racin06
Senior Heliman
Location: Indianapolis, IN
| I just want to chime in here regarding safety and my experiences learning to fly RC helis. It seems that quite a few newbie pilots are starting out with the larger helis, such as the T-Rex 600. I have read many posts on heli message boards posted by experienced heli pilots recommending newbies start out on a larger heli because these aircraft are much more stable than a smaller 450 size CP heli or micro FP heli. However, there should be a caveat to this advice. The caveat being that a newbie should only learn on a larger heli under the supervision of an experienced heli pilot. I don’t believe this point is being stressed enough because many of these newbies are learning on their own with these larger helis.
Another problem is that some of the experienced heli pilots are saying that FP helis are pieces of junk and are not “real helis” which we all know is just plain false. This attitude is very prevalent in many LHS’, including my LHS. This attitude needs to change.
I believe that if a newbie decides to learn on his or her own, then a micro fixed-pitch heli should be the aircraft of choice. Sure, the FP helis are difficult to learn to fly, but are much safer than the larger helis. Besides, if a person can learn to fly an unstable FP heli, then the transition to a larger heli should be a natural progression.
I chose to learn on my own and went with the fixed-pitch heli route and purchased the Esky Honey Bee FP (HBFP). I also purchased Phoenix RC simulator. Last December 2006 is when I first took up the RC heli hobby. I had no prior RC experience of any kind. The first month was spent practicing on the sim about 1/2 hour each evening learning to hover tail in. Once I had tail-in hovering mastered in the sim, I started learning tail-in hovering on the HBFP in my basement at home. That was in January of this year. I was surprised at the realistic flight characteristics of the simulator compared to the real HBFP. I was able to hover the HBFP tail-in almost immediately.
I then spent February and March of this year learning side-in and nose-in hovering. Again, once I had these hovering orientations mastered in the sim, I started performing these orientations on the HBFP. In April of this year, I started learning forward flight. Now I can fly the HBFP in pretty much any manner except inverted and 3D flying, in which of course the HBFP is not capable. However, I am currently learning inverted flight and 3D on the sim in preparation for my future CP helis.
There is no doubt that others have learned faster than me; however, I decided to take my time. I have also stuck to one simple rule...never attempt any hovering orientation or forward flight maneuver on the real heli until it is first mastered on the sim. This rule has save me much frustration, IMO. I still have experienced my share of crashes; however, I'm positive that without the sim training and patience, I would have crashed much more.
Now after one year of flying FP helis I am now ready to make the transition to the larger 450 size CP helis. I’ve purchased both the Esky Belt CP and TT Mini-Titan E325. Sure, I could have probably already been flying the CP helis, but I have remained patient and taken my time. Below are a few videos of me flying to give you an idea of my skill level. The first video is the most recent.
Sunset Flying - Stock HBFP w/AR6100 Rx
Backyard Flying with Slo-Max/DD Tail HBFP
HBFP w/Slo-Max 300, DD Tail and M24 Blades
Stock HBFP in 10-15 mph winds
Phoenix RC - Learning inverted flight
Flying the HBFP has also taught me a lesson or two regarding safety. One morning, when I was just starting to learn FF, I crashed my HBFP into my house, resulting in a hole in a piece of vinyl siding. I never would have believed the plastic blades from an FP heli could do that kind of damage. That incident was a real eye opener for me and I earned new respect for the HBFP. I can’t imagine what a 450 or 600 size heli would do to vinyl siding. 
Anyway, that’s my 2 cents on the subject. If newbies choose to learn on their own, a micro FP heli should be the heli of choice. Also, regardless of what heli a newbie starts with, training on a high-end sim is also imperative, IMO. |
