Did YOU fly today??

[Paula]

That bolt looks like it's threaded right up to where it's broken off. If it is, just get a pair of pliers on the other end and wind it out anti-clockwise, like you were undoing a normal bolt.

Worked a treat! Just enough to grip with side cutters

[Mike Sanders]

Shame about the crash but it is all part of the learning process. We have all gone through it. I have done more than most because I am pretty old and doddery. No-one says its easy.

Good tip from Gixxer. It is worth remembering to buy a bolt that is long enough to grab with pliers or cutters. I have belt and braces on those bolts for the tail holder. I have long bolts and I put a nut on the end, loctited of course.

[Grumpy]

Paula, you might think about investing in a FBL controller with 'self levelling' stability, this feature makes the heli MUCH easier to fly so it great for learning. The Spirit or Spirit Pro are my favourites but many modern FBL controllers have this feature.

[p4ddy]

A flight simulator imo is a far better purchase than any fbl system. Stick with the little one whilst you get circuits and orientation sorted then go out on your 450.

Just seen she has phoenix.

[Paula]

Paula, you might think about investing in a FBL controller with 'self levelling' stability, this feature makes the heli MUCH easier to fly so it great for learning. The Spirit or Spirit Pro are my favourites but many modern FBL controllers have this feature.

I have thought about this as i have a Blade 230s. But then i thought. i might as well just stick to that heli. I suppose i want to feel like i'm getting somewhere.

[Paula]

A flight simulator imo is a far better purchase than any fbl system. Stick with the little one whilst you get circuits and orientation sorted then go out on your 450.

Just seen she has phoenix.

Definitely need to do more on the phoenix too. back to the little fella as well.

[Grumpy]

A flight simulator imo is a far better purchase than any fbl system. Stick with the little one whilst you get circuits and orientation sorted then go out on your 450.

Just seen she has phoenix.

Each to their own but I find simulators incredibly boring and i just cant bring myself to persevere with them. But if you actually enjoy them and/or you have the self discipline to force yourself to put sim hours in then yes, they are a useful learning tool, though still not exactly like the real thing. As Paula already has Phoenix then obviously it's not been the magic bullet so far.

Also bear in mind that FBL with stability and a sim are not mutually exclusive. There is no reason whatsoever that you should feel any need to choose between one or the other.

[cjm180]

One important thing here is to make sure the 450 is set up correctly in the existing FBL unit. When i first flew mine, i couldnt get on with it, but my flying (and FBL tuning) was no where and i really had zero chance of being sucessful with it.

Ian Contessa (coolice) spent the day with me on both the 450 and 600. We went thru the setup and eveything. I can tell you the difference was night and day. I would say in my short time in this hobby, that what Ian did for me was the single biggest thing that helped me!

I am no expert on blade helis, but if you are confidently flying that nose in, i cant immediately see why you are having such rotten luck on the 450l? Sure i expect a few crashes, but sounds like you are finding it more challenging than that!

90% of normal joe blog flyers will struggle to fly a poorly setup heli, if that is the case!

I know even at default settings, i found the 450 a handful to fly, very aggresive for me when i was at that stage of my flying.

Just my two cents

Kr
Craig

[Paula]

One important thing here is to make sure the 450 is set up correctly in the existing FBL unit. When i first flew mine, i couldnt get on with it, but my flying (and FBL tuning) was no where and i really had zero chance of being sucessful with it.

Ian Contessa (coolice) spent the day with me on both the 450 and 600. We went thru the setup and eveything. I can tell you the difference was night and day. I would say in my short time in this hobby, that what Ian did for me was the single biggest thing that helped me!

I am no expert on blade helis, but if you are confidently flying that nose in, i cant immediately see why you are having such rotten luck on the 450l? Sure i expect a few crashes, but sounds like you are finding it more challenging than that!

90% of normal joe blog flyers will struggle to fly a poorly setup heli, if that is the case!

I know even at default settings, i found the 450 a handful to fly, very aggresive for me when i was at that stage of my flying.

