Top 10 things I learned [the hard way] flying CP helis..

[Steve Graham]

Ha, Pilots aren't slow to learn generally it's just a cliche based on the fact that at one time or another most RC guys have had someone come to the field who flew full scale and basically said "I fly full scale so I'm SURE this wont be a problem" usually followed by an impressive, if short, little airshow Sad cause the embarrassment after the fact may prevent them from coming back. It's a wonderful hobby with great people and lots of opportunity for meeting cool folks.

Honestly a foundation in aerodynamics and the effects of wind on flying machines proves quite helpful. Small, cheap quads can be a lot of fun and are indeed quite good orientation trainers if not exactly the same as CP helis.

[Fizzy]

Really enjoyed this read, well done

[slamdance]

Add one more that I see even "seasoned pro's/experts" don't follow:

-Do a warm-up flight. (I see so many experts! just go right into their 4 minute hard 3d....then crash!!!)

No matter how good you are you cannot predict flight problems and electromechanical failures. You can even catch a bad motor if you listen carefully.

PS: Also, your follow up comment about flying "...in a small space/box.." is an excellent idea. I learned to master all my turns flying in a parking lot keeping in the space of 2 car parking space flying at 5 ft. You really learn to "force" the turns doing both turning and braking action at the same time. Flying in a big field tends to make you do planker/aileron turns, where more speed is needed to maintain altitude.

[Jon_PDX]

Ryan,

I'm a little late to the party but wanted to thank you for the list.

I've already learned a few things from your list.......Some the hard way.

I also have a Nano QX and I agree it's been a great learning tool.

My progression has been as follows....

Try it on sim
Try it on the Nano QX (sometime I skip the sim though)
Then on my micro CP
Then on to the 230s

I sure that has saved me a few $$$ along the way.

I think I will print out your list so I have it handy as I progress in this hobby.

Jon...

[ryanha]

Glad you liked the post! Sounds like you are doing things the right way.

Eventually you will have to add a 450 to the mix since some moves will be really hard on the 230 but you will have a great foundation when that day comes!!!

--Ryan

[Koopyetz]

Thank you for all you have written. Preflight check of screws has proven to be very helpful. I just started flying my first build ( 450 ) and through checking tail grips for movement noticed that bolt holding one grip started to back out.

They are amazing machines and fun to fly.

Regards and clear skies

Rick

[Unihiron]

I'm new to the forum. New to the AMA, FAA, etc. Not even a year old pilot but my goal was heli/multirotor flight right off the start. It's good write-up for a first time newbie. I'm in the market to begin my first 450 build. It's good to know i'm on the right track. I have the sim, multi rotors, built my first big built quad and v977. I won't go into much detail. Kudos to the poster for sure!

Now time for some dancing bacon.

[Blade Scraper]

I can add one to this list:

On a torque tube tail, rotate the mains during pre-flight to confirm the tail blades spin too and therefore that the TT is engaged. Could have averted a crash by doing just that. First crash on that heli too and totally preventable.

[Kingfish3r1]

Thats a great list, and a motivational one for new CP fliers like me. For the past few weeks, I've been simply dealing with a problem after another with my SR. Just off and on and learning things about it and my flysky Fs-T6 transmitter. And so far I still can't get it off the ground on its own power. But little by little, Im understanding more about it and what went wrong previous times before. I hear a lot of people saying the SR is quite hard to fly despite it being the "perfect transition from a coax heli" as HH says. And I agree, thats a bunch of very misleading words lol.

[ryanha]

Glad you liked the post.

I don't have any experience with the SR, but I do know that dealing with problem after problem on a heli is no fun at all.

Is there a local club or at least a local hobby store you can visit to get help on getting your bird in the air? Having someone to talk to f2f is immensely helpful.

When (if?) you end up going to a larger CP heli (e.g. 300+) you will definitely benefit from having someone local to check out your setup. It will likely save you many, many crashes.

It is a tough balance because you want to become self-sufficient, but at the same time having someone that has the experience of a lot of hard lessons that you can learn from is extremely valuable.

