Oh dear its becoming boring :(

[Bamboo]

After 5 months i am started to become bored. My hovering is coming along but it’s like watching paint dry to be honest. I was always against these Helicommands but thinking perhaps at least a bit of a fly around might break the boredom.
It’s not the crashing or the expense or the learning it’s just boring and when free time is a prize possession i am wondering...

[p4ddy]

So your bored of hovering or the hobby as a whole?? If your using helicommand I personally would just ditch it & use either a conventional gyro or a fbl system. Helicommand will take all the challenge away from learning & imo it will limit your ability. Also you can begin pushing yourself beyond hovering by starting to venturing into some forward flight. It takes time & persistence but the rewards are fantastic especially the knee knocking adrenalin buzz you get when pushing yourself & doing something new.

[Bamboo]

The hovering is coming but still not quite there. I have no kind of helicommand but am thinking it maybe a good idea just to break the boredom then put it away and carry on with another heli.
its probably a phase and a weeks break may do wonders who knows

So at present maybe the hobby?

[chucky21022010]

Helicommand is good but it will take away the challeges flying a heli will give. Put a standard fbl like beastx etc and fly the same way you did before. I bet it will feel much more different. As mentioned before, if you are bored try new maneuvers like forward flight or piro for example, that will keep you going. Being bored is just part of the hobby, it is how you deal with it and move forward that counts.

[robbo45]

I think if the hobby is boreing you already then maybe this hobby is not for you

[waveydavey]

My thoughts exactly Rob. Do you fly alone or with a club? The club scene isn't for everyone but it can be great at keeping you pushed so you don't stagnate

[Bamboo]

Some good points raised lads. Many tell me this is the time many give up ( or just before as it happens) but its not the fact i can't do it its just so slow . Does it get better after the hover? How long were you hovering for

[trexamanic]

I am hovering still after two years although I have been out of it for a year but it's still great. I am now flying left and right and away from me but still can't nose in. Don't be put off as it's great to achieve the next move. Why not give a training session a try as it may bring you on leaps and bounds.
Stick with it. I can't get on with the sims so slow but sure.

[GIXERMAN]

The hovering is the easy bit, the rest of the journey is hard.

[Si Goodchild]

Here's my $0.02 worth: get a sim such as phoenix.

Firstly, if free time is an issue (and I really understand that), sim time is usually an addition to your real flying time.
Secondly, you can crash all day on the sim and it doesn't cost you a penny. When I was at your stage the sim allowed me to try things I daren't try for real and to learn how a heli handles before I went for it in the real world.
Third, it's more practice, so that's good, but it also means you can try different models and different scenery to liven things up a bit. Personally I only fly the biggest helis on Phoenix as the small one fly awfully in my opinion.

For me, the point is this: you have to learn to hover or you won't be able to take off and land later. As soon as you've cracked that get going with forward flight and co-ordinated turns so that you can get the feel of the model. I also flew fixed wing models on phoenix because it's a handly lead-in to fast forward flight.

So, get past the hovering ASAP is my advice because you are right, it's quite boring and should not be an end in itself.

Si G

[Grumpy]

I tried a quad when i was learning, quads have auto leveling stability similar to a Helicommand. This let me do stuff like nose in hovering and other manoeuvres that I didn't have the bottle to try on the CP heli. The quad let me practice doing these things safely because all i had to do was take my fingers off the sticks and it would level.

It didn't actually take long to click at all, a few weeks and i could transfer the stuff i was doing on the quad over to the CP heli, then it really fell into place form there.

A small cheap quad might actually be a more cost effective option than the helicommand, and they are good fun in their own right anyway.

[1chris]

I don't quite understand this thread, once you can competently hover then move off into forward flight, backward flight, circuits, whatever takes your fancy, the first attempts for me at "going round a corner" was at the time, very difficult to achieve, the helicopter just wanted to slide into the ground, but you just keep at it until you crack it. thats the challenge of flying a helicopter

[james_2k]

Helicommand is good but it will take away the challeges flying a heli will give. Put a standard fbl like beastx etc and fly the same way you did before. I bet it will feel much more different. As mentioned before, if you are bored try new maneuvers like forward flight or piro for example, that will keep you going. Being bored is just part of the hobby, it is how you deal with it and move forward that counts.

we talking about the helicommand 3sx here? no need for a new fbl controller just turn off the horizon mode..?

[KevDavies]

Bamboo, where are you based?

Do you fly in a club?

If your in or near the Northwest, feel free to pop over to SCHA, one of us will buddy box you and get you flying around. If you can hover competently you should be starting forwards flight tbh. Hovering bores the shit out of me, and because I had no one to learn off I was hovering for about 18 months and didnt progress. And just like you I got bored.

The atmosphere at the club im at now is second to none. and im sure we could collectively (see the pun LOL) get you excited again

[helijohn]

If you have hovering down pat why not start to move a little to the left, say a foot or two, and hover there. Bring it back and hover. Then move a few feet to the right and return to the start. After that you can gradually extend the range; it's a start.
I know what you mean about it being boring except I personally like the sight of a heli just in the air, in fact especially one I built so even hovering isn't boring. If you can hover well try a slightly windy, only slightly, day as a challenge.

And to be fair, it isn't a five minute task; some take longer than others. I admit I took a bit longer but then younger flyers pick it up faster.