| The main goal of hovering an RC helicopter is to keep | | | | left cyclic input to move it back to the reference point. |
| it in one spot with as little moving or drifting as possible. | | | | Then do the same thing moving your helicopter |
| Ultimately, you'd like it to remain absolutely motionless, | | | | forwards and backwards. The main goal here is to get |
| but in a non perfect world, that's nearly impossible as | | | | a feel for how the helicopter responds to your stick |
| there are too many factors that will cause drift or | | | | inputs and how much input is necessary to get it to |
| motion. For the beginner pilot hovering an RC helicopter | | | | move. You'll find small stick inputs are all that is |
| can prove to be excessively difficult and many people | | | | necessary. Once you're comfortable with side to side |
| give up on the hobby because they can't master | | | | and forwards / backwards movement, bring the |
| hovering. While it is possible and people do fly RC | | | | helicopter back to your reference point and move it |
| helicopters without being able to hover properly, it's not | | | | diagonally in all 4 directions. This will be a lot harder |
| recommended. It's like learning to run before you can | | | | then left/right forwards/backwards movement |
| walk and you'll eventually run into a problem. Being able | | | | because you'll be inputting multiple cyclic commands |
| to hover teaches control and fine motor skills that you'll | | | | simultaneously as well as controlling the tail. You'll want |
| want to have to become a better overall pilot. Even | | | | to practice this until you can make very precise |
| top performers practice hovering to hone their skills. | | | | movements and are comfortable moving your |
| There are 4 main hovering positions, or 8 if you count | | | | helicopter around. Remember to always fly your |
| inverted hovering, but I'm not going to get into that as | | | | helicopter by watching its nose, never by looking at the |
| it's a lot more complicated than learning basic, right side | | | | tail boom. |
| up hovering that we'll discuss in this 'how to' article.... | | | | Learning To Hover All right...on to the good stuff. |
| Tail in hovering is where the tail is pointing towards you | | | | Once you've got a feel for how your helicopter moves |
| and the nose of your helicopter is away from you. | | | | and how to control it using your radio, it's time to get it |
| Nose in is the opposite - where the nose of your | | | | off the ground. For this, you'll want to move from your |
| helicopter is pointing towards you and the tail is pointing | | | | smooth surface to something softer, preferable short |
| away from you. Right side in is where the nose is | | | | grass. This will help to absorb any impact from hard |
| pointing to the right, the tail is pointing to the left and | | | | landings and prevent damage. If you have a really |
| you're facing the right side of the helicopter. Left side is | | | | small or micro RC helicopter, you can do this on the |
| the opposite, where the nose is pointing to the left, the | | | | same hard surface you used earlier as there's not |
| tail to the right and you're facing the left side of the | | | | much weight to cause damage. Pick or mark a |
| helicopter. | | | | reference spot and place your helicopter there going |
| Pre-flight Setup & Checklist | | | | through all the pre-flight checks mentioned earlier. Input |
| Before you can learn to hover your RC helicopter, you | | | | collective until your helicopter is just a few inches off |
| need to make sure your helicopter and radio is | | | | the ground and try to hold it there. Remember that |
| properly setup. If unsure, consult an experienced pilot or | | | | very small inputs make a big difference, so be gentle |
| your local hobby store. Put your training gear on. If you | | | | on the controls. Pay attention to your helicopter and |
| don't have some, buy it. It costs $20 - $50 and if you're | | | | the balls on the training gear and try to anticipate any |
| just starting out will save you hundreds in crash | | | | movement and try to compensate for it in advance. |
| damages. The training gear also makes a good visual | | | | To become a masterful hoverer you need to be able |
| aid that help you see the pitching and rolling of your | | | | to tell what's going to happen in terms of movement |
| RC helicopter before you notice them in your | | | | and react to it in advance to prevent it from happening. |
| helicopter. If you're flying a nitro helicopter, have lots of | | | | As you become more comfortable, start to bring it a |
| fuel available. If you're going electric, make sure your | | | | little higher and higher until you get it up to 2 - 3ft and |
| batteries are charged and have more than one | | | | can hold it in one spot. |
| available if possible. The more you can fly continually, | | | | Congratulations!!! |
| the faster you'll improve your skills. | | | | You can now hover an RC helicopter... everything else |
| Make sure your gyro is set to heading hold mode. | | | | is downhill from here. Though you'll probably want to |
| While some people recommend flying with a gyro in | | | | go through at least 3 - 5 batteries or tanks of fuel |
| rate mode because you'll get a better feel for the | | | | practicing stationary hovering before you start to |
