1.Introduction
to the RC helicopter hobby
2.Learn to fly helicopter
Introduction to the RC Helicopter Hobby
Since the Schlüter company presented the
world's first truly practical radio-controlled model helicopter In 1969/70,
RC helicopter hobby is more and more popular in the world. Especially nowadays,
electric rc
helicopters have become very affordable and suprisingly easy to fly, making
them popular 'must have' models and the fastest growing sector of the general
rc flying hobby.
Many modern electric helicopters
such as the Smartech
Police Aerohawk RTF electric rc hellicopter have
been designed with the first-time flyer in mind and use advanced radio control
technology to improve flight stability and also comes with a Training Kit- exactly
what you need when learning to fly a rc helicopter!
RTF, ARTF with Engine
and I.C Engine Powered Helicopters
RTF (Ready to Fly) electric rc helicopters come Complete with Everything
you need to fly- The Heli is built and assembled and will only require batteries
for the transmitter. This kind of rc helicopters are the most popular model.
It's easier and safer for both beginners who are learning to fly and even those
who are very experienced in flying. Hobby-estore
rc helicopter section offers a wide selection of ready to fly electric rc
helicopters like the Mini
Electric R/C RTF Helicopter, Smartech
Police Aerohawk RTF electric rc hellicopter with training kit for beginners
and the X-Factor
Dragonfly 2 RC electric helicopter, 4
Channel ThunderBird V2 Advanced RC Helicopter for experienced flyers.
So even if you've never held a helicopter before, a model like the
Mini RC Helicopter or the Smartech
Police Aerohawk RTF will give you the easiest introduction to flying electric
rc helicopters. Providing
that you're sensible and follow the manufacturer's instructions for the first
few flights, there's absolutely no reason why you should have any problems or
difficulties with learning to fly the helicopter quickly and safely.
Electric powered helicopters
that comes in Kits form require assembley - They don't include RC equipment
Batteries or Chargers. They have the same features as the Ic Engine Powered
Models but without the Noise. I.C Engine Powered Helicopters are Engine Powered.
They do not include engine, Radio Control Equipment, Starting Equipment. The
IC Helicopters are dangerous, so people who want to fly this model have to some
rc helicopter hobby club. We donot sell these two models because many customers
said they are so difficult or unsafe to fly.
If you are browsing to buy
a Ready To Fly RC helicopter please go to http://www.hobby-estore.com/electric-rc-helicopters.html.
Best sellers
Learn to fly helicopter
PART
I: PROFILE
Important suggestions in order to learn to fly model helicopters fast, safe
and without crashing every week:
1.
Invite an experienced flyer to help you:
Setting up a helicopter for the first time is not very easy. It is very unlikely
that you will setup the helicopter correctly by yourself. A helicopter that
has been setup properly flies much better and is more predictable! So it’s
necessary for you to have an experienced flyer help you. He may give you additional
hints and tips on learning and he may point you at certain mistakes you make,
which may be very helpful.
2. Take small steps: Always take
very small steps on the learning curve. If you take a big step, you may succeed,
or you may crash. If you crash, you may be de-motivated, it will cost you money,
it will make you less confident, you are grounded for some time and the worst
it is dangerous! Make sure that you learn a step thoroughly and in all directions
before you take the next step. In the end you will learn faster if you take
small steps because you know the basics well and you will fly instead of repair.
3. Don't skip steps: There are
of course numerous ways to learn to fly a remotely controlled helicopter. However,
if you follow the steps listed below, you will learn fast and with a minimum
chance of crashing. The steps are chosen such that you always have learned the
necessary steps before taking a new step.
4. Use a proper RC Helicopter fly simulator:
Having a proper simulator, which can be controlled by your Tx ( transmitter
is necessary). It allows you to get acquainted to controlling an R/C helicopter
and learn the needed reflexes.
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two helicopters for beginners
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PART
II: FUNCATION
1) Learn about
the basic theory of helicopter aerodynamics. This will help
you to understand what is going on. Your instructor can learn about the controls
and their interactions and the influence of wind on the model etc. Learn about
when a helicopter stalls etc, this is very different from a plane!
2) Have your helicopter checked over thoroughly by your instructor for safety.
