Is it normal to be able to hold a fairly decent hover...

[Madcowz]

Is it normal to be able to hold a fairly decent hover... then to suddenly be wildly all over the garden fighting to retain control?

I can be quite happily hovering in one spot and it looks half decent, ok it isn't 100% stable but the movements are pretty small and it all seems pretty darn good. The birds are singing, the sun is out and I'm thinking god this is sweet... then in a split scond, blink of the eye moment I am all over the place with it zipping round in circles like the toilet Bowl effect with me fighting to get it back under control, lurching from one end of the garden to the other getting worse and worse.

Sure it's all part of the learning effect but I'm starting to feel a little Jekyll and Hyde here in my abilities!

[Smoothound]

It's often just a case of over controlling

Heli moves left you move stick right to counter but move too far then you have to go back left to control again etc. etc. etc. It's about controlling your control inputs if that makes any sense Like most things in this game it will suddenly become much easier like someone has flicked a switch, then you move onto the next level

[Rotorhead]

In the early stages you can get into that easily, its just that you're a bit behind what the heli is doing, you need to learn to anticipate what correction you're going to need by reading what the heli is doing now, it will come with practice and isnt as hard as it sounds, it will get to the point where you dont even think about it, like jumping on a bike after years of cycling.

[cupracing]

What transmitter are you using? If it's a dx6i you could put in some more expo if it's the one that came with the heli well then I'm afraid you will have to be very precise in control.

[Madcowz]

Thanks for the replies. I'm using the stock Tx that came with the 120 but I hopefully do have a DX6i coming with Phoenix from the For Sale section which I'm hoping has slightly more precise trim levels as well as I'm finding that this one is either too little or too much.

I must admit that when I am able to smooth out the rollercoaster of crazy flying it is by thinking ahead but it is the speed that I get into this mess that scares me. I also can't seem to progress from tail in flying. I'm ok if I put up to 45 degrees of rudder on but any more and I'm all back to front and in the bushes. But... I now find nose in hovering as hard as I found tail in hovering when I started so there is definitely an improvement.

All good fun.

[Hangar-7]

What size heli? If 450 or smaller, then you'll need feeding controls constantly for a nearly steady hover.
EDIT : DOH!! Blade120 SR - you'd expect it to be twitchy flying outdoor.

[MartinH]

It happened to me a few times you just get over cautious and a little excited, all part of learning to fly .

[Balders]

believe me, if you're already thinking about moving past tail in hovering, you're doing very well.

Just takes time, sounds like you are doing really well though, so keep up the practice.

[tiddler]

The stock tx has dual rates.
By pushing in on the right-hand stick while in the high rate mode you enter the low rate mode. You can tell you are in the low rate mode when the
LED on the transmitter blinks continuously.

[cupracing]

And take your time, heli flying takes a long time to master but is very rewarding in the end

[jwatts007]

Sounds like its time to move on to something a bit bigger....Bigger the better....

[tiddler]

Another thing with the mSR and the 120 SR is, although they are incredibly stable in a hover, they both seem to have a break away point where they can suddenly take of like a bat out of hell and really take you by surprise. This mixed with its tendency to self correct can cause it to flare out and raise the nose more than you would expect. flying them in breezy conditions only seems to make this worse.

For the moment best stick to flying indoors or outside when there's no wind.

Also try to stick with hovering in as many different orientations as possible and if you do fly about at all, try and keep things nice and slow

[GravityKills]

the problem is, you can't focus your attention for several minutes without "glitches". Heli flying is really unforgiving in that respect.
Don't worry, all it takes is practice. First, you get better at concentrating. Second, the reflexes start to take over and you become a spectator to your own flying. Well... not really

[Madcowz]

I use the low rates on the TX all the time and still find it a handful.

Definitely taking it slowly. I have only just started to attempt very slow and wobbly tail in figure of eights which I find hard to get smooth and controlled but at least I manage to get near my reference point (I call it my helislab) on the join of the 8.

Then its back to tail in hover for more practice. I have had a go at flying forwards but when I tried to stop the forward motion I nearly ended up with a helicopter in my face as I'm too keen on the backwards stick bit. I know it will click at some stage and I'm not trying to push myself too fast as it will end up costing me in spares. So far, in two weeks I have only broken the battery holder so not as bad as I thought it would be....

[Madcowz]

Another thing with the mSR and the 120 SR is, although they are incredibly stable in a hover, they both seem to have a break away point where they can suddenly take of like a bat out of hell and really take you by surprise. This mixed with its tendency to self correct can cause it to flare out and raise the nose more than you would expect.

I'm finding the self-correct makes things worse as it does exactly as you say, it flares out and before I know it I'm at an attitude that I'd rather not be at. Also when it does self-correct, I'm normally already attempting to correct myself so it just doubles what is going on and all merry hell breaks out.

But, I have to be thankful for the "incredibly stable hover" which I didn't actually think was that stable but that is just cos I'm a noob.

Loving every single minute of this flying thing but the concentration required is immense. My wife says I look like my 7 year old when he is concentrating. A mixture of intense focus and fear and afterwards because the heli is wobbling and swaying about and I'm focussed on it, I almost feel as though I have been on a boat for a few hours.