RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
Eric Hawkinson
319 Yellowstone Ave., Billings MT 59101 E-mail: tech@heliproz.com
It's another great month to enjoy the hobby of RC (Radio Control) helicopters! I want to thank all the helicopter pilots—and prospective pilots—who have written me about this column. Your input is appreciated. This column would be even more enjoyable if you would send me photographs of your helicopter projects!
Do not send digital files, because Model Aviation does not accept them yet, and don't send a printout; the typical "ink-spitter" printers output photos that are not acceptable for publishing.
(Editor's note: Stay tuned for near-future changes to this policy.)
Instead, log onto the Internet and send your files to one of the new vendors that output continuous-tone photographic prints from your files. If your original photo is good, the output will be good. You might want to order duplicates too, so your favorite digital photograph can be saved for a long time. (Inkjet printers are generally very poor for archival use—the ink fades very quickly.)
Model Aviation is read primarily by fixed-wing pilots, so I get many calls and letters from airplane pilots who are considering adding a helicopter to their fleet. I've been involved with fixed-wing RC for 30 years, and I have some idea of the differences and similarities.
There is no reason for anyone just getting into RC helicopters to start off flying an RC airplane. Some people advise prospective helicopter pilots to buy an airplane first, but this is pointless. If you want to fly helicopters, buy a helicopter! Any time and money you invest in an airplane will be that much less you have for the part of the hobby you want to be in. It would take many years to become a good enough fixed-wing RC pilot to make a difference in mastering a helicopter. You'd be far ahead if you spent the money on a simulator instead of an airplane.
Much of the support equipment you need is the same for helicopters and fixed-wing models, such as electric starters, glow-plug lighters, and fueling accessories. Many customers at my shop fly (or used to fly) RC airplanes, and they usually spend far less on support items than someone who has never been into any aspect of the RC hobby.
In addition to the normal field equipment, a helicopter pilot will need:
- metric tools
- a pitch gauge
- ball-link pliers
- a blade balancer
- a hex start-adapter that mounts on airplane-style electric starters to engage the starting system
On the plus side, with helicopters you don't need the room or tools usually required to build or assemble fixed-wing aircraft. Airplane fliers are often amazed at how "clean" it is to assemble a helicopter. The typical helicopter involves no actual building—merely assembly. There is no gluing, no sanding, no carving and shaping, and no covering or painting.
The pilot has to learn a gentle touch on all the controls to keep his or her helicopter balanced. Todd Monson, one of my RC Pattern flying buddies, finally took the plunge into helicopters in the fall; his wife was thrilled with the lack of noise and mess involved in getting his helicopter ready to fly.
It was the first flying model project Todd had ever started and finished within a two-week period. (It usually takes him years to finish a prebuilt airplane!)
Helicopters also have the upper hand in storage and transport. The average airplane field is lined with pickups, SUVs, vans, and trailers, because the average RC airplanes are relatively large. Even when disassembled for transport, you need a big cargo area to haul a few airplanes to the flying field. You also need more room to store a handful of airplanes at home.
Helicopters do not need disassembly for transport. The "wings" (main blades) are simply swung back into a blade holder mounted on the tailboom, and off you go. Even a small car, such as a Honda Civic, has room to haul two or three helicopters and all the flight-support equipment.
When you get to the flying site, the blades are swung out, fuel is pumped in, and it's time to preflight and fly.
Helicopters definitely have an advantage at flying sites. Very few airplane clubs don't have to occasionally worry about losing their field. Finding and keeping a flying site is one of the biggest challenges facing most clubs in our country.
Helicopters need flying sites too, but it is much easier to find a grassy clearing somewhere than to find a clearing that has a paved runway sitting on it! You don't have to have pavement for airplanes, but you do need some sort of large, flat surface that is smooth enough to allow tires to roll.
Helicopters need almost (but not quite) the same amount of airspace as airplanes, but they only need a small area suitable for takeoff and landing. This makes it easier to locate a site, and the less demanding requirements of helicopters often mean you can find a flying site without having to drive as far from developed areas.