3) Use your simulator to train your reflexes required for hovering the helicopter.
4) Setup a buddy lead between your TX and the TX of the instructor and make
sure that both transmitters are setup properly. Here you can
see the learning process on the buddy lead in action. Both transmitters are
connected, and the instructor is ready to take over at any time.
5) Learn about the safety procedures on RC helicopter fly and the specific safety
procedures at the field you are going to fly.
6) Make sure that you have your training gear connected properly.
PART III: PRACTICE & PROGRESS
Make sure you practice
until you are confident in a step before you move on to the next step.
Make sure that you have your training gear connected properly.
Make sure that your instructorknows when you get in to trouble.
Learning
Cyclic Control:
Step1) Your instructor will check the helicopter controls, he will spool it
up and check the controls with a spooled up helicopter. If all is well, he will
test fly the helicopter to ensure that everything is operating as expected.
Yes, this is thrilling; you have just witnessed your helicopter actually fly.
Step 2) Your instructor
will demonstrate what a sliding helicopter is. Using your training gear it will
be possible to slowly land the helicopter while it still has significant forward,
backward or sideways speed.
Step 3) Position
the helicopter with the nose in the wind. You should stand 5m away behind the
helicopter, and 1m to the left of it. Rehearse in your mind what you are going
to do (try to make the helicopter stay put at one position). Rehearse what the
controls and their interactions are going to be.
Step 4) Now you
are in control of the cyclic and your instructor will lift the helicopter to
a save height of 0.1m. Exercise only very small control inputs. While trying
to make the helicopter stay put, the landing gear will now and then touch the
ground, but this will be no problem. Once you can control the helicopter so
it stays in one place, it will no longer touch the ground. Your instructor will
lift the helicopter to a height of 1m. This will need a bit of time to get used
to. Yes, you are flying a helicopter!
Step 5) Practice
to move the helicopter sideways 1m, stop in a hover, and come back again. Practice
this in both directions. You will develop proper feel for controlling the cyclic.
Step 6) Practice
to move the helicopter forwards 1m, stop in a hover, and come back again.
Then, you mastered the basic controls on the right stick.
Learning
Collective and Rudder Control:
Step 1) Position
the helicopter with the nose in the wind. You should stand 5m away behind the
helicopter, and 1m to the left of it. Rehearse in your mind what you are going
to do (try to gently lift the helicopter 10cm of the ground and put it down
again). Rehearse what the controls and their interactions are going to be. Remember
that you must keep calm when you slam down the helicopter
and donot slam it down in a hurry.
Step 2) Lift the
helicopter slowly of the ground up to 10cm. Hold the pitch control for a couple
of seconds. Decrease pitch slowly and set it down again. You will get confident
in your instructor in keeping the helicopter at one spot. Try to be very precise
on the stick so that you do not touch the rudder. The helicopter will not stay
at one height due to the wind effects.
Step 3) Lift the
helicopter slowly to an height of 1m. Get comfortable with this height, and
practice to set it down slowly and gently. Try to learn to keep the helicopter
at a constant height of 1m. If you feel uncomfortable landing the helicopter,
let the instructor land the helicopter until you are ready for it.
Step 4) Lift the
helicopter to a height of 1m. Keep it steady. Now slowly rotate the nose of
the helicopter left, back again, right, and back again. The maximum rotation
is about 20 degrees. Get comfortable in controlling the rudder.
Step 5) Lift the
helicopter slowly to an height of 1m. How does a controlled ascent to 2m, back
to 1m etc? Practice to get a very controlled height.
Step 6) Lift the
helicopter to a height of 1m. Your instructor will move the helicopter sideways,
forwards and backwards (1m). Try to keep the helicopter at a constant height
of 1m.
Step 7) Same as
above, now the instructor moves the helicopter in all directions up to a distance
of 5m.
After these steps, you mastered the basic control of the pitch/throttle
and the rudder.
Learning
to Control Both Sticks:
Step 1) Position the helicopter with the nose in the wind. You should stand
5m away behind the helicopter, and 1m to the left of it. Rehearse in your mind
what you are going to do (try to make the helicopter stay at a minimal height
of 1m). Rehearse what the controls and their interactions are going to be.
