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to your problem and i hope i got it right. before going deep please lets agree upon certain fact. mode 1 or mode 2 refer to different ways the radios are structured. mode 2 says that your left stick controls throttle (pitch) and tailrotor, the right stick controls aileron and elevator. mode 1 is different: the left stick controls elevator and tailrotor, the left is throttle and aileron. first of all, you should have decided what mode you are in cause that defining where the stick without the spring is (throttle) and most advanced radios need a mode definition for some software settings. throttle needs another trimming systematics than other sticks plus some mixing functions rely on stick definitions.

so you definitely have made that decision some time ago and you know what stick controls which function. lets forget the sticks for now. autos are pretty simple if you have an idea what is happening. If you stop the source of energy feeding the mainrotor, the helicopter will fall down. fact. but falling is just another energy source. we need to get that energy back into the rotor. for that reason we change the main rotor angle of attack to grab as much energy from the flowing air as possible. we do that with a lot of negative mainrotor pitch. the mainrotor spins up and preserves that energy in a form of a rotating mass antil we need it. lets assume you kill the engine at 60 ft. you have to react fast and put your throttle/pitch stick to minimum. That's the one without the spring, left in mode 2 or right in mode 1. keep it there until you reach 10-15 ft. now apply some positive pitch until you feel that the energy in the mainrotor starts working for you and dramatically decreases the sinking speed. at this moment, you will be able to have full control and you can fly pretty much as usual but only for a short time! so please make sure you find a nice suitable landing spot and put down your heli gently.

autos are similar to battery charging. while in a free falling state with max negative pitch, you store energy in the rotor head mass by spinning up the system. you discharge that energy in a very short time by decreasing the speed and performing some minor steering just enough for a safe landing.

for a start, apply max min pitch right after pushing the auto switch and provide positive pitch gently after 1/4 of the sinking distance to see what is happening. after 10-15 approches you will get a feeling about the right timing when to apply positive pitch and how much. gisbert