| helicopter, I don't recommend it for the simple reason | | | | move your helicopter around to make sure you'll be |
| that unless you plan on building scale ships, you'll | | | | able to react in time in case of a mishap. As s side |
| probably never use rate mode, so there's no sense | | | | note, when practicing hovering, you'll usually want to |
| learning to fly with it. Also, make sure your radio and | | | | hover above 2 - 3ft to avoid ground effect. Ground |
| helicopter is set up for hovering and that it's not too | | | | effect is when your RC helicopter is hovered close to |
| sensitive. If it's too sensitive or quick to respond, you | | | | the ground (under one rotor diameter) and the |
| can try adding some expo to the cyclic to soften the | | | | downwash of the rotor blades creates a high |
| sticks around their centres, or decrease the endpoints | | | | pressure bubble of air. This bubble of air applies an |
| to decrease the amount of cyclic pitch and | | | | uneven upwards force which causes the helicopter to |
| responsiveness of the helicopter. And finally, go | | | | wobble or move sideways making stable flight difficult. |
| through your preflght checks. | | | | It's a little like balancing a basketball on your finger |
| Getting a Feel for Your Helicopter | | | | (when it's not spinning). For those reasons, when |
| Before you learn to hover, you need to understand | | | | practicing hovering, I prefer to hover at about 3 - 5ft. |
| how your RC helicopter works. When you move the | | | | It's high enough to avoid the ground effect and low |
| sticks, how does your helicopter react? If you input | | | | enough that I'm looking slightly down at the helicopter |
| right cyclic, how quickly does your helicopter react? | | | | and can use the ground as a reference. The higher |
| The goal is to learn how your helicopter moves and | | | | you get, the harder it is to perceive depth and keep |
| corresponds with the inputs you give. Once your RC | | | | the helicopter in one place - there's also no easily |
| helicopter and radio are setup, you'll need a practice | | | | perceivable frame of reference against the sky as |
| area. You're going to want the surface you're | | | | there is on the ground. However, with that being said, if |
| practicing on to be as smooth as possible so you can | | | | you're just starting out you might want to hover a little |
| slide around a bit. A gym floor, a large and smooth | | | | higher in case you make a mistake so you have time |
| cement basement, a ice rink or a smooth asphalt | | | | to recover. Many people use the saying "practice 2 |
| make the best practice surfaces - the smoother the | | | | mistakes high" meaning that you have time to recover |
| better. If you're trying to learn on a rough or uneven | | | | from at least two mistakes before your helicopter |
| surface like grass or gravel, your RC helicopter can | | | | becomes acquainted with the ground, the hard way. |
| catch on it and tip over. The training gear will help you | | | | Tip: Use a simulator for practicing and once you're |
| slide around without fear or tippage. Make sure you | | | | comfortable on your computer try it on your RC |
| have at least a 10ft x 10ft (20ft x 20ft or larger | | | | helicopter. Once you're able to easily hover your RC |
| recommended) area that is clear of any and all | | | | helicopter tail in, it's time to start moving it around a little. |
| obstructions. The larger your helicopter is, the more | | | | Repeat the same left/right forwards/backwards and |
| space you'll need. If there's no marking to use as a | | | | diagonal movements that you did in the previous |
| reference point, use a marker or masking tape to | | | | section, but this time your helicopter will be 2-3ft in the |
| create one. Put your helicopter into the middle of the | | | | air and when you get to your new position, hold it there |
| space pointing into the wind (if outdoors) and stand 10 - | | | | for 15-20 seconds before moving on. Transitioning |
| 15ft behind it. Start to throttle up very slowly - you don't | | | | from flight to hovering will help to improve your skills |
| want it to lift off the ground, just get it light on the | | | | and take you to the next step. Stationary side in and |
| training gear so you can slide it around. If your main | | | | nose in hovering is significantly more difficult than the |
| blades rotate clockwise and your helicopter has been | | | | tail in hovering exercises mentioned in this article |
| built properly, there's a good chance that it will want to | | | | because cyclic commands are 90 or 180 degrees off |
| drift slightly to the left to counteract the tail rotor thrust | | | | depending on the position. For example, when nose in |
| pushing to the right. If your rotors spin counter | | | | hovering, if you input a right cyclic command, your |
| clockwise, your helicopter should drift slightly to the | | | | helicopter will move to the left and vice versa, so I'll |
| right. Use the trims to compensate for the drifting until | | | | save them for another time. |
| your RC helicopter stays fairly stationery. Once you've | | | | Now go out there and enjoy your Remote Control |
| got the trims set, give a little right cyclic input and | | | | Helicopter, by far the best remote control toy money |
| watch as the helicopter moves to the right. Then give | | | | can buy. |