nose in hover

[John Abel]

I'm have trouble learning nose in hover whats the best way to learn?

[p4ddy]

FMS taught me stick memory, my fp got the crashes out the way, then i fine tuned on the trex.

You can either
1, increase the angle i.e tail in, then 10 o'clock, side on until you get to nose in
OR
2, Do hovering hops like learning basic tail in hovering only nose in.

I learned as in no 2 & found this was good because your commited to nothing but nose in.
Remember 'Stick towards Trouble'
This is a bit of helpfull yet also BAD advice, but if you fly the tail (only at 1st) your rudder works the same as tail in.

[clicky]

I started flying figures of 8. And made turns wider and fly more and more towards myself until I had two sections where I was flying directly to me. Then slowed it down (with wind behind my back) and stopped there hovering...

Before that I was trying to get into nose in just by hovering with nose at 10 and 2, 9 and 3, 9 and 4, 9 and 5, 9 and half past 5... (sorry my other hand got stuck to 9 O: ) LOL ) but it didn't work to 6. Then doing figures of 8 in confined space of my garden I ended with too wide left turn and when I was and 5:30 with my nose I was very close to the right fence and only thing I could do is just carry on with the circle and when full 360 circle. After that going into hover with nose in was much simpler (of course I did it at the field with enough altitude and space around me)...

[KaanX]

I started with sim of course, did my first tries when the helicopter was at high altitude. Turn the nose->crash. Multiply by two. :)
I finally learned it by putting the training gear back on and taking off nose in. I kept the helicopter below 30 cm and tried to hold it on one spot. This way if you start to feel that you're loosing control, you can lower on throttle and land it back quickly, just like learnin tail in hover.
If you can do nosein hover on sim, it's a physiological matter (fear) which prevents doing it in real life.
If you cannot do it on simulator, do not try it, do it on simulator first.

[Gino CP]

The fastest way is to learn from the ground doing Radds all over again. Dedicate whole packs into it because like everything else, it is about building muscle memory.

[zen@lanset.com]

2 cents: do all three—

Side-in practice is worthwhile for its own sake, so see if you can get beyond 9:00 and 3:00.

Once forward flight is familiar figure eights are not much of a change, but give you experience with the heli coming slightly towards you. Watching estarter fly circles and eights I noticed that his rotor disk is very level and he never lets the heli go very fast. Control is all.

Also take-off nose-in. It is a great challenge. (I should give credit where it is due: Gino_CP told me to do this and he was right.) If you do it indoors on a smooth floor it will not be as hard as you might think. Do spend whole batteries flying this exercise. Keep it low, use 'stick under the low blade' and set it down early instead of trying to hold it longer than you feel comfortable.

Nose-in hovering is really fun and lets you be more deliberate when you decide to start flying circles.

P.S.: I have yet to fly a sim.

[squeakywaffle]

When I started with helis, learning to hover took me about a week of regular flying, but from there I progressed to forward flight using the 'fly it like a plane' method.

Of course, that isn't real heli flying... but I find now that somewhere along the way I learned how to hover in all orientations. I really think that unless you are trying to learn some hardcore 3D move, just flying around within your comfort zone will slowly build muscle memory and skills. I only crashed once from learning to hover to learning to hover inverted, and I think it's because I never tried to force anything that I wasn't 95% ready for, not because I'm some helicopter genius.

[zen@lanset.com]

I only crashed once from learning to hover to learning to hover inverted, and I think it's because I never tried to force anything that I wasn't 95% ready for, not because I'm some helicopter genius.

Good point. Not that all of us have enough restraint not to poke an occasional hole in the envelope....

[barok]

a sim and a blade cx though me to nose in..

[gravityKills]

>> whats the best way to learn?
infinite patience. then find the angle that gives you the most trouble. more infinite patience... repeat at lib.

-mn

[squeakywaffle]

Good point. Not that all of us have enough restraint not to poke an occasional hole in the envelope....

I'm not saying I didn't get lucky once or twice... :D

My best was a plunge from about 200 feet up, the heli was totally out of control and I had no idea which way it was pointing. About two feet (seriously, I'm not exaggerating) off the ground, I managed to get it upright and crank up the collective. The thing missed the ground by about 6 inches. Everyone at the field was cheering.

I blame it on the crappy align gyro... "my tail blew out!"

