All about RC helicopter. So far we’ve covered ground exercise and hovering.  Now’s it time to fly your RC helicopter.  Yea!  All that practicing is about to pay off when you get your helicopter off the ground and flying away.  Hopefully, it won’t be the last time you see it. There are a few things you need to be aware off before you take flight.

The first thing to flying a RC helicopter

After you’ve mastered hovering and you’ve practiced on the ground until you’re sick of it, now’s the time to put all your practice to the test.  Flying your RC helicopter is finally here.  Take off easy and choose a spot to fly it to using all your abilities for flying a helicopter. 

Directional flight is not as easy as it is with a RC Boat which is usually driven in a straight line with a few curvy turns.  RC Boats are easy to learn compared to an RC helicopter.  Practice is the key to flying and not crashing.

Start by bring the helicopter up to a hover then pick a spot about 60 yards away and fly to it.  Then fly back.  Keeping the tail level so you don’t take a nose dive. Keep choosing a point to fly to and back from until your feel confident you can easily control your rc helicopter.  When you feel you can control and fly a helicopter then choose a spot 100 yards away and fly to it then back again.  Keep choosing different spots to fly to and from until you’re real sure you’ve got the hang of flying a helicopter. Keep choosing different spots to fly to and from making each one a little further away.

Practice flying a helicopter is the key to learn to fly a helicopter.  Don’t forget you can also use your simulator to practice.  However, a simulator can only take you so far. Eventually you’ll have to use the real RC helicopter to fly.  The more you practice the better you will become at flying one.  Remember to keep the tail in and you’ll be flying like a real helicopter pilot before you know it.

Watch out for your RC helicopter flying by itself

Some time when you’re flying your RC helicopter you will notice that it’s not responding to your commands.  It can happen when the radio waves are interfered with either by Mother Nature or another control box. There’s not a lot you can do about it but just go and find your helicopter but just remember it can be taken over by another control box.  It doesn’t happen often but it can.

Another thing that happens it the radio control on the RC helicopter stops working and your helicopter flies off by itself. The only thing you can do is watch it fly off and go and try to find it.  It can happen at air fields and it can happen in your front yard.  It depends on the radio control and when it goes out.  So if you see your helicopter fly off by it you’ll just have to go find it and fix the controls so it won’t happen again.  Good luck!

Next, we’ll take a look at how to do a Nose-In Hover. It’s harder than you think.

Leave a comment on your experiences of things that have happen to you while learning how to fly a RC helicopter. See ya next time.  

Part 2 of 5 –Hover a RC Helicopter

Last time we talked about practicing on the ground to learn to control your RC helicopter.  This time we step you through how to Hover a RC Helicopter.  After you’ve practiced the ground exercise until you’re a master, the next step is to hover.  Learning to Hover a RC Helicopter is the next step in flying and not crashing your helicopter.

This is a crucial step to mastering flying a helicopter if you don’t want to crash.  It the bases for flying a helicopter because all flights start and end with hovering.  If you don’t master how to Hover a RC Helicopter you’re going to have problems flying around or you’ll end up crashing all the time.

The hover step with a RC helicopter

This is the most important part of learning Hover a RC Helicopter. Always make sure the tail is pointing at you!  It makes it much easier to learn hovering and after you’ve mastered this then you can practice with the nose of the helicopter facing you.  Learning how to Hover a RC Helicopter is not like learning to take curves with your RC boat. An RC boat is uncomplicated when it comes to taking curves.  You can still crash your best RC boat but it doesn’t take on as much damage as your helicopter can.

 Be sure the tail is pointing to you and bring up the throttle to the point where the helicopter is just off the ground. Practice this bringing it up and down a few inches before you continue on learning to hover.  As you get better, start giving it a little more throttle or collective, as it is called sometimes. More throttle will give you more power so you can start moving around.

When you can Hover a RC Helicopter for several minutes at a couple of inches off the ground, give it more throttle and start to bring up the helicopter to about one foot from the ground. Playing around with the throttle will give you more power to rise is up higher.  Too high and you’ll start to drift. Too fast and you’ll end up crashing a few feet off the ground.  Practice this until you can easily bring your RC helicopter up to one foot and back down to the ground without it drifting around.  Then go on the next step.

