How to measure progress?

[Wonderbadger]

Hi all!
Now I have had my Walkera 4#3B a few days and having regular practice, I am after some advice on how I measure how I am doing and what I might need to do to improve. So far I can hold a resonably stable tail-in hover, sometimes its very stable and other times not so good but rarely really out of control now. People have mentioned I should try nose-on then side-on hovering which I am sure I will get round to over christmas but I was wondering how good, how stable I should be expecting to be before I can be happy that its all going OK (OK I realise its probably subjective but on my better flights I can hold it within a few inches of where I want it to be and do controlled takeoffs/landings).

Any advice on how i can judge my progress or similar would be appreciated

[David Drew]

Tail on, side on both sides, then nose on, but beware, that is not easy.

I'd say, tail in, move right & left, slight side on & move right & left, a bit more towards side-on and move then slowly bring the nose around until you can get over the mental issue of 3 of your 4 controls working backwards.

Good luck

David

[Kwickkwack]

nose in hovering is a quite difficult to get your head round, if you are able to hold a reasonably steady tail in hover then I would suggest you try side on (both ways). Once you are more comfortable with this then try slowly flying forward and gentle figure of eights.

[cambs flyer]

Indeed, mastering a stable tail in hover for the duration of a battery why going forward, reverse, left, right, and still being in control then land is a superb achievement.

So give yourself a well deserved pat on the back.

Now take this onboard too, your learning on a great little machine, but it's tiny compared too the 400 class Choppers, and with a few hours sim practice just to gain CCPM knowledge I feel when you buy your next machine after the power intimidation is behind you your find the larger birds a walk in the park.

Don't judge or set time goals just enjoy your flying, and new skills will steadily creep into your flying ability's.

Don't ever feel just because the 4#3b is small its a lesser machine then the bigger Jobie's, as it needs the same commitment to learn and master as any Heli.

The one & only single commitment this hobby asks is for the passion & drive to advance your flying skill, and laugh off the occasional crash.

Rock on mate and make her fly well.

[machasm]

I measure my progress by the number of crashes I've had!!
Hmmmm. by that reckoning I should be doing hard 3D by now!!!!
Not enough crashes yet I guess.

On a more serious note I would say you are ready to try some side on by now.

[heliTV]

Good point and a good question.

It's always difficult to measure progress, and more difficult to decide to move on to something new, risking a crash... I've just taken my training gear off and pontificated about it for ages but once off, it becomes normal. I had a similar situation with increasing head speed and using idle-up.

I am having lessons with Pete Milner of Phoenix Model Aviation who provides a useful benchmark as to when I'm ready to progress to something new. Also, I can try new things during a lesson on the buddy box and he sorts it out when things go wrong. Well worth the investment IMHO.

I guess more experienced flyers in a club could give this sort of advice...

The order I'm being taught is :-

tail in hover dead ahead
tail in hover to your left and right
move between above positions
side on hover (nose left and nose right) to your left and to your right
Lazy 8s

That's as far as I've got but hopefully will have another lesson tomrrow weather permitting!

Hope this helps

Graham

[cjcj1949]

Good point and a good question.

It's always difficult to measure progress, and more difficult to decide to move on to something new, risking a crash... I've just taken my training gear off and pontificated about it for ages but once off, it becomes normal. I had a similar situation with increasing head speed and using idle-up.

I am having lessons with Pete Milner of Phoenix Model Aviation who provides a useful benchmark as to when I'm ready to progress to something new. Also, I can try new things during a lesson on the buddy box and he sorts it out when things go wrong. Well worth the investment IMHO.

I guess more experienced flyers in a club could give this sort of advice...

The order I'm being taught is :-

tail in hover dead ahead
tail in hover to your left and right
move between above positions
side on hover (nose left and nose right) to your left and to your right
Lazy 8s

That's as far as I've got but hopefully will have another lesson tomrrow weather permitting!

Hope this helps

Graham

I agree with what Graham has just said except the first indication of progress for me was my first hover without a crash. Then controlling the heli during the hover and then being able to hover for a whole battery and being able to move the heli to where I wanted it rather than it deciding where to go and me just getting it back. My main measure of success was how much I needed to spend on repairs after each flight. Crashes are not all bad by the way,it makes you find out how the bits all fit together.

Quick hijack. I'm ok on basic hovering on the sim and backward and forward flying and fast eights, but as soon as I slow down it all goes to pieces. How do you do lazy eights? Do you use heading hold?

[Boggy]

i would measure progress by how comfatable you feel. when your turning side on do it slowly a bit at a time . as soon as it feels wrong or difficult . stop and try and hold it there till your happy,then if you can push a bit further .. if you cant start again.

cj get that gyro sorted and use h/h all the time its sooo much easier. if you get used to using rate mode. fast sideways or backwards flight is always going to be a nightmare if not impossible.( dont forget when your learning curcuits if you get into trouble stopping and bringing the heli back tail in (backwards) is the easiest escape route)

[heliTV]

Chris

I have very similar problems - fast 8's are easier than slow on the sim. I think partly its due to the small model (Blade 400) - the bigger ones are easier at slower speeds. Also, I'm guessing that the forward momentum at a higher speed helps the turn - slower speeds need more careful balance of the controls - and yes, I always use heading hold!

All the best

Graham

[helidriver]

If your face hurts then its progression...

its all about having fun, if your smiling alot then the object of a Hobby has been achieved.

keep in mind that 3D is not the ultimate goal in this game but having fun is.

damn that sounds bent !! if ur not banging out Anacondas within a year then give up and get an plane..

[cjcj1949]

I do use it all the time honest.

i would measure progress by how comfatable you feel. when your turning side on do it slowly a bit at a time . as soon as it feels wrong or difficult . stop and try and hold it there till your happy,then if you can push a bit further .. if you cant start again.

cj get that gyro sorted and use h/h all the time its sooo much easier. if you get used to using rate mode. fast sideways or backwards flight is always going to be a nightmare if not impossible.( dont forget when your learning curcuits if you get into trouble stopping and bringing the heli back tail in (backwards) is the easiest escape route)

I've been doing lazy eights on Phoenix, so the gyro is working and in heading hold. I thought that rate mode might be easier with the tail following the direction of flight.

I've got an RCE-600 and DS520 now. The boom needs fixing now.

Chris

I didn't realise until last night when I looked at the Phoenix lazy eights that I'd been trying to do the proper eights which should be beyond me at the moment as they are in the B test.