Practice on the Drone Simulator Before Purchasing
No one wants to buy a $ 500 hobby drone just to find out that they are a bad pilot, especially when you consider how one bad turn or accident can ruin your investment. Practice on the simulator before buying it, just in case (and show yourself in front of your friends).
Drone simulators are perfect to hone your skills or find out if hobbies excite you at all. In addition to playing the physics of a quadcopter flight, drone simulators offer other features such as many locations to practice, multiplayer action, and support for equipment you already have at home.
Low barrier to entry
The best thing about learning to fly a drone simulator is the low barrier of entry. By low I mean free. Drone Racing League offers a free simulator that is compatible with PC and Mac, so you cansimply download , install and start flying.
This not only means that anyone can participate in drone racing (as long as they have a PC or Mac that meets the minimum requirements ), but it also means you can do it all without spending a dime.
No drone or controller required
Professional drone pilots use special radio-controlled controllers costing hundreds of dollars with various settings that are typical for controlling a quadcopter. If, like me, you don’t have a few hundred dollars to spend on a dedicated practice controller, you can always use the ones you have.
If you can connect your game controller (I’m using an Xbox 360 controller) to your computer, you can just use the joysticks to pilot. You have a first-person view on your monitor, so you don’t need expensive flying goggles.
Faster Reset Means Faster Learning
When colliding with a real drone, your team instantly stops in flight. Now you need to get up, find the crash site and make sure your drone is still running before you hit the gas pedal and set off for a new run. If you crash in drone simulator, pressing one button instantly resets your position and prepares you to fly again. It’s perfect for basic things like flying between trees or a box without having to sit in the heat or walk in the park to pick up your precious gear.
Compete with real pilots
The Drone Racing League simulator offers an online multiplayer mode that allows you to compete against other pilots. If you are interested in the competitive aspect, online play will put you up against other pilots, some of whom are real professionals. There is no need to travel to the event if you can race on your own.
Practice leads to excellence
After spending a few days training, I can confidently say that drone racing is an incredibly difficult skill to master. This is a very smart way to test your drone pilot skills or practice before biting a bullet and getting your own drone. My passion for drone racing came true after a few days of playing. In short, I suck, although I can thank the simulator for saving me a few hundred dollars on a starter quadcopter. With the 2017 Drone Racing League debuting on ESPN2 this year and the final on July 8th, I think I’ll watch a pro instead.