Lee G

Has anyone tried one of these?

http://www.mmhelitrainer.co.uk/manual.html

Dont look like its designed to be used in a bumpy field coverd in sheep fecis though
Im tempted to invest in one unless there are better ideas around

Bayou Talker

My Feedback: (1)

Buy a 36" diameter hula hoop and criss cross it with 1/2" dowel rods and tie wrap the heli to it. Works great and costs about $6. Just drill holes in the inside of the hoop for the dowels to fit into and a screw through the outside of the hoop into the end of the dowels to keep them in place. That way there are no ends to grab the ground if you land a little off of level.

thecheatscalc

isint that a bit heavy for flying (hula hoop)? or is this supposed to be ground only?

Bayou Talker

My Feedback: (1)

The hula hoop is for learning to hover only and my Raptor 50 had no trouble lifting it off of the ground. I just tried to weigh the device and I don't have a scale at home that goes that low. The hoop is a lightweight plastic one that I bought at Wal Mart for $.89 and the dowels were $.50. Lots of guys in this area learned with the same rig. It works great and is cheap to build. There are a couple of pictures of it in my gallery.

thecheatscalc

not as bad as i thought

-pkh-

My Feedback: (2)

I made my training gear out of two dowels and four wiffle balls... notched out the center where the dowels cross, zip-tied and epoxied that joint, and then drilled a hole and screwed the wiffle balls on the ends of the dowels. Very rugged, very cheap, and works very well. I made a large version for my Raptor 50 and a small version (with tiny dowels and practice golf balls instead of wiffle balls) for my Shogun 400 and Blade CP.

Lee G

Im one of those people that will take up a hobby, then bottle it at the first sign of danger, ie heli going over on its side.
What I liked from the discription on their site is its teatherd and ni on imposable to break things whilst you get used to geting airbourne.

Im allso in a race with my manager to see who hovers first. He has a storeman who has flown before, a big carpark, lunch breaks everyday in the same place and a virgin Raptor 30.

Me, I spend all day traveling the countryside repaireing fridges, so no lunch breaks and car park. But I have Reflex Xtr, two clubs, indoor and outdoor, a couple of books on order, T-rex for indoor flying, Hawk pro and sport for outdoor (sport was a bargain not to be missed) and a fear of geting airbourne.

I still need to find a hawk pro or sport for reflex xtr

I need an edge to get one up on my manager and get past my nerves
And I dont care if this years pay rise is afected by a sore looser

Bayou Talker

My Feedback: (1)

I thought about making a hoop for a small electric using an embroidery hoop from the fabric section and small dowels. I might just do that if I decide to buy a mini heli.

The hoop has one advantage over the crossed sticks as it is possible to hit just one ball on the ground at a time and that ends in a less than ideal landing. Anywhere the hoop hits the ground is the same result, it just rolls and slides until the heli is on the ground so there is no "less than perfect" angle. Either of the systems will work to learn to hover and many people have used both with great success.