Step two for hovering your RC helicopter

Once you’ve master the 1 foot hover then it’s time to go higher. Remember to keep the tail towards you.  Once you get it down then you can try different directions of point (orientation) for the helicopter. Helicopter orientation training will come later.  For now practice hovering your RC helicopter to 3 to 6 feet above the ground and back down again.  Do this until you’re comfortable with hovering, then you can start moving around. A word of caution: learning to fly your RC helicopter too fast will have you crashing.

Every helicopter pilot has different learning curves.  Hovering is the most crucial skill you need to learn because all flights start with hovering.  So if you can’t hover then you’re going to have problems flying your helicopter. Take your time when hovering. Work at your own pace, and you’ll master “the hover” in no time. Then you’ll be on your way to full fights with your RC helicopter.  You can also practice this crucial step with a helicopter simulator. 

Next time we’ll cover directional flights with your RC helicopter.  Stay tuned…

Leave a comment on the different ways you’ve learn to hover your helicopter.  We’d love to hear how you learned to Hover a RC Helicopter.

Part 1 of 5

 if you want to learn How to fly rc helicopter it is not the easiest radio controlled devices to learn it.  You might find a RC Boat easier to control but will you have as much fun?  Mastering the helicopter takes many hours of time but there are many ways of learn How to fly rc helicopter. Using a flight simulator is one route you can take or you can use one of the mini RC helicopter.  It will cost you much less than using your every expensive big remote control helicopter. If you can, taking flying lessons with a certified instructor would greatly help you to learn How to fly rc helicopter but for many this is not an option.  Using these lessons with the helicopter of your choice will have you flying in no time. For the next 4 posts will cover the 5 best techniques for learning How to fly rc helicopter.

Step One To Piloting A RC Helicopter

Ground Exercise:

The first thing to do is get the feel of the helicopter while it’s on the ground.  Of course, you‘ll need to know how the controls work so be sure to read the manual before starting.  Once you’ve unpacked your new helicopter, start it up on the ground and get used to the controls.  Try not to get to impatient while in this learning mode.  If you’re using one of the mini RC helicopters it should be trimmed out of the box.  Otherwise, you’ll have to trim it.  We’ll cover trimming in another post as it’s a whole subject by itself. 

If you’re using a bigger model RC helicopter you can purchase or make a set of training gears.  They will greatly enhance your flying ability.  They also help you learn to land and keep you from crashing often.

Make your own training gear for your RC helicopter

You can easily make your training gear for your RC helicopter.  It is highly recommended using one to prevent your helicopter from crashing.  A training gear also gives you better control and more confidence when learn how to fly rc helicoptercopter.

First, you’ll need 2 four inch rods, metal is best, aluminum is acceptable.  You’ll also need four balls.  They can either be ping pong balls or tennis balls.  It depends on the size of your RC helicopter.  The bigger the helicopter — the bigger the balls.  Wire the two rods together in the middle so it forms and +.  Make slits in the balls and insert them onto the ends of the rods.  Voila, you’ve make your own training gear for your helicopter.  See the video at the bottom of post to see how easy it is to make your own training gears.  Of course, you can purchase a training gear if you don’t want the hassle of building your own.  They also have kits with pre cut rods and include the tennis balls.

Getting the feel of the RC helicopter

After you’ve put the training gears on then it’s time to put your new copter through its paces.  If you’ve ever flown a real helicopter then this will be a breeze but for those who haven’t then remember this: take one step at a time.  That’s why it’s best to start learning to fly a helicopter with a mini electric or battery powered helicopter.  Crashing is so dispiriting; it will break your heart when it happens.  And you can expect it to happen.  Even the most seasoned helicopter pilot still has crashes.

Start out with getting the feel of the controls.  Bring the throttle and collective to where the rc heli almost leaves the ground.  Move the cyclic control to see how this affects the helicopter’s movement.  Keep doing these exercises until you feel really comfortable moving your helicopter along the ground.  Getting the feel of the controls is the first and most important part of learning How to fly rc helicopter.

Next post will cover How to hover…stay tuned.  Tell us how your experience with learning to fly your helicopter went in the comment section below.  We love to hear the best ways to learn How to fly rc helicopter.

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