I'd love to pick up heli flying for real, but an hour costs 2.5 times as much as fixed wing, which is already expensive enough. And even with that heap of money you only get a Robinson trashcan at best.

Flying washing machines. I remember an Army aviator saying “an airplane achieves flight by obtaining a useful flow of air over the top of the wing , whereas a helicopter beats the air into submission.” I rode several in Nam and to and from drilling rigs in the Gulf. On a hot day sometimes full of men and tools it seemed they would dive toward the water leaving the pad to achieve transitional lift.

@Patco Lch,

did you actually fly helicopters? 

If yes then you're an excellent source of info regarding acccuracy in the modelling of rotaries in our flight simulators !!!

I will "use you" if that's indeed the case 🙂 

2 hours ago, jcomm said:

@Patco Lch,

did you actually fly helicopters? 

If yes then you're an excellent source of info regarding acccuracy in the modelling of rotaries in our flight simulators !!!

I will "use you" if that's indeed the case 🙂 

No sir! I was an Army controller in VN but went up often on VR (recon) missions as an observer when not on duty. Got to know some crews who would let me go with them if they had room. Cool bunch of dudes.

After the PATCO strike in 1981 and Reagan fired 70% of the US ATC work force I went to work for Halliburton for about a year. Living in Lake Charles at the time. Rough tough dangerous jobs in the oil fields and gave me a lasting appreciation for every tank of gas and the warm heat I have in my home today. That was a life style not for me.

9 minutes ago, Patco Lch said:

No sir! I was an Army controller in VN but went up often on VR (recon) missions as an observer when not on duty. Got to know some crews who would let me go with them if they had room. Cool bunch of dudes.

After the PATCO strike in 1981 and Reagan fired 70% of the US ATC work force I went to work for Halliburton for about a year. Living in Lake Charles at the time. Rough tough dangerous jobs in the oil fields and gave me a lasting appreciation for every tank of gas and the warm heat I have in my home today. That was a life style not for me.

Anyway, an extense and important experience which, for sure, makes using flight simulation being even more "special" for someone who has ben "so close to the action" !

Thx for sharing 🙏

On 1/25/2026 at 6:33 PM, mSparks said:

 

I still have my TSK Mystar V2 Carbon 60. Don't fly due to the impossibility of getting parts! 

22 hours ago, Bjoern said:

I'd love to pick up heli flying for real, but an hour costs 2.5 times as much as fixed wing, which is already expensive enough. And even with that heap of money you only get a Robinson trashcan at best.

Heli sim hardware is so expensive too!!

On 1/26/2026 at 2:20 PM, UrgentSiesta said:

Ive been seeing some truly massive RC aircraft on YT. like approaching the size of a manned aircraft….!

And I’m presuming they don’t have the built in SAS that the quadcopter drones do…?

They’d do some serious damage if crashed into the wrong thing. 

at what point is it “too big”, I wonder?

Like this (this is Tyler Perry's house and 777. Tyler is also a real pilot and owns a Gulfstream III)?:
 

 

Edited January 27Jan 27 by alanw2005

21 hours ago, alanw2005 said:

Heli sim hardware is so expensive too!!

Yes. That's why I stick to my "does the trick" Thrustmaster hardware. (Don't have the room for an extra setup anyway.)

It’s nice to see that such discussions can be very civilised on this part of the forum without toxicity 😉

On 1/26/2026 at 2:20 PM, UrgentSiesta said:

Ive been seeing some truly massive RC aircraft on YT. like approaching the size of a manned aircraft….!

And I’m presuming they don’t have the built in SAS that the quadcopter drones do…?

They’d do some serious damage if crashed into the wrong thing. 

at what point is it “too big”, I wonder?

In case you are an Airbus guy. This is an RC plane!!!
 

 

What always "killed" my interest in scale RC is Reynolds fault 😞

Re=V⋅c / v  (in one of it's forms, c==wing chord, V== airspeed, v== kinematic viscosity)

added by wing loading factors... They ruin the realism of most scale RC airplanes who have to fly at speeds way out of sync with reality, given the scale...

These HUGE models which cost more than some real aircraft, can reduce the effect a little bit, and so do "indoor" models...

Edited January 29Jan 29 by jcomm

Jcomm, the only person on Earth who would uninstall (i.e. smash) a $5000 RC plane because its flying characteristics do not fit the scale.

1 hour ago, Bjoern said:

Jcomm, the only person on Earth who would uninstall (i.e. smash) a $5000 RC plane because its flying characteristics do not fit the scale.

🤣

8 hours ago, jcomm said:

They ruin the realism of most scale RC airplanes who have to fly at speeds way out of sync with reality, given the scale...

These HUGE models which cost more than some real aircraft, can reduce the effect a little bit, and so do "indoor" models...

Well said! In theory to keep the same "scaled" speed, the mass ratio should decrease with the 4th power of scale! So for example an A350 with a 2m wingspan, would have to weight at most 250g. Maybe not even aerogel would be light enough! 😆