Step 2) Be prepared
for the helicopter to drift to the left (with a right hand rotating main rotor).
It will do that! Promptly lift the helicopter to a height of 1m. Don't try to
control the cyclic until it is of the ground! Don't hover below 1m, make sure
that the liftoff is swiftly. Catch the left drift of the helicopter. Practice
until the helicopter stays put at one place and you are in full control.
Step 3) Practice
a gentle decent from 1m and a gentle touch down. Practice this until you can
land the helicopter with little to no sideways movement and a gentle descent.
From here on, you always try to land the helicopter as if there is no training
gear attached (gently with no sideways movement).
Step 4) Practice
to move the helicopter sideways 1m, stop in a hover, and come back again. Practice
this in both directions. Take care of the control interaction, be aware of the
wind effects. You will develop proper feel for controlling the cyclic and the
pitch combination. Extend this slowly to a sideways movement of 5m.
Step 5) Practice
to move the helicopter forwards 1m, stop in a hover, and come back again. Extend
this slowly to a forward and backward movement of 5m. Take care of the control
interaction; be aware of the wind effects. Practice this until you can make
forward, backward and sideways movement at a constant height.
Step 6) Lift the
helicopter to a height of 1m. Keep it steady. Now slowly rotate the nose of
the helicopter left, back again, right, and back again. The maximum rotation
is about 20 degrees. Get comfortable in controlling the rudder and keeping the
helicopter at one spot with a constant altitude.
After finished these steps, you have managed the first hovering steps.
The
Hovering trail like "M":
Step 1) Position the helicopter with the nose in the wind. You should stand
5m away behind the helicopter, and 1m to the left of it. Rehearse in your mind
what you are going to do (try diagonal movements and finally make the "M"
maneuver at a constant height of 1m). Rehearse what the controls and their interactions
are going to be.
Step 2) Bring the
helicopter in a stable hover. Move the helicopter 5m to the right of you and
make it stop. From this point, move the helicopter 5 m forwards and make it
stop. You are looking at the helicopter with a familiar angle, just a bit further
away. Make sure you can hold it there in a stable hover.
Step 3) Diagonally
move the helicopter backwards and to the left until it is again in front of
you (5m in front of you, 1m to the right). Practice this triangle until you
feel comfortable.
Step 4) Now we
are going to practice the left-hand side. Again, start in front of you. Move
the helicopter 5m to the left and make it stop (near left corner). Move the
helicopter 5m forward and get it in a stable hover. Diagonally move the helicopter
backwards and to the right until it is again in front of you (5m in front of
you, 1m to the right). Practice this triangle until you feel comfortable.
Step 5) Now repeat
the steps above, but this time you extend the diagonal sections. So you are
going to move the helicopter diagonally from the far right corner directly to
the near left corner. From here move the helicopter to the far left corner,
and then diagonally to the near right corner. From here to the far right corner
etc. Always hover at the corners first so that errors do not get accumulated.
Step 6) Now we
are going to practice the triangle in the other direction. Start with the helicopter
in front of you move diagonally to the far right corner, back again to the near
right corner and back again in front of you. Also practice this on the left
hand side, with the diagonal movement away from you to the far left corner.
Step 7) Extend
the diagonal movements. Start in front of you, move the helicopter to the near
right corner, from here move the helicopter to the far left corner and back
to the near left corner. From there move it in one diagonal to the far right
corner and back to the near right corner.
Step 8) Lift the
helicopter in front of you. Move the helicopter to the far right corner. From
there move it diagonally back in front of you, but now at a distance of 7.5M
in front of you (half way or middle point of the "M"). From that position
move the helicopter to the far left corner and back to the middle point.
Step 9) Connect
the exercises above until you make a nice "M" with stopping at each
corner. Practice the "M" in both directions. Now reduce the stop time
until you have a nice and smooth continuous "M". Practice them in
both directions.
After tried the steps above, you managed an essential hovering skill
that will help you through your future leaning steps.
Landing
and Takeoff
Step 1) Position the helicopter with the nose in the wind. You should stand
5m away behind the helicopter, and 1m to the left of it. Rehearse in your mind
what you are going to do (try to make the helicopter land as if there is no
training gear). Rehearse what the controls and their interactions are going
to be.
