Specifications

Chapter 15. Learning to Fly an R/C Helicopter
15.1. The skills required
The skills required to fly a helicopter can be categorized into three broad areas:
• Visual skills
• Integration
• Motor skills
Here is a more detailed explanation of the skills involved:
• Orientation. You must be able to instantly determine the position, yaw, pitch, and roll, and
the acceleration in yaw, pitch, and roll while the helicopter is moving. (the roll, pitch yaw,
and deltas of each)
• Movement. You must be able to track the velocity and acceleration of a helicopter relative
to the ground while tracking the orientation of the helicopter. (the x, y, z, and the deltas of
each)
• Computation. Your brain must take these 12 data items of orientation and movement and
determine the correct direction and distance to move the two joysticks.
• Motor skills. You need extremely fine motor skills to move the joysticks in small increments
to effect very small corrections to the helicopter's orientation and movement.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to develop these disparate skills independently, which results in a
steep learning curve.
15.2. Making the learning process easier
Here are some recommendations to make this learning process easier.
15.2.1. Hover no higher than eye level
This allows you to more easily determine the movement of the helicopter because the ground
provides a visual point of reference.
This also allows you to more easily determine the orientation of the helicopter. If the disc of the
rotor blades appear oval, then the helicopter is not level with your eyes.
Also, the helicopter will suffer less damage from a 5 ft crash than from a 30 ft crash. Some
helicopters (like the Corona) will probably incur no damage, and you can simply walk over and
set it upright and continue practicing.
You should be careful when flying outdoors if there are visually distracting items in the back-
ground such as trees, houses, etc. This "background clutter" can pull your eye's focus away
from the heli which can result in a crash. You should avoid hovering your heli in front of back-
ground clutter so concentrating is easier.
15.2.2. Paint your canopy a bright color or leave it white
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