Good luck and let me know if you need any more free advice

--Ryan

[SacrificetotheGravityGods]

Great list! I'll keep it close for reference. As a former plank flyer, making the transition to Helis has been a hair-pulling, fun challenge. About 2 years ago, I tried to make the transition on a 450-size that was a disaster, only to later find out a bearing on the tail would lock under load. After a "I can't do this" layoff, I'm back at giving it a try on a Blade 230s. I have been flying in my front yard, using a 4'x4' plywood take-0ff and landing pad. It's a somewhat limited flight envelope, but it is teaching me to maintain tight control. To all the other newbies, like me, keep at it and as the "top 10" says, practice, practice, practice the basics.

[Marc_RC Heli]

I've rebuilt my 230S about 5 times now, and am waiting to be able to do 3D w/o crashing bef3oreni fly the Goblin 500 that's sitting in my shop...all the points you made will come in handy as a checklist...even a pre-flight checklist!

[R12NDS]

What a fantastic post! Thanks for taking the time to type it. I have quit a couple of times because it is so hard...but each time i hang my helis i cant them out of my head. Its addictive and your guidance is bang on the money! :-)

Sent from my LG-H955 using Tapatalk

[11bDad]

Thanks for the great read. Had to laugh about not having to duck on a sim. Hopefully that will be a Xmas goodie from the wife. I know now I would had climber fewer trees, bought fewer parts, and been less frustrated if I'd gotten the sim earlier. It all started innocently enough.....rec'd a Nano CPS RTF as a present. Well everyone knows I had to upgrade the TX (DX6). Then I needed something larger & easier to see (230s). Along comes more batteries, a proper charger, and repair parts. My wife thinks I've lost my mind, but I just tell her I'm old and having fun. This site has been invaluable to me. Thanks

[babyuh1]

I would like to add something that I discovered while learning to fly helis.

Step one, fixed pitch helis, dont! They just teach you bad habits that make flying a CP harder than it should be. Skip that step and you'll be better off in the long run.
Start out on the SIM and/or one of the stabilized CPs and don't look back!

[N8KC]

Love the top 10 list!!!

I got hooked on flying some coax micros with my buddy in his living room. We tried to land them on the ceiling fan for a challenge, a stationary ceiling fan...lol

Started researching the best helis and class and got way in over my head jumping up to a blade 450 from there. Not recommended by the way!!!! Crashed it every time I turned it on. I'd say every time I flew it, but apparently, you don't need liftoff to crash something you have no clue how to operate I was able to nose dive it into my pond one November day though. Nearly got hypothermia retrieving it from the bottom of the pond. This also is not recommended, although it did save me a couple hundred in salvageable parts that weren't destroyed instantly being submerged.

After a year or so off from my brief blaze of glory, and a little time keeping interest on a SIM and some micros I still had, I purchased a Dromida Ominus quadcopter. That's a great trainer for a newb!!!! It's quite resilient. You can land hard, get caught in a tree(60' high one time), crash into a truck or house, crash hard into ground or pavement and rarely have to repair much. Yes, I know all this from experience also. I replaced the frame a few times at maybe $7 each and some bent blade shafts and one motor burnt out in a crash, but parts are super cheap and don't break easy compared to the 450 I had dumped money into routinely. It has 3 modes like the blade 230s to get a feel for cp flying with varying assistance and limits, without the 3d flying of course, but similar feel to sport flying a cp.

I've recently stepped up to the blade 230s and was basic flying it with confidence in stability mode day one with all the RL orientation training and practice I had through the Ominus the past year or so. My brief time on the SIM at the local hobby store I went to each time I crashed something and needed parts allowed me to do a roll in RL this week. I'll push myself since I can hover inverted and roll, flip and cruise around inverted...but I'll be terrified

Anyone, including my son, who I bring to the hobby will follow that learning path, but it's certainly not the only way to go, but I have enjoyed reliving these experiences by writing all this...lol Yes, even the 450 crashes.

[Wargamer]

@N8KC

Thanks for sharing your story; it's always great to read about stuff like this.

