First hover

[diyman]

Hi,I'm new to the forum and have posted a few questions on here but forgot to say hi first.
Sorry for my bad manners :oops:
I managed to hover for the first time today even though it was a bit windy(5-10 mph).It was blustery rather than a constant wind.I would have preferred constant as i was having to try and predict the blustery bit. :lol:
I did find the helicopter trying to fly me but i kept saying in my head I'm in control.
I was having a slight problem with trying to control the height.One second it was going up so i would drop the throttle a bit but the wind kept it up then all of a sudden the wind would drop and down she came so up with the throttle and i just got away with a bounce :) .
I suppose it comes with experience.
The day did end with damage to the rear tail pitch plate due to the heli landing a bit awkward and the rear rotors digging in the grass.Its already stripped and the part ordered..

But wow i have got the bug now.I cant wait to get out again.
Brian.

[Hotshot Charlie]

Wind helps build CHARACTER ! hehehee :wink:

Yes, you will find that collective management is the key during gusty wind sessions. The wind blows hard, the heli gets lift and rises, the wind stops the heli looses lift and drops. The trick it to outguess the wind??? :wink:

Good luck, sounds as if you are getting some great learning experiences. Stay Safe and Have Fun !

[ThBrtmn]

Brian...
I am assuming you are only flying tail in right...do this...Get behind the Heli and point its nose into the wind so that the wind is blowing at your face. Now keep the throttle enough so that it is about eyelevel with you. When a gust of wind comes and the heli wants to climb. push forward on the collective stick to drop the nose of the heli a little bit amd pull back to let it rise...you will have to adjust accordingly. This will help keep your altitude where you want it and it lets the heli fight back against the wind a little.
Hope that helps

[diyman]

Thanks i will try that.

[WayneBrown]

Or you could do it the way I learned, and have your back to the wind, or shoulder to the wind so You can feel the same gust at the same time and compensate a little. Just changing the cyclic direction to adjust for which way you and the heli are in relation to the wind.

Hey Bart, I thought collective was pitch? Cyclic rfont/back side/side? Maybe I need a drink. :?

[ThBrtmn]

push forward on the collective stick to drop the nose of the heli

Sorry Brian...
I meant Cyclic on that not collective....Leave the Collective if you can at one position.

[WillJames]

Welcome diy!!

What your learning when you fly in wind is collective management. You will need the skill when you learn how to transition from forward flight to hover, and also for autos. It is hard, but you will get it if you keep trying and flying. Flying in wind will get your skills up to speed faster than flying in no wind.

Best of luck to you and welcome to the FREAK!!

[chilipepper]

diyman, great job! I see you've caught the same bug I have. Here it was too windy again to fly so I worked on the sim again... I really had to make myself be cautious and not let my insane urge to fly overtake that. I've got a couple gallons of fuel just waiting to be burned!! Good luck and happy flying!

Bart - I have a question on your pitching into the wind thought... first off thanks for letting us know that because it makes a lot of sense!! You would probably want to be hovering a meter or so off the ground to do that wouldn't you? Seems like if you were too close to the ground it may have some adverse effects if you 'guessed' the wind wrong. Any thoughts?

[diyman]

Hi all,thanks for all your inputs and i will take it on board.
ThBrtmn,I was a bit confused at first but i guessed what you meant. :)

It is practice but as chilipepper has mentioned i have to make sure i don't test my luck to much.
Plenty more practice on the sim(about three weeks,so far 3hrs most nights) but i do get a bit bored hovering on the sim.On the sim i can hover nose in, fly nose in,Ive tried inverted o.k.,rolls,loops and crashed lots of times.I just want to get out and have a go for real.
The first time the heli took off i was sweating a bit even though the temp was freezing.I would say it is different than the sim due to the wind and outside distractions(kids,dogs etc)
Im going to get into a strict routine and stick to it.

Before i had hovered i had been to the park five times on seperate day's,that's right five times before i had hovered.
Here's how it went.
1,Forgot training under carriage
2,The heli took off due to wind and crashed due to stupidity,inexperience,panic :shock: :arggg: :arggg:
3,Heli wouldn't start due to bad glow plug and i didn't have a spare :arggg:
4,Transmitter battery died due to it not being charged the night before :arggg:
5,Glow stick battery dead due to not charging the night before :arggg:
6,Did start,problem with rear rota servo but fixed same day,went home to fix it though.Eventually back to the park to hover :)
I can tell you this i now have eight spare glow plugs,i charge everything the night before and also have a spare TX battery,spare fuel.
I'm going to get there if it kills me :lol: .
Brian.

[blakka_1]

I'm going to get there if it kills me


That's the spirit, with that mentality you will progress quickly. :)

[ThBrtmn]

Yes for both of you guys.... A meter is fine...I would do 5 feet or eye level myself. point the nose in the wind and when you get a gust...nose it down a little till you get control back on your hover altitude. You guys will feel it the first time you do it and know exactly what Im talking about. Its acutally kind of fun and does help in your basic training as everyone has stated.