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Helicopter Training A lot has been written about this so I will stick to the basics - according to me ! All Hovering manouvers are assumed into wind, and at eye level, unless stated otherwise. Note that with any new manouver it is better to start slightly higher until confident, then fly lower. A flight simulator will help orientation and control enormously, so is highly recommended. This is the order I used and will not necessarily be the reference books "recommended" order. IMPORTANT ! The "Comfort Zone" Always plan, in advance, a safety manouver as a fall back to the tail-in hover when trying new manouvers. (ie) If uncomfortable at any position in the manouver, revert to a comfortable position (ie) the tail-in hover. If in trouble, get height first, then sort out the orientation.
The Training schedule I used was, in order ; The best suggestion I can make here is go to www.dmac.org.uk , download and install the Helicopter Training guide (rw_train_rev1.exe) - it is full of diagrams and self-explanatory.
Hovering Start off on the simulator to familiarise yourself with orientation and the controls,take-off and landing. Initially it is better to start with "bunny hops" where the Helicopter gets light on it's undercarriage and rises just above the ground. It is easier to do this on a smooth surface as grass tends to catch the fin under the rear rotor, causing the Heli. to come off the ground at an angle, instead of straight up. It is not easy to hold the Heli. in this position for any length of time due to the air "bubble" formed underneath the machine. The next stage is to hover slightly higher at eye level which avoids the "bubble". a) Tail-in take-off, hover for as long as possible, and land. b) Tail-in, move left (or right) 5m and hover for 15secs. Move right (or left) 5m and hover for 15secs. (this one is also part of the BMFA "A" schedule) c) Tail-in, move forwards 5m and hover for 15secs. Move backwards 15m and hover for 15secs. (this one is also part of the BMFA "A" schedule) d) Tail-in hovering circles - move left (or right) around you back to the start point. e) Hover at 45 degrees first, then side-on left. f) Hover side-on right. g) Hover side-on left moving forward, gain some height and turn 180 degrees, and move forward in the side-on right direction. gain height, turn 180 degrees and fly back again. I call these "jumps" but very useful preparation. They are also called "parallels" elsewhere. This is a prelude to the Eights.
Circuits h) Lazy Eights. The "Lazy Eight" needs better definition as there are at least three different diagrams (in reference manuals) I have seen, so far. This is done initially Hovering with the tail always towards you. The BMFA has now changed this to show a proper Eight, but still calls it a "Lazy Eight" as the nose is not fully towards you. (also part of the BMFA "A" schedule) However, it does include the sideways flying element illustrated in section g) above. i) Eights. This is where most learners break things - you really need to be buddy-boxed and is safer of you have some Training. Best flown initially at height (40-50 ft) where you have much more time to recover a mistake, without breaking anything. To stop flying upwards into wind, and to make it easier to do eights, you need more negative pitch and more constant throttle settings. This is achieved by switching to Idle-1 from the Normal Hovering switch position. As you get more proficient, lose height gradually. j) Circuits. Practise on the simulator first as you need to co-ordinate aileron/pitch/elevator/rudder all at the same time. Start high (40-50ft) and circle left first if it's easier. Make sure you know in advance what is your recovery procedure. Once competent at left hand circles, try right ones. I found the right hand ones more difficult, needing more rudder. Next try flying more towards yourself in both directions (almost nose-in) and turn away as you get close. Once good at this, try again losing height. This is easier than nose-in hovering if some forward speed is maintained. Once competent at height, try it lower until proficient at low, slow, round eights.
Nose-in k) Nose-in hovering. Start at 30-40 ft into wind and practise a lot ! ........................Especially hard in a wind !
Autorotation l) Autorotation.
Aerobatics 1) Rolls 2) Pirouette 3) Loop 4) Inverted
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