[Trisquire]

I find that when I hover 'nose in' on the simulator for a while, I forget how to do 'tail in'. Sometimes the training feels like: "One step forward, two steps back."

Tom

[zen@lanset.com]

... My best was a plunge from about 200 feet up, the heli was totally out of control and I had no idea which way it was pointing. .


Wish I was there to see it. I love seeing those desperate saves ... when they happen to someone else. ;)

A couple of people have told me that when they focused on hovering nose-in they forgot how to do tail-in for a while. Hasn't happened to me yet, although I'm still not rock-steady nose-in. I'm keeping it up though. This morning was the best yet, outdoors in a mild breeze.

We'll all get there at our own paces.

[Cooker]

Best bit of advice I saw was from I think the chap above on another thread ..

Remember to 'Steer towards trouble'

[gravityKills]

For some reason, doing slow pirouettes was easier for me than a steady hover at some point. If I "hit the wall" with something, I usually switch to something else and come back later.

Best bit of advice I saw was from I think the chap above on another thread ..

Remember to 'Steer towards trouble'

Could you elaborate on that? Does it mean accept the inevitable but try to avoid a boom strike?

[Mochaboy]

For some reason, doing slow pirouettes was easier for me than a steady hover at some point. If I "hit the wall" with something, I usually switch to something else and come back later.



Could you elaborate on that? Does it mean accept the inevitable but try to avoid a boom strike?

The helicopter facing you (nose in)

if the helicopter tips/drifts left - apply left aileron
if the helicopter tips/drifts right - apply right aileron

When they say "danger" - they're saying the direction of drift

[zen@lanset.com]

No—it means that since the controls are reversed when you are nose-in, move the sticks towards the 'low blade', since that is the direction the heli is moving.

[Cooker]

Okay .. your nose in .. heli is going to your right towards a fence (fence on your right) so your stick input is ?

Right! Right cyclic .. ie you push the stick towards the trouble .. and it moves the other way away from the trouble ..

[zen@lanset.com]

You got it.

[gravityKills]

When they say "danger" - they're saying the direction of drift

Ooookay :)

[Cooker]

You got it.


I know! I was telling him :D

[vitamincj]

So some say they learned nose in hovering close to the ground. Anybody try it at 50ft up? I did the RADDS method(in my basement) to learn tail in and side in and am starting on nose in. When I go outside to fly and get the heli above my head it is sometimes disorienting for me because I am used to having such a good view of the "pie plate". I'm wondering if I could try to learn nose in 20, 30, or 50ft up in the air so I don't have the same problem with nose in. Plus, there is nothing to run into up that high. I know there is no rule against it I am just wondering if anybody thinks it would cause any bad habbits to form.

CJ

[zen@lanset.com]

I started trying nose-in hovering at 25 - 30 feet. Pulled it off a few times, dumped a few. Found the perspective hard to get a grip on. At 2 - 4 feet I can see what's going on and adjust for variations more quickly.

However—I am using a brushed motor Blade CP for low nose-in hovering. My BM CP birds are too quick in their responses for me to do this with them just yet.

[clicky]

I started learning nose in with half a piro at 5m of altitude... I had couple of close calls but was lucky...

Anyway, nothing can replace an hour or two on sim - after that altitude or the way getting into the nose in makes little difference. It is the fasters/cheapest way. As always ;) LOL

[Helipilot3]

The easiest way to learn nose-in is to place the heli on the ground in a nose-in position, stand with your back to the heli, look over your shoulder and bring it into a hover. After about an hour of this, you can slowly start to turn around and face the heli.

[gravityKills]

The orientations can still hold surprises when you approach them in a "new" way. For example you may accidentally get into nose-in by flying past yourself.
Try to fly backwards circles, and you'll find out what I mean...

[zen@lanset.com]

A month later than my first posts here: taking off and landing nose-in, hovering that way and flying circles both ways is routine with the Blade CP and CP Pro.

I am also doing it with the T-rex. Not as comfortably.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8QDmTACy3ok

[deity]

I find that when I hover 'nose in' on the simulator for a while, I forget how to do 'tail in'. Sometimes the training feels like: "One step forward, two steps back."

Tom

tru dat, I am going through the same thing practicing inverted nose in.

[gravityKills]

tru dat, I am going through the same thing practicing inverted nose in.
yea hehe you "pull" the tail up :)