Slow flying

[millerman]

I think you get a discount at McDonalds?

darn it i thought it was a passage to a new life where you got money thrown at you by women dressed only in sexy underwear and the odd double cheeseburger discount

[stumpe]

At most clubs you can't fly with the big boys until you have ur A, most people without the A will be confined to a learners section

Lee

[cuban8]

Thanks for your input chaps. I suppose practise (sort of) makes perfect. Reason for the 'A' is that the club that I fly at locally (10 min drive) insist on an 'A' for anything more than hovering over the spot (and then with an 'A' holder standing behind you getting bored). The other club (an hours drive) have a seperate heli area, and view the BMFA 'A' as an achievement scheme and not a hindrance to learning. I'm all for safety, and as a BMFA F/W examiner, safety comes at the top of the list.

Cheers.

C8

[Spanner]

So if no other Heli A holders there, your stumped?!

[frog]

the club that I fly at locally insist on an 'A' for anything more than hovering over the spot

Never got a chancee of getting an A if all you can practice is hovering on the spot

[Ade_Law]

what do you mean you want to advance your flying skills?!?! :-)

Ade

[trillian]

Different examiners will have their own ideas on what the lazy 8s should be but in general the main thing is a fairly constant height and always being in control.

What I found difficult is keeping a constant and steady slow speed. I practised it until I was pretty smooth and had a nice consistent walking pace. But then on the actual test I got nervous and over compensated a few times resulting in nearly stopping on the turns but I passed after doing the lazy8s twice.

I think the jist of the A test is not about the examiner looking for really perfect execution so much as always being in control and seeing that you can put the heli more or less where you want it rather than letting it wander far and wide or letting the height and speed vary too much.

Having it going too fast and swinging around inconsistently in the turns, not being able to keep within at least a couple feet of the desired height etc. really shouldn't be a pass because it is not demonstrating good control, but having said that I am not an examiner

[Andy from Sandy]

Whenever there is mention of BMFA A or B most of the posts just consider the flying aspect.

So you go out to the flight line and you perform text book hovering and lazy 8s. The examiner asks how you thought it went and so chuffed you say that's the best I ever did. Then the examiner fails you because you missed something in the pit area before the flight.

I wish people would focus equally on the pre-flight checks, post-flight checks and the questions likely to be asked. The way I see it on the A test the flying only accounts for 25% of a pass.

[Andy from Sandy]

Would like to take my 'A' fairly soon but need to get this right. Any tips would be very welcome.

When performing a turn adjust attitude before altitude. In other words as you bank the model into a turn it will likely drop its nose. So you need to input elevator to hold the model in trim through the turn. In Fixed wing speak it is banking and yanking.