Learn to Fly RC — Before You Buy

This site is here to help people get started in the wonderful world of RC flight. Our proposition is simple: you need a flight simulator to start the hobby — not after you've already bought a plane. The best flight simulator is the one you can use before buying a real model, and the one you can start using right now. No download, no install — you can be in the air in about twenty seconds.

Start Flying Free →

Runs in your browser. Free. No credit card, no install.

What a Simulator Actually Gives You

A simulator doesn't replace the real thing — it prepares you for it. Every mistake you make learning to fly costs nothing in software. The same mistake with a real airplane can cost considerably more.

Before you spend money on your first RC model, a simulator lets you build the basic stick coordination, throttle management, and orientation skills that take most beginners the longest to learn — the skills that determine whether your first real flight ends in a landing or a repair bill.

It also lets you try aircraft types before committing to one. Trainers, warbirds, gliders, helicopters, jets — you can find out what you actually enjoy flying before you buy anything.

Three Simulators — Different Times, Different Needs

Happy Bytes has been building RC flight simulators since 2005. Over that time the same underlying flight-simulation work has taken three different, still-active forms — each built for a different way people actually want to fly:

ClearView

The original. A full Windows desktop RC simulator, in continuous development since 2005. One-time purchase, no subscription.

Absolute RC — Mobile

Native iOS and Android apps built on the same flight model, refined for touch. Millions of downloads.

Absolute RC — Browser

The current generation: the full simulator, running directly in a modern web browser, on any device. No install. 450+ aircraft and landscapes. Free to start.

Three Different Simulators, for Three Different Ways to Fly

There isn't one "best" version — there are three, and each is built for a different way people actually want to fly.

ClearView, the Windows desktop simulator, is for pilots who want a single price, no subscription, and the ability to fly completely offline.

The Absolute RC mobile apps are built specifically for touch, and go further than the other two versions: they also include cars and boats, and a model that reconfigures itself between plane, helicopter, drone, and boat — one of the most popular features with mobile users.

Absolute RC in the browser is for instant access from any computer, phone, or tablet you own, with the largest library of aircraft and flying fields of the three — content not available in the other versions. This is the simulator that is always with you — on your home computer, your laptop, your work computer, your iPhone, or your Android tablet. All in one account, all models, everywhere, and always new and updated.

Read the story of how one simulator became three →