Flight Sim required

I've just got my first R/C plane and as a total novice i wanted to get a Sim to practice the rudermentaries of flying whilst at home, i'd love a Sim which is based at a real Airfield, my fav are many but Coltishall, Horsham St Faiths or Bentwaters would be my choice.
I'd like to plug in my Transmittor a Futaba 6EXP if poss. Can anyone help supply a suitable Sim for a complete first timer please.

I think the one at the link below will work with your controller....
www.flying-model-simulator.com/

Windsock will know for sure, from good experience, hopefully he will be along soon....

While I can see the logic in Jason's request, you must get it out of your mind you are flying from the outside of the cockpit.

If you practice from the cockpit, all your movements will mirror those and not what you see from the ground.

I have seen many models crash because the flyer was doing just that.

I wish you the best jason and you enjoy your flying. This was given a good write up and its free too. www.computeractive.co.uk/article ... ad/2163376

Brian.

Some of the RC control Sims give a ground view of proceedings exactly as it would be in the real model situation.

In fact you can have a ground view in MS Flight Simulator as well but , in the many of the dedicated model sims you can plug in the control TX so that you're actually using the controls as you will when you venture outside with your model.

Pimpernel
What Jason is after is an RC Simulator, what you are thinking of is a Flight Simulator - 2 completely different animals! An RC Simulator places you at a fixed point on the ground(although most popular sims give you the option of viewing the flight from many points eg cockpit, chase view etc) as in real life and you control your model from that point.

Jason
You have plenty of options and its really down to your budget. You can go the cheap way and get hold of FMS as a previous post mentions. This is a good sim albeit a fairly basic one in terms of the flight model. It is freeware but you will need a lead to connect your Transmitter to the PC. Have a look at www.rc-electronics.co.uk

There are a couple of packages available that bundle the FMS software with a cheap controller. This connects directly to your PC via the usb port. The disadvantage is that you are not using your own Transmitter which is what you I assume you wish to do. Just google FMS and you should find suppliers of this option. These sims are adequate for teaching you the basics of Radio Control and will get you used to the mysteries of orientation!

If you want a realistic simulator with models that respond in a lifelike manner you have to spend more money. There are 2 options with the top end sims – you either buy just the software and use your transmitter (leads normally supplied with the software to suit your particular Tx) or you buy the software complete with a Tx. The price is normally around £100 for these sims(or £40 more with Tx). These sims come with photorealistic flying sites, but I don’t think you will find them with your favourite airfields! If you are interested, the sims that are most popular are Realflight G4.5, Reflex XTR and Aerofly Professional, There are others available such as Phoenix, and Hangar 9 FS One. Have a browse on the web and get a feel for whats out there. Read some of the model forums to find out which ones come recommended.

Having said all that, if you are a complete novice, the best advice I can offer is to join a club and learn to fly with them. You have a much greater chance of succeeding this way. Many many people try teaching themselves and fail. The RC Simulator will be an aid to your training, but it should not be seen as a complete training package for a novice. Of course, you may already have joined a club in which case ignore this paragraph! Whichever way you go I wish you luck and I hope you enjoy it.

If you need any more info, let me know.

Windy

Windy

Thanks for the advice and pointers, i'll look into the various avenues you suggested. I only want a sim to practice the basics whilst i can't fly for real, i.e rain or windy weather.
A good friend who has flown r/c for 30+ years is teaching me and another friend has let me fly on his land.
I will eventually join a club , probably my mates one but i want to get a feel for it first hence the cheapo plane which won't hurt my wallet if it crashes