RC-ers-Gonewild.com

Our goal is to inform new members of any industry firsts, technological advances, how to's, and general help with modeling choices and flying.

First item of agenda is my 9 Helicopter flying tips:
I have PMed these out all over the world. If you're learning helicopters, it would not hurt for you to take the time to read of these "common sense" rules of mine.

RC Helicopter 9 basic "Rules of Thumb" to help with RC heli success. By: Dave Herbert

We all have the same problem flying R/C helicopters. It's the orientation that's so important and hard to do. We all crash too!

It is just to get thru that without getting discouraged and quitting.

Also, don’t complain your model broke when you crash, because full size aircraft also break when crashed!
Helis are beyond most modeler's skills. After crashing a few times, they give up.
There are no shortcuts. It takes time and $ for parts. If you have both + lots of patience you will succeed.

Flying an RC model HELI is about the same as trying to balance a BALL BEARING in SPACE!

You move it slightly, and you have to do EVERYTHING YOU CAN, moving 7 CONTROLS AT ONCE, just to get stopped let alone trying to GET IT BACK to you!

This is happens with all RC HELI Pilots and why there are so few of us around.
It’s NERVE-WRACKING for most and is WHY only 4% of the people, actually advance to hover, let alone on to 3D (stunts).

So learn on a VW,(MCX or HB FP) and if you never crash it, then get the Porsche!

You must accept that crashing is an important part of the learning curve.

See "Honeybee CP2 Heavy workout,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRZQdm8VyU0
and you'll know it's hard to see! You can't fly what you can't see.

Once in the air, helicopters are fairly easy to fly, as long as you can SEE them.
(Refer to my "Stealth Helicopters" video for more)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v75EVIIO3wQ

Also, you have to UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CONTROLS DO, to fly a heli!
I mean totally, including heli theory of flight!

There is no substitute for practice, but do it on a good RC simulator.
The Aerofly Pro Deluxe was awarded most realistic and ClearView is really an excellent one too.

STAND in front of your sim, like at the flying site, not in your big old easy chair! You wont be flying at the field while relaxed in a big chair!

It is too expensive to keep breaking the real thing, so try these 9 tips:

1. Never EVER let your friends fly it! Get only instructors to help! They can tell
if problems are you or the heli! Beginners can't tell!

Don't try to trim ETRM helis (to make it stop spinning) on the ground!
* It has to be trimmed at EYE LEVEL height only!

For ETRM's, hold right cyclic and right nose with left TX stick on take off and gradually center the sticks as it gets to eye level.

That is where is should be trimmed for hover (centered sticks). If you have to hold the stick over to one side just to hover, it is not trimmed.

2. NEVER ever watch the tail rotor!

Most novices think Right TX Stick (moved to Right) makes the tail boom & rotor go to the right.
NOPE, it goes to the Left and the NOSE goes to the Right!
Again, Right on the LEFT stick, is Right Nose.

3. DO not attempt nose in, (no matter what your friends EGG you on to do) because 4 of the controls are BACKWARDS. It will come naturally later on. Don't worry about it now.

Force yourself to keep the nose pointing AWAY from you when learning to hover, because when it points at you, you will most likely crash right afterwards, when controls get crossed.

4. Never fly AWAY until you can hover, cause you will never get it back without crashing.
Those 1st landings are always expensive if you're IMPATIENT and you decide to fly away anyway!

Like an airplane, elevator (Fore and Aft Cyclic) will make the helicopter fly UP AND DOWN in Forward flight, (but it SLIDES backwards and forwards in HOVER.)

Aileron (left and right Cyclic) will make it ROLL just like an airplane, but will SLIDE left and right, when hovering.

Think of your helicopter's hovering like SLIDING. It SLIDES in the direction you move the right stick as you look down on it.

Also, you will not need to use the tail rotor much in forward flight, as it just follows behind like a weather vane.
To make sharper turns, use the tail rotor stick.

ALWAYS keep the tail rotor HIGHER than the helicopter in turns, or it will slide into the ground!
Ex: Left turn, push the Left stick to the Left, keeping the NOSE down and the tail rotor HIGH.

Always use index finger AND thumb on the left stick. Not just thumb!
You will NEVER get good with a heli using only the Left thumb on the L stick. Thumb on R stick is ok.

5. Always hover at eye level. Lower is more difficult in ground effect.

6. DON'T let people watch you when you're learning.
They cause more crashes, because they always "egg" you on and you feel pressured to fly for them.

7. Never CHOP the throttle stick off. It must go down GENTLY or the blades will hit the tail boom, when the skids slam down on the ground.

That's called a BOOM STRIKE and is usually expensive on a shaft or belt driven tail rotor heli.
Remember: (NO chop stick, no Bang Boom)!

8. Remember what your last move was when flying, so when you get lost, just keep going through the motions (pretending to see it, til you see it again)

9. Memorize these tips and ONLY fly as far away as you can comfortably see your heli.

Also see: How RC helicopter helis work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmFWP7Y8uTs

Remember:
”He who dares nothing, needs not to expect anything”
Good luck and Please SUBSCRIBE to Http://www.youtube.com/Nighflyyer
Dave Herbert AMA 8221 CD/LM
In cooperation with htp://www.RC-Televisiom.org.