Step 2) Lift the
helicopter to a height of 1m. Now land the helicopter with absolute no sideways
movement. Furthermore, the landing should be very soft. Notice that without
a training gear the helicopter tips over very easy, and a rough landing will
break the landing gear.
Step 3) Put a marker
in front of you and practice perfect landings with no sideways movement and
a very gentle descent over and over again on top of the marker. Having the "landing
gear square" over the marker is good enough. Don't focus on the landing
gear or the marker; try to look at the overall picture.
Step 4) Move the
helicopter to the far right corner, and practice a gentle and stable landing.
Step 5) Move the
helicopter to the far left corner, and practice a gentle and stable landing.
Step 6) Take off
the training gear. The longer the training gear stays on, the more difficult
it will be to remove it. Furthermore, you might be using the training gear for
deducting the attitude of the helicopter. This is not a good thing, as it is
not going to be there in the future. A Raptor 30 with the training gear still
attached.
Step 7) Lift the
helicopter promptly to a height of 1m. Don't touch the cyclic before the helicopter
is actually airborne! Get comfortable hovering the helicopter without the training
gear. If you control the cyclic before the helicopter is actually airborne,
the helicopter is likely to tip over.
Step 8) Move the
helicopter sideways 5m, stop, and back again in both directions. You now get
used to the controls of the helicopter without the training gear. Move the helicopter
forwards 5m, stop, and back again. You now get used to the controls of the helicopter
in the forward direction without the training gear.
Step 9) Descent
the helicopter to 0.1m and back again to 1m. Get comfortable of the semi landing
of your helicopter without the landing gear. Now you are going to do your first
actual landing without the training gear. Rehearse your escape first! Now while
landing the helicopter, keep reminding yourself to push the left stick if you
are not comfortable. Don't land the helicopter if it moves sideways, abort the
landing in that case. Remind yourself that you can do this since you can make
a perfect landing with the training gear attached.
Step 9) You did
your first landing without a training gear! Lift the helicopter to a height
of 1m and land the helicopter. Keep practicing this until you can swiftly and
confidently land your helicopter.
Step 10) Practice
to land the helicopter at the far right and the near right corners. Keep practicing
this until you can swiftly and confidently land your helicopter. Now practice
both the far left and the near left corners.
Step 11) Practice
a perfect landing in front of you "on top" of the marker. Landing
within 0.3m is good enough for now.
After finished the steps above, you managed to take off, hover, move
around and land your helicopter safely.
PART IV: SKILLS & DEVELOPMENT
Make sure you practice
until you are confident in a step before you move on to the next step.
Make sure that you have your training gear connected properly.
Make sure your instructor knows when you get in to trouble.
The wind must be gentle.
Tail in the Wind:
Step 1) This is an easy one with nowadays gyro's. Rehearse what the wind effects
on the tail will be in the hover in relation with the pitch control. Put the
helicopter in front of you with the nose in the wind. Lift of the helicopter
and practice a comfortable hover and landing with the give wind. Make sure you
get used to the changed pitch range! The landings should be precise and comfortable
with the new pitch range and the wind.
Step 2) Put the
helicopter in front of you, but this time with the tail in the wind. Lift of
the helicopter and practice a comfortable hover and landing with the tail in
the wind.
Step 3) Practice
moving the helicopter to the near right and near left corners and hovering at
those corners. Practice to hover the helicopter at the far right and far left
corners.
Step 4) Practice
the hovering "M" in both directions with the tail in the wind.
Step 5) Hover the
helicopter in front of you, and rotate the nose to the left, back again, to
the right and back again. The rotation of the nose should not exceed 20 degrees
or so.
Then, you managed an essential hovering skill with some wind.
Learning
Sideways Wind:
Step 1) This is an easy one with nowadays gyro's. Rehearse what the wind effects
on the tail will be in the hover in relation with the pitch control. Rehearse
what the sideways wind will do with the attitude of the helicopter in a hover.
Put the helicopter in front of you with the nose in the wind. Lift of the helicopter
and practice a comfortable hover and landing with the give wind. Get used to
the wind of today.
