I just bought Real Flight G2 and am having a very difficult time getting this thing to hover. I understand that helis move around, but when I get it off the the ground, it just takes off to the left. I attempt to compensate when the tail begins to move upon getting off the ground but it still seems to just take off to the left.

I have not changed any of the settings on the sim, and I am using the Impala .30 trainer. What am I doing wrong?

Are there settings that I should set to get the transmitter to respond accordingly?

I need help, I just finished putting together my Century Hawk with .37 engine together and wanted to master the sime before investing any more money into this hobby. I have been trying for the past 5 hours and I ahve had no luck.

I figure it'll take at least another hour or 2 of practice. Seriously, instead of keeping track of your progress in hours, you will find that it is much more efficient to keep track of how much you improve over days or even weeks. This is not a sport that you can master in a very short period of time.

One thing you are absolutely correct about, heli's move around ... a lot! The initial movement to the left when the heli leaves the ground is natural and is caused by the tail rotor. From what I understand, G2 has that property built in, so you need to compensate for this as the heli comes up. If you are unable to stop the movement, I'd double check the servo reversing to make sure the controls are all operating in the correct direction. Be sure to make the changes in the sim, not the radio; unless you are certain that you are using a different model memory than the one used by your Hawk.

Once you're sure that the reversing is correct for all channels, then it's just a matter of practice ... and lots of it. You need to have a keen eye to see when the heli starts to move and a light touch on the sticks to stop the motion quickly and smoothly without overcorrecting. The only way to master this is through repetition. Burn tons of (virtual) fuel!

Keep at it. Don't get discouraged. It will come.

Good luck,
Keith

i agree with all of what was in the post above, if all the channels are the correct direction, just practise,practise practise coz once you master it in the sim its not much harder in real life.. these things can seem hard at first ,but once you get it you will wonder why you found it so hard to begin with... =)

I should also clarify what I mean by take off. Once it gets off the ground it turns left and then just travels straight to the left. I mean it really travels! As if it already has a heading built into it.

How do I check to see if the servos are all in the right direction?

Here are the settings from the calibration page, are these correct?

Channel 1 (Ailerons) 2%
Channel 2 (Elevator) -4%
Channel 3 (Throttle) -5%
Channel 4 (Rudder) 0%
Channel 5 (Aux) 100%
Channel 6 (Aux) -100%
Channel 7 (Aux) 100%
Channel 8 (Aux) -100%

I will go back and try until I get it right but want to make sure that it is set up correctly. The virtual instructor made it seem so easy.

That's so true, but why? Any new skill requires new neural pathways to develop but why is heli flying so tough?

are you using the interlink transmitter that came with it?? is it in the correct mode setting? trims set in the middle?
mm i don;t know what to suggest because when i got g2 it was virtually plug and play. maybe try a search over at runryder or post in the sim section there.

Heli John , its a good question.. i think maybe at first its so difficult because you have to operate so many controls
independently of eachother at the same time, that together
with helicopters needing constant correction makes for some tough work for the brain in the early days!!

shackscs,

I'm not familiar with G2 specifically, but I'd guess that the calibration settings that you posted are the trim settings to center the gimbals. For reversing, there should also be a button for each channel to select either normal or reverse.

The first thing to check when starting to use a sim is the reversing. You can do this by increasing the throttle to get the heli light on the skids, but not lift off (if the throttle stick works correctly, that's one channel you won't have to reverse). With the heli tail-in, move the cyclic and look to see which way the rotors tilt. The disk should tilt in the same direction you move the stick. If not, you will need to reverse the channel that is wrong; aileron, elevator or both. Next move the rudder stick left and right and see which way the nose of the heli moves. It should follow the stick movement ... stick left = nose left.

If all of these are correct, then you will need to check the trims. You adjust these either with the trim levers on the radio, or possibly with the calibration settings that you mentioned (again, I'm not familiar with G2). The first thing to remember is that the heli is not going to come up and sit in one spot until you tell it to move. You will need constant stick inputs to keep it still. However, it shouldn't take off in any one direction every time nor should the nose turn off of its original heading (much). Work with one axis at a time; for instance, adjust the tail first; and get it to hold as close as possible. Then move to the next.

