First Loop!
 

Just did my first loops today!

Scared the heck out of me for the first couple, and i had to land because i started getting the heli shakes, but after the first couple, i started to get the hang of it. What a blast!

First Loop!
 

Good job. You done a lot better than me LOL.
My first attempt ended in a crash. LOL
I am with you on the helli shakes. I know all about them LOL.

My first Loop
 

I can still remember My first Loop
One of the pilots asked me what is wrong with my Gyro the tail is twitching.
I replied it's not the Gyro it's my nerves. LOL

Fred.. :D

First Loop!
 

Glad to know i'm not the only scaredy cat out there!

I had this idea after i worked on the simulator for a couple weeks that i was going to tear up the sky on my first day! Heee heee! i couln't even hover my first day. It was pathetic! i just bounced the training gear along the ground till it wandered off into the desert, and the guy who was teaching me had to fly it back to the pad for me. Over and over again, just boing, boing, boing! It was awful! He just chuckled, lifted off and flew straight to the pad and set it down like a feathe, like it was nothing. :stupid:

The loops were pretty ugly, but after such humble beginings, they are a huge triumph for me.

First Loop!
 

Good job!!

I still get the shakes if the heli gets too high.
But I am learning by my self.

First Loop!
 

You guys are way over my head. I've been wanting to fly helis since I started with planes, no nerve yet. I was at the lhs looking at a Raptor 30, the V.2 I think it was called.

I can do pretty good on G2 but I don't think I'll be able to handle the real thing just yet. I'll just wait until I find someone with a heli that flies at my field, or when I change fields, to help me learn.

Good luck on your learning.

First Loop!
 

Great Job :D I'm a long way from that. Shoot I just wanna hover ;) Shoot I just want to be able to start the darn thing w/o blowing my gears :stupid: We all have ta start somewhere. And thanks again for the advice!
Joe

First Loop!
 

any advice for loops? i have my idle up 1 set up (for basic aerobatics as they say) what radio are you using? does it have a 5 point curve? if so, what is your th curve set at for idle up 1?,

finished w/ hovering and just flying around now, time to start aerobatics

First Loop!
 

I'm using the JR X378, it has 5 point curves , but i nulled out a couple points so it is simple linear -9,0,9 pitch curve for idle-up and -4,0,9 for normal. The throtle curve is also simple 3 point. 90,50,90 for stunt and i think something like 30,50, 90 for normal. nothing wrong with more points, its just i like things to be as simple as possible and it works pretty good. The guy who is helping me taught me to make sure top halves of the curves all match so it is easy to switch modes in the air. I like that too.

The loop is pretty easy to do, (except for being a littel scarey the first time or two) but hard to make it smooth. You need lots of positive pitch as you are heading up for the first third, then smoothly transition to a few degrees negative as you start to get inverted then smoothly transition to lots of positive pitch as you get around to the last third of the way around. Mostly you just hold the right stick back. Part of the weird thing in doing loops with a heli is it can loose forward speed and kinda get stuck at the top. Just keep the right stick back and it will flip over. not sure what to say about that. Ive made some good looking loops and some crappy ones, but at this point i can't say what i did wrong or right. its all timing i guess.

Whatever you do, do not fly a loop like an airplane. If you just pull back on the right stick, and don't work the pitch up and down, you'l do a figure 9 (it will hit the ground) also be sure you are in stunt mode! if you forget and try one in normal mode you probably will do a figure 9. I saw a guy do that a couple weeks ago, it was a nasty and expensive crash.

As usuall, i decided to push the limits just a bit today, so i was working on nose in hovering, starting to get the hang of that, so i decided to practice transitioning from nose-in to nose-out, did pretty good a few times but then i biffed a bit and the heli wandered too close to the recicle bin (i was practicing in my back yard) wham! crash number 3 :eek: oh well, fortunatly it just took out cheap wood blades and the feathering spindle. i'll stop by the local shop on the way home tomorrow and try again tomorrow eve. afer clearing out the yard of a few potential hazzards of course!

i guess the other advice is push the limit of comfort just a tiny bit every day, even if only for a few seconds. Fly a littel faster, a little farther, a little higher, turn a littel tighter, and then bring it back.

Maybe this weekend i'll try inverted hover (stopping at the top of a loop for a few seconds) crash report to follow... :D

First Loop!
 

