RC Flight Sim

DaScient, Inc. | 2026

Free, open-source, community-driven RC flight simulator built with Godot 4.

RC-Flight-Sim is a realistic, physics-accurate RC aircraft simulator that runs on everything from integrated graphics (Intel HD 4000) to high-end GPUs. It supports USB RC dongles, gamepads, keyboard, and touch controls – out of the box, with no special drivers required.

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✈️ Features

Feature	Details
Physics	Full 6-DOF aerodynamics via JSBSim (stall, spin, knife-edge, P-factor, ground effect); built-in self-levelling multirotor (drone) model with PID stabilisation & motor mixing
Aircraft	High-wing trainer, 3D aerobat, scale turbine jet, FPV quadcopter – data-driven XML/JSON
Controller	Any USB RC dongle (HID joystick), Xbox, PlayStation, keyboard, touch; calibration wizard
Environments	Outdoor airfield, indoor arena; dynamic time-of-day & weather (wind affects FDM)
Cameras	FPV, Chase (spring-arm), Stationary (pilot box), Tower, Free Orbit
Rendering	GL Compatibility (low-end) → Forward+ Vulkan (high-end); dynamic shadows, post-FX
Extensible	Hot-loadable aircraft and sceneries; community Aircraft/Scenery Developer Kit
Agentic AI	Opt-in Experimental Agentic Mode: BYO-key LLM flight instructor, AI co-pilot, scenario generator & debrief
Platforms	Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, Web

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🚀 Quick Start

Option A – Download a Release

Grab the latest binary from the Releases page.

Option B – Run from Source

# 1. Clone with submodules
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/DaScient/RC-Flight-Sim.git
cd RC-Flight-Sim

# 2. (Optional) Build the JSBSim GDExtension for high-fidelity physics
cd godot_project/addons/jsbsim_gdextension
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DJSBSIM_ENABLED=OFF -DGODOT_CPP_DIR=../../../godot-cpp
cmake --build build --config Release
cd ../../..

# 3. Open Godot 4.2+ and import godot_project/project.godot
# 4. Press F5 to fly!

Without compiling the GDExtension the simulator runs with the built-in kinematic physics model – perfect for testing input and camera systems.

See docs/build_instructions.md for full platform-specific details.

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🎮 Controls

Keyboard (no controller)

Key	Action
W / S	Elevator (pitch)
A / D	Aileron (roll)
Q / E	Rudder (yaw)
↑ / ↓	Throttle up / down
F1	FPV camera
F2	Chase camera
F3	Stationary camera
F4	Tower camera
F5	Free orbit camera
Tab	Cycle cameras
Escape	Pause / Menu

USB RC Dongle / Joystick

Connect your transmitter's USB dongle before launching. RC-Flight-Sim auto-detects it and applies a default channel mapping (Aileron/Elevator/Throttle/Rudder → axes 0-3).
Run the Calibration Wizard (Main Menu → Calibrate) for accurate endpoint/direction/deadzone settings that are saved per-device GUID.

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📁 Repository Structure

RC-Flight-Sim/
├── godot_project/          Godot 4 project
│   ├── assets/
│   │   ├── aircraft/       JSON + JSBSim XML configs per aircraft type
│   │   ├── sceneries/      Heightmaps, textures, scenario JSON
│   │   └── ui/             Fonts, icons, themes
│   ├── scripts/
│   │   ├── autoload/       Singletons: InputManager, SettingsManager, SceneManager
│   │   ├── flight_sim/     FDMInterface, AircraftNode, Atmosphere
│   │   ├── camera/         CameraManager + 5 camera types
│   │   ├── controller/     CalibrationWizard
│   │   └── ui/             MainMenu, SettingsMenu, HUD
│   ├── addons/
│   │   ├── terrain_3d/     Terrain3D addon (git submodule)
│   │   └── jsbsim_gdextension/  C++ GDExtension wrapping JSBSim
│   └── scenes/             .tscn scene files
├── docs/                   Aircraft/Scenery creation guides, build instructions
├── bin/                    Pre-compiled extension binaries (platform-specific)
└── .github/                CI/CD workflows, issue templates

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✏️ Create Your Own Aircraft

See docs/aircraft_creation.md for the full guide.

The short version:

1. Copy godot_project/assets/aircraft/trainer/ and rename it.
2. Edit aircraft.json with your aircraft's parameters.
3. (Optional) Write a JSBSim XML for high-fidelity aerodynamics.
4. Add your aircraft to AIRCRAFT_LIST in scripts/ui/main_menu.gd.

Multirotors / Drones

Set "vehicle_type": "multirotor" in an aircraft JSON to use the built-in self-levelling (angle-mode) drone model instead of the fixed-wing aerodynamics. The sticks command a target bank/pitch angle plus a yaw rate; cascaded PID controllers drive a quad-X motor mix that produces body thrust and torque (no JSBSim XML required). See assets/aircraft/quad/quad.json for a worked 5-inch FPV quadcopter example. Tunable keys include thrust_to_weight, arm_length_m, max_bank_deg, max_yaw_rate_dps, the inertia_* moments and the pid_attitude_* / pid_yaw_* gains.

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🌄 Create Your Own Scenery

See docs/scenery_creation.md for the full guide.

Uses the Terrain3D addon for GPU-accelerated heightmap terrain with painted textures, satellite imagery support, and MultiMesh tree placement.

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🏗️ Technology Stack

Component	Technology	License
Game Engine	Godot 4	MIT
Flight Dynamics	JSBSim	LGPL
Terrain	Terrain3D	MIT
Input	Godot built-in (SDL)	MIT
Audio	Godot AudioServer	MIT
Starter Models	Kenney.nl, OpenGameArt	CC0

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🤝 Contributing

All contributions are welcome! Please read docs/contributing.md first.

• 🐛 Bug reports → GitHub Issues
• ✨ Feature requests → GitHub Issues
• 🔀 Pull requests → GitHub PRs
• 💬 Discussions → GitHub Discussions

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📜 License

• Code (.gd, .cpp, .h, .yml, etc.): MIT License © 2026 DASCIENT, INC.
• Art Assets: CC0 or CC-BY-SA 4.0 – see individual asset folders.