AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

ANYONE HAVE ANY TIPS ON PRACTICING? WHAT ARE THE DO'S AND DONTS. ID LIKE TO START PRACTICING</p>

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

This guy can consistently put a helicopter's nose within a few inches of a nail driven on the ground. I listen to him every time he talks about autos.

Here is a link:
[link]http://www.ronlund.com/autos.htm[/link]

Basically, you start with "baby autos". That is where you fly at about eye level and hit the throttle hold button. Fly the heli down just as you would normally do. After you are comfortable with that, then practice the "upper half". Go upstairs and hit the TH button. Fly the heli down to about 30 to 50 ft. Switch out of TH and fly away. When you are comfortable with that, just join the "upper half" with the "lower half" or the baby autos.

Rafael

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

THAT LINK IS AWESOME...THANKS ALOT MAN. I HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PITCH TOO BUT THAT SEEMED TO ANSWER THEM ALL

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

Thanks for the link Rafael!!!

I know autos are something I need to do, but killing the motor in mid-flight just scares the bejebers out of me.

Some day very soon I will have the guts to hit the button. Until then let's pray for perfect flights!!!!

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

You do not kill the engine. You set the engine to a low idle, so that the geartrain is dis-engaged. If you need to bail out of the auto, you throw the TH hold switch and the engine comes back to life. Be careful tho, some helis tend to whip the tail around when you switch out of TH.

That link is one of the best ones out there. I've seen Ron Lund land 3-4 consecutive autos where the seam at the nose of his heli is less than an inch horizontally from a nail driven on the ground. Actually, adding all 3 measurements did not go over an inch. If you read carefully, you will notice that the article was written a LONG time ago. The basic principle is still the same.

Rafael

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

Yeah I understand you are not killing it, but mentally you are killing it and gravity is now your co-pilot.

At least for me it is a difficult thing to do. Once you do it a few times I am sure it is a no brainer.

Thanks again for the link.

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

I like this quote :D , can I use it when describing autorotations in the future?

Rafael

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

All yours my friend!!!

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

The link was really helpful...i noticed he was talking about the clutch though. I fly electric, a 400. would the pitch in TH be the same? My TH switch is on the left, when ithrow it, it has a negative pitch i think for inverted flight. I just want to make sure the pitch is set correctly before practice. Thank you guys for any help</p>

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

Your TH pitch curve should be the same as your aerobatic (3D) pitch curve (if you have one) if you do not have an aerobatic pitch curve, just follow his pointers. It is very easy to set up. When he is reffering to a clutch, most likley he is talking about the engine clutch, you would not have one of those on electrics. That article was written before the "electric revolution" and if you paid attention, you would also notice that he mentions the Raptors. He is talking about the Raptor 30 V1. That helicopter was introduced over 12 years ago. I have not read the article recently, so i don't remember what are the details.

Rafael

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

Ya i went an checked the raptor 30 out after i read that...its a big heli. I fly a 400 and it does have 3d capability. In the post he mentioned he sets his to +3 degrees, mine being a 400...i set it to +5, i didnt know if the size of mine and the weight would affect??? Also i plan to practice around 6 feet high, do you thnk that would work?

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

I have tried autorotations on my 450 and they do not work very well. I leave the autorotations for my bigger, heavier nitro birds. When I ahve done autos with the 450, about 8 to 10 ft is the maximum, although I do not claim to have the smoothest 450 set-up.


Where does it say that he sets his up to +3? What is he talking about. Sorry, I still have not read the article again, nor I do have time to read it now.

Rafael

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

Saw a guy at IRCHA doing INVERTED autos with a 450!

The nice thing about auto'ing 450's is they light so they bounce pretty well :)

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

ya that was my mistake... it doesnt say that hahaha. you should take time to read it agin. Its really good

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

Do you need a little loose belt to do autorotate? I read it on a magazine before if you do autos you need to have a loose belt so you wont loose head speed quick?
For 3d, it need a tight belt?

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

If your belt is too tight then its going to rob power from the motor and tear up the belt. It shouldn't be so loose that it skips but nor should it be very tight, even for 3D.

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

have you guys ever replaced a main gear? does it suck or what

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

I did my frist two "baby" or maybe even "preteen" autos the other day. First time i was about at 10 feet hovering and the engine quit. Luckily i ddint freak out, ive only been flying solo for less than 2 weeks. Found out the clunk line fell off. So i cut the split part and put it back on since i didnt have any more hose with me. 2 flights later i was at about 20 feet in slow forward flight when the engine died from loosing the clunk line. Both were sucessful.

RE: AUTO ROTATIONS...
 

I did a few yesterday...i was so excited...i was around 15 feet an hit th.the first couple were rough landing, the third came out nice. My battery died after that!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! lol i wanted to keep practicing haha