Five point pitch curve might look like.

90 70 50 70 90 = -9 -4 0 +4 + 9

30 40 50 70 90 = -4 -2 0 +4 +9

First Loop!
 

RotorRookie,

Any progress with the repair?

First Loop!
 

Congratts Spiff!

I remember my first loop, I was flying a Nexus with some sorry excuse servos back then. I got stuck upside down for what seemed like ages, had to roll out so... my first loop was actually an immelman I guess. :D

I've had some bad crashes the last couple years, I'm hanging on a little too tight lately and just spending time getting smooth and comfortable, also working on full-down autos... which may have saved me some pain in the pocketbook if I'd practiced them earlier.... a word to the wise. ;)

First Loop!
 

Well: at least you were smart enough to roll out of it.
I WASN'T LOL. I froze up and let it invert and then tried
to loop out of it BANG she hit the ground LOL.

First Loop!
 

__________________________________________________ __
RotorRookie,
Any progress with the repair?
__________________________________________________ __
Check my thread... going to acess/ take it apart tonight. Getting ready for vacation,, leaving Sat. so I want to order parts & have them delivered Up North. My wife always says, you taking that big thing with again? Have Jeep will travel :D She's just teasing. She's really great about all my hobbies :D
Thanks for asking. I'll try to post pics of the shredded/melted gears tonight or tomorrow. Just to warn the other newbies like me. Put a "little" fear in their minds :)
Sorry for babbling everyone......

First Loop!
 

Thanks guys!

i treid autos a few times on the simulator , i can do it no problem with the 60 size, but i always run out of rotor speed on the 30 size, except for some reason if i kill the engine when i have forward motion and a landing site in front of it. I'd be in trouble if the engine died.

First Loop!
 

I wasn't so smart for my first crash! LOL

I took it up a littel higher than i was comfortable with, then did a piro (also not comfortable with at the time) and i stupidly stopped nose in :eek: i freaked! and froze up. All i could think to do was just watch it roll off into the ground. :stupid:

First Loop!
 

I guess I better get really used to taking my Hawk Sport apart :)

First Loop!
 

There's little room for error (hang time) on a 30 size.
Translational lift from forward speed is almost a requirement....

I received some good advice from a friend (he used to be my student, now he's WAY past me :o ). Landing with some forward speed is ok, in fact it's easier. That's right, Sliding autos. I was afraid the heli woudl tip but, apparently there is enough gyrospoic effect to keep it stable. Most of my autos are sliding to some degree now.

Blades make a difference too, more weight = better autos. Airfoil too, it appears the light symmetrical 3D blades are not the best for autos.

I can't wait to for my Rx to come in... last component to have my TSK Mystar 60 ready to fly so I can try this with a better performing heli (currently flying a Raptor 30). :cool:

First Loop!
 

I just placed an order for replacement blades. i ordered 3 sets! (about 2 months worth) :D

I talked to a guy who has about 100 gallons thru his first heli and has never crashed. He just takes it real easy still mostly just hovers. How much you crash, what you do and how fast you learn is all up to you.

First Loop!
 

Back from an incredible day flying! Got good sleep, no wind, realatively cool, and the Rappy was working great. Did more loops, my first rolls, first 540's, piros, and several seconds of upside down hovers. more than half of the things ive been doing on the simulator for the past couple months is now a reality! Icing on the cake is, no crash to report!


I didn't get to do much inverted hovering because there was not much negative lift. Just enough to hold altitude at -9 degrees. i was using semi-symetrical blades, great for forward flight and hovering but not so reat for inverted. fortunatly the LHS just got a pair of good blades in stock so maybe i'll get a chance to give it annother go tomorrow.

First Loop!
 

I just did my first loop yesterday. I have a Raptor 30 V1 with the TT 36. I had symetrical glass blades on. I flew full speed forward and pulled back as it went from 9 to 12 I heard the head speed drop, which scared me. I had started reducing pitch and hence throttle. The rotor sped back up as it came over the top and downward side ( as I transitioned back to positive pitch) of the loop was uneventful.

After 3 loops I decided I needed a mix to goose the throttle when giving hard cyclic. That worked wonders, I hardly lose any head speed now. My mix adds up to 20% throttle linked to % of cyclic input.

Jason

First Loop!
 

Congrats!

When the rotor rate started to drop, did your heart rate not go way up?