Should I be using idle up for normal flying?

[BavarianRob]

Hi all,

Should I always use idle up after spooling up, even if I'm just learning and hovering (trying to at least)? I read somewhere that idle up is usually just for 3D?

I've just been using the throttle stick up till now.

Cheers.

Rob.

[del19_82]

Normally you wouldn't as you don't need the head speed to be constant but it's entirely up to you. It can be a bit nerve wracking switching up at first but some people prefer to fly in IU from the beginning. Once you start moving about doing 8's, stall turns etc I would say yes use idle up


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[Supercaptaincrash]

It would help you get the heli down if you managed to get to far away from yourself

[sacko]

Technically, no.

..but IMO it is a lot easier to fly in idle up. At the moment you are not only balancing the range of pitch, but also the speed of the motor (headspeed) at the same time!

With Idle up, the headspeed is constant and consistant so you only have to manage your pitch.

If you give it full negative by accident though, expect a repair bill

[steve_b]

I found using IU really helped when I was learning to fly as it kept the head speed constant. If you use the normal curves and the heli gets too high your natural reaction is to reduce the pitch, which also reduces the head speed, so the heli comes down faster, which normally induces a panic so you put a load of positive pitch in and the heli's up and down all the time.

With IU keeping the head speed constant I felt that the heli was more controllable as I felt I had more control over the height as there was only collective to think about not head speed as well, and lets be fair when you're learning to fly these things there's enough to worry / panic / think about

[challis349]

When I have a heli, lol, I always flick into idle up, for everything, as soon as I am at the stage where the heli is light on the skids, I switch it over, I found it also a good idea, as when you get to the stage of starting inverted, ie, loops, flips, rolls, then you have already flicked into IU, so wont have that gut wrenching moment when you realise that you have your inverted in normal mode

[Baldie]

And remember, If you have a programmable tx, The headspeed in IU can be the same as in normal mode.... Does not need to be a zillion rpm !!

[Mark_T]

And remember, If you have a programmable tx, The headspeed in IU can be the same as in normal mode.... Does not need to be a zillion rpm !!

Good advice, same goes for pitch as well, just because you are using a fixed head speed, you don't have to set the curve for the full pitch range if you are not trying 3D just yet.

[unwind-protect]

I found using IU really helped when I was learning to fly as it kept the head speed constant. If you use the normal curves and the heli gets too high your natural reaction is to reduce the pitch, which also reduces the head speed, so the heli comes down faster, which normally induces a panic so you put a load of positive pitch in and the heli's up and down all the time.

The problem here isn't that you should be using idle up, but that your normal mode wasn't set up correctly.

If the helicopter always stays upright, then a good pitch/ throttle curve will give you a virtually constant headspeed (in fact, more so than idle up, where the correlation will break down with negative pitch). It's only when you start going inverted that idle up should really be necessary, as you're going to start needing increasing power with negative pitch.

[Andy from Sandy]

Normally you wouldn't as you don't need the head speed to be constant but it's entirely up to you. It can be a bit nerve wracking switching up at first but some people prefer to fly in IU from the beginning. Once you start moving about doing 8's, stall turns etc I would say yes use idle up

It all depends on how the TX is programmed and what is your definition of IU?

My "Normal" throttle curve is 0-70-70-70-70 so I have a constant headspeed until I get below 1/4 stick and the collective would then be around -5 degrees. So I can fly around quite happily doing stall turns and 8s.

There seems to be a notion that IU is all about 3D and headspeeds but it is just another set of settings available for whatever you want it to be.

[Rich23]

Hi

Sorry to hi-jack. I'm having the same dilemma. I take off using the normal throttle then once I have sufficient height (5-6 foot) I try to switch over to IU and thats where I panic. To hover do I hold the stick at 50% giving 0 pitch or would I need a small amount of neg pitch?

Thanks

[sj257]

IMHO. Yes, use IU1 as soon as you can.

Another tip I would give (but others might disagree) is to use a pitch curve that give zero pitch at mid stick. Typically symetrical (eg -11 to +11 deg) in IU1, mybe less negative in normal.

At the dawn of time when I started I was taught to hover at mid stick. When I shifted to using IU1 as soon as I droped the stick I was pushing the model at the ground. My progress was very slow for years. Last year someone said I should have a symetrical pitch curve running through 0 degs at mid stick, and throttle curves that give me the head speed I want at a given pitch (so typically a v curve). What a revalation. So when I progressed to stall turns I was getting to zero pitch, and progressing the stall turn to a loop was a massive anti climax with the collective movement coming very naturally. To put this into some perspective. I have been flying helis for about 11 -12 years. In spring 2011 I made these changes to how I fly. At which point i could only fly a lazy 8 and hover tail in and side on. I'd guess within a month of the changes I took and passed my A as a spur of the moment thing with very little practice. Shortly after I bought a new heli. Got to grips with it and pushed the lazy 8s to proper 8s and learnt to do proper stall turns. Probably spent a couple of months and probably 25-30 flights doing that. In August I was trying to pluck up the courage to get to grips with a simple pirouet with the new heli. Then with a bit of a nudge from a club mate one day in October I did my first loops. Second flight I did my first elevator and aileron flips, third flight I did my first roll and short sustained inverted, 4th flight I did my first backward loop. That was a good day! All of which came surprisingly easily, and without incident, I'm sure due to my comfort and confidence always flying in IU1. (I start my flight in IU1 by selecting and flicking throttle hold out when Im ready.)

So, only my opinion, and I'm no guru or 3d god, but I would recommend geting use to a nice IU1 pitch and throttle curve as soon as you can. It transformed my learning.

Good luck

sj

[muscleflex]

I agree with Andy - IU is just a switch on your transmitter - it's the settings behind that mode that matters. you could have IdleUp 1 or 2 and still have normal settings on it - still wouldn't matter.

It all depends on how the TX is programmed and what is your definition of IU?

My "Normal" throttle curve is 0-70-70-70-70 so I have a constant headspeed until I get below 1/4 stick and the collective would then be around -5 degrees. So I can fly around quite happily doing stall turns and 8s.

There seems to be a notion that IU is all about 3D and headspeeds but it is just another set of settings available for whatever you want it to be.

[Rich23]

Thanks

Just need to wait for my DX6i now so I can start to use throttle and pitch curves.

[heli]

It all depends on how the TX is programmed and what is your definition of IU?

My "Normal" throttle curve is 0-70-70-70-70 so I have a constant headspeed until I get below 1/4 stick and the collective would then be around -5 degrees. So I can fly around quite happily doing stall turns and 8s.

There seems to be a notion that IU is all about 3D and headspeeds but it is just another set of settings available for whatever you want it to be.

This is how I have mine setup.