Just my two cents

Kr
Craig

I'll certainly go over it. I have all the gear now.

[cjm180]

Its not so much the mechanical side, its FBL unit settings, expos etc! even running a lower head speed to tame it down!

Please give us some feedback on how u get on!

[Paula]

I've been folllowing RC Helicopter Tips & Setup eBook
I'll keep you posted

[Sheldrake]

Hi Paula I have been following your journey and have been really impressed by how much common sense you have been applying to this hobby😊 You have taken things steadily building up confidence using your Blade heli and the sim in a really positive way and I can tell you as an oldie who is a slow learner I still can't do nose in😒 But my flying is progressing mainly I feel sure because I have really superb support and encouragement from my club mates. I have had crashes and even considered giving up but the support from the club has kept me at it. I appreciate that for you in London you tend to be on your own but have you sought out any other flyers? Is there anywhere close you could get to just to draw on their support experience and help when it gets frustrating. Everyone on here is right behind you and wants you to succeed.

[Sheldrake]

Oh forgot to say we had a great day at CMHC with scale flying full on 3D and my basic stuff on the Synergy N5C! Alongside us we had Full size heli experience flights in a Bell 206 (I think), the local Police EC145 and a monster truck crushing cars!

[Paula]

Hi Paula I have been following your journey and have been really impressed by how much common sense you have been applying to this hobby😊 You have taken things steadily building up confidence using your Blade heli and the sim in a really positive way and I can tell you as an oldie who is a slow learner I still can't do nose in😒 But my flying is progressing mainly I feel sure because I have really superb support and encouragement from my club mates. I have had crashes and even considered giving up but the support from the club has kept me at it. I appreciate that for you in London you tend to be on your own but have you sought out any other flyers? Is there anywhere close you could get to just to draw on their support experience and help when it gets frustrating. Everyone on here is right behind you and wants you to succeed.

Thanks!
I looked into https://camfc.co.uk/ but they seem more into planes and i can't commit enough to make the membership worth the fee.
Hearing about everyone else's troubles really helps!
I'd be happy to meet anyone that is around South London.
I'll keep you all posted. I might even get a quick fly in tomorrow morning before work.
I'm doing nice slow circles on Phoenix and i can do that with no problem. But of course that's in perfect conditions.
I did find RC Helicopter Tips & Setup eBook really helpful especially the pitch and throttle curves.
Watch this space!

[DaveJones]

I think we have all been where you are at some point, a few crashes are the price of admission to this crazy club we all belong to, and the faster you want to progress the higher the price. Keep going and they will become less and less frequent

Sounds like you planted it into the ground pretty hard so a couple of things that might help if you don't know about it already:

Throttle Hold and Height are your best friends in the whole world. I'm guessing when it got a little wobbly your instinct like everyone else was to get nearer to the ground so you pulled back on the collective, if you have even a few degrees of negative pitch (and you should have them) you will of powered it into the ground, giving gravity a helping hand it doesn't need. Took me a while to do it instinctively but if it gets wobbly add collective and gain some height buying time to recover also learn to hit throttle hold at the point you loose it completely. Hitting throttle hold will greatly limit the damage done as you hit the ground assisted only by gravity and the rotors loose a lot of power very quickly.

Plan Ahead, before you carry out a new move or one you are not 100% confident with have a recover plan in mind before you take off. In your case if nose in goes adrift apply a little collective and flip the tail around, sounds stupid but thinking about it before you take off will help your reactions and confidence

Really Master the Orientations, sounds like you are working on this already and I'd encourage to keep at it dull as it is. When you get to the point that you don't care which way the heli is pointing you open up a whole load more "safe" positions to get back into when moving on to more complex stuff and having them nailed will make flying lazy eights, circles and ultimately figure of eights much easier (flying circles well is tougher than it looks). If you can hold a stationary hover (within a 1 foot box) for a minute or two in a little wind then you have it nailed, but keep coming back to it so you don't get rusty.

But most of all remember we do it because its hard, not because its easy. I think somebody said that about going to the moon once upon a time.