If you use your own r/c 4 channel transmitter that uses a USB adapter, you can download this flight simulator and use it for free:
http://www.flying-model-simulator.com/
No, it's not going to have the same awesome graphics and the physics accuracy may be a little less realistic, but for building your r/c hand-eye coordination it's really an awesome program. It took me a little while to figure out how to configure the sticks to work properly with the heli program - if anyone needs pointers, let me know.
Maybe this post could be cross-linked with the free s/w forum?
Happy Sketching,
Brad