So, you want to fly an RC plane? Unlike cars, which beginners can pull out of the box and drive without worry (for the most part), a few more things can go wrong with flying machines. From crashing your park flyer into a nearby lake to breaking the brand new HDTV with an indoor crash, planes kind of raise the stakes a bit.
One option is to buy a couple of cheap, sub-$100 indoors planes ,then flying them in an empty gym or warehouse. If you crash them, you'll only be down a small amount, which shouldn't be so bad. Of course, you'll still be wasting money, so it might not be a solution everyone can be comfortable with.
A better alternative should be to get a handle on flying radio-controlled planes using an RC flight simulator software. There are both paid and free versions of these types of software, so there's a good amount of options for everyone. In case you're looking to research them further, you can begin with popular titles, such as FMS, RealFlight and Clearview.
Don't think you can learn without a real radio controller? You're in luck, since a few RC flight simulators actually come with their own peripherals (they can get pricey, though) and some even work with a variety of RC controllers (like the ones real RC planes came with) via an interface cable. Even better, they can simulate flight for a variety of RC models, so there's a good chance you will find the exact brand and type of plane you're planning to use.
As a precaution, we do recommend keeping your expectations reasonable. While using an RC flight simulator might warm you up with flying your TRex 450, it doesn't guarantee you won't make mistakes once you begin flying the planes in real life.
