Flying without having to think about it!

[WhirlingBladesOfDeath]

I was flying around this weekend, and realized I wasn't actively thinking about my specific stick movements, but rather just concentrating on where I wanted to go. It kinda freaked me out, as I started second guessing what I was doing all of a sudden! :shock: After I got the heli back under control, I set out again, and it's the coolest feeling to not have to think about how to move the sticks. My fingers just sort of magically do it, and I'm really starting to feel connected to the heli. :banana

I think it's because I've been spending a fair amount of time on the sim flying inverted, and that requires my full attention and really thinking about each stick movement. Now upright hover (even in real life) in all orientations feels so natural, it just happens automatically.

So for anyone struggling with their first hover, or nose in, keep at it! There is light at the end of the tunnel! I've only been flying for a couple months, and it took a lot of sim and real life stick time, but it's well worth it, and it will eventually become second nature!

Cheers!
Jason

[BarracudaHockey]

Use the force Luke!

Seriously, good job, its a nice feeling when you can concentrate on what you want to do rather than how you do it.

[jgoodwin]

So, true. It seems to me like inverted will never be second nature, but them I probably felt that way about nose-in!

-Jay

[WhirlingBladesOfDeath]

So, true. It seems to me like inverted will never be second nature, but them I probably felt that way about nose-in!

-JayJust think back to how awkward TAIL IN seemed for that first week!

[Kindling Maker]

I am finally getting to where I can put the helo where I want it when I want it, My hovers are getting better, and with my CX2 I am not breaking blades. It is a great feeling. I doubt that I will ever stop breaking blades with the CPP but it is fun flying.

[Iceman140]

Hi guys,

I can relate heli flying to my experience as a martial artist. All our new students want to be black belts their first week training. We give them seemingly non-essential basic movements to train and they have to do them 1000's of times sometimes for years b4 they realise why. But then when they get into a situation in class and the movement comes out from nowhere and saves them a thumping they go wow....not so stupid repitious movements. It's called muscle memory and works for all experiences requiring hand-eye.

So....sand the floor....paint the fence......fly the sim...move the stick....up down...side side.....do good job Danielsan.

Now if I could only stop breaking the little spinning boards on my heli, I'd be happy.
:D

Ed

[bugdozer]

Just like when we first learned to drive a car. You really had to concentrate on keeping the car in your own lane. It's the evolution of learning:
-Conscious incompetence,
-Conscious competence, and then
-Unconscious competence. You can do it without thinking about it.

At my point in heli flying, I'm at Unconscious Incompetence - I don't realize I stink...

[Iceman140]

Hey Bugdozer,

Good point. Someone helped me to think just a little different though. They helped me see that the brain actually thinks at close to 250,000 words a minute on its own. So when something happens, the brain thinks so fast on a conscious level due to what it sees, hears, and feels, that it seems like an unconscious response. But just like you pointed out, time and experience is what trains the brain to do what it needs to.

Now if I could only understand why my trained brain led me into something as insane as trying to control a spinning mass of moving parts in the wind with no apparent flightplan, I'd be all set. :dontknow

Happy flying.

Ed