LESSON 2 - HOVERING
Our goal today it to hover the heli about 2 to 3 ft off the ground. . Make sure that you have your training skids on.
Stand behind the heli about 10m to 20m. (Note: Do not stand directly behind the heli... in the path of the tail rotor blades if it comes loose. Stand a little to one side, preferably on the side that the tail rotor is not connected to).
The heli should have the tail facing you. This is the normal 'Tail In' hover. Begin by adding power slowly. As the heli starts to get light on it's feet, it will begin to slide to your LEFT (clockwise rotating blades). Lower the throttle just a little so that the skids are still touching the ground. Check for rudder or tail movement. If the tail is still rock steady pointing in one direction without moving, your Gyro is doing its job. If the heli is slowing rotating as it is about to take off, you would need to trim your rudder controls by using the trim tabs on the transmitter.
Note:If you're using a heading lock gyro, do not trim the transmitter. Instead, move your rudder stick in the opposite direction of the rotation until it stops. This drift could have been due to a change of heading while the heli was on the ground.
If the rudder is steady, it is time to take the heli about 2 to 3 feet into the air.
Increase the throttle again until the heli is light on its feet. Again, make sure the tail is steady. Apply a bit more throttle until the heli starts rising up. At this point, you should be applying the throttle 1 or 2 clicks at a time. Large stick movements will cause the heli to be hard to control. Make sure all stick movements are small and smooth. Raise the heli to about 1 feet.
As your heli lifts off the ground, it will start to move all over the place. Using the Cyclic stick, prevent the heli from drifting. Your goal is to move the heli back to the same spot that it lifted off. Small and gentle movements with the cyclic is all that's necessary.
Also, raise the throttle until the heli is about 2 to 3 ft in the air. When the heli is too close to the ground, the rotor's wind will hit the ground and bounce back up again, causing a turbulent air around the heli. This effect is known as ground effect. When the heli is in ground effect, it is actually harder to control. The heli would be out of ground effect about 3ft. If you see the heli drift left, apply right cyclic stick. If it drifts backwards, apply forward stick, and so on. Initally, this will be very difficult, and it will seem like the heli is moving all over. Also, as the heli moves around, it will also bobble up and down. Try not to control the throttle too much. Your first few hovers will see the heli hop around the place. This is because of over control of the throttle. Once it is in a hover at a certain height, the lift will remain constant, so long as you keep the heli in one place.
What about the tail? It's turning. The tail may turn when you change the throttle setting. This is normal. If you're using a headling lock gyro, the gyro would be keeping the tail extremely steady for you. If you're using a normal gyro, the tail may drift. If you notice it drifting a lot. Land the heli, and use the rudder trim tabs on your transmitter to correct the drift. Use 1 or 2 clicks at a time. Then take off, and observe again. If you're unable to keep the tail at one spot even after trimming it, continue with your hovering, but keep walking around so that the tail is always facing you. Do not use the rudder controls at this time, until you're better able to control the heli with the cyclic controls.
One thing NOT to do is to panic and slam the throttle down. This will force the heli to the ground and you may get a boom strike. If the heli seems to be moving all over and it's hard to control, just slowly lower the throttle until the heli touches the ground. Once it touches the ground, then only can you quickly reduce the throttle.
Some people take a few hours to master this, while others may take a few days.
Keep practicing until you're able to keep the heli at one spot. Remember! A successful flight always begins and end with a hover.
Once you're able to hover at 2 to 3ft, raise the heli higher to 5ft and practice hovering at one spot. Then lower the heli again to a 3 ft hover. Stay there for a minute then land. Repeat this.
As you get more confident in holding the heli at one spot, try hovering higher, 10 ft then 20 ft. then down to 10 ft, and so on.
As you get better, combine a little rudder control, to keep the tail always facing you. The rudder controls the direction of the helicopter head, and not the tail. That means, if the tail is moving to the left, you move the rudder control stick left to correct it. Hard to understand? Let's try again. If the HEAD of the heli is moving RIGHT, you move the rudder control stick left to move the head back.
If you've successfully mastered this, go on to the next lesson.
HOLD ON THERE! How the heck do I land???
Okay, don't panic! (see? You should read all my articles before going to the field. It's not easy to write about hoving and landing in proper sequence).
Now, on your first hover, it's going to move all over the place uncontrollably, and you're going to panic and try and put the heli back to the ground.
So long as you have your training skids on, just lower the throttle SLOWLY and let the heli settle back to the ground. This may mean that it doesn't really land, but it slides sidesways or backwards back to earth. Once the PING PONG ball touch the ground, reduce the throttle a little faster (but don't slam down). When all 4 PING PONG balls touch the ground, okay, you can move the throttle back to 0.
It may also be a good idea initally to just 'hop' around, by lifting off to 1 feet for 5 seconds, then lowering the throttle back to earth. Keep doing this, and each time, keep the amount of time in the air longer. As you keep it in the air longer, start using the cyclic to 'control' the heli to stay at a spot. You will find that though practice, you will be able to keep it longer in the air, and your heli will stray away less often.
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