Yeah a dumb question for people who are good but I don't know how to do a simple hover? Could you please tell me how to hover?
Adam Crosby
Osaka Japan

How to hover?
Increase the throttle until the model lifts off the ground. Modulate the throttle so that the heli maintains a steady altitude. At the same time, modulate the rudder so that the model maintains a steady heading. At the same time, modulate the cyclic controls so that the model maintains a steady position.

Or are you asking how to develop your skills so that you can do all of this successfully? Take a read through [link=http://www.dream-models.com/eco/flying-index.html]RADD'S SCHOOL OF ROTARY FLIGHT?[/link]

Vince

As Vince said, increase throttle to lift heli into air.

Then,
if heli turns left, push rudder stick right... (left hand stick, same as throttle)
if heli slides left, push cyclic stick right... (right hand stick)
whatever the heli does, do the opposite on the sticks to keep it stable...

This all sounds very easy, but the heli will move faster than you can react. No really, it will. It you react directly to what you see then the heli is already moving... by the time your thumbs catch up with your brain and you move the sticks the heli is moving fast. This means you'll push the stick too hard/far and overcompensate, sending the heli off in the other direction.

The skill is in predicting what the heli is going to do and preventing it. This is something you can only learn by doing it.

Just invest $20-$30 on the cheapo E-sky flight simulator with included TX with USB cable.

You will be hovering (after calibrating the TX) in no time![8D]

You hover by using a Simulator, RADD's or a lot money in replacement parts. Seriously I would use a sim or Radd's.

Hovering in a 4x4 foot space isn't bad, hovering in one spot is damn near impossible for me. I can fly around for an entire battery just fine, but it's tough when the tail gets away from me.

Practice...Practice...Practice...and more practice....throw in some blades....maybe a few replacement parts....and one day it will "just come together"

there are no secrets....if it could be explained in one post.....everyone would be flying helis...

The sim really helps, but it's not the same as flying.

Do short hops....and try to control the heli.....eventually your hops will get longer and longer...and before you know it....your hovering through a whole pack and/or tank.

Make sure you have training gear...it saves a lot of $$$

It's easy. You just wiggle those 2 little sticks on your radio around until the heli stays in one place! [8D]

Adam, really, look up RADD's school of rotary flight and follow his curriculum. You'll be hovering crash-free in ten battery packs. If you seriously follw his advice. I did, with my Blade CX, and then went and bought a Blade CPPro, which I am hovering quite well in my 10x12 foot living room space. I've been flying the BCP for over two weeks now and I'm still on my first set of rotor blades (they are ratty and have been much repaired, but they still work well).

I agree with it that RADD is better for learning your first hover than sim, much better IMHO. Personally, I followed RADD's to the letter, and did my first real hover without a crash. SIM is good if you know all the basics, and want to try some more risky new tricks, at least you get a chance to figure out the right stick movement before trying it in reality. But learning from scratch, sim will help, but you will certainly crash a lot if you think hovering in a sim is the same as hovering in real life, especially with a mini or micro.

Adam,

As many mentioned, Radds, Radds, Radds training.. Take your time and be patient, this doesn't happen overnight. Read the whole Radds school and understand why he's doing this. Everyone that follows the Radd school ends up a much better flier than those that don't.

Dave / Choppersrule

I disagree. I never knew about radds and used a sim for about 1 week. After that I could hover mighty fine with my DF4. 6 months later, using only a sim and the local clubs caliber 5 I can take off, hover, land, figure 8, and get myself out of most sticky messes (on a nitro). It really all just comes down to how well you catch on. My uncle came to my house and saw my DF4. He wanted to try it so I let him. In 5 mins he was getting the hang of it. He could compensate for nose in, side on, and looking at the back. 2 mins after that he was flying it 9not the best but he didn't crash). My point is it is down to how you learn. From using instructions. teaching yourself. Visual aid...etc.

Kevinator9,

I do agree with you that, " It really all just comes down to how well you catch on." The Radd's School is a fine tool for beginners that don't have outside help from other fliers from a local club to help them. I started a year ago with helis, (flew planks for 5 years or so), I too was self taught on helis and it took me awhile to get the hang of it. Now I'm pretty proficent and just love the hobby, can't get enough of it. Just ask my wallet.

Keep 'em flying,

Dave / Choppersrule

radd's is a good tool if you really have nothing else to consider, i self taught on a blade cp and was hovering a whole batt. pack in 3 days with the stock ni-hm. (at least 3 flights everyday though). i'm not bragging or anything, just to tell you it's possible, i've had it for less than 4 monthes and right now, i'm doing loops and rolls. i guess i do pick up new stuff faster than some other people, maybe it's because i'm only a kid still?

Yeah. RADDs is a great learning tool for some but not all. Still check it out if it is for you.

Is "Radds" that dude that calls you "Soldier"? . . . . . its pretty gaay if you ask me. The whole thing really irked me.

Like other have said, "Practice, Practice, Practice". Do it in baby steps, power up slowly, and counter the helis movement is the best way to learn, by applying opposite stick.

Sim is really valueble, again, as others have said, it is no substitute for the real thing, but it helps you learn to pat your head and rub your tummy. Plus it will reduce a lot of dumb thumbing.

Not knowing how to hover (or fly in general) is fantastic, you get chuffed once you begin to get some success with the baby steps, and its a learning curve that never ends.

I dont think there would be one person here that "Knows it all" they are still learning. Sure, they have the baby stuff down, but there is a lot more to flying helis than Hovering and figure eights, there is the 3D stunts, and lots lots more.

I use FMS for a sim and "fly" the Hughes model alot. Flying a heli is not easy for me even on this simple sim, so I practice, practice, practice. Then I practice more. I can't even imagine flying a heli (sim or otherwise) in gusty winds.

