RC Helicopters?!?!?!

[drewsta]

Ok so I just got a new Walkera Dragonfly 60 today and I have never flown a -- helicopter before today so basically i'm just looking for some pointers lol. I crashed ohhhh about 4 times today and broke a set of blades

and the main rotor shaft

So now its out of comission until monday. Anyway if anyone has some pointers please let me know :help: Thanks

 

[my way]

I never flew one but know two people who are very good at it and 2 things I was told are, Buy a PC training program and learn on that. The second was that everything has to be dead nuts on the money as far as adjustments to everything on it. Don't know if that helps any.

 

[drewsta]

Yes it does thanks I will look into the pc training program. I tried to figure out the adjustments but I think I was to excited to fly thats why I crashed

 

[goblin]

They make training wheels for helicopters. They are four poles that extend out at the four corners and have balls on the end. It makes it easier to land until you get the hang of it. And they also have flight simulators. People that have used the sims said that it was well worth it.

 

[engine10ff]

I wanted to buy an R/C copter as well, I started with a small electric one. These are supposedly harder to fly but, a little cheaper to start and learn on (easy to fix again and again as well

).
I also have a game for the PS2 that is an R/C helicopter game, it uses the analog controllers to fly, similar to joysticks on your transmitter. I read a review of the game a couple years ago that said if you master the game you should be able to fly out of the box. After flying the game and flying a small electric, that isn't exactly true but I think it did help a little.
I also have a PC simulator with planes and helis on it, bought it to teach my kids to fly planes. The heli part of that seems pretty realistic, not sure of the brand name tho, I know they sell it on greatplanes.com. Nothing like having more that one expensive hobby, the wife loves it.

 

[drewsta]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I got those stupid looking training poles the first day I had the copter they didn't work to well

I have flown real airplanes and sat in helicopter simulators but this is nothing like either...... I still need to check into the pc simulators can anyone recommend a good one??? :thinking:

 

[my way]

Search the net for "Tower Hobbies" If I remember correctly they used to have them, It's been a long time since I've seen their catalogue.

 

[sethw]

I have the same thing, mine didne even work out of the box. Somthing with the steering mechanism on the heli. was broken. We tired to fix it. We ARE talking about th same thing, does it have 2 blades? That actually is a hard -- to start out with. The irony is that the easiest to fly and learn on are the 2k ones. the cheap ones, even professionsals have troulbe with. But wehat kind of pointers are you looking for?

 

[sethw]

the PC program is kinda expensive, you now only have to get the program, you have to buy a controller that works with it, and the heli. If you have the money to shell out (i think it was about 75) then that would be a great way to lean. My friend has that program, but not the heli. and it is fun, and a great way to lean, it is VERY accurate and real.

 

[ryanhayes9]

Originally Posted by sethw
I have the same thing, mine didne even work out of the box. Somthing with the steering mechanism on the heli. was broken. We tired to fix it. We ARE talking about th same thing, does it have 2 blades? That actually is a hard -- to start out with. The irony is that the easiest to fly and learn on are the 2k ones. the cheap ones, even professionsals have troulbe with. But wehat kind of pointers are you looking for?
?????????????????????????

***)

 

[drewsta]

Just general flying pointers... I want to just freaken be able to get it to hover. I didn't get my replacement parts yet so I still can't practice. I am going to work on bunny hops until I can get a good hover.

 

[kokamo]

Drewsta, I will be your servant as help for now on. :joy: I won't call myself a pro just yet, but I have loads of experience in flying these silly things.
First thing to know.......a helicopter is not supposed to fly. It just beats the air into submission until it does so.

