Bitten to pieces figure 8

[nobbycopter]

The figure of eight is very difficult. Especially slowly with a small heli. You need a bit of speed to keep the bank going, but a heli accelerates very quickly and slows down very quickly. Bigger helis are easier, but it is still very difficult. Flying faster is much easier. It is easier if you do it with a plank first or try it on the sim first. You need to bank first and then use up/ down to make the turn. You need to coordinate all four controls. I find the right turn easier if it is started in front of me, rather than to the left. I find the A cert figure of eight done slowly and accurately as the BMFA say is more difficult than some B test moves like the nose in hover. It also must be done outdoor which usually means wind which makes slow accurate moves more difficult. I've been flying for 30 years and how anyone who has flown a heli can think this equates to a solo flying test is beyond me.

If it really was a lazy eight it would make sense with sideways movement allowed except for the pass in front of the pilot which would be side on. About 10 mph would make sense as well.

CJ the lazy 8 is, I agree, hard to do keeping the heli at a constant head height and at walking pace. It requires you to be able to control the heli in 3 of the 4 orientations and as you're turning slowly you don't bank it much at all, it's mostly done with the rudder and forward elevator. This means that you have to constantly keep making alterations to the heli to keep it slow in a constantly changing orientation so i personally think it's quite a good test of a pilots ability to demonstrate that they have control over the heli. As soon as you speed up the control becomes slightly less as the heli has more momentum and so to a small extent the heli is more stable.

If you can do a nice controlled lazy 8 then FFF becomes easier once you've learnt to bank the heli and not either zoom out of the turn or stall out of the turn

[highlightshadow]

I'm also in the same boat ... desperately trying to get to lazy 8 ... i'm the same ... can bring it round the 1st bank but then i pick up a little speed .. brain doesn't switch orientations quick enough and i bail on the move and swing the tail back in but usually i'm about 30m down-range by this point ....

Practice needed ... its tough... don't lose patience...

What i'm doing more now is side-on hovering but every 10 seconds or so do a 180 so you're on the other side ... i keep trying to do this consistently so i get my brain to that almost subconcious level of hovering either side like it is with tail-in

I',m hoping once i can switch without thinking then the side-on flight will be a little more instinctive ... fingers crossed
I've had 1 crash doing this when i really lost orientation and the heli was quickly going to the left and behind me so i selectively crashed rather than risk something more stupid but confidence is holding

Good luck!

[Ritchieme]

Insect repellant.. then you can concentrate on the flying!
Without it it's horseflies here.....

I had smothered myself with a bottle labelled jungle formular and it didn't even work in a field ! :-)

[Ritchieme]

Thanks all for the advice, I have been very disciplined in my garden for months, I have followed an online tutorial and can do all of the lessons, hover 45 and 90 left or right for as long as I wish, go round me tail in and the same nose left or right around me. The problem is the tutorial stops there, I have out grown my garden and I think I got too excited.at the field :-) I will stick to left, turn, hold right turn hold in a slow controlled manner until I have nailed that. Also try phoenix again.

Thanks again

[nobbycopter]

I had smothered myself with a bottle labelled jungle formular and it didn't even work in a field ! :-)

Jungle Formula....sounds like a naff 80's aftershave lol

[nobbycopter]

Thanks all for the advice, I have been very disciplined in my garden for months, I have followed an online tutorial and can do all of the lessons, hover 45 and 90 left or right for as long as I wish, go round me tail in and the same nose left or right around me. The problem is the tutorial stops there, I have out grown my garden and I think I got too excited.at the field :-) I will stick to left, turn, hold right turn hold in a slow controlled manner until I have nailed that. Also try phoenix again.

Thanks again

If you can control the heli like that then just let it slowly drift forward (i.e. Once youv'e turned it 90 degrees one way so its side on) and then when you want to turn feed in a very small amount of aileron to tilt the rotor slightly and then use the rudder to turn the heli concentrating on keeping the boom at a constant angle....voila one nice (slightly) banked turn. The faster you go the more banking you need as a rule of thumb...get some height and play!!!

[Spanner]

Looks almost dark! Bit too dark to be learning new stuff!!

I find I actually have to fly the heli, rather than let the heli fly itself, if you know what I mean? If I let the heli do its own thing it all starts to go wrong, you have to boss the heli around and have confidence that it is in the position you have put it, and the confidence to say to yourself that its not going to just fall out of the sky! Once this clicks, and it will, its onwards and upwards!

[cjcj1949]

I can control my 450 ok in normal mode and fast forward flight is ok. I agree that the A test is a good test of control. It's the use as a basic test that seems wrong to me and too restrictive. It seems based on the aircraft test. I don't want it changed as I'm trying to pass it at the moment. It's just the use as a solo test I don't like. It depends on the club of course. If there are always heli pilots available willing to stand with you that's not too bad. In many clubs that's not the case. Many clubs don't use it of course and just apply their own safe to fly test. I'm not sure there is a simple test that can be applied, other than the opinion of someone who can fly the heli in question.