Another thing you might check is to see if you have wind turned on and to what level. It's tough to learn in the 20-30mph gusts that are common at some fields ... like the one I fly at! I'd suggest starting with no wind. You can add it later after you've gotten comfortable with hovering in no wind.

Hope this helps,
Keith

FWIW, the wind is my suggestion also. Make sure the wind and gusts are turned off. Hit the W key on the keyboard and the menu will pop up. Also check the trims, adjust the trims. Get the heli light on the skids on the sim and then set the trims so it doesn't move much. It will never sit still and hover by itself though.

Also something I found very interesting is that flying the helis on my G2 sim are more difficult to fly than my Raptor 50. I also did not like the Impala trainer heli. I like the .46 size heli better. However, I have found the Folier 60 to fly the closest to my Raptor 50. Powerful and sensative on the sticks.

If you have never flown any R/C I might also suggest trying the stiff wings just to give you a feel for how little stick movement it takes to get a response. I completely agree with previous posts about tracking your progress in weeks instead of hours..it takes a ton of time, but if you stick with it, you'll get it.
Also you can check out G2 website for more info and troubleshooting..there are also some cool downloadable flying fields and A/C....
Cheers

This is such an easy question to answer in Realflight as in real life your heli always rolls to the left (rotational torque effect). So your heli blades are going to have to be tilted to the right a few degrees in order to keep the heli in a stable hover. The same is true in full scale the difference is they build the main mast at a few degree offset so that the helis fuse appears to be perpendicular to the ground in a stable hover. The main mast of a model is not offset so your fuse will be tilted to the right.[sm=tired.gif]

So set your Realfight to all system default and consider this during hover as you take off you will need to put in slight right cyclic or roll (on the right stick).this will make the whole experience much more pleasant.

Ok, so I should keep the trims set right in the middle for all directions?

I do seem to be getting the hang of it.

I just don't understand why the helicopter travels away from me after getting so far off the ground. I understand the left movement thingy, but why does it move away from me in a straight line after I get it off of the ground a few feet?

You mean get away to the left?

Sometimes I set the roll trim 1 or 2 clicks to the right depending on what model.Take the long ranger for example I always have to set the trim tabs a little forward and to the right on the cyclic trims.All models vary a little.but most require no trim adjustment.Some times I shift the CG on a model to correct flight charecteistics,Actually only one the sun dog. I moved the CG forward .5" to get the heli to fly stable in inverted flight as well as upright and the cyclic aft a few clicks, now it hovers dead solid bolth ways.It just takes some playing around and soon it will all be second nature.[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

shckscs,

I too had the same problems when I started practicing with the helis on G2. It took a couple of weeks to be able to hold a steady hover. Now I can hold a hover at any altitude, as long as I can maintain orintation. You can lose your orientation on G2 real quick.

Try learning tail-in hovering first. Once you have mastered that, then transition to nose-in hovering. You will learn that nose-in is a lot harder. All the control inputs are reversed.

Another thing, helis require constant input from all control services, including throttle/collective. They require a lot more concentration than fixed-wing aircraft. Most fixed-wing pilots no only 2 throttle settings, idle or wide open. Helis require constant throttle/collective inputs during an entire flight. Once you transition from a hover to FF, you will notice that the heli gains altitide due to transitional lift. Unless you want that, you would then have to adjust and take some throttle/collective out to maintain your hover altitude while in FF. It seems a lot harder than it actually is. Just keep practicing. Virtual helis are a lot cheaper than the real thing.

Goodluck and happy flying.

Could it be that the only input we have is sight (with a little engine noise thrown in). There is no "feel" of feedback.

Virtual instructor helped me a lot to understand the hover and steps to learn it. Also at the beginning I practiced with my radio visible on screen. That way I was able to see how much I push controls and learn to do things more smoothly.

How are you getting on?