rwj

My friends brother inlaw only has the ability to use one hand and is very interested in our helis. Is anyone out there in the same situation and been able to fly heli's

dgshaffer

I tried to find a photo of it but if you look hard enough you'll find a photo of Curtis Youngbloods transmitter. He has the rudder control on the cyclic gimbal as a knob that he twists. I'm not sure what he does about the collective pitch. He does have use of both hands so I'm not sure why he had it rigged this way.

archiebald

I may be wrong, but I thought that Curtis's single stick transmitter was from many moons ago. In addition, his throttle/collective control was using his left hand in the back of the transmitter(but that also may be bad memory)

From an engineering point of view, I would imagine that it would not be so difficult to make a conversion to get the rudder onto the cyclic stick but the throttle would be an issue. How much mobility does your friend have?

Kevinator9

A one handed person can use a single stick radio, controls are here.
Collective/Pitch (together): Pull/push stick in and out.
Yaw (rudder): Twist stick clockwise and anticlockwise.
Cyclic controls (aileron and elevator): Move the stick like a normal mode 2 tx.

PlaneHeli

Ive never heard of anyone flying helis with one hand, but I think it could be done with enough thought (and money)

The problem is to fly a full control heli you really need all 4 controls.

Fixed wing would be easier by programming one switch to give you reasonable rudder control and a little aileron control mixed to the aileron stick. once airborne turn off the switch so you only use aileron (no rudder) to turn. Or of course use a plane with rudder only.

One way to control a heli MAY be to rig a throttle trigger on the back of a TX. So Fwd / Aft , left / right cyclic is controlled with the normal stick (using the thumb) and throttle / pitch using your trigger finger (excuse the pun).

The problem is you need a separate control for the rudder, but you could rig up some rudder pedals (like the computer game rudder pedals) to control the rudder servo.
Or have another control on the back of the Tx below the throttle for rudder (controlled by his pinky finger (cant think of its proper name)
Or twist the cyclic stick for rudder as suggested above. This would require using the thumb and finger to control the cyclic stick. So he wouldnt be able to hold the Tx. The Tx would need to be cradled or lent on a solid surface to stop it moving around.

If he used rudder pedals, he would have to sit while flying. (not a bad idea).

Would require a little setting up, but I think it could be done.

It would also require quite a bit of practice, but a sim would sort that out.
If you could remove the throttle / rudder gimble from the Tx and rig it up at the back of the Tx somehow, the radio wouldnt require any special rewiring etc. All channels would work as the should. Then you could use it for a Sim no problem

AMA Outlaw

If you can fly with your thumbs on top of the sticks, why not with your an index finger and thumb on top of each separate sticks? You would just need some sort of stand or support to hold the transmitter steady. It might be counter-intuitive initially, but it's all about muscle memory right?

flyinfool1

My Feedback: (2)

We had a club member up here in Milwaukee that had a normal left hand and only a stump at the end of his right arm.
He had no problem flying a heli with a standard mode 2 transmitter.

markj30

I have just started posting videos on you tube of how to fly a radio controlled aircraft with only one hand by modifying a standard RC transmitter. Check out markj30, ( youtube.com/watch?v=hp3um4zpdOc )