[Aonaen]

get yourself the phoenix sim and practice more
the more you practice the easyier it will get

like!
Sim is the best teacher.

[rachel]

Thanks all for the advice, I have been very disciplined in my garden for months, I have followed an online tutorial and can do all of the lessons, hover 45 and 90 left or right for as long as I wish, go round me tail in and the same nose left or right around me. The problem is the tutorial stops there, I have out grown my garden and I think I got too excited.at the field :-) I will stick to left, turn, hold right turn hold in a slow controlled manner until I have nailed that. Also try phoenix again.

Thanks again

Nice to see your not just going straight to piro flips and stick banging ! Well done you :-)

[Jez N]

For phoenix, try turning down the simulation speed to 90% and add in some expo on the model you are using if you need it. For learning it can be quite twitchy and to me it feels a little faster than real life, hence the comments.

[Ritchieme]

For phoenix, try turning down the simulation speed to 90% and add in some expo on the model you are using if you need it. For learning it can be quite twitchy and to me it feels a little faster than real life, hence the comments.

Jez you are a star ! Didn't need the expo but turned the sim speed down to 90% and I can't believe just how close phoenix now feels compared to my heli, its closer than I thought possible, now I can get some sim time in ! thanks again

Ritchie

[Heli13]

guys i did make a new thread but cant seem to find it anywhere, Could you give me some help on how to fly a single bladed heli? I have a blade 400 3D, Buzzfly 3D and a Twister FP V2. cant fly any of them! Fly my CX2 piece of cake, but not these

[Ritchieme]

Well I finally managed to get out and practice forward flight, the first battery was quite a mess, the second battery felt a bit better. it was a bit gusty but not too bad. The third battery I think was about my best but the heli just suddenly went out of control, nothing was responding and crash, only seems to be a set of blades at the moment.

Now it was quite hot today and I normally allow my helis.to cool between flights but for some reason I ran three batteries back to back, could it have been a servo over heating ? and it looks in the video as if the tail went first.

Anyway, I would appreciate any advice on what I'm doing, I know I have miles to go but I want to get it right.

This is my first battery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY1Q...e_gdata_player

This is the third and crash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSAs...e_gdata_player


Thanks

Ritchie

[Gazzer1uk]

Richie I feel your pain!

I am not an expert but just before the crash, as the prelude, I thought I could hear "Something", to me immediately after this the helip piroutted and control was lost. I would suspect a tail rotor issue, possibly a failure. Unfortunately I have had my share of crashes, I a getting back into the hobby after a few years absence. Funnily enough today one of the planks went in, and I yelled see if you can find my fuel tank from a Raptor 50 that went in severely due to disorientation pilot error, several people remembered the crash, this was 6 years ago plus! I brought back what looked like a mechano kit that had been run over an articulated 38 tonner! However, a few new bits including fuel tank,probably about £150 and all was good and ready to go.

Even though I am a beginner after watching your flights, I think you are committing the same sin I have been guilty of until I restarted. Height, is your friend, it gives time to react, to think, for things to happen and control to be reasserted, but from some reason if feels a lot more comfortable if your close to ground. What cured me for sure is Phoenix, I can do most things on that including nose in hovering, aerobatics and flying close to the ground upside down. Going to the real one and it is not the same, it is easier in control terms but I still worry more and don't relax. Thus my lazy 8's stutter a bit and a right hand circuit is a mental block currently.

To develop, I am being quite disciplined, after take off, brief hover and settle down, then push it forward 20 feet and up to about 20 feet, hover there for a bit and then , right climbing turn and off into the circuits, always trying to keep it forwards but at a sensible speed. Turns and still using a lot of rudder but the bank is increasing and if it gets a bit high, I make sure its heading forwards and gently bleed a bit of pitch off until its 30 feet or so. After about 5 or 6 circuits I bring it to a low hover in whatever attitude it was last facing, and then start again. If it goes wrong which it still does, then I stop, tail in, lower to the ground and hover, sometimes bringing it back to me, and then when comfortable start again.

I suspect because you are quite low, the turns are bringing you to dead stop and the height drops, so your waggling all the sticks whereas a bit of height and you could try some more banking type turns. But keep on at your pace, not everyone is at your stage so your progressing. The rebuild is part of the enjoyment apparently.

One other thing from me is that I would have your flight case closer to you than the model, just in case you clip it on the ground.

Finally just to make the point about height being a friend and practicing on Phoenix, I was about 30 foot today slowing forward flight, as I say still a beginner when the engine quit. Fuel line issue in the main tank 1/3 full but the header emptied, I didn't notice!!! Down she went, boxxocks I thought.... then put the nose and pitch down and 5 foot above the ground flared and raised pitch for a dumped landing, small clip sound. And a round of applause from behind me!!! On inspection, boom strike but not broken and remains fully serviceable, everything else in tact.

Had I not done some auto's on Phoenix or been high enough, you and I would be rebuilding.

It is hard to let it get higher, but I think it will help!

All the best, keep on going and look forward to your next update!

Gaz