If you are an FPV drone racing enthusiast that is only getting started in this fun-filled activity, FPV drone simulators are incredibly handy in helping you to enhance your drone flying skills without having to risk your valuable drone – and your money. You will be able to train your hands for drone control and your mind to remain calm and collected when flying a real drone.
The market provides a wide variety of FPV drone simulators. You will have the privilege of choosing out of many awesome options. In this post, we will provide summaries of what we think are some of the best FPV drone simulators currently available in the market.
We recommend that you use controllers while practicing flying with a drone simulator. It’s the only way to build your motor skills and muscle memory for the real thing. If you don’t already have a controller then check out our recommendations of cheap controllers at the end of this article.
So let’s get into it! What are the best FPV drone simulators available online for you?
1. FPV Freerider
This is one of the most widely used drone simulators, and it provides fantastic tools that give you a real-life drone racing feel. This simulator presents simulated situations that are similar to real-life drone racing situations. Flying in the FPV mode will get you acquainted with what to expect in real-world drone racing. The skills and mindset that you acquire from using this simulator can be implemented in your actual drone flying. The other great thing about this drone simulator is its affordability – it will only cost you $5! The company also provides a demo version which provides a single-track simulation only.
On the flip side, the FPV Freerider provides limited flight characteristics compared to some of the other software. Customizing the rates of the drone cannot be done, which presents a bit of a challenge when you want your simulated drone to behave like a real-life fpv drone racer. However, if you are a newbie in this field, FPV Freerider is a suitable FPV drone simulator that will provide you with situations that make you learn essential drone flying skills. If you are a seasoned professional, this simulator might not be your cup of tea, and we recommend you keep reading to find more suitable options.
This software can be used with both Windows OS and MacOS. FPV Freerider also supports a wide range of transmitters.
The simulation provides six different flying scenarios which include desert, island, and playground. You also get to fly in a simulated meadow, field and car park. Other than the FPV mode, this simulator provides other flying modes such as Line of Sight (LOS), Acro mode and angle mode.
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2. Liftoff FPV Drone Simulator
You will enjoy using the Liftoff Simulator. This simulator is made particularly to present you with simulated but realistic drone flying situations. It has a user interface that you can utilize to customize your flying. You can customize the rates, allowing you to create realistic drone racing situations with your simulation. The drone’s motors, propellers, and batteries can also be modified – whether this makes a significant difference in the real-time flights is quite debatable.
This FPV drone simulator provides a number of integrated race courses and a wide range of flying scenarios. The Liftoff Drone Simulator gives access to a huge online user community. This community has experts that provide tips and guidance on improving the functionality of the simulator.
The multiplayer online mode allows you to practice drone flying while competing against other users. This kind of competition promotes skills enhancement. Competing with your online peers is also fun.
On the downside, multiple users have given feedback citing that the simulated drone feels too floaty, which is different from the real-life situation. Therefore, even if the Liftoff simulator is really good and has been making tremendous improvements in user experience, it does have room for improvement. We recommend that you run the software on a high-spec computer. If your computer is a little low on specs, you will have to tone down the software settings to enjoy the ride.
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3. Velocidrone FPV Racing Simulator
Velocidrone provides users with advanced features that make for a realistic simulation. With this FPV Drone Simulator, you get to make a choice on the aircraft you will fly, and you can create customized race courses as well. It also has features for map exploration. This simulator allows you to adjust beta flight rates and therefore enjoy mechanics that are realistic.
The software is a little costlier compared to the competitors, but its features and functionality justify the price. It offers value for your money.
Velocidrone is compatible with Tranis and Turnigy Evolution controllers out of the box. It is a plug and play product. All you need to do is plug in the simulator, configure it, sit back and enjoy the ride.
It provides advanced maps that let you fly in a wide array of scenarios including, open fields, subway stations, abandoned factories, ports, and sports stadiums. Velocidrone provides a number of pre-configured courses. You can also share your own routes with other online players.
With the online multiplayer mode, you can compete against online peers with results displayed on a leaderboard. This software can only run on a computer with reasonably high specifications since it requires a high-quality graphics card for it to run. The Macbook Pro is an excellent choice to run on, but the MacBook Air could pose some challenges.
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4. RealFlight FPV Drone Simulator
This awesome simulator offers over 100 different aircrafts to choose from- including drones, helicopters, and airplanes. With over 35 different flying sites and the option of customized sites and aircrafts, RealFlight offers a wide variety for its users. The sim provides realistic challenges that are both fun and informative. It offers a multiplayer option where you get to compete with other FPV drone racing enthusiasts.
As an added bonus, RealFlight is compatible with VR headsets for an enhanced experience. This FPV Drone Simulator provides virtually everything you need for fun and for training for real-world drone racing. Every flight is configured with realistic physics and the interface is simple and user-friendly.
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5. HOTPROPS FPV Drone Simulator
The Hotprops simulator provides both single player and multiplayer functionalities to ensure that you enjoy the FPV simulated drone racing. With a vast range of levels to choose from, this drone provides quite an experience for the FPV drone racing enthusiast. If you want to practice some out-of-the-box drone moves, and you don’t want to risk your hard earned money, this FPV Drone Simulator offers an alternative for realistic simulated practice. HOTPROPS is free software; you can try it out at absolutely no cost.
