HI, Does anyone have any tips or tricks on learning to hover. I'm flying a 46 size U Can Do powered by a OS 91 Surpass II turning a 15 X 4 prop. I practice at least 3 times a week. I'm coming along slowly but I can't seem to get the hang of it. I'd love to show the guys at the field " Whose Your Daddy " Any suggestions would be apprciated.

Brent

Hmmmm ?.......... Well I have a UCD with a Saito 82 and it hovers just fine but it did take me a little time to learn to do it right. Heres's what I do. As I'm coming across the field at about 1/2 throttle I pull it up straight up and down and use the throttle to maintain the height. Not too much or you'll just keep going up. You'll need to have some fairly good throws on your control surfaces to correct it and hold it there. Try it up somewhat high so you can bail out if it gets sloppy. One thing is though if you are way too high up it's harder to see what direction it's starting to move so it's harder to correct it. If you over work the sticks you'll be all over the place.. You may also want to experiment with some expo. Also go to the flying cirkus web site to get some tips..... Have fun..........[8D]

The flying cirkus guide to hovering video is very good.

apart from that its just take a look at an expeienced flyer's setup, and copy it. Then practise practise practise and then practise some more!

You will learn to hover and TR much much faster if you get a sim such as aerofly pro deluxe - you will not beleive how much it will improve your flying if you put in 10 mins a day.

Thanks Luke, I have a Real Flight sim, I'll just have to put in more time. I wish I had someone close that had a plane set up right for 3-D.

Thanks,

Brent

Ain't as easy at it looks, huh?

Practice or hang a wrench off the tail wheel.

I like the wrench idea !! LOL

when looking at the belly of the plane, focus on the tail of the plane. The rudder stick moves the tail back and forth and you dont have to think backwards. power shouldnt be a problem, so work the throttle and burn fuel!

Seems like the OS .90 FS, may be a heavy engine for this airplane. I had a .91 four stroke on mine for a while, but the extra weight and change in wing loading, I went to an OS .50sx with a Tower muffler. I have used either an APC 12X4 or 12.25X3.75 props. I was using an APC 15X4 on the .91 and had to use quite a bit of aileron to conter the engine torque effects with the bigger, heavier engine.

The .46-.52's weigh around 17 ounces with a muffler, the OS .91 Surpass weighs 24.2 ounces, where the .91 Saito is 19.6. The new Saito .82 is around 16 ounces. Most of us have found the best performance on the two strokes with the Tower muffler. Rapid throttle response and better weight make them most advantageous. The bigger, heavier prop on the front of the .91 also adds weight, compared to the lighter 12 inch props the 2 strokes use.

I am now using a cheap Magnum .52 with a Tower Muffler and hover at about half throttle and can rocket out of hover with that engine combo. Many of my 3D club members are using the OS Hype .50 helo engine. The plane is much lighter, with the lighter engine, so the other 3D stuff goes better as well. Key hint is to watch the nose and keep it in the sweet spot. I have found that once you find the sweet spot and can keep up with the nose, you don't need allot of throw to keep it in a hover, as long as you stay ahead of it. If I was to recommend a .91 four stroke for this plane, it would be a Saito, since it is nearly as light as the .46 and .50's and has plenty of power.

I have found mine to be much easier to sustain a hover with lighter weight and the cg as far back as you can handle it. A nose heavy plane just doesn't want to dance as well as one with the cg back.

Good luck, you got the right plane for the job, now just practice, practice, practice.

Hi guys..............One thing to look at is the balance of the plane. It´s difficult, very difficult to hover if the balance is not right. Your plane should be tail heavy when compared to a sport plane...how much??? trial and error till you get what is right for you. Remember that a tail heavy plane is harder to control at slow speed and harder to land....[:@]....but not that bad
Try using expo on all your surfaces....I personally used a lot on the sim and with the real world....it help a lot.

Marcos

Brent mate, I felt the same as you... "Isn't there an easyer way?!!![:@]" .... Nope there aint...

Lol.. If you have the right engine-prop combo like mike said, then all you can do is practice...

You'll be amazed at how suddenly you'll just start getting it right tho...

Good luck..

Al..

Here are a few additional tricks to get the plane to hover. Slowly move the CG back, but do not go so far that it is too hard to fly or land. Fly along at about half speed, and pull staight up and try to keep the plane under control as it slows down to 0 airspeed. Try to find the throttle setting where you can keep enought airflow to maintain control. Stay high enough to recover. Since the engine is causing a lot of torque, if the plane is pulling to the left, you need to add right engine thrust, or mix in right rudder to full throttle, to help keep it straight. I have had to reduce control sensitivity by increasing EXPO or decreasing control throws to prevent being too sensitive. Try to see if the plane consistently falls out of hover in one direction, and change trim settings to correct it. For example, if it falls toward the canopy, maybe the engine has to much up thrust, or too much up elevator trim.

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1. Entering to a hover in low altitude from a harrier needs the correct cg otherwise if the cg is more forward than required the tail rocks and you need to gain altitude to control the tail and after all you could lower the plane. So cg is so much important, move the cg back as the tail drops while it is coming towards you in idle. I have no idea about the U can Do's cg.

2. Power to weight ratio is important. It gives you confidince in lower altitude. So I am with other friends to recommend you to change your engine. Your engine is heavy and not much powerfull as Saito's. To balance a 3D the plane with a heavy engine( nose) could result in a very heavy total setup. Because you need to add much more weight to tail for every more oz in your plane's nose.

3. With the correct cg you can enter a hover from harrier in idle and than power up the model as how much it needs to hover. ( this is best seen on the Kyle's video)

4. Correct engine/prop/airplane combination will also help you.

5.Maximize the throws with the oversized servo arms.

My combination is Funtana 90, Saito 150, Apc 16*6, Powermaster %10 , gives me 9600 peak rpm at 3000ft and it is a lot of power to fly my funtana.

I hope I could help u a little , do not hesitate to ask in detail.

Thank You.

Hi, I want to thank all of you guys for your info and suggestions. I changed the engine to a 91 Saito , which seemed to help and I also have been moving my CG back. Does anyone have any prop suggestions for the Saito ? I also bought a GP Turmoil so that I can practice in the backyard. It sure would be nice if I had someone close by that could acually show me what I'm doing right and wrong. I'm gonna figure this out or die tryin'. THANK ALL OF YA'LL !!!!

Brent

Best prop for the Saito 91 to hover would be a 15x4W.
Thanks
Barry

Another suggestion, instead of tying to hover at 0 airspeed while learning, try to keep just enough power to slowly climb vertically and try to maintain control as the plane slows down to 0 airspeed. As you get better keeping the plane under control, you'll will be able to get closer to actual hover. With some vertical airspeed, it is easier to regain control because it has less of a tendency to flop around in unpredictable manner.

Also, make sure you have enough throw in the elevator and the rudder. 45 degrees is good. [8D]

Thank all of you guys. I have been using a 15 X 4 wide on the Saito and I can hover while going vertical. And I have the UCD just a touch tail heavy. It sounds like I'm on the right track. I also have the throws maxed out on thr elevator and rudder. I guess I just need to practice, practice, practice !!!

Thank all of you !!

Brent

Hey I forgot to ask, do you use any kind of a throttle curve.

THANKS,

Brent