All of the above, use Radd's and a sim (if you have one) until you suddenly realize that "You need to Control the heli", rather than react to what it does ... it's a mindset only acomplished by practice and patience ... but once you transcend this barrier, it gets much easier (and more fun).

Hey?....some body call me gey?....why I oughta.!!!.....If I ever......@#$%

speaking of gey?...my wifes name is Jaye...?.....whats up with that?.....are you my wife?....this is a trick isnt it?

baby steps?
pat your head rub your tummy?
dumb thumbing?
baby stuff?

and you accuse me of talking gay?

anyway I was struggling with an LSD issue back then....I'm older now....( AND less VIOLENT..).....I still snap at the drop of a hat and go postal....I've been known to travel across the ocean to get my point across....

just kidding of course...I dont think I even own a pink shirt

RADD

I had followed your advise and more. Sliding on the ground allows me to get use to the throttle and not getting afraid of the rota blade speed. It improves my response a little bit and it helps with the orientation that is for sure. However I had a couple of crashes with my first hovering attempt after battery pack 15... The chopper just came at me because I made a tiny mistake with the throttle or was it a glitch and crashed towards me. I think the problem with that is if my response time.

RADD I had all the respect for your tutorial and would like to mention the tricks I used during my learning process. Maybe you can add that to battery pack 16. There are three extra steps I took which I helped me greatly. I guess what it does is to create a reflect action to my fingers rather than having to think. This is particularly true when I now find that sometimes I have controlled the tail not by the rudder motor but by using the CCPM's left and right movement (i.e. the right hand stick). This because by moving the right hand stick the collective also changes the rudder power. This just come out of reflexes after a lot of training.

Anyway here are the three steps I took. Hope this help all the people who are still trying to hover like me.

Step 1.
Remove the training gear & the tail rudder. Tie a string about 2 meters long to the tail of the chopper to somewhere soft like a sofa so that if you make a mistake it does not damage the chopper. Start up the chopper rota and then put the left stick forward so that the chopper is trying to go foward. By doing this we don't need to worry about the rudder. Put on more power and the chopper should start to lift and the string fully stretch and the chopper aligned. Since the chopper is trying to go forward, you can practice on the throttle and the right hand stick. If the chopper gets out of control then just put more forward by pushing the left stick even more and add a little more throttle. This will correct any mistakes made by the right hand stick. Of course you can just land the thing if it gets out of control and it won't damage the chopper because it is limited by the string attached. After one or two battery this has become very easy for me. (I found this very difficult at first).

Step 2.
Put the rudder back on and tie the string to the back landing gear. Then do the same thing. This time you can practice the rudder also. This takes me 2 batteries to get used to.

Step 3.
Put on the training gear and then tie the stick to the mid section of the landing gear. This time unlike step 1 & 2, do not put the left stick forward. This time you can start to hover within the safety of the string and the training gear. At first, you will rely a lot on the string to get you out of trouble. After a while you will know when you are ready to remove the string and go outside for a real hover. Without the string, you would have many occasions where the chopper will sudden get out of your little 2mx2m area and you will have to decide whether to crash land it immediately or try to land it back and risk even more damage if you fail. I had oftened opted the later because the first option will definitely damage the chopper anyway. But with the string attached you don't have to make the decision.

Hope this help everyone.

Rob

Corrected my typo ***

RADD

I had followed your advise and more. Sliding on the ground allows me to get use to the throttle and not getting afraid of the rota blade speed. It improves my response a little bit and it helps with the orientation that is for sure. However I had a couple of crashes with my first hovering attempt after battery pack 15... The chopper just came at me because I made a tiny mistake with the throttle or was it a glitch. I think the problem is with my response time.

RADD I had all the respect for your tutorial and would like to mention the tricks I used during my learning process. Maybe you can add that to battery pack 16. There are three extra steps I took which I helped me greatly. I guess what it does is to create reflex action to my fingers rather than having to think. This is particularly true when I now find that sometimes I have controlled the tail not by the rudder motor but by using the right hand stick. This is because by moving the right hand stick the collective also changes the rudder. This just come out of reflex after a lot of training.

Anyway here are the three steps I took. Hope this help all the people who are learning to hover like me.

Step 1.
Remove the training gear & the tail rudder. Tie a string about 2 meters long to the tail of the chopper to somewhere soft like a sofa so that if you make a mistake it does not damage the chopper. Start up the chopper rota and then put the left stick forward so that the chopper is trying to go foward. By doing this we don't need to worry about the rudder. Put on more power and the chopper should start to lift and the string fully stretch and the chopper aligned. Since the chopper is trying to go forward, you can practice on the throttle and the right hand stick. If the chopper gets out of control then just put more forward by pushing the left stick even more and add a little more throttle. This will correct any mistakes made by the right hand stick. Of course you can just land the thing if it gets out of control and it won't get damaged because it is limited by the string attached. After one or two battery this has become very easy for me. (I found this very difficult at first).

Step 2.
Put the rudder back on and tie the string to the back landing gear. Then do the same thing. This time you can practice the rudder also. This takes me 2 batteries to get used to.

Step 3.
Put on the training gear and then tie the stick to the mid section of the landing gear. This time unlike step 1 & 2, do not put the left stick forward. This time you can start to hover within the safety of the string and protection of the training gear. At first, you will rely a lot on the string to get you out of trouble. After a while you will know when you are ready to do the same thing with a longer string outside or even to remove the string for a real hover. Without the string, you would have many occasions where the chopper will sudden get out of your little 2mx2m area and you will have to decide whether to crash land it immediately or try to land it back and risk even more damage if you fail. I had oftened opted the later because the first option will definitely damage the chopper anyway. But with the string attached you don't have to make the decision.

Hope this help everyone.

Rob