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reference
Helicopter training
In this section we cover the suggested training for the remote pilot of a small Unmanned Helicopter up to Intermediate Level.
Put in time on a realistic helicopter flight simulator, such as the Reflex flight simulator. The Reflex simulator has been recommended by people with far more experience in this area that us. See our flight simulator section for more info on flight simulators.
Use a proper RC Heli flight simulator: Having a proper simulator which can be controlled by your Tx is invaluable. It allows you to get acquainted to controlling a model helicopter and learn the needed reflexes. Note that this helps a lot! However, also note that flying a real helicopter is still very different from flying one on a simulator. Besides the obvious restrictions of simulation there is always the stress factor in real life which is missing in the simulator. In real life it takes a bit longer to repair the heli, and it is a bit more expensive.
I have tried numerous simulators, and I believe that Reflex is the best. It looks Great, and it flies very realistic. Not one of the other simulators is getting close (except CSM which looks awful). I know that RealFlight is very popular since it looks good, but it is not at all realistic. Note that I have tried many more, but they can't compete with Reflex.
- from http://www.rchelicopterweb.com/LearningToFly/LearningToFly.htm
Our suggestion is to start with the very stable, coaxial rotor, E-flite Blade CX2. There may be other excellent helicopters to start with, so view this as just one suggestion you might consider. See heli intro for our experiences with this helicopter.
Before you fly any helicopter, you should take time out to ensure it is set up correctly. Usually you will need to set the offsets (or "trims", circled in yellow in the photograph below) on the Transmitter to ensure the helicopter hovers when the controls on the Transmitter are all left in their neutral position.
Attach the helicopter to a test platform, such as the one described in the testing section.
Adjust the Transmitter offsets so the helicopter does not rotate, nor veer in any direction for the full range of rotor speeds. This will help you to keep the helicopter in a controled hover position when the controls are in their neutral position. This procedure will also help you ensure that no control is inadvertently reversed, a facility that is supported on many Radio Control Transmitter units.
Prerequisite 1
- Read the instruction manual that comes with the helicopter.
- Charge the helicopter battery.
- Check the transmitter battery has sufficient charge for the flight.
- Attach the training undercarriage to the helicopter.
- Set the offsets on the transmitter
- Only fly if there is no, or at most a very slight, wind.
Beginner lesson 1
- Set the helicopter up on a flat surface, away from other people.
- Face the helicopter into any slight breeze.
- Turn the transmitter ON, and set the engine power to MINIMUM.
- Connect the battery lead to the motor electronic speed control unit.
- Do not move the helicopter until the gyro has had time to stabilise.
- Stand 5 m behind the helicopter, with the helicopter facing forwards.
- Slowly increase the power to the motor until the helicopter is just about to take off.
- Increase the power to get the helicopter to climb to 10 cm above ground level (AGL).
- Decrease the engine power to land the helicopter. Repeat this exercise several times.
- Get the helicopter to climb to 1 m AGL, then gently descend to 10 cm AGL, then land. Repeat this exercise a few times.
- Climb to 1 m, hover for increasing periods, slowly descend to 10 cm AGL, and then gently land. Get some good practice at this.
As a matter of general strategy, always climb to 1 m and then hover for a short while before moving forwards, rotating or climbing further. When coming in to land, do the same in reverse. Come in from wherever you have flown, hover at about 1 m AGL above the landing area, then slowly descend and land. In the early stages, do not attemp to land the helicopter as you would a fixed wing plane by sliding into a landing, or you will run the high likelihood of crashing the helicopter.
Be prepared for the helicopter to drift to the left (with a right hand rotating main rotor). It will do that!
Fly the heli away from trees, or your heli could end up in the trees as our one did!
Prerequisite 2
- Prerequisite 1
- Beginner lesson 1
Beginner lesson 2
- Set the helicopter up ready for a flight as in beginner lesson 1
- Climb to 1 m AGL and hover for a short while.
- Move left by one metre, then return and land.
- Climb to 1 m AGL, hover, then move right by one metre, then return and land.
- Climb to 1 m AGL, hover, then move forward by one metre, then return and land.
- Climb to 1 m AGL, hover, then move backward by one metre, then return and land.
- Climb to 1 m AGL, then slowly rotate, hold, rotate the helicopter in steps of 20 degrees at a time. On coming back to your original orientation, facing into the wind, slowly descend and land.
OK: have a rest. The important thing is to take small steps at a time, and practice often.
We suggest the best intermediate helicopter is the electric E-flite 400 3D. To view our experience with this helicopter, see our introduction to helicopter flying.
Prerequisite 3
- Prerequisites 1 and 2 applied to the E-flite Blade 400 3D helicopter.
- Keep the helicopter at least 20 m (preferably 50 m) from anyone.
Intermediate lesson 3
- Repeat Beginner lessons 1 and 2 using the E-flite Blade 400 3D helicopter.
- After connecting the battery, do not disturb the helicopter until the red light on the gyro illuminates solidly, indicating that the gyro has stabilised.
- Climb to 1 m AGL, and hover for a short while.
- With the helicopter always facing in the same direction into any wind, fly the pattern shown next from waypoint 1 (the take-off and landing area) to WP2 to WP3 to WP4 and back to WP1, all at 1 m AGL. The Way Points are located in a 5 m by 5 m square.
- Descend slowly to 10 cm AGL and land.
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Intermediate lesson 4: figure-of-eight with any wind direction |
Prerequisite 4
- Prerequisite 3
- Keep the 5 m by 5 m flying zone at least 50 m from anyone else.
Intermediate lesson 4
- Fly the 5 m by 5 m figure-of-eight in Intermediate Lesson 3 with a tail wind.
- Fly the figure-of-eight in Intermediate Lesson 3 with a wind from the left hand side.
- Fly the figure-of-eight in Intermediate Lesson 3 with a wind from the right hand side.
- Fly the figure-of-eight, but this time:
- start facing into the wind
- stop at each Way Point
- hover for a short while at the Way Point
- then turn the helicopter so that it always faces the direction of intended travel
- hover for a short while
- then fly to the next Way Point.
© Barnard Microsystems Limited 2006 - 2008