Easy question: how do you do smooth turns?

[Hummingbird]

I am relatively new to helis but doing OK. But there is one "simple" manoeuvre that I seem to struggle with; the wide turn. When I turn, my heli stops and just turns on its tail, like a half piro. I just want to know what control inputs I should be using to do a smooth sweeping turn. I've tried powering through with forward cyclic but it dives to the ground. Should I keep positive pitch through the turn or no pitch? What do I do with cyclic? I think I get the rudder right; I just follow the nose so it's not sliding sideways. I know this must sound like a stupid question, but I hope someone can assist with what I feel is very basic stuff. When I pull back on the cyclic I end up running out of forward speed.

[KevDavies]

Im sat here now trying to think how I do it LOL

for a left turn
err come past yourself in FAST ish flight bank left to about 25* and a combination of light left rudder and using elevator and collective to maintain height and attitude. Ill try n get a Phoenix vid (if I can remember how to do em)

obv right do the opposite with airleron and rudder

[pgkevet]

Firstly you have to be smooth on the sticks and avoid fast input for smooth flight.. feel your way through. Secondly a wide slow turn needs a combination of banking with aileron as well as some rudder and very little change to pitch or elevator.

[cjcj1949]

It's not that easy. You need some speed, then bank, then collective pitch, the adjust throttle rudder and everything to keep the same speed and height. Easier with more speed than slower. Smooth slow manoevers are often very difficult.

[scoobystig]

when a heli is in forward flight, then it flies similar to a fixed wing aircraft
however if you have heading hold on then you will need to use the rudder to fllow the turn, very similar to flying a WW1 biplane

fly forward at a speed you are comfortable with, bank the aileron in the direction you want to turn, you then need to apply some elevator to pull it through the turn and follow with the rudder, the more elevator you pull the faster the heli will come round, however you need the appropriate amount of bank and to follow with more rudder

[Tommy]

You need to remember you are flying an aircraft and in a way treat the heli as if u are flying a plane, keep constant air speed and correction of height and air speed is dealt with by way of pitch control, power input (increase/decrease) angle of attack etc to keep it in a smooth flow dynamic and remember it is also determined by the elements around you

Again remember it is as much an aircraft as a plane if you wish to fly it in a same manner

[KevDavies]

Video coming!! My god its been a mare to get my computer to capture it in decent quality

[sjm]

Video coming!! My god its been a mare to get my computer to capture it in decent quality

Tisk Tisk, well were waiting for the vid

[KevDavies]

Tisk Tisk, well were waiting for the vid

Im patient bugger arent we LOL

Here ya go and just watch the sticks at how little input im actually giving

[Hummingbird]

Thanks for the advice. The annoying thing is I can do it on the sim, but in real life it just stop like I run out of energy. I'm banking, then applying rudder but it wont fly a smooth wide turn, instead just stopping and doing a half piro back to face me. I want to power through a smooth turn. Can't be that difficult!!
Lookforward to the vid, mr KevDavis..

[Tommy]

Thanks for the advice. The annoying thing is I can do it on the sim, but in real life it just stop like I run out of energy. I'm banking, then applying rudder but it wont fly a smooth wide turn, instead just stopping and doing a half piro back to face me. I want to power through a smooth turn. Can't be that difficult!!
Lookforward to the vid, mr KevDavis..

Your doing the classic flying with the rudder and not the ailerons, ignore rudder as much as u can and input rudder only when absolutely necessary to achieve smooth banked turns, rudder does have its place but not as much as u think

[KevDavies]

Your doing the classic flying with the rudder and not the ailerons, ignore rudder as much as u can and input rudder only when absolutely necessary to achieve smooth banked turns, rudder does have its place but not as much as u think

^^ this

Watch the video and examine my stick inputs. I do it naturally now cos ive flown for years. But if you watch them and understand what im doing with them youll grasp it im sure

[Hummingbird]

It - heli - goes into a kind of scary slide if I dont use rudder. Where's the vid?

[KevDavies]

post number 9 in this thread scroll up!!

[dillwhacker]

Someone once told me 'lead in with the aileron, then the elevator, follow with the rudder'...
Seems true with planes and helis in FFF ...
HTH
T