Is a heading lock gyro a good idea for a noob?

[scm6079]

After almost 15 years of thinking of buying a heli, I finally did -- a BCPP. I'm a rank amateur pilot, still learning to hover (about 10 batteries flown).

My BCPP is pretty twitchy, and I was wondering if upgrading to the heading lock gyro is a good idea for a beginner, or if I would be better off by first mastering basic flight with just the standard gyro. :?:

All opinions appereciated!!

Thanks,
Scott

[Funky]

I would say yes and no :D I wish I would have had one from the beginning because it really helps you concentrate on cyclic control..... however.... chasing the tail constantly really helped my rudder control before the HH gyro. Once you can hold it in the air for a min or 2 in stock form I would add the HH gyro. This way you can learn some rudder control (you have to learn it with the blade or its crash time) then when you switch to the HH gyro it makes it a lot easier to concentrate on your cyclic controls.

[scm6079]

Awesome -- thanks for the advice. Do you know if the HH gyro with the gain turned to the "non heading hold mode" acts the same as the "stock" gyro?

[DEX0807]

Why buy a HH gyro if you're not going to use it???? :dontknow

My opinion is yes, get it and use it. I have used heading hold from the beginning. The reason a heli is so much harder than an airplane is with an airplane you only have to worry about 2 controls, 1 for up and down and 1 for turning. With a heli you are constantly using all 4 sticks all the time, and to top it all, most of the time at least one of the controls appears reversed. The HH takes the rudder control away while learning to hover. The most common cause of a crash is the tail getting all funked up on you and you lose orientation :arggg: With the HH the tail will stay put so all you have to worry about is collective and cyclic.

Get it, your credit card will thank you :wink:

Dex

[tonyxcom]

ill have to second that.

assuming you can get the HH gyro setup correctly it makes thing much easier.

I used the standard gyro up until 2 days ago. It is much easier to manage the tail now, especially outside.

[scm6079]

Well, I flew with my new HH Gyro today, and the difference is incredible. I also picked up a set of flat-bottom blades. Between the two, I felt like I knew what I was doing! :wink: Hovering was 'easy' and I even tried a lot more forward flight.

I did notice that I had to trim the tail stick about a third of the way to the left to get the HH to "hold" -- do you know if this is normal, or should I look to see if I have something wrong with my setup?

Thanks in advance!

_Scott

[Speed_Freak_039A]

What gyro did you get and whats your heli setup?

[scm6079]

I got the E-Flite G90 Heading Hold Gyro, which is plugged directly into the 3-1 that comes with the BCPP. Other than a set of flat bottom blades and trainging gear, I'm still "all stock". I'm using channel 5 of the radio to control the gain remotely.

[tonyxcom]

Im using the telebee one from Helidirect. I also use HS55's with a 7CHP.

[steve28]

a heading hold gyro is great , it generates control signals to counter act influences on the tail which are not from the transmitter . you can fly in windy conditions and your only concern will be the wind blowing your heli off axis , but wind will not turn your heli around .

[Funky]

I did notice that I had to trim the tail stick about a third of the way to the left to get the HH to "hold" -- do you know if this is normal, or should I look to see if I have something wrong with my setup?


Yes, this is normal

[Blade Ruiner]

Well, I flew with my new HH Gyro today, and the difference is incredible. I also picked up a set of flat-bottom blades. Between the two, I felt like I knew what I was doing! :wink: Hovering was 'easy' and I even tried a lot more forward flight.

Hi Scott.

I know what you mean. I just got a CP Pro and got the G90 HH gyro for it. It made all the difference for me. With my old CP, I was constantly fighting the tail drifting around and it would eventually cause me to crash. With the HH gyro, I can concentrate on learning to hover without having to fight with it. I would recommend some sort of HH gyro to any newbie. I'm still way off from attempting forward flight though. In fact, I don't do "nose in hovering" well at all yet. I practice that on the sim - much cheaper! :roll:

Gary.