Training in the UH1

A quick thanks to @Cib for his time and tuition last night. Thanks to multi crew he could fly in the same cockpit and take control to demo techniques. I learnt lots about how to fly a helo and what I should be doing to improve. It is definitely an area where experience of fixed wings is of minimum value. I spent this morning hovering over a join in the parking area and managed to keep it within about 20 feet. A first. I look forward to more training

Most important lesson learnt from @Cib last night. Trim the aircraft to hover before leaving the ground. Not leave it in neutral and try to trim once multi tasking.

…and @Cib did not get me VR airsick as happened previously with @schurem and @Victork2. :nauseated_face: :nauseated_face: :nauseated_face:

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I have never heard that and it sounds very useful!

I’ve always gone with the ā€œpull back on the cyclic and put some opposite rudder in to offset the torqueā€ and my ugly takeoff hovers are the result.

I assume this is a good rule of thumb for all helos.

How does one trim for hover before hand?

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@Hangar200

Ctrl + Enter to display the positions of the flight controls.

  • Move the cyclic to put the diamond below and to the left of centre.
  • Hold that position and select trim.
  • Release the cyclic and the diamond should stay in and be trimmed for that position.
  • The diamond should be fully visible without overlapping the centre, but only just.

@Cib had me sitting at about five feet off the ground for a long time. Its priceless. He could stay fixed in a spot. I can’t yet, but improved noticably. Today I was better still, better meaning not that good. After each session I was perspiring with the workload.

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I have only flown the UH1 so am the wrong person to ask. i would guess so

Copy. Will try that. Thanks

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Begin without any weapons. They fly better light

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I am really glad you found it useful.
The next task after mastering the stationary hover is move horizontally left and right in a hover keeping your nose pointed in the same direction. :grin:

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Actually, the funny thing is that I don’t have a problem hovering once I’ve taken off and flown around for a while. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert by any stretch. However, I seem to be able to ā€œfly intoā€ a hover–descend, slow down and point into the wind. Strange. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Whereas I do not add enough power transiting to the hover and end up flying in the same way a brick doesn’t.

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I always forget about the wind!

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I am still pre PPL skill test but have come on leaps and bounds.

    1. Altered the collective. I had mirrored the throttle curve on my F18 thinking ā€˜its a jet engine’ Of course it is not, it is a collective. So much better control in linear rather than logarithmic.
    1. My X56 throttle wasnt accurate enough doing the job of the collective. It was hard to make fine adjustments. I have found it much easier using a rotary switch. My transitions to the hover improved instantly.
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