Sos Roofline Systems

Posts Tagged ‘radio controlled models’

Thank goodness now radio controlled aeroplanes are designed for every skill level from the beginner to the advanced flyer. So, youve done your research, worked out the cost (hopefully including the running costs for power and replacement parts), chosen a power source and then the model you want. Now you have just brought your first radio controlled aeroplanes home and opened the box. Next?

Here’s hoping that yours is a straight forward fly-out-of-box model that needs very little set up, or I guess it may get put on the shelf for a few days! What model did you get? Was it a smaller one that you can practice with indoors, a middle model or perhaps you thought it was really easy and went for a really expensive model with a six foot wing span!

It doesn’t matter what model it was but Im guessing that unless you are a naturally over confident person, that a little voice inside you is telling you to be careful. You dont want to crash and burn on your first flight as this will not only be embarrassing but will cost you even more money! Of course money isnt everything and you dont want to injure anyone either.

There are some really basic things you should consider before your inaugural flight outdoors which may sound silly, but something inexperienced users often do and regret later. First things first though, read the manual properly! Its not rocket science, but there are a few things you should be familiar with first.

Select an area to fly in very carefully and be especially mindful of the law! Do not even attempt to fly in an area where there are clear signs displayed that you cant operate any remote controlled devices. You will get fined so beware. Seek out an open area where there are very few people around and one that has no telephone lines as these tend to be quite low. Trees can be a big no no as well, as these will beckon an inexperienced users model to crash into! Take a look at the ground as well as although not necessary, you may have a habit of walking around to direct your radio controlled aeroplanes and fall over a bump or tree trunk. What do you think will happen to your model then? Bang! Somewhere there should also be a nice flat and stable area to take off from.

Now youve found a suitable area, whats the weather like? Choose a still bright day and if the sun is particularly strong, get some polarised sunglasses so you dont get blinded at certain angles.

Double check your radio controlled aeroplanes before you start. Experienced flyers will always do this and for a very good reason, so get in the habit yourself. Check the landing gear is working and secure, check the batteries (or other power source) and know your expected flight times. Make sure the radio connection is communicating with your aeroplane properly (a friend is useful to help with this).

One final check before you attempt your take off ” is the area you are going to use clear? Hopefully your take off and landing will be smooth but you are likely to be concentrating hard on this and be oblivious to everything else. Good luck and enjoy the ride!

It is perhaps not as simple as you may think to fly your brand new radio controlled helicopter, and you will need some RC helicopter training if you have just purchased your first serious model. Just follow some of these tips and you’ll avoid a great deal of unwanted and expensive crashes!

If you are using a simulator you obviously can’t do any damage, but do try not to let the helicopter ‘hit’ you! It hurts in reality, both physically and financially. You should also try not to let the image on your screen get that far away, as if you mirror this in real life, you may never see it again and it’s not easy to keep it close to you . Be conscious of this fact and practice a few times.

Make sure you rehearse landing the helicopter exactly where you want it to be. Just landing it is not enough, see if you can get it to face the way you want. Try flying with all the trims slightly off centre and then try randomly adjusting the trims to get used to doing it, then do it again. May sound silly, but move all the sticks like you’ve lost the plot until your radio controlled helicopter looks precarious and then level it out as quickly as possible.

Round two, turn the wind up to 10mph and do it all again. Round three, turn up the turbulence by 10mph and do it all again!

I do hope you’re not getting bored yet and can stop yourself from running outside to try all this for real. It really is quite important to master the RC Helicopter Training simulator first. OK, so now practice flying from left to right back and forth, then practice flying in and out without hitting or flying over your virtual self.

The auto rotations in the RC helicopter training simulator are way too easy. Don’t rely on this practice to help you in a real event. To help you get close to the difficulty of a real auto-rotation, go into whichever configuration screen you can find that has “blade drag ratio” and double it. I think it’s at .22 by default, set it higher to at least .44.

If you haven’t already, then now is the time to experiment with a few loops and rolls.

During RC helicopter training there are a few unexpected events that may occur other than those listed here, so be prepared. OK, you can now go outside, find a nice big open space and try flying your radio controlled helicopter for real. Finally, have fun!