In the 8103, there are basically four flight modes - Normal, Idle-up 1, Idle-up 2, and Hold. Normal, ID-1, and ID-1 each have their own throttle and pitch curves, which you setup to so that the throttle position for a given collective pitch gets as close as possible to a fixed head speed. Throttle hold takes the throttle to ONE, FIXED setting - typically a high idle, and has it's own pitch curve, which is typically setup for auto-rotations. The entire purpose of hold is to simulate an engine shutdown, and as such, any intention of maintaining a fixed head speed in hold can only be explained by misunderstanding it's purpose.

Typically, the modes are set up as:

Normal: Pitch, about -4 to +10, straight line throttle curve with about 60% throttle at half stick.

Idle-up 1: Pitch about -4 to +10, !QUOT!V!QUOT! or !QUOT!check-mark!QUOT! throttle curve with about 60% throttle at low stick and 3/4 stick, about 40-50% at half stick, and full at high stick.

Idle-up 2: Pitch about -10 to +10, full !QUOT!V!QUOT! throttle curve with 100% at full low and full high stick, about 40% at center stick .

Hold: Throttle to about 8010 % (just give a reliable idle) and pitch linear with about -5 to +12 or so.

Keep in mind that these numbers are generalizations and approximations, and assume hover in Normal and Id-1 at half stick. Some folks prefer to hover at 3/4, and some birds have different pitch ranges, etc. so please, nobody get your panties in a wad if I did not hit the !QUOT!exact!QUOT! figures for your bird. These are just intended to give some basic setup generalizations.

Oh, and to address your specific questions, you DON'T use idle-up in an auto-rotation - that is what hold is for. Takeoff and landing are normally done in Normal flight mode, and you switch to Id-1 or Id-2 in flight, depending on what you are planning to do. When learning, and just hovering, you should never come out of Normal mode.

- Tim