An RC flight simulator is a computer program that allows pilots of radio-controlled aircraft to practice on a computer, without the risk and expense of damaging a real model. Besides the obvious use of training beginners, they are also used for practising new aerobatics, evaluating a model before buying it, and to allow flight practice when conditions are otherwise unsuitable. Most simulators allow the use of real R/C transmitters to control the sim.

There are a number of commercial packages available, such as Eiperle CGM's neXt - RC Flight Simulator, SVK Systems' ClearView, Knife Edge Software's RealFlight, IPACS' AeroFly and Trasna Technology's AccuRC. There are also a number of free simulators, with SeligSIM (FS One) being the most well known and most feature rich.

Most simulators allow the importing of add-ons such as new models and landscapes. There are many web sites dedicated to offering free content like this.

Some of these simulators are dedicated to R/C flight, while others are generic simulators that can simulate both full-scale and R/C flight.

Feature Comparison

Name Type of aircraft Price Software license Free Demo? Operating System Controller Type Last stable release (date) External Link Absolute RC Simulator Model Planes and Helicopters iOS, Android, Windows phones and tablets On screen controls https://absolutesim.com/ Aerofly Professional Deluxe Model planes and helicopters US$300 Windows, Mac Included or controller http://www.aerofly.com/afpd/index.html Aerofly RC 7 Model planes, Helicopters and Drones €40+ Windows, Mac Included or controller2015-08-27 https://www.ikarus.net/en/aeroflyrc-7/rc7-features/ Aerofly RC 8 Model planes, Helicopters and Drones €99+ Windows, Mac Included or controller https://www.ikarus.net/en/rc8-features/ AeroSIM RC Model planes, helicopters, multicopters €65 Windows Real Controller 2019-02 http://www.aerosimrc.com/ AirSim Multicopters, cars, etc. Windows, Linux 2020-04 https://github.com/Microsoft/AirSim AccuRC RC Flight Simulator Model helicopters US$59 Windows Real Controller http://www.accurc.com/ Wings Wings and planes including FPV racing $36 FPS check only Windows Any analog USB controller 2023-09 (1.17) https://www.wings-sim.com/index.php R/C Desk Pilot Model Planes and Helicopters n/a Windows Joystick 2017-06 http://www.rcdeskpilot.com/ ClearView Model Planes and Helicopters US$40 Windows, Joystick or Controller http://www.rcflightsim.com/ CRRCsim Model Planes n/a Windows, Mac, Linux Joystick, Controllers 2018-07-04 https://sourceforge.net/projects/crrcsim/ CSM Model Planes and Helicopters UK£69.99 n/a DOS, Windows Real Controllers 1998 (V10) https://web.archive.org/web/20050830000501/http://www.rcmodels.org/csm/csm_simulator.htm Dave Brown RCFS Model Planes and Helicopters US$150 Windows Joystick, Controllers https://web.archive.org/web/20060509083404/http://www.dbproducts.com/store/rcfs2001.htm Digital Aircraft Modeller Model Planes US$40 Windows Joystick, controllers http://www.digitalaircraftmodeler.com/ Electric RC Sim Model planes, quadcopter US$1.99 iOS Touch screen controls http://jetstripes.com/games/electric-rc-sim/ FlightGear Planes, helicopters, model planes. (Flight simulator, not RC) Flightgear#Commercial redistribution n/a Cross-platform Check categories: hardware (joystick) & R/C. 2019-01-29 http://www.flightgear.org/ Flying Model Simulator Model Planes and Helicopters n/a Windows Joystick, controller adapters http://modelsimulator.com/ FS One Model Planes Windows Real Controllers, USB Simulator Controllers 2022-09-06 https://www.fsone.com SeligSIM (FS One) Model Planes Windows Real Controllers, USB Simulator Controllers 2025-03-25 https://www.seligsim.com Liftoff Drone Racing Quadcopters US$20 Windows, Mac, Linux Real controller, game controllers http://www.liftoff-game.com neXt - CGM RC Flight Simulator Helicopters, Model Planes, Multicopters and Drone Racing US$89.90 Windows, Mac, Linux Real controller, game controllers 2019-12-23 https://next-sim.cgm-online.com/rc-flight-simulator_e.html PhoenixSim Model Planes and Helicopters Windows Real Controller https://www.rc-thoughts.com/phoenix-sim/ PicaSim Model planes Windows, iOS, Android Joystick, Controllers, Touch http://www.rowlhouse.co.uk/PicaSim PRE-Flight Model Planes and Helicopters US$25–$45 Windows Real Controller http://www.preflightsim.com/ Great Planes RealFlight Model Planes and Helicopters US$200 Windows Real Controller http://www.realflight.com/ Mugi Sim Delta wing US$1 Windows, iOS (iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch) Joystick, Controllers, Touch 2019-03-27 https://baawolf.itch.io/mugi-sim Quadcopter FX Simulator Quadcopters Android, iOS Touchscreen, Joystick, Controller http://quadcopterfx.3dcreativeworld.com Slope Soaring Simulator Model planes Windows, Linux Joystick 2006-01-21 http://www.rowlhouse.co.uk/sss/ HELI-X Model helicopters and planes . Also version 0.9 is free Windows, Linux, Mac System Joystick, Real controllers 2020-07-01 http://www.heli-x.net/ Hover Here Model helicopters GPLv3 n/a. Windows, Mac Real controller, game controllers 2022-08 https://c.web.de/@949205153511112756/P_wvdHpRRLWNn-kKtXzr7g https://github.com/zulugithub/HoverHere X-Plane Just about anything US$30 Windows, Linux, Mac System Joystick http://www.x-plane.com AlphaMacSoftware's RC Helicopter Simulator Helicopters Mac System Joystick, Real Controllers http://www.alphamacsoftware.com/index.php Ron's RC Flight Simulator Electric Foamy Model Planes Windows, Mac, Linux, Android (Chrome or Firefox browsers only) Logitech and Xbox Gamepads, OculusVR 2013 http://www.ostafichuk.com/rons-rc-sim/ R/C Sim Sikorsky Helicopters €35 Windows Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick, Real Controllers http://home.zonnet.nl/blacksphere2/rcsim.html Reflex XTR2 Model Planes and Helicopters €169 Windows Real Controllers https://www.reflex-sim.net Zephyr Drone Simulator Quadcopters/Drones US$139.99 Windows, Mac Real Controllers https://www.zephyr-sim.com/ EreaDrone Quadcopters/Drones $18.99 Windows Real Controllers, Game Controllers (Xbox, Logitech, etc) 2026-04-08 (v0.10.0cs1263) https://www.ereadrone.com/play VelociDrone FPV Racing Simulator Quadcopters/Drones £16.99 Windows, Mac, Linux Real Controllers 2020-09-10 (v1.17) https://www.velocidrone.com/ FPV FreeRider Quadcopters/Drones US$4.99 Windows, Mac, Linux, Android USB Controllers 2019-02-05 https://itch.io/profile/fpv-freerider Wings Model Planes US$36 Windows, Linux Real Controllers, Xbox, PS4 2023-09 (1.17) https://www.wings-sim.com SIMNET Multicopter, Fixed-Wing and VTOL drones Subscription-based Cross-Platform (Web-based) Real Controllers https://simnet.aero/

References

External links Forum - RC-Sim.de, the RC-Simulation Server