Walkera #4 FP - going for nose in (video)

[zen]

estarter's advice is usually pretty good. So when he suggested that I use an FP heli to go for nose-in and set me up with the heli to do it with, the following video shows the results. (I tried this with my Trex once and promptly crashed):

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=709321&page=4#post7889769

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVk8esHwK68

[eddiemoth]

Looking good Zen. A FP is great for learning new skills.

[basic]

looks good. nice place to fly inside you've got there as well. i've got a lama v3 now so i've been getting some stick time side in and nose in to try and get my thumbs to do the right thing.

[estarter]

Zen,

Great progress, took me 300+ flights to start learning nose in.

[zen]

Basic— it's great you have a Lama ... don't you also have a Blade CP? Anyway, you should hover the Lama side-in and nose-in, fly circles and eights. Knowing what the sticks do will be a big advantage, but be prepared to start from the beginning with a single-rotor helicopter.

estarter— it is (to me) miraculous that you can hover the #22e nose-in in the wind. The things I am learning to do with the #4 do not yet transfer to the Blade.

[swatson144]

You are doing good Glen. The stuff you learn with an FP will easily convert to the CPs, but not necessarily as you'd expect. IE you may find a block against lifting off and rotating NI, but once you fly back NI from circuits or 8s and stop to hover then it's go NI whenever however you want. If you can get to do very slow piros on the FP you'll have pretty much everything in FF knocked.

Steve

[zen]

Here's a chuckle: the front servo arm was binding on the main motor. The servo finally failed. I ground a small amount of material off both the servo output shaft and servo arm to move the arm back off of the motor. The elevator control is now easier.

[basic]

yea, i've got a blade cp pro, a trex 450xl, and now the lama. i got the lama basically to learn the stick movements with different orientations instead of crashing the blade or trex repeatedly. That and my fiance said that she may fly if i got a heli she could fly, so i'm hoping she make take up interest as well.

[zen]

Steve— thanks for the encouraging words (so different from the ones I use when I crash it) and pattern-flying overview. I didn't know about slow piroettes. As you can see from my video(s - I added another last night) flying 'the other 180 degrees' is a struggle for me.

Basic— you have nearly the same fleet that I do, except for an FP heli and a Compy. For me the FP has become an essential tool. I learned side-in with the Blade CP Pro, but the first time I turned it nose-in I promptly dumped it. Ditto for the Trex. FP heli's don't cost much and they give you time to figure out what to do when that nose swings around. Also, crashing from knee-height they are pretty much indestructible.

[basic]

Zen - I may at some point add a FP heli, something with a belt driven tail, but i think at the moment i'm good. I'm lucky i've only crashed the Rex a couple times and only twice really damaged it. The Blade CP i've crashed countless times and sometimes broken stuff, sometimes not. I'm using the CF sym blades on it now which helps with the boom strike problem i was having with the plastic FB blades i was using. I'm hoping the lama will help with the NI stuff so i can get all the actions i need to take to the reaction level like i have with Tail in. I can tail in and rotate to about 60 degrees of side in, but for some reason once i hit full side in my thumbs get confused as to what to do, it helps when I transfer slowly, sometimes i get it, sometimes i don't. as for NI, i can't get it in my thumbs...i need to have one of those "A HA" Moments when it suddenly works. I kinda had one when learning to tail in hover, but for some reason the tail in stick controls made a WHOLE lot more since than the NI ones. Too many hours of playing video games i guess.

[zen]

Basic— like I told you, hovering nose-in with the Lama is not the same as hovering nose-in with the Blade or Trex. Actually, 'not the same thing' does not begin to convey the utter dissimilarity of the two experiences.

The Lama does so much of the flying for you that you can't imagine, let alone master, what is involved with hovering a single-rotor machine nose-in. I remember writing the same things about my Lama: 'I can fly a circle in both directions, figure eights, and hover nose-in.'

I was really beginning to understand RC helicopter flying, and it was so great that I ran out and bought a used Blade CP Pro. I was not able to do any part of what I could do with the Lama.

Naturally, I thought the problem was with the helicopter....

[swatson144]

Zen you are coming along. Just don't do like Martin and I both did...Work on NI so hard you can't fly TI. That was weird. Make sure you get some good quality regular flight in also.

You are pretty much using the slow piro method to learn. That's what I did the 2nd time around after relearning TI. You may find it easier to just continue on around 360 and keep slowing the rate down. Occasionally just stopping and hovering a few seconds at random points. Makes it a little easier as you already know to add a little rudder and continue on when trouble starts. That also transfers over very easily to CP and builds confidence.

Steve

[zen]

Steve— thanks for the words. No fear about my losing tail-in. That's how I start every FP flight, and I fly the Blade and Trex outside regularly.

The FP, however, has occupied a lot of recent late nights. (Glad to have 3 batteries.) I am gradually gaining more skill, and in a day or three will make another video to encourage others to spend time with a Honey Bee or Walkera FP.

P.S.: last night I was 'this close' to mastering the #4 in a whole new way. Then the tail motor quit. None available anywhere I can find on the Internet! Talk about a tease!