Hi i have a Accel Hobbies Katan .70 with a Magnmum .91 4-stroke. I was practicing hovering today (about 10 miles an hr wind) but I was Plenty high enough, but i still got the chills. My question is how long did it take everyone to learn how to hover, and how many planes did it take you??????

hovering gets easier the more you practice my first 3D capible plane was a matrix 40 by carl goldberg i fly it with a 46 2 stroke with a 12.25 x 3.75 prop and i hover fine with it it is under powered so i get no pull from a hover but i can hold it in a hover for a while as long as you have a plane with enough throw and your stick control increases you really start to get the feel of it keep trying just not in 10mph wind

ya the wind makes it alot harder but a Calm day on Cape Cod is a rarity.

it took me an electric foamy, a small balsa profile(not destroyed, still flies good) And the best investment i've made..... A flight simulator:-)

I learned more from G3 in the last 4 months than I have learned in the last 2 years and 4 months of flying the real thing.

Ya everyone told me to get G3, i am getting it for christmas. I was just trying to learn hovering high and then in the sim get lower and lower.

the hardest part of hovering isn't hovering! the trickiest part is to be able to correct with minimal altitude loss at ANY attitude... If the plane falls out slightly upside down but mainly to the side in knife edge, will you instinctively know what to do quick enough to recover. practice your recovery first.

It definately took me a long time to figure out what to do to make the plane stay in one place. throttle control is a HUGE factor.
When i first started flying 3D, i had no idea i would have to use my LEFT thumb so much! that took some getting used to

It cost me no planes, between the simulator, and flying 3DFoamy s

Practice as low as you feel comfortable/confident. I spent too much time hovering all day long at 10-20 feet. Once I got up the nerve to bring it down on the deck I found it was actually much easier. Now it's like 2nd nature.

I didn't lose any planes in the learning process. I did, however, lose the below pictured plane in a hover. I did a high speed pass into a wall and about 3 seconds onto the hover I ran out of fuel.[:'(] The fuse broke in half where the servos are..

RIP Katana GS

I decked a Funstar learning but it was a fat pig anyway..I learnt with foamies and now i can do it with anything that has the right setup.My trainer included..

One and I still have it. It has had the nose knocked off twice pilot error both times.

The bigger the model the better for learning.

Took 3 or 4 flights on a Ripmax extreme with a really bad engine(£50 plane and eng, no fear) to get the basics, now on a laser 3d which I don't wana break so staying fairly high

I´M TRYING ABOUT 10 MONTH (REMEMBER HEAR ON ****CO SOUTH OF CHILE, RAIN ALL 5 MONTH ON WINTER). TODAY A CAN DO ABOUT 2 MINUTE OF HOVER WITH MY UCD .46 WITH A SUPER TIGRE G90.

AT FIRST I PUT ON VERTICAL AND ALWAIS SLOWLY GO UP, BUT NOW I CAN ON VERTICAL, GO DOWN, SLOWLY GO DOWN ON "REVERSE"...

I USED FMS SIMULATOR, I KNOW IT ISN´T A GOOD SIMULATOR BUT I CAN PRACTICE FOR TORQUE ROLL, THE MOST DIFICULT IS TO CAN STAY WITH THE PLANE LOKING THE BELOPY.

I HOPE IF I CAN DO LOOKING THE BELOPY,,,,,, I CAN DO ALL........ I THINK AT LAST OF THEES SUMMER I CAN SAID:


I CAN DO TORQUE ROLL , AND LOW ALTITUDE........ YYYYYEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS............

SERGIO

Not sure I want to go there?
Ok, 1, Sig Fazer, 2, GP Dazzler. 3, 79" DP Extra 300, 4, Banshee, 5 Hyde Cap X. All but # 2 are still alive in another hanger. The Cap X came with enough basic information to allow me to set it up correctly. It hovered well right out of the box abet a little overpowered with a ZDZ 40. (Dont tell Chip) My problem all along has been keeping things going with the torque roll. Cap X showed me how easy things are when the airplane is set up correctly. Flew a friends foamy one day, went home and purchased my first www.rcx planes.com Illusion. Love at first flight. Now were talking real flight ability at about 1/2 the cost of l of the 6 servos in the Cap X. The foamy gave me ability and confidence all rapped up in a tough wonderful little package that you can throw in the back of the car and fly almost anywhere. Its still alive, happy with tail touch and about the full 3D course. Makes me look much better than reality. Everything else in the hanger is gathering dust while I have a ball with the Illusion ond brother Extra 330L. Thanks to rcx planes, life at 70 is good. THANKS RCX PLANES

My learning curve for hovering (to the point where I was no longer scaring myself and could keep it within a 10 foot circle facing any direction):

1 4D (www.tufflight.com/4d.html)
1 OS 46FX w/ Tower muff
100+ props
G2 sim practice : 1/2 hour every night
4 months flying nearly every day from August to November 2003

(G3 is MUCH better than G2. Wish I had that back then)

Was a Newbie a year ago...after 20 flights on the Xtra Easy II....purchased the Funtana .40 and was hovering on my second flight.
That being said ....hovering on deck and recovering with no loss of altitude are totally different stories. If you want to learn how to hover/recover on the deck....there is no better simulator than AFP using a Giles 202....period.

Now I am doing rolling harriers on the deck....ahem ...which is why I am gluing my Funtana back together as we speak.

Start up high, comfortable, and then just get your entries and recoveries down...it's always better to enter smoothly and be able to recover without a panic. Your rudder will be very useful in your recoveries...I recently got my first tail-touch, and then coming in for the second, gravity and torque got me, I thought it too 3/4 turn, it took 1/4, pulled up elevator, plane went down, snapped fuse in half....Now I'm back at it with some higher-nitro fuel and a better prop on the same plane (profiles work wonders). Nothing can substitute for good 'ol stick time.

I was hovering on my 2nd flight with this plane.

It was my first 3D plane and my first attempt at hovering. Well--2nd attempt if you count the first flight.

Power: Tower .75
Servos: JR4721 on the control surfaces. HS-81 on the engine.
RX: Hitec 555
Batt: 1200mah 6V MH

http://www.raidentech.com/3dgi20240nig.html

Here's a pic: