Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
Flying a drone requires skill, which also makes you confident. Without the skill, the confidence to fly the drone is wanting, and the fear of crashing your drone may likely keep you from flying it. With the best drone simulators for beginners, you can learn how to fly your drone professionally like a pro without ever crashing or losing it.
Since drone simulators are created to mimic the experience of flying an actual drone, they allow you to learn how to fly drones professionally before handling a real drone.
There are many drone simulators. The best drone simulators include DRL Simulator, AeroSIM RC, Velocidrone, and RealFlight 9.5. A drone simulator ranges from $5 to $250 based on quality.
Here, I’ll discuss the benefits of drone simulators and guide you through picking the best in the market. Stay calm and read on.
Table of contents
What Is a Drone Flight Simulator?
A drone flight simulator, as the name suggests, is a program that mimics the real action of flying a drone. Using a simulator, you learn how to handle drone controls and maintain the drone in the air.
The controller is connected to a compatible device based on your preferences. However, you need to be sure that the simulator you’re buying is compatible with your preferred device.
The simulator’s specs determine which device it’s compatible with. Even so, most work well with personal computers or a Mac.
You can also buy a customizable drone simulator to prepare you for the exact flying environments. This helps you to be mentally ready for the actual environment you’ll be flying your drone.
Some customization options you might have are changing the drone type and the environment you’ll be simulating your drone.
Whether you want to use your drone commercially or for fun, drone simulators help you to fly your drone professionally.
How Much Does a Drone Simulator Cost?
A drone simulator’s cost varies depending on its robustness; for example, a beginner’s is less robust, and its cost could range from $5 to $30.
A more robust drone simulator usable by experts or pilots who want to use a drone for commercial purposes could cost up to $1350.
So, though it’s possible to customize drone simulators, not all are customizable and hence understand your needs before buying one.
Best Drone Simulators For Beginners:
With the best drone simulators for beginners, flying your drone becomes stress-free. It’s a beneficial asset for every drone enthusiast.
Sadly, deciding which drone simulator is suitable for a beginner and how much you should set aside for it can be tedious.
Some of the best drone simulators for beginners include Velocidrone, DJI Drone Simulator, and LiftOff. Thankfully, these drone simulators are also great for professional users who might have forgotten to fly drones.
You can use these simulators to choose your preferred flight modes, drone model, and flying environment.
Keep reading to find your best pick.
LiftOff
If you’re just starting to use drones or want a drone for fun, breaking the bank to buy a drone simulator wouldn’t be necessary.
Liftoff is an excellent drone simulator for beginners and is also affordable. It’s available on PlayStation, Windows PC, Xbox, Mac, and Steam.
So, what’s in LiftOff for a beginner? LiftOff allows you to use radio controllers and FPV goggles for a seamless learning experience.
In addition, there are more than 16 race courses you can undertake. Besides, you can also fly the drone in different environments based on your preferences.
Most beginners love LiftOff because it has many leaderboards and competitive events.
This simulator offers a game-like experience to make the beginner enjoy flying drones. It’s ideal for beginners who want to develop their FPV skills.
Hence, you lack access to some drone parts. These parts are, however, accessible after completing the game tasks.
This simulator also offers flight and Freestyle modes for people who don’t like tournaments.
Pros:
- It’s not highly priced
- Great for beginners
- Has awesome graphics
- You can get it on consoles and steam
Cons:
- Denies access to some parts until the game tasks are entirely completed
- Gives the user a game-like experience instead of an authentic drone-flying experience
DRL Simulator
If you’re a beginner looking for a drone simulator with the best FPV racing opportunity, consider buying the DRL simulator. It is both a game and a simulator. That means you’ll join the real-life competition if you do well in the racing part.
Since it supports the input of radio transmitters, this simulator also offers the best real physics. DRL simulator allows you to build a drone using a variety of parts.
Though it has no transmitter, this simulator still made it to the XBOX and PS. Thankfully, you can download as many community-designed and real-life tracks as you want.
Pros:
- Great for beginners
- Has excellent real physics
- You can create and download personal tracks or use the community-designed and real-life tracks.
- It’s affordable
Cons:
- You must participate in the game and perform well to be accepted in the real-life competition.
