I've heard both sides of this one. If you are trying to hover, do you want to give "blasts" of the throttle or a sustained rpm to keep it in one place?

Mike

Good question, well for me I hold the throttle at a certain point just enough to keep it hovering and hold it there.

If you look at some videos of the pros hovering you see them use the throttle smoothy also.

Try it with a Heli, you'll really like it Daz...

I think it depends on the plane. My Somthin' Extra would do best if i found the throttle position and kinda left it there with very small adjustments. My Magic on the other hand, I have to burp the throttle at the same time as making a rudder or elevator correction.

This is a good question. I also agree that it will depend some on the plane used. In most of the TOC and 3D videos I've seen, it looks like the throttle is blipped to get the plane torkin. It must be the start/stop action of the prop that seems to be best to get the plane turning. I've found that for a hover, whether it be my profiles or giant scale stuff, a steady predictable rpm works good for me. My planes are lightly loaded which may be part of that scenario.
I've also tailored my second throttle curve a bit at the bottom to give me a click by click rpm increase so I'm not moving the throttle stick all over the place.
There is often a fine rpm line between climbing out of, and staying in a hover. Would be interesting to hear about what works for other planes and pilots.

I find that I need a prop blast to bring it around when I need allot of rudder or aileron correction.... But once it's hangin' in there with a degree of stability (is a hover ever stable??) I keep the throttle rpm constant, unless I want to loose some altitude.

I am no hovering genious, yet, but what everyone has told me is to keep it smooth, as if you burst the throttle, sensitivities, and torque are changing. This would make it hard to sustain a steady hover.

Just a couple of pennies worth of info. I think alot of it has to do with the engine type. small two stroke glows need RPM's to keep up in the hover, primarily due to the large diameter, low pitch props. My magic likes steady throttle,with quick shots to regain/maintain control. I think alot of that has to do with the small rudder on the magic, and it is more effective at lower speeds with instant throttle blasts. Larger two strokes (os 1.60fx for example) have larger displacement, and inherently more low end torque/power. This allows larger props, with greater pitch as well. I think that given that larger torque/power curve, along with the increased pitch, means you need to burp the throttle up n down to keep in a relative steady hover. A steady held throttle can tend to either lag the motor/plane down (falling out), or giving extra thrust (making the plane climb). 4strokes are similar in the fact that they have greater torque vs a 2stroke of similar displacement. You can turn at least 1-2" larger diameter prop, which is going to aid in hoverability. I think the same thing applies to gas motors, but on a lot larger scale. Just as people say larger planes fly better, larger props "pull" better. The "size" of the air(density/displacement) doesnt change between a .40 and a 40%, but the amount of air displaced increases exponentially the larger you go. Youre pummeling alot more air with the larger prop, just as a larger wing will support you better. The 40% planes are extremely unrealistic in their flight envelopes, power to weight ratio, and handling (not that im complaining ) than their full scale counterparts.

Bursting the throttle will accomplish a couple of things. It will load and unload the prop, which will pull you up, and drop you down. It will also react to the torque of the engine, and spin you around faster (or in my case, knock me out of the TR ) If you watch the vids of the big guns, by burstin the throttle, they maintain a small altitude change(obviously more stable than a large altitude change, specially at low low low altitude), while spinning faster n faster on motor torque alone, not having to add aileron to spin them.

Could be wrong about these items, but it sounds neat saying it LOLOL. Maybe the big guns can throw in the real scoop.

Steve