I discover this morning that, while I can't hover in place for crap, I can actually FLY
the heli ok, for a beginner. Left circuit, right circuit, figure-8, even landing fairly smoothly.
I found this out quite by accident, of course.

The wind at the field was 5mph or so, with intermittent gusts up to 10.
That's probably not a big deal to competent heli pilots... but here I am, looking like
a dog chasing a rubber ball around, out in the middle of the runway.
(The guys were taking a break, and told me to go for the maximum freespace if needed.)

Pick it up, twenty seconds of madness, set it down, walk back to it... lather, rinse, repeat.
I'm thanking the ghods of wooden dowels and wiffle balls, after each short hop.
Our club's VP and another guy were there, and they're encouraging enough...
"Looks good... you're doing fine, keep at it." Neither flies helis, but the moral
support made me feel a little better, I suppose. Except that when I first drove up,
and unloaded the heli they said, "Hey... Entertainment!" Hmmm.

Anyhow, somewhere near half a tank, a bit of dumb thumb had it headed for pavement FAST...
without blinking, I go full throttle. If it's gonna crash, I'm gonna get one flight
Up she goes, away to my left. A quick FMS flashback, and instantly I had reasonable control.

Aside from stalling it once or twice on the first circuit, I did ok. No biggee, it kinda
just *stopped*, at almost a hover, fifty feet up, and I pushed forward and continued.
I've always flown "coordinated" with the planes, so tail control was a cinch while
flying around the field. The landing was uneventful, as the wind seemed to help.
I actually sat it down softer *that* time, than after most of my hover attempts.
It just seems a heckuva lot more stable coming in with speed, than just "hovering".

I hear, "I think somebody's been sandbagging", from Joe, and I smiled as I shut down.
If he only knew.

Second tankful... I get tired of chasing it around, so whenever it gets off too far,
I zoom it up, take it around the pattern, and set it back down midfield.
All on purpose.

I may be tempting fate, but it seems far easier to fly and land, than to hover in place.
(I'll credit FMS, and always flying with rudder, for that)


Any tips for helping my hovering? Other than burning lots of fuel?
I think I will try a calm day next time... to see if that helps for now.
I just can't keep it from drifting away from me. It gets away, and I have to
either set it down and walk to it, or turn it around and fly it back to me a bit.
Could I be too nose-heavy? it does lean nose down some, when held by the hub.
(The trainer gear made this somewhat worse, as it sits a bit forward)
It seems to want to move off into the direction the wind is coming from, usually.

I got a little better toward the end of my attempts, by "bumping" the cyclic
instead of using it firmly, but I'm still "All Ears" for any helpful hints.
Thanks for any help!

Chris

(Yes Pugs... "The Dark Side" is in control. There's no doubt about it.)