scott wrote:

> It took me about 2 weeks of 30-45 mins per evening to even get off the 
> ground in a stable manner :-)  I can now make it go pretty much where I 
> want within +/- 30cm in each axis so long as it's facing away from me.  
> Sometimes I try to turn it slightly but then I can't control it and 
> either crash or bring it quickly back in line.

It does take some getting used to. Ideally, you should be able to hover 
with your hands off the cyclic control, just modulating the throttle 
control to keep altitude.

> I have a cheap little 3-channel Chinook one that someone got me for 
> Christmas, I can fly that fine because it's so stable and can't move 
> anywhere fast.  With my 4-channel one you need to be continually working 
> the controls to keep it steady, and I just can't do that when it's not 
> pointing directly away from me.  Maybe I should reduce the sensitivity 
> of the controls, that might make it easier, I haven't played with it for 
> a while now.

Yep. Small movements of the controls are key. Give it too much in any 
one direction, and it'll take off. I sort of learned to control a 
helicopter in MS Flight sim, and it really took a while to do it. I 
assume you're indoors when flying? I've found at least with mine, 
because it's so light that it becomes difficult to control if the air 
conditioner is on. If not indoors, then even a light breeze will make it 
a challenge to keep in one place.

Also, watch out for "ground effect" I've been practicing landing on a 
6inx6in spot, an interesting challenge in and of itself. The closer to 
the ground you get, the more twitchy the helicpoter gets.

>> The one I have also has a gyro built into it's control board, so as 
>> far as yaw goes, it's rock-solid.
> 
> Apparently mine does too, but it tends to drift over a 15 minute session 
> just out of reach of the trim on the transmitter.  Turning the 
> helicopter off and back on again seems to reset it correctly though.

Mine does that, too. It will also tend to drift slightly when ascending, 
as well, probably because the motors, while well matched, have some 
tolerance in the amount of torque they deliver.

When flying, watch the nose of the helicopter. your rudder stick goes in 
the direction the nose turns, relative to the front of the machine.

-- 
~Mike

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