Specifications

the nose of the helicopter. When you give left rudder, the nose should turn left, so always
look at the nose.
• Try to avoid overcorrecting. Be sure to reread the "Hovering Technique" section if you have
problems with overcorrection.
• If the helicopter starts to wander too far, reduce the throttle to let the helicopter settle and
stop moving. Don't "chop" the throttle - reduce the throttle smoothly. Later on when you are
actually hovering, chopping the throttle will cause the helicopter to crash. So, it's good to
not acquire this habit in the first place.
• Focus your attention on the helicopter. Try to tune out any distractions, and don't hold a
conversation while learning to hover. Think only of the helicopter and its tilt and direction of
movement.
• It may help to watch the disk of the main rotor blades because it will tell you if the helicopter
is level.
• When your nerves become frazzled, take a break. Don't push yourself too hard, because
you may lose concentration and crash the helicopter.
• When your batteries become weak, switch packs. Be sure to wait a little while between
flights to allow the motor to cool down. For maximum battery life, let the battery cool a little
(about 5 mins) before recharging.
• For a non-micro helicopter, when you can hold the heli in a 10 foot circle, you are ready for
the next phase.
For a microheli, you should be able to hold the heli in a 3 foot circle.
18.3. Tail-in hovering - Phase 2
• The objective for Phase 2 is to hover at 3-4 inches of altitude (2-3 inches for a micro). Do
not go any higher.
You will be in "ground effect" so the helicopter will be twitchier than normal. This is a little
awkward, but I highly recommend you practice this for at least a few battery packs to start
building the necessary reflexes.
• Go back to the hovering area, preflight the helicopter, and perform range check/servo
movement checks.
• If you are using a heading hold gyro, then make sure there is no wind or as little wind as
possible.
If you have a non-heading hold gyro, you will need a slight wind to help keep the tail
steady. If you try to hover a non-HH helicopter without wind, this will be very difficult be-
cause the helicopter will "weathervane" into the direction it's moving. This is very bad be-
cause you will need to try to keep the tail steady while simultaneously hovering the heli-
copter.
When hovering with wind, practice hovering with the nose of the helicopter facing INTO the
wind. When the heli is facing into the wind, the vertical tail fin will help keep the heli from
turning (yawing).
• Perform the helicopter power-up sequence described in the previous section.
• SLOWLY apply enough throttle to lift the helicopter to the desired altitude.
Tail-In Hovering
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