as someone who is new to helis i have a hovering question. when learning to hover is it best or easiest to hover just a couple inches off the ground(in your wash) or higher up out of your wash but risking more damage in a fall. i have been told both ways by different people are better.

I'm hovering low...about 6 to 10 inches off the ground for as long as I want. I'm getting ready to raise it up higher I think though.....I guess it's Baby steps.......

TOWER

if its your first time hovering then stay low and work your way up. although when your hovering below 2ft your in your own wash which will make the heli a little harder to control. once you get out of the wash it becomes a little easier.

indeed as others said it is harder to stay low....but you wont damage your heli if you do. So stay low till you master it, and then when you go up it will be a peice of cake.

thanks for that info i think i will try to stay low for now

Also use training gear. Yes they also cause an unstable flight, but prevent tip overs that kill blades and 4n1.

Hey there,
I got my CP Pro about a week ago. I have about 6 flights on it and to me it seems easier to hover about 2-3'. But I started out lower just to get the gyro and rotor compensation set. Today I actually had it about 7' and it was some fun except when it starts coming back at you!! Just stay relaxed and remember to breath,sounds stupid but it works..

PS I hope flyin this doesnt mess up my Airplane flyin skills!!!

funny you should mention the airplane thing...

I just stalled out my kaos 40 after taking it up for the first time since starting on helicopters back in Feb. At first, I couldn't do anything with a heli, and I could do just about anything within reason with the outdated kaos. Now, I got about 25 feet off the runway with the kaos, and that was all she wrote!

I guess everything in moderation wouldn't be so bad... Just don't stay away from teh planes for too long. It is a pain to switch back to them after not touching one for a long time.

Pitch,
It's all in a leaning curve, do what works for you. 6 inches off the ground or 2 feet. Eventually, all of it will come to you and will make sense and you'll be able to fly where ever you want. It takes time and patience. And a ton of practice. Fly everyday if you can. If you step away for 2 weeks or so, it takes awhile to get back in the groove.

Dave / Choppersrule

The last time I flew planes was only a week ago thats my #1 love. I took this up just for kicks and maybe itll help hovering my planes too. Tomarrow actually Im goin to a warbird meet close by and flyin a H9 P47.. Anyways this heli thing is alot of fun and I cant wait till I can fly around instead of hovering.. Itll take a while and thats ok..

So lets just SHUT UP AND FLY!!!

john68,

A Kaos? Man that's so totally cool old school. When I flew RC planes as a kid, that what I wanted! I never got beyond flying ugly sticks and the like.....then got distracted by other stuff like girls, school, etc and left modeling behind. But back in the day, those guys w/ their .60 powered Kaos's w/ a tuned pipe and retracts flyin' the 'pattern' were like rock stars to me.

This was in the 70's. I think it was then that the very first heli's came out. I remember (I think) going to a show where they had a demo team from Dubro fly a Hughes 500. It was pretty crude, but really amazing too.

Do you remember the original heli sim? Before computers? It was a platform mounted on a 3 axis hinge w/ 2 servos that caused it to tilt. The 'heli' was a ball bearing that would roll around on top.

Yep I remember seeing the ball on the platform sim!!
Same thing here with flyin in the late 70s early 80s. Then getting my DL and then came girls and partying. Didnt fly for about 6 years or so,got back into it and loved it again ever since.. But I lost alot of confidence and have to build it back up again...

Cya,
Frank

hi dave , just thought i would tell you that the hovering is going better. had a chance to fly a friends cp and he flew my pro. i reallly liked the way his handled and he hated mine. so i went to the LHS and bought the parts to switch over my head assy. and some wxtra flybar weights.anything to help my learning curve. put the new weights on felt better, put the new head on felt nice and controllable(for me anyway). so i figure i will get used to it this way then switch back to my bell hiller head. so yesterday had some of my best hovering yet, good and smooth and fun. got a gust of wind and it got blown over my head, i got mixed up and flew it right into the ground. duhhh. so now i am grounded till i get new parts. but my wife bought some fruit smoothies for when i have a bad day anyway can not wait to get new parts now

Pitch,

Yes the pro is more sensitive to control inputs, but after awhile you will become familiar with that too. When making flight corrections, move the stick slow and smooth. Don't slam the stick in any directions. Make small corrections, 1/8 to 1/4 inch movement is plenty.

Of course if your heading into a brick wall, then it's okay to slam the stick.

Dave / Choppersrule

Once you gain some experience, you will find that it is actually easier to fly when it is more responsive. With the normal head, I can only keep my BCP in about a 2 or 3ft. box, but with the bell hiller, I can keep it pretty much steady for a whole pack. I can easily keep it from moving more than a few inches in any direction.


However, in the very beginning, any newb is going to over-control, so having slower response is a good thing. Just remember, as your skills improve, you may find that you start having a tough time keeping it rock steady. Once you hit this point, you are ready for more responsiveness in the cyclic...

well dave it is kinda rainy here so i glued everything back together. thought i would push the living room furniture out of the way and spool it up(only)...just to see if the repairs would hold, next thing i know i am hovering about 10 inches off the floor in a 5 foot box for darn near 2 min. i am so damn excited it was all i could do to keep the grin off my face. that is the best hover since i bought the thing. ha and my wife did not have to make a smoothy for me either[8D]