Second thing......Runryder.com. This community forum is open to anyone who is interested in flying. The forum has so much info on it, I have been there for three years, and I still havent had the chance to soak everything up.
You have a Dragonfly. Those little guys are very difficult to learn on. Even the pros have a hard time trying to fly them when they come right out of the box. I just bought one similar to yours, (Blade CP Pro) and I am having lots of trouble trying to even hover it. I find it is very unstable and wants to wonder all over the place. You get this because of the lack of gyroscopic motion. Have you ever noticed that when you spin a small top, it is all over the place? Now what about a big one? It stays very stable and dosent wonder everywhere. You get the same thing in -- helis.
Since your little heli isin't very big, you dont have a whole lot of mass in the blades to keep you stable. The big ones do, like a 30, 50, ro 90 size nitro heli.
BUT there is a way to make the gyro effect on the blades a little more present. I tamed my little heli down by adding weight to the flybar. (the little paddles 90 degrees of the main blades) The simplest way I would think to do it is to get some solder and wrap it very tightly around the flybar to give it more mass. (Solder is what you use for electrical connections) I used 4 inches on each side and this helped tremendously to stable the heli. Make sure the solder you cut is exactly the same length or you will have a ballance issue.
Just remember, the more weight you add, the slower your cyclic rate will be. (the time it takes for the heli to react to your right stick adjustment)
On another note, a flight simulator is one of the best ways to learn how to fly helis on. I would suggest Realflight made by Greatplanes. I have the G3 version, but it will most likely be overkill for you. You can go to Runryder.com and look on the classifides section for a used G2. Those sell for between 40 and 60 bucks. There are some on there from time to time. Or theres always E-bay.
To tell you the truth, my simulator use has done wonders in my flying. What I will do is, learn one specific manuver, do it so many times on the sim until I won't screw it up. Then I take it to the feild with my nitro helis. For instance, I learned how to do nose in hovering. That took a while, but I managed to do it on the sim, then I went and actually did it at the feild. The latest one I learned.....inverted nose in hovering. Now thats fun. :jumping:
Anyway, like I said, get that heli stable, get a sim, Practise, practise, practice, then get a bigger heli and you will say....dang this is easy to fly compared to the little one!!!! Why didn't I do this first??!!!
Here are a couple of pics of me and my helis..................
Good luck bud,ask any questions and I will do what I can to help.
Joe
BTW....My Runryder name is "Kokamo" and the best heli ever made is made by HIROBO!!!!

 

[kokamo]

Oh, I forgot flying pointers.
First, do what I stated above to the heli. Second, when you make correctments in cyclic, (right stick) make very small movements. Lage corrections make the heli get out of control very quick. Third, when you get it in the air, don't be afraid to pick the heli up off the ground very far. If you are in the "ground affect" zone, the heli will be VERY difficult to fly. Ground effect is what you get when the air blown down from the mainblades hit the ground and swirl back up into the rotorblades. This causes the heli to catch wind at very different points around the rotor at times you simply cannot tell when it's coming. So with the small heli, it's best to keep it a minimum of about 3 feet off the ground to get out of the pillow of air. Once you get out of this "zone", you will be suprized at how much better it flies.
I can't really think of anything else but practise, practice, practise........then do it some more!
Thats how I learned.
Joe

 

[kokamo]

 

[shogun323]

Originally Posted by kokamo
First thing to know.......a helicopter is not supposed to fly. It just beats the air into submission until it does so.

[/IMG]
So basically a helicopter is like the Chuck Norris of the air?!? Brilliant!!

 

[drewsta]

Thanks for the info i haven't been on the forums in a couple months other things have taken my time and energy lol. On my occasional time off i mess with the helicopter its goin ok now i can get it to hover. I will post more when i return from work today. Again thanks for your help

 

[kokamo]

No problem bud. Let me know if I can help with anything.
Joe

 

[squidd]

I am going to work on bunny hops until I can get a good hover.
You will be much better working on Hover and control (above ground effects) than bouncing off the ground...that is where the boom strikes and damage occur...
Real Flight is a good sim..R/C Aerocopter is another...graphics are cartoon like but "Feel" is much more realistic than Real flight.(IM0) And quite a bit cheaper (comes with plug in controller)
For flight tips...
1...Get a GOOD gyro (just like get a good skimmer for your tank) same principal...
2. Think of machine balancing on top of a round rubber ball (blast of air) it always wants to "roll" off... It's your job to roll it back up on top for stable hover...(ie:if machine rolls to right apply left aileron to roll back up on top of ball)
3. Don't try forward flight until you can do a sustained and controlled hover.. Like flying airplanes...take off is optional, but landing is MANDATORY..