A little help here please

[keith in illinois]

Does anyone know someone in Illinois that is willing to help train a newby to this hobby?

[tdswan]

I'm not far from you, but it's still quite a hike from Central Wisconsin. Are you looking for setup advice or flying advice?

[Harley Dave]

Keith,
Where in Illinois are you? It's kind of a long state. I'm not real far along in my skills at avoid the ground, but if you are close to me maybe we could hook up sometime and help each other. I'm sure it will be like the blind leading the blind, but it might work.

[helidad]

Keith,
I am new to the heli's but i live in Illinois just outside of ST. Louis Missuori.

[keith in illinois]

I live in Mendota which is in LaSalle county. About 100 miles S/W of Chicago.

[fernandezsraptor]

Keith I live in Aurora Ill north east of you, I am some what of a nubie to this but I have been flying my T-REX 450X for about 3 months now, and I also fly my Raptor 30 V2 around, I have been flying airplanes for about 23yrs, Heli for a year. I dont have any time to get some seat time in, with work and the family, that's the main reason I got my T-REX to get in quick flight time when I get the time.in the backyard, but you can go to the AMA web sight and try to find a club or closer AMA Heli members to you.

First of all what kind of Heli and raido setup do you have?
always start off with training gear, and a good PC sim is a great way to get some seat time in and cost a lot less to repair when you crash, and you will crash.everybody does.

[keith in illinois]

Yeah Aurora is not to far away, but I'de like to find a club possibly nearby. I did check the AMA web site and looked around a bit, just haven't looked in depth. I know what you mean by time with family and work. Four kids here and about 50 hours or better at work a week.
I'me just beginning in this hobby. I used to be a crewchief in the Army on a UH-60 Blackhawk and always wanted to get into this hobby for the longest time, but the price of starting out years ago was not possible. Looking around acouple of months ago it seemed that the prices have come down so I went to a low cost Century Hawk Pro combo kit from Tower Hobbie. All in all it cost me about $1K to get most every thing I needed to start. The TX is a Futaba 6EXHP.
My first problem was that the manual for the Hawk Pro was not writen for the beginner. Although I spent neerly five weeks in building and setting up the ARF Hawk, I was still quite iffy about trying to launch it.
On my first attempt to fly, by myself, I wound up getting up, but nosed over and headed straight into the ground. $150 repair cost.
On my second attemt, I did some internet searching and found the Century web site and printed out the manual for the Hawk Sprort which was the model prior to the Pro. The instructions where much more clearer for a beginner and I felt that I could maybe set this thing up better. So on my second attemt to beat some air into submission I did get off the ground, but did alittle tree trimming with my Hawk. I think what I did wrong was that I did get the blade angles correct for what I needed, but I didn't check them in all four quadrents. I simply checked the angles to one side. Also something I read, after my second attempt, on the internet was that if you try to take off from an icline that the helicopter will drift to the low side. I think I was on an icline, and while the helicopter was getting light and drifting, I kept trying to input some trim adjustments to counter act this. Finally I got it off the ground, but with not checking the blade angles in all four quadrents and alot of offset trim, the Hawk took off, but started banking to the right and back behind me where my van was, so I added more collective to miss my van, which I did, but there was a tree to the side of it that I trimmed a limb off. But I have to say that the repair cost was only $50 this time, so I think I'me doing alittle bit better.
Seeing that I've had two hundred dollars in repair cost so far, that a simulator is in need here. I'll still keep a search on the internet to maybe find someone local who'll be willing to teach this old dog some common sence.

[fernandezsraptor]

Sounds like first flights were vary scarry. I tryed to start off with my Raptor V2 first and it cost me a good chunck of change to, thats why I picked up the T-REX 450X cheeper to fix and I can still get my feet wet.
1st get training gear if you dont already have a set. make shure with all your servo trims centered and hands off your swash plate is level.
I dont know what mode your flying in but for a training with the thro\coltive stick full down .
you want to have 0 pitch on you rotor blades. and you only need about +5-6 on pitch at full up to hover.
also make shure your flybar paddles are at level and even to each other. with your rotor head (blades). also check your CG it should be set in line with your main rotor shaft. (Foward back and left to right). make shure you also have enough head speed. in you throttle curve. to match your pitch curve.

Good luck
Gots to go to work, I will check back in tonight at 12:00am when I get off work.

[AaronS]

Keith In Illlinois- the sim is the best thing you can do at this point. When you find your comfort zone on the sim it will be a completely different ball game. Take it slow, you have to walk before you can run, find a nice level area, either short grass or pavement, put some training gear on, and start with a short hop, try to just pick it up to a few feet off the ground and gently set it back down. Then try it again but hold a hover for a few seconds, then set it back down. You should learn how to hold a hover first, and then slowly start to maneuver the helicopter around while keeping it slow and exlporing all the orientations before you head off into fast forward flight. Good luck and you have the right idea trying to get in with a club or another experienced flyer.

[keith in illinois]

Wow I feel hornored to have the ED to respond!!! I feel that the sim is the best way to go at this point. Not having someone locally or to be able to talk to someone is this RC model area, along with accutally working on the large size, UH-60 Blackhawk, can make things a bit confusing. The model size seems to move around quite a lot as compared to the real thing, but then if you think about it, you have about a two foot throw with the cyclic on a Blackhawk where as on a model you have less then two inches.
Yet again I feel hornored you responded. Thank You.
Hopefully even on my own I can get this bird up in the air.

[Selim]

Dont feel lonley my friend, I by my self in Costa Rica whit all my friend of the heli club in South Carolina, and so far i'm olnly bust two blades of my heli in two little crashes against the leg of my table in the dinnig room, so keep going and put that byrd in the air slowly like me, step by step and follow the wise advise of this guys, :D