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Hi Guys,
I had my first flight yesterday. I've done everything I should not have done and seem to have come out ok.
I have very little previous experience of heli's only watching them at my local club a few years back ( I was a plane guy). But because of all the information on this forum and other forums I was able to get a good understanding of setting up a heli for the beginner, ie pitch throws etc etc.
First task after rebuilding the head to the manufacturers spec, was to tie the heli to a pallet and fire up the engine, as the heli is 2nd hand I wasn't too sure how reliable the engine was, so I put a good 2 tanks of fuel through it while I setup the throttle and pitch curves to suit the engine. It now runs like a dream taking every drop of fuel out of the tank. I also set the tracking at this point. I had also noticed a slight vibration so I rebalanced the main blades and reset the pitch curves. I then restarted and set the tracking again! Now it runs perfectly smoothly.
I set the heli in my back garden which has not been leveled out yet so is very bumpy and full of overgrown weeds. I then slowly started applying throttle until I could see the weight lifting and carefully watched to see which direction it was likely to lift. I spent a full tank and a half setting the trim like this. When I thought I was happy a little more throttle went on and the heli went very light on the training gear. It then started to swing a lot. I checked the trim on the rudder but could not correct this. I tried to work out what was happening blaming a very cheap gyro for this fault. I then set the gyro in reverse as I had run out of theories and this instantly cured the problem.
It was time to fly! ish.
I then spent a further tank and a half trying to get the heli to lift but because of the bumpy ground it would always lift in a slightly different direction. I played with the controls teaching myself what to do when the heli would move too much forward, backwards or to the side.
The last tank I put through it I was very focused and felt much more in control as the heli was behaving as I thought it should. It was very difficult to control when it was light on the skids, but I was gaining confidence so I took the heli to about a metre off the ground. Instantly it became sooo much more comfortable to hover. I felt very comfortable like this. When I packed up for the night I was buzzing, very pleased with myself!
So this is where I'm at with my training, I plan to practise hovering on the spot now for at least the next ten tanks before I try nose in hovering etc.
hope the comments aren't too severe.
regards
Jonny
I had my first flight yesterday. I've done everything I should not have done and seem to have come out ok.
I have very little previous experience of heli's only watching them at my local club a few years back ( I was a plane guy). But because of all the information on this forum and other forums I was able to get a good understanding of setting up a heli for the beginner, ie pitch throws etc etc.
First task after rebuilding the head to the manufacturers spec, was to tie the heli to a pallet and fire up the engine, as the heli is 2nd hand I wasn't too sure how reliable the engine was, so I put a good 2 tanks of fuel through it while I setup the throttle and pitch curves to suit the engine. It now runs like a dream taking every drop of fuel out of the tank. I also set the tracking at this point. I had also noticed a slight vibration so I rebalanced the main blades and reset the pitch curves. I then restarted and set the tracking again! Now it runs perfectly smoothly.
I set the heli in my back garden which has not been leveled out yet so is very bumpy and full of overgrown weeds. I then slowly started applying throttle until I could see the weight lifting and carefully watched to see which direction it was likely to lift. I spent a full tank and a half setting the trim like this. When I thought I was happy a little more throttle went on and the heli went very light on the training gear. It then started to swing a lot. I checked the trim on the rudder but could not correct this. I tried to work out what was happening blaming a very cheap gyro for this fault. I then set the gyro in reverse as I had run out of theories and this instantly cured the problem.
It was time to fly! ish.
I then spent a further tank and a half trying to get the heli to lift but because of the bumpy ground it would always lift in a slightly different direction. I played with the controls teaching myself what to do when the heli would move too much forward, backwards or to the side.
The last tank I put through it I was very focused and felt much more in control as the heli was behaving as I thought it should. It was very difficult to control when it was light on the skids, but I was gaining confidence so I took the heli to about a metre off the ground. Instantly it became sooo much more comfortable to hover. I felt very comfortable like this. When I packed up for the night I was buzzing, very pleased with myself!
So this is where I'm at with my training, I plan to practise hovering on the spot now for at least the next ten tanks before I try nose in hovering etc.
hope the comments aren't too severe.
regards
Jonny
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