Step 2) Put the
helicopter in front of you, but this time with the wind coming in at the left
side of the helicopter (with right hand rotating main blades). If your helicopter
is rotating counter clockwise, you should start with the wind on the right side
of the helicopter. Rehearse what the wind is going to do, and what you are going
to do to counter the wind effect. Be aware of the effects of the wind on your
pitch.
Step 3) Promptly
lift the helicopter to a height of 1m, and try to catch the drift. If you don't
succeed, your instructor will take over. Don't let the helicopter drop below
1m. Practice this until you can make the helicopter stay put in one position
at one altitude. Note that you can always rotate the tail towards you and in
the wind if the helicopter keeps drifting. You are then again hovering with
the tail in the wind, which you already mastered.
Step 4) Slowly
land the helicopter without any sideways movement. The left skid is likely going
to touch the ground first, which is absolutely no issue! Practice this until
you can comfortably takeoff and land the helicopter with the sideways wind.
Step 5) Now position
the helicopter in front of you with the tail towards you, but with the wind
coming in at the right side of the helicopter (clockwise rotation of main blades).
Rehearse what will happen. The helicopter will tilt much more now. Practice
Step 3 and Step 4 with the wind coming from the right.
Finished the steps above you learned to handle sideways wind without
a problem.
Hovering
Solo:
Step 1) Position the helicopter with the nose in the wind. Your instructor will
stand next to you to give confidence and useful (vocal) help if necessary. Lift
of the helicopter and hover it in front of you. Practice until you feel comfortable.
Land the helicopter in a precise and gentle way.
Step 2) Practice
all the Hovering "M" steps.
Step 3) Practice
the Tail in the Wind steps.
Step 4) Practice
the Sideways Wind steps.
Step 5) Your instructor
will let you alone, he will put the nice bottle
of wine he finally
got from you in his car.
Step 6) Practice
Step 2 to Step 4 while you are completely on your own.
Now, you really mastered the basic skills to hover a helicopter.
Tail-in
Circle:
Step 1) Put the helicopter in front of you and hover for a second so you get
used to the wind. Rotate the nose 20 degrees to the left and hover for some
time like that. Rotate the nose 20 degrees to the right and hover for some time
like that. This way you get comfortable again with the wind on the side of the
helicopter.
Step 2) Position
the helicopter with the tail in the wind, and put it in a stable hover. Now
let the helicopter make the first 90 degrees of a counter clockwise tail in
circle with a radius of 5m (with clockwise rotating main blades). The helicopter
is hovering with the wind coming in on the left side of the helicopter. Slowly
let the helicopter move back again to the starting position (90 degrees clockwise)
until the wind is on the tail again.
Step 3) Position
the helicopter with the tail in the wind, and put it in a stable hover. Now
let the helicopter make the first 90 degrees of a clockwise tail in circle with
a radius of 5m (with clockwise rotating main blades). The helicopter is hovering
with the wind coming in on the right side of the helicopter. Slowly let the
helicopter move back again to the starting position (90 degrees clockwise) until
the wind is on the tail again. Note that the helicopter will need to bank a
bit more now, get comfortable with this banking angle.
Step 4) Position
the helicopter with the tail in the wind, and put it in a stable hover. Now
let the helicopter make the first 180 degrees of a counter clockwise tail in
circle with a radius of 5m (with clockwise rotating main blades). The helicopter
is hovering with the nose in the wind. Slowly let the helicopter move back again
to the starting position (180 degrees clockwise) until the wind is on the tail
again.
Step 5) Position
the helicopter with the tail in the wind, and put it in a stable hover. Now
let the helicopter make the first 180 degrees of a clockwise tail in circle
with a radius of 5m (with clockwise rotating main blades). The helicopter is
hovering with the nose in the wind. Slowly let the helicopter move back again
to the starting position (180 degrees clockwise) until the wind is on the tail
again.
Step 6) Just put
the steps above together, and you are doing a tail-in circle!
Step 7) Increase
the radius of the circle to e.g. 10m. Practice the circles in both directions
until they are circular with a constant speed and a constant height. Work up
the speed of the circles so that a complete circle with a radius of 10 takes
about 8 seconds or so on both directions.
Finished all the steps above and now you really mastered flying a helicopter
with a gentle wind. Hope you enjoy yourself with your beloved helicopter!
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