Wazowski

My Feedback: (1)

As I have been learning this new challenge I have been rather hard line about "doing it myself". With todays sim technoligy and sites like raptortechnique I was conviced that I could learn all about this myself. And I was doing good too. I can do just about anything on the sim and by following the suggestions at raptortechnique I have managed to progress rather quickly and have done a good initial setup but it wasn't till this past weekend at the field that a pro buddy of mine took a good hard look at my Raptor. He confirmed that I had a good stabile setup but after he flew it and we made a few tweeks that only a seasoned pilot can recognize I now have a bird that is very different than the one I setup. Yes...if you can have a pro fly and setup your bird you may be amazed at what's left. I had been having trouble with collective managment and with just a few minutes of re-curving my pitch/throttle the difference is not just noticeable it's wonderful! And if you are like some "do it your selfers" and are willing to experiment a little then do so...but try and have a pro fly it first and save the *****ache of another crash because of a slow collective response. That pitch curve accounts for a lot and the basic set up at raptor technique will only get you "close". It takes and expert eye/ear to really tell you what's going on...find someone!

WhtBronco

Well put. Experienced help will make flying helis easier and more fun.

sdsavage

I to thought I could just buy the Heli w/training gear and learn the easy way.
But........... I bought the simulator a couple of days ago (Money could have spent on
Heli ). So far I figure I have crashed enough in the Sim. to have paid for a $1000
Heli. This was one of the best things I could have purchased to learn to Fly.
I know have have saved more than enough in crashed simulator Heli.'s I am way ahead of the Money issue.
My Son-In-law got on to me for my wast of money until he tried the Sim. and then he
saw my point. ............. And this was Good

-pkh-

My Feedback: (2)

I completely agree with Wazowski... I taught myself to fly my Raptor with Realflight G2 and used Raptortechnique.com extensively for setup as well. I was able to hover around pretty well with my training gear early on, but like he said, when I had a more experienced guy help me tune my engine and tweak my throttle/pitch curves, it ran and flew much nicer!

And simulator experience + helis = money in the bank and many rebuilding hours saved! The only way to save more money is not to get into helis at all... but that wouldn't be much fun !

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

I never understood the "I want to do it all on my own" mentality.

I learned on my own, long before sims were invented because noone else flew helis. I wish I had someone to teach me. It would have saved a lot of time. I did it slow and never dinged one till I started aerobatics, but a sim would have solved that too.

It pays to get a good sim and get help. It just makes sense.

Wazowski

My Feedback: (1)

Well...heli's are a different beast...My son, who has no flying experience at all, has trouble with take offs and landing planks on the sim. He can fly around once I get him airboure but I still have to land it for him. It's a training issue..someone has to coach you, put you on a buddy box and have you gain enough control to do a low pass and one day you are doing it on your own. Heli's are just the opposite. On the sim even he could maintain a steady hover just picking up the TX for the first time. I could too! Tail in hover...right is right, left is left, forward, back all make sense...you really don't need and instructor to show you or buddy box you especially after hours on the sim. A properly set up and tuned bird is stable enough for hover training. Tuning is a different matter...if the bird not perfectly right you've got your hands full! That's where an experineced pro can be your best friend. My buddy flew mine for a few minutes then handed the box to me...never offered to buddy box, no need...I've been successfully hovering for quite some time now. I have been sufficiently humbled by this experince enough that I will ask for help learning forward flight but I gotta tell ya...I already know how to do it on the sim, I just need to work up the courage to practrice on $800 worth of mechanics and electronics!

Mike

-pkh-

My Feedback: (2)

I taught myself because there were few heli guys in my area that I could get together with. I did contact one guy via email, and drove an hour once to meet with him in person at his club to get advice on what to buy. There was only one "heli" guy at my club when I joined, and I was pretty far along by the time I was able to get together with him... he's the one that helped me tune my engine. Now, he's no longer with the club... and I'm considered the "heli" guy! I'm sure there are probably at least one or two club members with more experience than me... but so far, I'm the only one around flying a heli regularly and willing to help out.

I guess we're fortunate that, although "heli guys" are much more scarce than "plane guys", helis are much more conducive to self teaching, if you do it right (simulator, training gear, etc.)...