Traning gear

[stelliott]

Hello,
I am a new heli owner and have heard several people talking about "Holoa Hoop Traning Gear". I am wandering if any one has used this on a .50 size Raptor? Would anyone have any helpful hints on building this gear? i.e length of rods or hoop ect. anything would be helpfull

thanks,
Steven

[tdswan]

I got talking about this with a buddy of mine the other day. I used a rotopod to learn on and I'd never though of a hoola hoop, but if you get a big one, here's an idea that will possibly help. Try getting one of those fun noodles, those totally useless things that kids play with in the pool :p , and cut it into 4-5" sections and slide them onto the hoola hoop. This will simulate a rotopod that is commonly used with 30-50 size heli's for training. It will allow the heli to slide around and act like wheels on the grass. It will also make it less apt to catfch on something cuasing it to tip over. Maybe find a creative way to spread them out and keep them spread for less resistance on the grass.
Epoxy some cross-rods in it in the shape of an X and strap it to the heli using some heavy rubber bands or tie straps and you're set!

[stelliott]

thanks for the help

[smokinflame]

Hello. I will chime in here with my opinion. I used the rotopod that was suggested in the previous reply. This is a bit pricey at about $50 but it was worth it's weight in gold. With the hula hoop you can slide around and learn the controls on the ground. However, when you get it off the ground and get scared you drop the throttle out of insticnt and your heli comes crashing down. Enough of these and you start trashing your landing gear and possibly your tail section. The rotopod allows you to set it up like a tripd so that your heli sits about a foot or so off of the ground. Now if your heli drops to the ground, it will have a cushion and bounce instead of smacking the ground. That is especially importand when learning your 5 foot hover as the heli only drops 3 1/2 feet if you lose it instead of the whole 5 feet. Hope that helps.