Just hovered.

[VermillionX]

Well today was a really good day. I was playing around on the simulator, and I finally got the heli to hover. It was an awsome feeling. I was able to lift it off and hover, then put it back down in the same spot. I just have one question. How accurate are the simulators. I am using Realflight G2.

[Daz(DJLFlapper)]

The realflight G2 is a very good simulator. As a rule all simulators have the ability to be very accurate in there flight simulation. I allways recommend making it hard to fly than normal and then getting used to flying like that until you get some isea of what your heli flies like. You can then make the simulator match those to aid your progression.

The down side to how accurate a simulator is is that you will not get the rush of panic and the fear of damaging your heli when you use it. This can make you tense when flying and as a result you may think that it is a lot different when it really isn't.

Well done on your hover and landing. Keep the practice going you will be supprised how much it will help you.

[VermillionX]

Thanks. I have been working alot at it. I think I will try turning up the realism if it already is not. I have progressed to forward flight today. The only thing that I have a problem with is the trasition to the hover for a landing. I cannot get the heli to come into a hover smoothly. Most of the time I am able to save it and do a go around. I think I need more work on hover then.

[chaos]

I cannot get the heli to come into a hover smoothly

Are you doing the forward flight in idle-up? If not, you may be loosing head speed when you slow to a hover, and that will give you some grief.

[ilovehelis]

chaos is right, head speed is critical to get that landing hover juuuuust right.

[VermillionX]

Well I am really happy. The Blade Cp that I have just got back from the hobby shop. I had to take it in because my father crashed into a pole in our shop. So I dont think he is going to be flying it any more. He said that I could have it lo learn on.

I am thinking tomorrow I am going to get it out and try to hover with it. I have a question. How much different is a simulator to the real thing?

[chaos]

I donno about that, but it would be a good idea to put training gear on it and keep it real low till you get a grip on the hover. The G3 is a good sim but there is no substitute for the real world, and knowing that you can't just push a button an have a new heli puts a little different flavor on things. So even if you feel real comfortable with the sim, I'd still suggest using training gear. If you don't want to go for the cost of that, then put the heli on a slick surface if possible and get it light on the skids and hold it in one spot. Lift it off just a little and try to keep it in one spot. Stay low till you can do that. It's a little harder to do when you're low, but, when you're low it's a lot easier to avoid a wreck.... just set it down. Try to be very aware of your rotor disk angle. The disk - the blur that you see when the blades are spinning - should stay pretty close to level. Nearly everybody tends to over control, getting steep disk angles, which results in rapid flow of events and panic.

[VermillionX]

Thanks for the advice. The Cp has training gear on it. I was hovering it today and quite often it would get out of control on me. The gear really saved me. It is nice to be able to have the balls catch when it starts going all wacky. The only problem that I was running into was the tail rotor was hitting the ground. I only hover at around 7-9 inches. Does anybody have any advice for keeping it in one spot while hovering. Or is that just an aquired skill that comes with practice.