When it comes to the fun part of the hobby, it is true that helicopters are a bit more difficult to master. Airplane pilots will learn that once they get into forward flight, the helicopter does not feel much different from a fixed-wing model. The challenge is getting to the point where they are ready for forward flight!
Let's take a look at what makes learning to fly a helicopter a bit more challenging.
For airplanes, the hardest part of the normal maneuvers is the landing. The typical fixed-wing pilot will start out with a trimmed airplane flying at a safe altitude, and with the help of an instructor, take over the controls for a brief period to try to make some turns.
After many sessions—and many "saves" by the instructor—the pilot will slowly work his or her way up to the harder part: landing the airplane. By the time the first landing is attempted, the pilot will have built up experience and confidence in small steps.
The hardest part of normal nonaerobatic flight with helicopters is the low-altitude stationary hover. Unfortunately, that's the first thing a novice helicopter pilot attempts.
From the beginning, the pilot has to learn a gentle touch on all the controls, making the constant small inputs required to keep his or her helicopter balanced on its bubble of air.
While you are doing this, the helicopter is only at a few inches of altitude and has roughly zero airspeed. As long as you don't mentally look up for an extended period, all you need to do is reduce the throttle/collective and let the helicopter settle to the ground, so you can regain your composure for another attempt.
As with airplanes, work at mastering small steps. When the inevitable "oops" does occur, you'll learn another nice thing about helicopters: instead of having to choose between throwing the carcass away or settling in for a long rebuilding session with uncertain results, the helicopter pilot removes the damaged parts and replaces them. Presto—you have a new machine that should look and perform the same as what you had before.
If you are an airplane pilot considering getting into RC helicopters, give it a try. Besides already having much of the flight-support equipment (roughly a third of the total cost of getting a helicopter flying), you may have a radio that includes helicopter software. You should also have a good understanding of RC engines and radios.
Find a good shop or a local RC helicopter pilot you can go to and discuss your options. It has never been less expensive to get into the hobby, and the odds of success have never been better.
New Products
One item that has made a large difference in how many people learn—and master—helicopters is the computer and the RC flight simulator.
If you have a computer, a flight simulator is virtually (pun intended) guaranteed to save you more than it costs, and it will get you flying better and faster.
My wife Ellen hovered her Raptor on the first tank, without ever coming close to crashing. This used to be a rare event, but Ellen had spent a few hours at the shop on the simulator before her first attempt.
Simulators really do save time, money, and stress.
One of the best RC simulators on the market has just gotten better. The RealFlight® Generation 2™ simulator is available. Distributed by Great Planes, the newest version of the popular RealFlight® series has several good changes and additions.
Now you can change colors and trim schemes with aftermarket software, and you can see a crash occur when you fly into a virtual object or into the ground.
More importantly, the menus used to set the program and aircraft parameters are instantly accessible while you are flying the simulator, so you no longer have to exit the flying session to make a change.
The software also has the ability to run on a network/Internet connection, allowing remote student/instructor sessions, and even a Pylon Racing multi-user session.
If you have a prior version of the RealFlight® simulator, your dealer can get you a reasonably priced upgrade.
The simulator is available with a dummy RC transmitter for a controller or a connector to use most current transmitters as the controller.
Several new gyros from Futaba have also been released. All have "AVCS" modes (Active Angular Velocity Control System—Futaba’s terminology for heading-hold) and new electronics.
- The lower-priced GY240 is small and simple, with a single manually adjusted rate setting and manual switching for reversing and mode.
- The new GY401 is a moderately priced gyro with remote gain and mode adjustment, manual reversing, and delay settings.
- The popular GY501 has been replaced by a nice-looking unit designated GY502, which reportedly has a higher frame rate but seems similar otherwise.
- Not shipping yet is the Futaba GY601, which is to be released this month. Any Futaba dealer can get these units.
Until next time, fly safely and happy rotoring!
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
