I don't really consider myself a good pilot yet, maybe a low level intermediate even after two years. I've never spent any time on a sim, I only just tried a buddy's sim for five minutes on evening after it got too dark to fly. The sim was cool but I could hardly do it. I must have crashed fifty times in just five minutes.
In reality I can fly pretty decent circuits, sport flying with some hard verdicle climbs, fast steep dives and accidental 3-D. I'm just about to the point of doing flips and flying inverted.
This all too practice on a real heli and like I said, I could hardly fly the sim at all.....strange.

I'm kind of with Intergrity when he says you have to get over your fear of crashing and fixing. It's not that big of a deal to me anymore so I'm much more relaxed, calm, take bigger risk each time I fly and simply improve. I havn't tried the rum and coke method but that may work too.

Originally Posted by navigator2011

Thank you for the good, detailed advice. I will focus on the truth: the helicopter is not really there.

Basically. I think that is actually why you have no problems with the simulator but you DO have a problem with the real helicopter... Your too worried about it actually being there. You know the controls from the simulator, you just have to believe in yourself. I guess it can be scary in some orientations too. The fact that in "nose in" it could just dart at you and fly into your face.. Well i can tell you... That can happen at any time and you should always be ready to dodge and wear glasses. Even if they are clear shop glasses or for shooting a firearm. 2 days ago i had my v450 in tail in and tried to do a back flip.. the battery failed half way into inverted and the RX went black! The heli did a rainbow shape backwards and came right for me with the rotor in knifes edge coming right at me! Basically a giant fan blade propelling itself right at me sideways. I just gracefully stepped to the side, leisurely and completely calm. (I FREAKING DROPPED THE TX AND RAN!)



Again, in all seriousness though. One thing i can tell you for sure helps is breathing. Don't choke up. Don't hold your breath... Focus on breathing slow and steady when you feel that nervous feeling... If you you focus a little more on breathing you will notice the tightness in your chest and shaking in your hands will even out some.

I just got the Devo 8S for the 120D02S use
I just want to ask and verify that the THROTTLE HOLD switch is the left toggle labeled as "Rudder D/R". If so, there will be no rudder dual rate then ?

I may have to swap the left & right toggle witches since my fingers were already programmed with the DX6i: left toggle is the flight mode switch, right toggle is the throttle hold switch

Thanks,
Spyro

Originally Posted by eugenechong

hey guys,

ej819 did mention in his youtube video that his custom printed canopy can be found in this forum. Anyone has any idea where I can download them and start making some really cool paper canopy using home printer? haha

Uhhh... here is all the stuff i managed to dig up in 10 minutes on his paper templates and canopies. Your on your own after that. I have not tried using them.


http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...anopi&page=353

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...5#post22182677

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...6#post22042011

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...3#post21970634

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...2#post21953284

New V120d02s Canopy:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...5#post21836302

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...5#post21835255

Originally Posted by Spyro37

I just got the Devo 8S for the 120D02S use
I just want to ask and verify that the THROTTLE HOLD switch is the left toggle labeled as "Rudder D/R". If so, there will be no rudder dual rate then ?

I may have to swap the left & right toggle witches since my fingers were already programmed with the DX6i: left toggle is the flight mode switch, right toggle is the throttle hold switch

Thanks,
Spyro

I don't know about the Devo system. But the Throttle hold on walkera TX is backwards from every other TX out there. The flight mode switch and throttle hold are in the same spots just reversed. The "Hold/ Rudder D/R/ Mix" is a weird labeling but it is your TH switch. Take a look at how i had to repair my 2801-pro TX. It might give you an idea how you can switch them around. It's not easy to access those particular switches without disassembling and UNSOLDERING some of the parts. I just broke the plastic frame to access mine. Take a look, but keep in mind that this is a 2801-pro not a devo. It might be very different inside yours.

Repair a broken Throttle hold switch on the 2801-pro transmitter

I just opened it up.
It's simple as swapping the switches (left toggle to right, right toggle to left), but the connector cables were not long enough, so it needed to be extended. I'll just do it next time. I don't feel like soldering today.
-Thanks
- Spyro

Originally Posted by IntegrityHndywrk

I don't know about the Devo system. But the Throttle hold on walkera TX is backwards from every other TX out there. The flight mode switch and throttle hold are in the same spots just reversed. The "Hold/ Rudder D/R/ Mix" is a weird labeling but it is your TH switch. Take a look at how i had to repair my 2801-pro TX. It might give you an idea how you can switch them around. It's not easy to access those particular switches without disassembling and UNSOLDERING some of the parts. I just broke the plastic frame to access mine. Take a look, but keep in mind that this is a 2801-pro not a devo. It might be very different inside yours.

