticks like
 KB> the ones on RC transmitters--it seems that all of the computer
 KB> joysticks these days are of the exotic, multi-buttoned, "handgrip"
 KB> style which is less realistic.
 KB> 
 KB> Be sure to join an RC club and enlist the aid of an instructor for
 KB> your FIRST flight. No matter how competent you become with the
 KB> simulator, those skills won't directly translate to competency
 KB> with actual RC flying. If you fly without an instructor you'll
 KB> crash and will have to spend extra time and money making repairs.
 KB> (Of course, you'll crash anyway, but less often and less severely
 KB> if you learn with an instructor.) If you have to fly without an
 KB> instructor try to use a cheap, slow flying trainer (small engine,
 KB> long wings) in a huge field with tall grass and no obstructions so
 KB> as to minimize crash damage. The typical balsa wood .40 sized
 KB> trainer is not particularly slow or crashworthy. Maybe an "Ugly
 KB> Stick" or some such will survive long enough.
 KB> 
 KB> After I augered in my Tower Trainer .40, I switched to flying RC
 KB> gliders on a 50 foot slope at a nearby school. Gliders give you
 KB> less opportunity for acrobatics but they are easier to fly, easier
 KB> to repair and more forgiving in crashes and collisions. Of course,
 KB> if you don't have a good slope or thermal site nearby, airplanes
 KB> are your best bet.
 KB> 
 KB> Happy Landings.
 KB> 
 KB> --- Blue Wave/Max v2.12
 KB> 
On strong recommendation.. If you try it by your self and get in trouble,, 
chop the throttle.  This will slow things down and give you a better chance 
at 
a recovery or soft crash...
q
--- Shotgun v1.38a
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