The simulator endeavors to provide a user-experience that is as similar to real-life FPV drone racing as possible. With the option of adjusting certain parameters, you can customize your simulation to mimic your drone’s behavior. It is easy to use, and the instructions are straightforward.
The company does regular tests and also incorporates user feedback in their updates with the aim of improving user experience. On the downside, these updates can cause considerably long wait-times while the software automatically updates at launch. The software can also tend to load slowly mid-sim. For you to enjoy the multiplayer mode, you will need to download the course off the internet.
Overall, Hotprops provides great tools, has really good graphics, and it presents realistic drone flight physics. It has the maps feature that allows you a wide choice of routes you can use to enhance your skills.
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6. DRL Drone Racing Simulator
This is the official simulator for Drone Racing League, a professional drone race. It is a very polished simulator offering tools that enable simulated racing that is as close to real-life drone racing as it can get. DRL Drone racing simulator was used in the pre-qualification of the 2017 world championships. It offers courses derived from real-life professional competitions. Scoring is done in a similar way to real competitions.
The DRL simulated drones are highly customizable, and you get to choose your experience. This FPV Drone simulator also features outdoor maps that are quite realistic. We recommend that you use the simulator with either Console or RC controllers, as they are compatible.
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7. Real Drone Simulator
This FPV drone simulator was purposely built for entertainment, and it also provides a learning opportunity for improving your drone flying and racing skills. The developers are committed to making improvements as they acquire new information and feedback from users. It is provided free of charge, with a choice for optional donations. The software is still impressive nonetheless.
It offers two types of settings where you can practice your drone flying skills. One of the environments provided is Virtual Reality, which is a realistic computer-generated setting. The other is the ‘Real World’ which is a depiction of the real-world setting that is based on Google Earth. It provides different levels of difficulty and wind strength for each level. You can also set different levels of wind strength.
This simulator is primarily designed to be fun, but it also provides realistic drone physics and handling so that you can enhance your real-life drone flying skills. With a career mode, the next version of the software will allow you to earn virtual money that you can use to upgrade your simulated drone. You will also be able to compete against other drone enthusiasts online. The simulated drone can be controlled by the use of a transmitter, a game pad or simply using a keyboard and mouse.
The developers plan on adding some other fantastic features including aerial photography and filming missions, and international competitions.
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8. Heli-X Flight Simulator
The free version of the Heli-x Flight Simulator provides a quadcopter designed for photography and aerial film-making. This sim will help you learn essential drone flying skills before you can risk your expensive drone in real life. With a wide range of training modes, the software will provide a chance to test your abilities.
Users have however pointed that the simulation offers low flying mileage. The tasks are very challenging which will train your mind to stay calm when flying a real drone. It also doesn’t provide a multiplayer platform which is a downside because you cannot compete with fellow users. You can only beat your previous scores. The free version features two airports and a training course, with various kinds of obstacles that you can add for complexity.
The default settings are preprogrammed, but you can customize the handling settings.
9. Rotor Rush
Rotor Rush is an incredible FPV drone racing simulator, and it provides you with the opportunity to practice drone racing and flying skills. It provides simulations of official trucks from organizations such as MULTIGP, Tiny Whoop, and FPV Racing Events. It has a multiplayer platform whereby you can compete against other drone enthusiasts. Online events hosted by real-life drone racing directors will be of benefit to you. The simulator supports Taranis (via USB Connection) and Spektrum Transmitters (via OrangeRX dongle). You will need a pretty high-specs computer to run the software.
Rotor Rush has a membership service that you subscribe to so that you can access their online community. You can also download new race tracks as they are developed. You can participate in online competitions with other users and reach a global drone racing community. The membership will cost you $5 a month only.
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Controllers to use with FPV Drone Simulators
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We recommend that you use controllers with the drone simulators. Some of the most affordable transmitters that will allow you to connect to a computer with a USB are included in the list below. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to double check that the controller you are purchasing is compatible with the FPV Drone simulator you are planning on using.
| Flysky FS-T6 |   |
| Spektrum DXe DSMX |   |
| Turnigy Evolution |   |
| Turnigy 9X |   |
| FrSky 2.4G ACCST Taranis Q X7 |   |
These transmitters can also be used to fly a real FPV drone and would be a great investment for someone serious about getting into FPV drone racing.
Conclusion
FPV drone racing is a fun exercise, but for inexperienced drone racing enthusiasts, it can also be very expensive – mainly because of drone crashes. We hope taking the time to read through this list will help you avoid such crashes until you gain adequate drone flying skills. We’re certain that the right FPV drone flying skills can be learned through flying in FPV drone simulators. We have compiled the top 9 FPV Drone simulators we think you should choose from. Try them out. Get into FPV drone racing! We wish you the best.
If you’re feeling like you’re ready for the real thing and are on a budget, then maybe check our some of our reviews on the Best FPV Racing Drones under $300, and our list of the Best Camera drone under $300.
Come back sometime and check out some more of our product reviews and best-in-class lists.