Repair a broken Throttle hold switch on the 2801-pro transmitter

Originally Posted by Spyro37

I just opened it up.
It's simple as swapping the switches (left toggle to right, right toggle to left), but the connector cables were not long enough, so it needed to be extended. I'll just do it next time. I don't feel like soldering today.
-Thanks
- Spyro

Having done this job on both my 2801Pro and my Devo8S, I can say that it is MUCH easier on the DEVO, as you don't have to unsolder those gimbal pots on the DEVO. Have fun, Spyro, it's a cool job.

Rafa

Originally Posted by Spyro37

I just opened it up.
It's simple as swapping the switches (left toggle to right, right toggle to left), but the connector cables were not long enough, so it needed to be extended. I'll just do it next time. I don't feel like soldering today.
-Thanks
- Spyro

You can swap the T/H and flight mode switches by programming the Devo 8S. That is unless you cannot accept a three position switch for the T/H and a two position switch for the flight mode.

Originally Posted by BThirsk

You guys in the US are lucky. I just tried to order on and shipping is 24.75 alone to Canada.

Ya tell me about it...I've checked $35 alone for shipping...best part is only small package yet charging for that I say its a rip off.

Originally Posted by candy76man

Got my benmlee clutch kit today and installed it. As integrityhndywrk said everything in the kit seems to be very high quality and tolerances were pretty much perfect. I flew one pack after installing it and everything seemed to work properly...I'll be able to tell better on a still day, flying in windy weather makes it hard to tell if a tail wag here and there is the hardware or a gust of wind.

One drawback is that your pretty much out of luck if that custom tail shaft gets bent...only option for now is a whole new kit and who knows if it will be available later on.

Got a few more flights in this afternoon with pretty much zero breeze and I am extremely happy, I guess it's probably due to securing the shaft to the bearings but the tail on my v120 hasn't been this solid since it was fresh out of the box and before the first crash. Benmelees tail clutch is a great upgrade...hope he makes more of them.

In addition to the great advice you've gotten thus far, I would add a few bits. One of the bits of advice that I heard somewhere is that you want to fly within your comfort zone most of the time. Step outside your comfort zone now and again, but not too far out, and not for too long. This will eventually expand your comfort zone, also expanding your subsequent steps outside the zone. It sounds simple, but it's worth stating anyway.

I applied this mentality to nose-in hovering and flying. If you are comfortable hovering left and right side in, push yourself to be able to hover comfortably half way between side-in and nose-in. Once you are able to hold this 'half-nose-in' from both sides, move on to switching from one orientation to the other, but passing it through nose-in, like 90 degrees, instead of bringing the tail all the way around the 270 degrees. Don't do it too quickly, more like the 'piro in 6 seconds' that was mentioned above. Once you are comfortable there, try stopping at nose-in briefly, before continuing the rest of the 45 degrees back to your comfort zone.

I also read a good article once that talked about piros. It basically said to think of the piro as a clock face. Force yourself to make a cyclic correction, and only in one direction, only every 90 degrees. That way, your brain can say, "I'm coming up on 3:00, which correction do I want to make?", then reevaluate the decision 90 degrees later. Slower piro is better than faster, or course.

As for flying nose-in, maybe try 'inbound' figure 8's, where you are making a right hand turn when the model is off to the left of you, and a left hand turn when the model is off to the right of you. Start off with a figure 8 that looks like the infinity symbol, so the model is never really coming right at you--more like passing by you. Eventually transition to a figure 8 that looks more like 2 circles right next to each other. At that point, the model is coming right at you for a brief moment, even though it's really in the middle of a turn. This way, you get to practice seeing the model come in from both directions.

You could obviously try all this on the sim first. What I have found with the sim is that since there is no crash cost, I tend to go right to flips, rolls, tic tocs, and other things I won't dare try in real life, instead of trying more basic things, like figure 8s. When you force yourself into a lesson instead of just 'buzzing the tower', I think one is bound to get more out of it.

