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RCM&E beginner's series


Graham Ashby 123
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Not sure people could put up with me sprouting on for that long. No, in truth I'll be covering the most popular routes into heli' flying, i.e. electric and glow. Gassers and turbines will have to wait until I've accumulated some experience. Alas, I couldn't confidently write about them at the moment.
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Well, I have started with an electric helicoptor, a Mini Titan because I could learn all the hovering skills and slow forward flight in my very own back garden.

Having a family means time is an issue so being able to pop outside for ten mins and hone my new found skills is great.

Electric is good for many known reasons but I would like a larger helicoptor but without the massive battery cost, and without all the ground support stuff that is needed for glow engines.

So yes petrol does sound a very tempting option. And two gallons of petrol in a can last for ages!
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  • 3 weeks later...
Hi Graham,
I have been flying Helis for a whole two and half months doesnt sound long but hovering is going well and just progressing to nose in (much harder than it looks) How did I get here so quickly,
1.After building my TZ50 it was setup by my local store and trimmed.
2. I Spend some of my free time on Aerofly Professional Delux (a great sim)and found it helped to break my Mode 2 habits (I have a Spektrum Radio and it is mode 1)and get the sticks automatically countering deviations in flight without having to stop and think...
3. I Fly the heli in my garage at night (live in the country and only annoys the wife) Tethered on a 1m length of nylon parachute cord. This was suggested to me by an old hand and at first I thought yeah right, but due to the confined space and awful rotating air patterns you really need to work hard to keep it under control. This is really good for the confidence as well.
4. When the wind is light get out and fly untethered with a well setup heli I found outside hovering easier (not easy)after the stress of garaged flying.

The best peice of advice I have recieved is tether the Heli you have less concerns with it getting away on you (can still dent it) but I have found it has really helped with the confidence.

Regards

Steve
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Teathering a heli!! sounds drastic. When learning to fly helis (started out on a 4ch FP) the training gear helped alot.

Bunny hopping was the key for me. learning how to compensate for the inital desire for the heli to yaw and pitch as you take off allows you co compensate acordingly, also understanding ground effect and what it does to a heli also helped

Edit: Dont know if its been mentioned but teh larger helis are better to laarn on that small electrics as thay are more stable
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Hi Brian

"Teathering a heli!! sounds drastic. When learning to fly helis (started out on a 4ch FP) the training gear helped alot"

I thought so as well but honestly it is great, 1m of cord gives you plenty of free line and after a short period you dont pull on it often and in the garage it is cramped sure beats not flying at all.... or hitting something......
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  • 3 weeks later...
Hi, tethering a heli is not so far fetched as it sounds, many years ago in the RCME there were several articles on it and I well remember one of the better methods was about a couple of yards of cord attached to the tail and somebody walking behind it holding the other end of the cord, but it was a long time ago.
'D'.
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I must admit, I'm not sure I like the sound of it although the Hoverfly is effectively the same device (tethered by its power cord) and in my opinion it's a superb training aid. Mind you, if it's at all possible there's really no substitute for lots of space. Most people tend to chase the model around the field when they start learning to hover and that has to be the best option.
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  • 4 months later...

I went the loner route and after building and setting up the heli as per the instructions, strapped on a trusty £1 hoolahoop at a very remote area, then used the beast as a hover craft over closely chewed grass for loads of tankfuls. This got me used to all the controls and suprisingly, the throttle too. Being over grass instead of concrete/dust helped keep the model cleaner and so reduce wear.

Over time I had set the tracking and engine as close as I could and I was soon trying to keep the model hovering in an imaginary area following on from the hop up to a foot then gently back down phase.

I struggled with nose in for a while until the penny dropped how easy it really is to learn..! I thought it was training your brain again from scratch 3 of the 4 functions that I had carefully taught myself before....no...when nose in, just stear the tail, not the nose with the rudder stick and push the right stick in whatever direction the heli tries to escape to. This self rights the nose in hover. i.e, if it starts going left, left aileron stick pushes the heli back to it's right. If it goes away from you, push the stick forward etc.

Now inverted nose in climbing out at 45 degrees away from you takes a bit more working out..!

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Graham and all.

I tend to think of clockwise and counter clock wise, when you are flying on the ruder, for nose in so even when the nose is looking at you still move the stick in the same way and this way of thinking has got me into nose in hover, as to start with I was totaly confused and thought I would never get there.

good luck to all the new pilots out there.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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