On your comment in another post about needing a lot more altitude than you expected to do a roll, a lot of that is collective management. With practice on collective, you can roll or flip without losing any altitude. The 230s also does not have very aggressive cyclic rates. If you are using the standard set-up for IU1, I think it's something like 75% DR. You'll find it easier to practice flips and rolls with full throw, and a little more throttle.

[joshreynolds77777]

yep. sim sim sim. Before I got into the hobby, I remember someone telling me to put in 1000 hours in the sim before even making an attempt. Of course I didn't make it THAT long. But I did do a hundred hours or so, and 20 helicopters later... still only one crash. and it was at night without lights, after WAY too many beers, lol.... speaking of "not recommended"

[clavor]

thanks for your advice

[bazsound]

Originally Posted by slamdance

Add one more that I see even "seasoned pro's/experts" don't follow:

-Do a warm-up flight. (I see so many experts! just go right into their 4 minute hard 3d....then crash!!!)

No matter how good you are you cannot predict flight problems and electromechanical failures. You can even catch a bad motor if you listen carefully.

PS: Also, your follow up comment about flying "...in a small space/box.." is an excellent idea. I learned to master all my turns flying in a parking lot keeping in the space of 2 car parking space flying at 5 ft. You really learn to "force" the turns doing both turning and braking action at the same time. Flying in a big field tends to make you do planker/aileron turns, where more speed is needed to maintain altitude.

thats what i do, i usually fly a warmup flight on my 250 for a couple batteries taking it easy, then is tart doing the harder stuff and chop and change to the 450.

Completly agree about the restricted space thing. I used to think i needed a football sized space for 250. If i flew in smaller space i had to go super slow and ended up it would race off on me so i would give up and fly somewhere else.

until i found a flying site that was tight on space and stuck with it. quickly i was able to do tight controlled slow circles and figure 8's. its easy to do big wide fast circles up high. slow precise flying is HARD, Inow do most of my flying in small spaces, even the 450 which includes mild 3d

Originally Posted by Jon_PDX

Ryan,

I'm a little late to the party but wanted to thank you for the list.

I've already learned a few things from your list.......Some the hard way.

I also have a Nano QX and I agree it's been a great learning tool.

My progression has been as follows....

Try it on sim
Try it on the Nano QX (sometime I skip the sim though)
Then on my micro CP
Then on to the 230s

I sure that has saved me a few $$$ along the way.

I think I will print out your list so I have it handy as I progress in this hobby.

Jon...

similar progresion with me, v911, v977 , trex 250, trex 450, trex 600 nitro :-)

Originally Posted by ryanha

Glad you liked the post! Sounds like you are doing things the right way.

Eventually you will have to add a 450 to the mix since some moves will be really hard on the 230 but you will have a great foundation when that day comes!!!

--Ryan

Ive never flown a 230s. i dont find too much difference in difficult between my 250 and 450, i was suprised at how easy it actually was to do half piro flips especially compared to the si m.

the 450 has more hang time and is easier to see.

Originally Posted by Unihiron

I'm new to the forum. New to the AMA, FAA, etc. Not even a year old pilot but my goal was heli/multirotor flight right off the start. It's good write-up for a first time newbie. I'm in the market to begin my first 450 build. It's good to know i'm on the right track. I have the sim, multi rotors, built my first big built quad and v977. I won't go into much detail. Kudos to the poster for sure!

Now time for some dancing bacon.

v977 is a good trainer, a bit twitchy with the stock controller (its much easier to fly with devo tx and deviation fimrware)

the 450 will seem massive commpared to a v977 but its actually still a small heli. intimidating at first but ocne you get used to it you will find it alot more stable than a v977.

Originally Posted by Marc_RC Heli

I've rebuilt my 230S about 5 times now, and am waiting to be able to do 3D w/o crashing bef3oreni fly the Goblin 500 that's sitting in my shop...all the points you made will come in handy as a checklist...even a pre-flight checklist!

it think youd be surprised at how much easier the 500 will be to fly. the micro sized helis even 250 size are still squirly helis that get bloown about easily and can suddenly accelerate off.

once you get to 450 momentum takes a bit longer to build up, theres more hang time and you can see better what is going on.

But by all means wait until your ready. goblin is a sweet heli. its a sad day when you crash a heli like that