Rafa

Originally Posted by navigator2011

After over a year of flying, I still cannot seem to hover a real heli nose in or do a proper pyro. I do just fine in the simulator, though, can even do flips in all orientations, no problem. So, I decided today was going to be the day I do some sort of pyro, no matter what. I chose the V120D02S simply because it is small and a bit less intimidating, even though it is less stable than my trusty V400D02. Things did not go as planned. I got somehow disoriented, and the heli came screaming straight at me nose in. I ducked as the heli flew over my head toward my car--I managed to stop it from hitting the car, and the heli slammed sideways directly into the concrete. Oh yeah, I also was in stunt mode, and so the motor was making that high-pitched sound as it struggled to turn the blades against the concrete. After a few seconds of all thumbs trying to cut the power, I finally got to investigate the damage. Surprisingly, the only problem I found was a cyclic servo popped out and was dangling by its own wire. I popped the servo back into place and then proceeded to fly out the rest of the pack, albeit with trembling fingers.

There is no doubt that the V400D02 is fascinatingly more stable than most other helis, and particularly more so than my V120D02S. I probably would have had a better go of it with the V400D02 than the V120D02S, but if I had screwed up I would have been ducking under the V400D02 before slamming it into the concrete. No doubt, that would cost at least $50 to fix, and then I would have to sort all the vibes, etc. With the V120D02S, all I had to do was pop the servo back into position and then go back to flying. This is a pleasant surprise, but I'm still peeved that nose in and pyros are giving me so much trouble.

Okay, this is a bit off topic, I know. I just wanted to share my latest adventure.

Originally Posted by Rafa's CB100

If you are comfortable hovering left and right side in, push yourself to be able to hover comfortably half way between side-in and nose-in.
Rafa

Oooh, I wanna try and work on this technique! I'll probably do it on the sim first though.
I really never thought I would wanna go this far PYROS, but, maybe I should

Originally Posted by Rafa's CB100

Having done this job on both my 2801Pro and my Devo8S, I can say that it is MUCH easier on the DEVO, as you don't have to unsolder those gimbal pots on the DEVO. Have fun, Spyro, it's a cool job.

Rafa

Thanks.
I bought my DX6i from an online warehouse really cheap, BUT it was mode 1.
I had to swap all the sticks mechanical parts, swap switches & labels to convert it to mode 2. It wasn't simple compared to this Devo 8, just 2 switches and 2 labels.
* Good thing that I checked the charge port polarity, Spectrum's port is reversed polarity (+ on the outside, - inside!)
- Spyro

Originally Posted by zadaw

You can swap the T/H and flight mode switches by programming the Devo 8S. That is unless you cannot accept a three position switch for the T/H and a two position switch for the flight mode.

Good to know that I could actually program & assign those switches. I'm a Futaba guy, since I started the RC hobby 4 years ago. With Futaba, ALL switches could be assigned for a specific function, rather than using the default settings/program. The only reason I got a Spektrum is, recently, I want to try heli's. Eflite helis are bind & fly, so no option but to buy a Spektrum.
- Spyro

Originally Posted by Spyro37

I just got the Devo 8S for the 120D02S use
I just want to ask and verify that the THROTTLE HOLD switch is the left toggle labeled as "Rudder D/R". If so, there will be no rudder dual rate then ?

I may have to swap the left & right toggle witches since my fingers were already programmed with the DX6i: left toggle is the flight mode switch, right toggle is the throttle hold switch

Thanks,
Spyro

Check the Devo 8s manual. I think you can combine the ail dr switch for both the ail and rudder dual rates. I don't use dual rate on the rudder, so I can't remember for sure, but it is programmable.
I have converted all my helis to use the Devo now and I have got used to the throttle hold on the left and flight mode on the right.
All I can say is I love my Devo 8. I got a Devo 7 with a V400D02 and it is a very bad TX. It took about 5 minutes to change to the Devo 8.
I guess it's all what you get used to as long as things are consistent.

piros...

Piro flips and travel - RC heli flight school v1.1 (9 min 30 sec)

Originally Posted by Rafa's CB100

In addition to the great advice you've gotten thus far, I would add a few bits.

I will try this also. Flying for 1.5 years now. I can comfortably fly side both left and right and I can fly figure 8. Only thing which my mind doesn't want to do is nose in. If I would be able to fly nose in I consider myself done. No intentions to do 3D. More into scale for the future.