Quadcopter FX Simulator
Are you looking for an app to practice drone flying? Quadcopter FX Simulator is your go-to app designed for beginners like you. What’s more? You don’t need a computer to operate it; installing the Quadcopter FX Simulator App is all you need to do.
The best part? This App is compatible with your iOS or Android smartphones. Though it may not offer the best real-life flying experience, it’s an excellent beginner app.
It’s programmed to simulate a multirotor. This drone is controlled using a remote and consists of a home lock, dynamic wind, return to position (RPL), course lock, heads-up location (HUD), and altitude hold switch.
This is the best simulating App for basic drone training and beginner-level FVP racing.
Sadly, this lowly priced App limits you because you cannot customize it based on the environment you want to use it or the drone type you would like to fly. So, for such options, you might have to look at the other options I have listed above.
Pros:
- Best for beginners
- You don’t need a computer, just your smartphone.
- It’s cheap
- It works with Google Cardboard VR
Cons:
- Doesn’t allow the environment and drone-type customizations
VelociDrone
This drone simulator offers a high range of customization options. If you have basic drone racing knowledge and are an FPV drone racing enthusiast, the Velocidrone simulator is all you need. It works perfectly on Linus, Windows PC, and Mac.
Featuring a time attack and track editing mode, VelociDrone is excellent for a beginner struggling to avoid obstacles while flying drones. What makes VelociDrone one of the best drone simulators is the mapping system.
There are 14 maps on this simulator, which range from large open areas to indoor spaces. So, you have a wide range of options, from buildings, stadiums, warehouses, and gymnasiums.
If, however, you’re looking for a simulator with gaming elements, VelociDrone is not your best pick; get yourself a LiftOff simulator.
That’s why it’s best for beginners who want to perfect their flying skills. It, however, offers interactive sessions which entail participation in the leaderboard and multiplying.
Pros:
- It’s best for improving a beginners drone flying skills
- Offers customization privileges and excellent physics
- Ideal for perfecting obstacle avoidance skills
Cons:
- Beginners must have basic drone knowledge to use it
- Graphics are not of high quality
RealFlight Trainer Edition
Created for training, the RealFlight trainer edition offers great flight lessons for beginners. It is compatible with most USB or RC controllers and VR headsets, giving you an exciting flight-like experience.
If you wish, you can upgrade it to the 9.5 version, but you have to pay the difference between your version and the upgraded one. With the updated version, you get more advanced privileges; for example, you can access the multiplayer modes and flight environments.
Pros:
- It’s beginner-friendly
- It’s cheap
- You can upgrade to a higher version at any time
- It’s compatible with most USB or RC controllers
Cons:
- You have to upgrade to enjoy more advanced controls
Necessary Equipment for a Drone Flight Simulator:
In addition to a simulator, a few other hardware and controllers are necessary to have stress-free beginner piloting experience lessons.
Below, I’ll discuss the hardware and the controllers you need; you might also need FPV goggles, though they’re not a must-have!
Controllers:
Most beginners opt to use keyboards for virtually piloting drones. I’m afraid that’s not right in all ways, as you can’t fly your drone using a keyboard.
Remember, you’re learning to fly a drone in the real world, and a keyboard won’t fly one! Hence, drone controllers are the best option for any serious drone pilot enthusiast.
Most flight simulators are compatible with real controllers of certain drones as long as it is designed to work with that specific drone model.
For cheaper simulators, they are effective for XBOX and PC, which are non-complex gaming controllers.
Hardware:
When using the best drone simulators for beginners, likely, you’ll only need a cheap computer with minimum physics and graphics settings. For a better experience, a computer with an updated GPU and CPU is a great choice.
You can use advanced computers like Nvidia RTX2080 and Intel i9 for better graphics. If you’re using any of the simulators I have reviewed above, the Nvidia GTX1060 GPU and Intel i5 9600K CPU will give you a great experience.
Conclusion:
The best drone simulators for beginners have great features that make learning enjoyable for beginner drone pilots lessons.
These simulators include RealFlight Trainer Edition, VelociDrone, Quadcopter FX Simulator, LiftOff, and DRL Simulator.
Pick any drone simulator provided above based on your skill or learning requirements. Ensure you have the proper hardware and controllers for a trouble-free learning session.
HAPPY FLYING!
