Ya think I can learn autos on a 450?

[Adam T]

So I've finished my GF 450 SE and put about 10 flights on it in my small back yard. Time to take it out to the school yard for some more room. I haven't flown in about 5 years, so I'm very rusty. Last time I was flying regularly, I was just getting ready to start practicing autos and inverted hover.

Once I get my heli thumbs back, do you think the 450 is an adequate platform to practice these things on? I have a .30 Sceadu nitro ship, but flying in the schoolyard is a problem, and it's much more expensive to fix. On the other hand I don't want to trying to learn things that are just not reasonable to learn on a 450.

I'm using the Reflex XTR sim and I'll be practicing plenty with that in conjunction with my stick time learning. I've got spares ready to go for the Trex; I know I'll need 'em.

[DarkHeli]

sure you can. They dont really "float" down like the 50's but its do-able. I'm learning autos too.

[wcc963]

i learned on a 450, the hardest part is hitting the TH switch for the first time. its like jumping of the high dive, your scared the first time, but once you do it you want to do it again.

[Adam T]

Originally Posted by wcc963

its like jumping of the high dive, your scared the first time, but once you do it you want to do it again.

Great analogy. I remember jumping off the 10 meter for the first time as a kid, and you nailed it. Jumping out of airplanes is the same way, but much, much better.

[Adam T]

Originally Posted by DarkHeli

sure you can. They dont really "float" down like the 50's but its do-able. I'm learning autos too.

Cool. Thanks.

[povern]

I think finless has a video of him doing autos with a trex 450.

Found it, 2nd one down: https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=12337

I think he was just showing off though.

[Adam T]

Yes, I've seen that . . . but I get the feeling he knew how to auto before doing it with his Trex!

[ke6d]

Funky posted a video today about auto. He had a bunch of autos on the 450. You can watch that video to pick up a few tips.

[Adam T]

Funky's vid was awesome. I'm amazed that the heli didn't get damaged after multiple landings on the rotor. I know it eventually got hurt, but surprisingly durable. Don't think I'm quite ready for the inverted auto yet.

[ckoelliker]

If you are still using 72 make sure to tape your crystal. I learned that the hard way. It was pretty windy a couple of weeks ago so all I did was autos. I think I could get like 15-20 a pack. After a few days of this, and maybe 200 autos later, it locked out on me about 10 feet from the ground. I thought I burned up my esc at first, but then finally saw that the crystal was gone. I did find it a week later at my club, after the grass was cut. Anyway, they are not that hard, but you need to watch the wind. A good constant wind is your friend. If it is gusty or swirling, it can make it a lot harder.

[Adam T]

Thanks for the tips. I'm on 27, but I have a synthesized Rx, so I'm crystal free!

[Funky]

I learned my first autos on the 450. It really helped once I started doing them on larger helis. They are a piece of cake once you can auto the little Trex.

The main tips that help me are:

1. Forward speed - it is critical with the 450. A good starting point is using a 45 degree approach. If I do an auto very high, sometimes I drop it straight down for the first 100 feet or so and then tip the nose down to start gaining forward speed before I get close to the ground. Either way, I use forward speed to help keep momentum for the auto.

2. Tall grass - Find some tall grass to practice on. It will usually save the heli quite a few times while practicing autos that don't go so well.

3. Blades - Buy plenty of blades. I usually don't break anything besides blades when doing standard autos.... but they break pretty often when you are trying to learn

4. Don't try to steer it too much - Set up your approach direction before you flip hold. If you have to make any corrections, do them up high so you can save your headspeed. If you have to make any large corrections, you probably won't have enough blade speed to land safely.

5. Feather the collective - Feather the collective at the end of the auto. Don't just go from negative to full stick in one quick motion once you are at the bottom. Slowly raise the stick to feather in the collective. The faster you move the collective, the less effect it will have.

6. Gorilla Gear - It is a must unless you want to keep replacing gear. I have still managed to break a few sets but they last MUCH longer than the Align "bump resistant" landing gear.

7. Practice, practice, practice, practice - They aren't easy on the 450

[JMoore12]

Funky hit the nail on the head. Forward speed is a must, I have crashed attempting numerous autos before i got it. Never a bad crash. I fly in a field where the grass is always about a foot or two tall and it really does help a great deal. Collective managment is important. Do not use too much positive coming in for a flare. You will be suprised how well it reacts when it gets near the deck. The biggest problem i had learning was i always wanted to 'over flare' where you stop all forward speed too high and lose the momentum in the head. Pretty simple really, dont be scared of it (you wont break that much )

[Adam T]

Thanks Funky and JM. I've been shooting autos all evening with the SIM. I've probably gone through about 30 main shafts and feathering shafts, and about 100 sets of blades. Thank God for sims.

[Soarmax]

How much negative pitch do you give when you start the auto and at what point during the descent?

[Adam T]

Originally Posted by Soarmax

How much negative pitch do you give when you start the auto and at what point during the descent?

Well, I've been experimenting, and I seem to have the best luck in the sim by using a lot of negative pitch (say, low to one-quarter stick) after hitting hold, then raising the stick slowly during the descent until the descent slows a bit, then flaring and adding collective at the end.

[smokin3000gt]

Funky (or someone) can you post a link to the video? (funky's video not finless, i've already seen it)

[Funky]

I have a few videos with autos on my 450

This was my first video (Thanks Bob for posting it)

http://video.helifreak.com/?subpath=...name=funky.wmv

This is a shorter version of the video above

Funky's TRex 450 Autos (3 min 57 sec)

This is the inverted auto video (good crashes)

Funky TRex 450 Inverted Autos (1 min 39 sec)

And this is my latest video with some upright autos followed by another inverted auto (and crash)

Funky TRex 450 Autos 2 (4 min 49 sec)

[Adam T]

Hey Funky, sorry I called you Freak. Just edited my post to correct the error. Anyway, awesome vids dude.

[smokin3000gt]

Originally Posted by Adam T

Hey Funky, sorry I called you Freak. Just edited my post to correct the error. Anyway, awesome vids dude.

For this, you must die