progressing to forward flight

[DaveMac]

Hello,

After finally appearing to fix my Raptor tail kick i'm looking for some advice on progressing from hovering into a bit of forward flight.

I want to hover side on over to my left and move the heli across to the right then turn and repeat without stopping. I'm not too bad getting it to move slowly forward but cant get the turns right, I either end up either stopping and just doing a stationary turn using the rudder or else it tries to go into a spiral. What proportion of rudder and aileron should I be using to get this smooth? I'm aiming to do this at walking pace.

Cheers,
Dave

[tiddler]

Lazy eights is the usual next step. But first get plenty of practice in Phoenix. Then take it to the field.

If you haven't got Phoenix, why not?

[Tim Procter]

If you haven't got Phoenix, why not?

Never a better word said.

Get a Phoenix sim or pay the premium in repairs.... Simples.

[del19_82]

It's very difficult to tell you exactly how much travel you should use mate, the whole thing is affected by the weather, model etc. the easiest way is to get someone to show you the stick movements & then its just a case of practice. (however if you want a sim i still have Realflight for sale as you know )

[DaveMac]

I've been trying to avoid sim as for me it's all about being outside flying. However if a sim would improve this I may need to reconsider.

However in the meantime maybe someone could show me the stick movements Del!

[del19_82]

no probs mate, can show you them up at the field tomorrow if you want!

[DaveMac]

Cool, I will hopefully be up at field early. Forecast looks good for tommorow, can only get better after today.

[del19_82]

Yeah it looks good, not sure what time i will be there but it will be early as the gazebo & stuff needs set up for the funfly!

[Steve]

If you really want to stay away from sims, which has its own merits but not a debate to be had here, then you need any combination of these three things before you try these more developed moves.

1. A buddy box system with an experienced clubmate. Get a buddy lead and ask Del if he'll help out. After all, he's familiar with the heli. Sorry if I've dropped you in it Del! ;-)
2. Have a pre-planned escape route - if it starts to go worryingly pear shaped, quickly punch the collective stick up to about 10 feet and spin the tail around to tail-in at the same time. Give yourself time to recompose the situation and settle the heli down. This needs to become an automated response. Prepare for it before you fly. If you can have an experienced pilot near by, they can take the Tx off you and bring it down - make sure you're not using a neck strap. Or, if you're on a buddy box, even easier.
3. Ask for help. Get the very experienced flyers at your club to talk you through it and stand beside and just behind you, kind of over your shoulder.

The heli will only get broke when it hits the ground, so keeping it in the air keeps it in one piece.

As for how much stick input you'll need - well no two helis are the same, nor are two peoples setups so that is an unanswerable question. All you can do is start with small inputs and build up. Don't start with big ones and shrink down = recipe for disaster.

Good luck and have fun.

[tiddler]

I've been trying to avoid sim as for me it's all about being outside flying. However if a sim would improve this I may need to reconsider.

However in the meantime maybe someone could show me the stick movements Del!

Being outside and flying your heli is definatly what its all about. No arguments there.
The sim isn't meant to replace this, its there to enhance it.
Most people find the sim enjoyable, a few don't get on with it. But nearly all agree its an extremely useful training aid that helps ingrain or keep fresh those all important muscle memories, no matter what you skill level.

[DaveMac]

Well Del showed showed me the stick movements yesterday and I had an attempt at it myself, just need to keep practicing now.

Dave.