inverted hover milestone

[crabfu]

Well I've been practicing inverted nose in hover in the sim for a while now, and feeling quite comfy with it... well only in the sim. When I try it out on the field, pucker factor sky rockets, and I try them about 3 stories high, and only for a few seconds at a time before I chicken out.... more like a stutter flip than an inverted hover

So today was a milestone, thought I'd share how I got over the fear.

Answer: Girlfriend.

She came out to take pictures, and so I thought I'd show off doing a few inverted hovers... yeah all 3 seconds worth.... yeah I'm da man. At least that's what I thought, but I wouldn't say that she was really impressed, after all it was a mile high, and premature flipulated !

She said: "do it again, and hold it.... hold it there.... let me focus.... wait... can you go lower??? lower! get it low to the trees so that it doesn't just look like a picture flipped upside down"

ahhhh hold an inverted hover? and lower? yeah right! The only words that I could form with my mouth at the time was " I CAN'T". But I really meant to tell her that I'm taking her to the mental ward as soon as land. But she was persistent in the quest to get a nice shot with the trees. I don't know if you've noticed, but the distance between the tree line and the ground, gets exponentially closer as your pucker factor goes up.

She kept telling me that she's seen me on the sim, and that I'm always upside down and hovering very low, no problems, and I don't crash. Well with the encouragement and wanting to show off to my gal, I did it! I was able to hold it, brought it down much lower than I thought I ever could, on top of that the sun went down so it was hard to see. She snapped away a bunch of pics, and each time I inverted I gained more confidence. I was only able to do it over 2 batteries, but both flights were pretty much all just inverted hovers, by the second battery I was hovering lower than I usually practice on the sim.

So much of sim translating to real flying is mental, and I just couldn't get over the fear I always chicken out on the field, not wanting to risk it yet, even though I'm able to do it well on the sim, and even able to recover lower inverted hovers when I had brain farts.

So for those of you who feel comfy inverted in the sim but scared crapless to do it for real.... get a photographer, or a girlfriend, or preferably both

Here are the rest of the pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/6842219...7603224332193/

-Crabfu

[fiveoboy01]

Good job, now have her get a shot of you cutting some grass

[Billybuck]

Congrats crabfu ! Nice job bud. Take your time and enjoy each step.

[drb2]

"premature flipulated"


Congrats, and some nice shots in there also.

I might have to get me a photographer. Pucker factor is really hurting me slowing me down.

[crabfu]

Thanks guys, I hope that the confidence doesn't go away when the photographer isn't there to instruct me. We'll see

[stuntpilot]

So cool!
One day I hopefully get to that...!

Tillykke!!! (Danish congrats)

/Thomas

[jondbennett]

I'm working my butt off in the sim.
Congrats

[crabfu]

yeah sims are the way to go. I seriously don't know how anyone could learn this stuff without sims, I sure couldn't I was hoping that sims will translate into confidence, It does build up instinct and muscle memory kind of thing, but that doesn't build up the guts much in my case. I need a pucker factor sim...

-Crabfu

[Tailrotor Joe]

Hi, crabfu

Good job....You got me fired up....I have some sorta mental block, as I can fly the SIM, but when I get out there....jeez...I don't wanna crash.....

You got me fired up today....and I went out.....and chickened out......was close to dusk...couldn't see properly.....just wanted to turn in...and nose-in hover....

SIM is one thing...R/T is another....Congradulations on this milestone in you heli career

You keep it up...and you'll be like Jason Chow

Good Job.....!!!!!

[crabfu]

lol yeah right joe! I know that I'll ever get anywhere close to one of those crazy guys like jason chow, I'm pretty sure that they perform some sort of voodoo to make their helis defy the laws of physics But I am very happy with my progress, no complaints, I've already gotten further than I set out to do, so I'm a happy camper if my progress stops here. I just want to get comfy with what I can do now, and being able to have a good time, just relax and fly helis around, which is what I thought this hobby was going to be. But turns out this hobby is going to give me a heart attack one of these days.

it's always easy to chicken out, it's never a good day to crash... in your first packs you think "I better take it easy because I've got all these packs left" then at the end of your packs, you think to yourself "I better take it easy because it's the last flight, I just want to go home with the heli in one piece".... so many games you can play in your head, to avoid something that you don't want to do - that's with everything in life I guess Sometimes your fingers just won't listen to your brain, and vice versa. If it makes you feel any better, I flew 8 packs today without the girl / photographer, and man.... couldn't for the life of me in the first 2-3 packs to hold a freakin invert for more than a handful of seconds before I chickening out. I finally got into it more, and held it longer each time, but no where near the degree of those 2 packs that I posted about, where it was mostly just inverted hovering.

-Crabfu

[Tailrotor Joe]

Hey, crab

It's people like you that inspire the rest of us....and thanks...

And can you belive Jason Chow...I think he's one of the best....he's flies the cr@p out of a V2.....a stock one at that.....

but hey crab, don't selll yourself short......flying inverted to me is no easy feat.....you're doin' good....keep it up!

[rdlohr]

Originally Posted by crabfu

Well I've been practicing inverted nose in hover in the sim for a while now, and feeling quite comfy with it... well only in the sim. When I try it out on the field, pucker factor sky rockets, and I try them about 3 stories high, and only for a few seconds at a time before I chicken out.... more like a stutter flip than an inverted hover

So today was a milestone, thought I'd share how I got over the fear.

Answer: Girlfriend.

She came out to take pictures, and so I thought I'd show off doing a few inverted hovers... yeah all 3 seconds worth.... yeah I'm da man. At least that's what I thought, but I wouldn't say that she was really impressed, after all it was a mile high, and premature flipulated !

She said: "do it again, and hold it.... hold it there.... let me focus.... wait... can you go lower??? lower! get it low to the trees so that it doesn't just look like a picture flipped upside down"

ahhhh hold an inverted hover? and lower? yeah right! The only words that I could form with my mouth at the time was " I CAN'T". But I really meant to tell her that I'm taking her to the mental ward as soon as land. But she was persistent in the quest to get a nice shot with the trees. I don't know if you've noticed, but the distance between the tree line and the ground, gets exponentially closer as your pucker factor goes up.

She kept telling me that she's seen me on the sim, and that I'm always upside down and hovering very low, no problems, and I don't crash. Well with the encouragement and wanting to show off to my gal, I did it! I was able to hold it, brought it down much lower than I thought I ever could, on top of that the sun went down so it was hard to see. She snapped away a bunch of pics, and each time I inverted I gained more confidence. I was only able to do it over 2 batteries, but both flights were pretty much all just inverted hovers, by the second battery I was hovering lower than I usually practice on the sim.

So much of sim translating to real flying is mental, and I just couldn't get over the fear I always chicken out on the field, not wanting to risk it yet, even though I'm able to do it well on the sim, and even able to recover lower inverted hovers when I had brain farts.

So for those of you who feel comfy inverted in the sim but scared crapless to do it for real.... get a photographer, or a girlfriend, or preferably both

Here are the rest of the pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/6842219...7603224332193/

-Crabfu

Great story! Congrats on the first inversion. I have a broken blade sitting in my office labled "First 20 second Inverted Flight 11/09/06". I'll never forget that feeling!

Rick