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Quadcopter Flight Practice

Written by Max GardenswartzUpdated 2026-11-10Autonomy ParkIndoor Lab

At a glance

Practice flying with the Liftoff simulator on Steam before you fly a real quadcopter. You need an RC controller and a computer.

A simulated racing quadcopter with a battery strapped on top, flying past construction sites and cranes in the Liftoff simulator.

A quadcopter in Liftoff (screenshot from the game).

Liftoff on Steam

Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing is a good simulation of flying a quadcopter by hand. It is the best place to practice before you fly one of our robots, because a crash costs nothing.

What You Need

  • An RC controller, such as our Taranis X9D (with a USB-B cable). Liftoff only works with a game or radio controller, not a keyboard.
  • A computer: Mac, Windows, or Linux.
  • A Steam account. The Steam login for the lab is in the Autonomy Park Bitwarden. If you need access, see Contacts.

How to Connect the Controller

The Taranis X9D connects to the computer over USB. You need a USB-B cable.

Next

When you are ready to fly a real quadcopter, read Flying Manually for the Homebrews or Flying Manually for the Astros.